Ghostsitter by Shelly Brown

Author:Shelly Brown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Future House Publishing
Published: 2016-08-24T19:45:47+00:00

Chapter 24

The Results

Tiffany

Kevin saw me. He gave me an awkward wave and walked off in the other direction. I would have said that he was acting weird, but Kevin always was a little weird.

I skimmed past the ninth and eighth grade election results until I got to the seventh grade.

President—Kevin Sendheim

I felt Jessica’s hand on my back. What? How did nerdy Kevin Sendheim win the elections? Was he better than me? The candy bars failed me.

Treasurer—Cade Reed

Cade! The boy who picked his nose was on that stupid list. So what that nobody ran against him, at least he didn’t lose to Kevin plays-Dungeons-and-Dragons Sendheim.

So much for all of my great plans for the seventh grade.

I felt a familiar stinging in my eyes but I opened them really wide so that any moisture that might be gathering would have lots of surface area and wouldn’t spill on my cheeks. The baby squirmed in my backpack, but at least she wasn’t screaming. The other two were still waiting a few steps behind.

They voted for him—my class. Now they would have to listen to Kevin talk about being a team and getting good grades at assemblies. And I wasn’t going to be able to pick the songs for the Valentine’s Bash or get that cool sweater jacket thing with the word President embroidered on it.

Soon my nose was stinging and I sniffled.

No leaking! Not in front of the office. Not in front of Sendheim.

There went my failsafe reputation. Oh, and I wouldn’t be popular by title. The sob came right out of my throat without permission. My eyes and nose must have heard it because they turned the tap on full blast. Water poured out of my face and I tried to catch it all in my sleeves.

Jessica didn’t say anything but grabbed my elbow and pulled me away from the list. She dragged me all the way out to the huge sycamore on the far end of the baseball field and we both just sat down.

I leaned against the trunk of the tree, my head swirling in thoughts.

The man in the dark jacket made his way over so I grabbed the baby. “Go away,” I said clearly.

He laughed and disappeared.

“Am I bothering you?” Jessica asked. She thought I had been talking to her.

“No, you’re fine.” I wanted to say something. Something to show how strong I was, like no big deal, or there’s always next year, or now I’ll have so much more free time. But when I opened my mouth, all that came out was a huge sob. I raised my hands to my face and hid behind them for shame. Jessica just sat there silently with her hand on my back while I convulsed in chest heaves, tasting salty tears, and wiping my nose with my sleeve.

Was that really what people thought of me? Less than Kevin Sendheim? Was Jessica my only real friend? But even Jessica didn’t trust me that morning. Maybe I really wasn’t very likable.

I felt a nudge from under my elbow and a mop of hair snuggled up close to me.

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