Chapter 10

ELECTION DAY.

"Interesting. Miss Queen Bee appears to be winning this election as well," Nova said as she handed me a box of cold pineapple juice.

"Thank you," I said. I drank the box through the straw. "Ah, pineapple juice is delicious!" I exclaimed.

"I know, that's why we're friends; we both like pineapple juice," Nova agreed. We clapped our pineapple juice boxes as if they were wine glasses.

We are currently in the gym, counting and validating the ballots from today's election of new sets of SC. We were far away from the gym stage where the teachers were counting votes, but there was a large LED screen that displayed the automatic updates of the votes.

I am overjoyed to see Olivia advancing in the polls. She's truly unique. Students at Clover High adore her. It was unfortunate for the other candidates because their votes did not even match Olivia's.

There were two full slates of candidates for SC and one independent candidate for president.

Luke Benjamin, a fellow junior and classmate, was one of Olivia's rivals for the presidency. He was the only one who had a complete lineup. He's always in the top two between my and Olivia's academic rankings.

The other candidate is William Randol, also known as Will. Captain of the famous basketball team. He's a senior now. He decided to run at the last minute. He was only popular with girls because he was attractive, tall, and a good basketball player. But, in general, that is all he has to offer. I despise the guy.

Regardless of their fame, their votes were insignificant compared to Olivia's. My stepsister will not be addressed as queen bee of the school if she is not the true queen of the school. I'm overjoyed for her.

I was not even concerned about the outcome, and I am confident Olivia will win. Actually, I was just here to do nothing. Nah, but the truth is that I was waiting for the result, so I'll be the first to send it to our parents. Not with Olivia because I know her team will do it for her. And it's best not to call or text her if we're at school because she's always with the bullies. Those girls have no concept of personal space or privacy. So I'll just congratulate Olivia at home later.

"What are you thinking?" I overheard Nova inquire.

"Nothing, let's get some pineapple juice before we go home," I just said.

"You're smiling, but you're still a creep and weirdo."

"All right, back to you."

"Do the same feathers flock together?"

"Yeah."

I stick my tongue. Nova did the same. We're still as childish as ever. Then we laugh. Because we're on the upper corner level of the gym seats, no one will be able to hear us. I returned my attention to the screen. Olivia won, as expected, after the counting and validation.

"I'm glad you're back," I said to Nova as I stood up. I took a quick screenshot of the screen. I immediately sent it to our family group chat.

"You should; you're a mess without me," she said.

"Pft. Conceited much?" I sat back beside her and finished my pineapple juice. "But seriously, thank you for coming back," I said somberly.

"Hey, don't thank me. I should not have left you, and I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me the most," Nova said solemnly.

"Aish, that's fine. What matters is that you're back, safe and sound," I said as I stood up. I extend my other hand to her.

"I'm glad to be back," she said, taking my hand in hers. We exited the gym after she stood up.

"Should we stop at the convenience store?" Nova inquired as we approached the gate entrance.

"We shall; I told you I wanted to buy and drink pineapple juice again," I said, wrapping my arms around her shoulder.

Olivia and Nova are smaller than me, so I can just do that with them. In any case, they are the same height.

"All right, you'll pay for what I'm going to buy, right?" she inquired. We kept walking.

"Are you really that broke, Con-con?" I joked.

"Come on, just this once, please," she pleaded.

"Yeah, right. How many "just this once" have I heard from you since we've known each other?"

"Aish. I smell stinginess here," she mumbled.

"I heard that," I said, jumbling her hair.

"What? Don't do that," she grumbled, trying to avoid what I was doing to her hair, but she couldn't because I was wrapping my other arm around her shoulder.

"The sight was so sweet that I think I'm going to puke."

Then I heard that familiar, bitter voice.

"They're really shameless, doing public affection inside the school grounds," said the other irritated person.

I don't need to look back to see who they are. I'm sure the girls were the charmer bullies. But instead of stopping, I just kept walking, and before Nova could respond, I gently squeezed her shoulder as a way of telling her to ignore them.

"Whoa. Is the mad girl growing some balls now? She's ignoring you, Cam," Stella said.

I didn't hear any response from the bully's leader, but I noticed her now standing in front of us, arms crossed across her chest. She's swift.

Camila obstructed our path, so Nova and I came to a halt. I attempted to walk in the opposite direction, but she followed us in the same direction. Camila is having a good time doing this with her usual smirk on her face.

"You're so annoying," Nova remarked. I wasn't looking at her, but I could tell she was upset.

I was just staring at the bully's leader.

"You're even more annoying," Camila retorted. She didn't even look at Nova. But she's still grinning at me.

I saw my stepsister and Naomi standing on the other side in my peripheral vision. A few students passed us, but they didn't want to get in trouble, so they just passed us or walked in another direction.

I even heard other students congratulating Olivia on her victory and taking selfies with her.

"Do you want to fight, Scott? I'll make sure you can't get up in the morning after I punch your ugly face." Stella, who had also appeared, was now very close to Nova and challenged her to a fistfight.

I squeeze Nova's shoulder even harder. Nova, like Stella, is prone to rage.

"Hey, let's go; we need to celebrate Olivia's victory," Naomi said, taking Camila's arm. "There are still a lot of students. We don't want to get in trouble, right? It's bad for Olivia's reputation as well. Let's do this discreetly another time," she urged them.

Camila remained unmoved by Naomi's words.

"Girls, let's go," Olivia said, grabbing Stella, who was locked in a stare-down with Nova. "I just won the election. Don't waste your energy with these people. Let's do it another time," she said cautiously as some students stared at us.

"You're fortunate, mad girl, but not for long," Camila warned. It was only a few seconds, but I could see her glare at my hand on Nova's shoulder. Then she turned away.

Stella was still staring menacingly at Nova. Olivia had to gently yank her away from us. They were gone, and that was the only time I exhaled. I had no idea I was holding my breath during the encounter.

"Are you okay?" Nova inquired. I noticed the concern in her eyes.

"Yes, I'm glad I was holding your shoulder when that happened," I said shyly. My knees were trembling. Even after many years, I still can't get used to bullies.

"Can you walk?"

"Of course I am. I am not disabled, but are you going to give me a piggyback ride if I can't?"

"Are you insane? Look at our height difference, plus I'm lighter than you, so you should be the one giving me a piggyback ride," she exclaimed.

I laughed softly.

"Forget about it; you know I'm weaker than you, even though I'm taller; instead, I'll buy you ice cream or whatever you want."

"Really?" she asked, her face lit up like a child. Nova is actually considered cheap. I meant that her happiness was superficial.

"Yeah."

"Promise?"

"Promise!"

"All right! Let's go!" She was almost dragging me to the convenience store.

Even though Nova comes from a wealthy family, she was very down-to-earth and practical. Maybe it's because her family is a public servant that she's like that. And if that's the case, I'm grateful to her family.

Con-con is just a simple, low-key, cute girl. She only appears challenging when in conflict with someone, but she is relatively easy to get along with. She's amusing, kind, and welcoming. Nova isn't all that bad in the classroom, either.

By the way, Nova is a blackbelt in Judo and the current captain of that club. I'm not sure if Stella was aware of it, but she's not going to win a physical fight against Nova. I know Nova will not use her Judo skills to harm others, but you never know when a person's patience will run out. That is precisely what happened to me before.

But who knows? Stella may be smaller, but she is always in trouble and very feisty. The irony is that Nova's father is the Mayor of Clover, and Stella's father is the Vice Mayor.

Anyway, when we arrived at the convenience store, we were fortunate that we were the only ones there. So we decided to hang out and sit there.

"By the way, we haven't hung out in your house once since I got back here, and I really miss your room, you know," Nova said out of nowhere as she licked her ice cream.

I almost spilled the pineapple juice I was drinking.

"Ah... that... Well, my house is really messy, and your house has a lot of food and maids, so it's better to hang out there," I said, not looking at her.

Nova and I used to be best friends, and we still are. But it wasn't the same before when I could just tell her everything. Even though I still tell her some things, hmm... You understand what I mean; I can't tell her about the other things going on in my life right now. She was aware that my father had remarried, and that was it. She hasn't met Mom Victoria yet, but I always talk about her and how Mom Victoria treats me like I'm her real daughter.

"You have a point there, and there are a lot of gadgets to play within the game room," she agreed.

Nova's home is a mansion. So there was a lot of space and a wide range of activities available in their home.

"Do you want to go swimming or shopping this weekend?" she inquired once more. I almost laughed when I saw how messy her face was while eating her ice cream. She has ice cream all over her mouth.

"You are such a messy eater," I chuckled as I wiped the mess on her mouth with the tissue we had purchased.

"Thank you," she said casually as she drank her pineapple juice. "So, how about the weekend?"

"Hmm... I'll think about it, and if Dad isn't coming home, I'll let you know," I said.

"Let's invite Aubrey as well."

"That's a great idea; I thought you'd forgotten about me," Aubrey said. She approaches us, her tray laden with food and chips. She sat beside Nova.

Nova and I couldn't stop laughing.

"What?" Aubrey, perplexed, inquired.

"Are you that hungry?" Nova questioned.

"Yes, I am. I was practicing all day and forgot to eat," Aubrey responded, munching on her food. There were chips, pineapple juice, ice cream, and cup noodles.

"Aww, poor Aubrey. Is it difficult to be a celebrity at school?" I inquired.

"Yes," she said, her mouth full of food.

She was starving. But Aubrey is always hungry. Anyway, Aubrey became a celebrity at school because she was so talented and good at singing. Aubrey is a multi-instrumentalist who can also sing. She was actually starting to showcase her skills and talent outside of Clover by participating in talent shows and performing song covers. She also has a band at school, which she was referring to when she mentioned the practice.

Aubrey became our friend after she transferred. And I've proven that I completely misjudged her the first time I saw her. Aubrey was also very friendly and funny. She also protects me from bullies, like Nova. When Aubrey joined us, she also became one of the charmer bullies' prey.

So much for that; she was literally eating nonstop. I just hope she doesn't choke.

We returned home after relaxing in the convenience store. I'm really enjoying high school right now. It was all thanks to Nova, Aubrey, and my stepsister, Olivia.

Nothing lasts forever, but I am bearing every painful event in my life because they are with me. That makes me happy and thankful.