55 Impudence - Part 4 (1/2)

Miss Bell decided that since Jennifer was nominated first, she should also be the first to give her speech.

She moved her chair over to the front of the class room so that I could take a seat during the speech and ended up sitting next to Scarlet in Jennifer's usual seat.

As the focus of everyone's attention, Jennifer is now standing to face our classmates.

”I didn't really prepare anything special for this speech so, I'll be talking from the heart here.”

She doesn't seem to have any paper so at the very least she might really be talking off the top of her head, but…

Is she underestimating me? Or does she really think her clout is enough to win?

”I guess I'll start off by saying that… Sunchester High is a great school, and my time as a part of homeroom 103, though short, has been one of the most wholesome classroom experiences I've had in my lifetime. Everyone has been so kind to me since I've enrolled. I really can't thank each and every single one of you enough for the support. Seriously, you're all great.”

I gulp.

Her words are smooth.

There isn't a single inarticulate in her sentence.

Her pauses are there.

Everything is so eloquently put that it feels like I'm watching a movie.

That she's giving a speech of this level without any preparation just goes to show how ready she is.

”But I need to be frank here. Issues are eventually going to come up within our classroom. Whether it's due to class activities or student disagreements, we're all going to run into roadblocks along the way. And to get over these together, as a single group, what we'll need is a firm leader. Someone who can handle things when they get tough, someone who won't cower or run away whenever things don't go their way.”

”…”

”I've never backed down from anything in my life. I'm the kind of person who faces problems head on until I think they're dealt with. If you vote for me as class president, I promise to give you the commitment and tenacity that this great classroom deserves.”

”If you're looking for other, more tangible reasons to vote for me, then I'll bring up my connections. I'm reasonably close with most of you inside of this room. I think that this makes me very approachable as someone who can listen to your complaints and queries. At least, I'd hope you guys felt that way… I love talking to you all whenever I get the chance to.”

Wait…

If my gut feeling is correct then isn't she just weighing her good points against my bad ones?

She's doing it so subtly that I almost didn't notice, but when you think about it…

”I've also got contacts within the student body government, so if our class has a query then it'll be quite easy to take it up with them.”

It's… it's really like this, huh?

”Sorry sorry, I know it sounds like I'm bragging so I won't talk about it too much. I'll just go over my last point then talk about why I decided to run. Um… So like, if you guys vote for me, then… I'll make it so we can get our own personal projector in the classroom. I don't mind buying one for you guys so it'd be as simple as running it through Miss Bell and then setting it up on the ceiling. We could use it for presentations, while having the benefit of watching shows on Netflix during our lunch breaks.”

Wait, that's the same as our idea! Also, she's only suggesting that since she knows I can't afford to do it!

”I think it'd be a fun bonding experience for our class too. We don't really get to spend much time as class together, right? That's kinda sad to me. It's sad because I like you guys a lot. That's why I think I'd like you guys to vote for me, and not someone terrible who would condone things like promiscuity and violence against women.”

”…”

”If you're thinking about voting for Chase, then please reconsider. He's done so many terrible things already and Scarlet's lies during the newspaper club interview should not be trusted. He is a manipulative monster who took advantage of poor Momo and tricked her into a physical relationship with him.”

What?

”You can ask her yourself. Scarlet's interview really was just a hoax. Chase set the whole thing up. The truth is, he used Momo's shyness to get her to open up to him and they ended up kissing in that room.”

”…”

”In fact, he almost tricked me too. Little did I know, it was so that he could run against me and use it as part of a smear campaign, but luckily Momo told me everything. Trust me when I say that I would normally never trust rumors as exaggerated as those, but after speaking with him first hand, it's plain as day that he is an evil, manipulative human being. I don't know why he hasn't been punished for all the things he's done, but at the very least, we can't let him get hold of a seat of power in our school. Please. Vote for me.”

She bows.

”Thank you.”

And for some reason, after her word of thanks…

The classroom erupts into clapping.

They loved it.

Her entire speech was a subtle and not-so-subtle ploy to demean my entire campaign through lies and direct comparisons, and they all loved it.

This feels really uncomfortable.

Why am I even sitting here when everyone just wants to watch me fail?

I've been feeling this for a while, but…

The truth is, I dislike the vast majority of people in this room.

Having Scarlet talk about her issues so openly like that just struck me as invasive.

It's unfair to have to explain yourself and justify everything you do just because someone else is spreading exaggerated lies about you.

My life is my own.

If this is what being a public figure is, then I'll pass.

Ahh, screw this.

I wanna resign.

This class president election might not be worth it after all…

”…”

For some reason, my gaze turns to Scarlet.

”…”

Her eyes lock onto mine.

And…

She smiles at me.

In that smile, I don't sense a hint of unease.

No doubt, her expression tells me that she isn't the least bit nervous.

It's as if she's whispering into my ear.

”Don't worry, your speech can beat this.”

”…”

Yeah, you're right.

I can't let everything we've done so far go to waste.

Screw her.

I'll beat that shitty speech.

I'm not alone here.

Scarlet gave it her all in that interview.

And Nick sacrificed everything to get me here.

That's why…

”Wow, good job Jennifer. Very nice speech. I'm impressed!”

”Thanks, Miss Bell.”

She smiles, then turns to walk over to me.

Well, it makes sense that things would seem this grim.

We never planned on coming into this as the favorite.

But, yeah.

Having Scarlet, Nick and Sig stand behind me like this feels empowering.

It almost feels like I can take on the world itself.

Jennifer stops before me, still donning her smile.

”Do you get it now? You won't ever beat me in a popularity contest. Everyone here loves me, and despises you and everything you stand for. And once you lose, your reputation is going to be even worse than before.”

She's right.

She's definitely right, but…

”That's only assuming I lose.”

With those words, I get up from the seat with my notebook in hand.

Okay, this shouldn't be too hard.

It doesn't matter that they only want me to fail. I've practiced this speech a thousand times in front of Chloe's mirror.

I can do this.

Once I've arrived before the rest of the class, their intense gazes immediately focus onto me.

”…”

Nevermind, can I just forfeit?

Ahahaha…

”Before you begin Chase, I'm going to have to ask you to be very careful with what you say.”

The warning came from Miss Bell.

It must have to do with Nick's outburst of violence earlier.

Well, I didn't plan on condoning it or anything, but…

Oh whatever.

It's just five lousy minutes of embarrassment out of my life.

Let's just get this over with.

”Ahem.”

I glance over the words in my notebook, then turn my eyes back to my classmates.

If you think you're the only one who's good at being fake Jennifer, then I have news for you.

”Good morning, citizens of Gotham. The hero you all deserve is here at last.”

”…”

I can see Scarlet rubbing her temple in the corner of my eye.

”Pfft…”

Behind me, however, Jennifer is giggling to herself over my ridiculous opening statement.

It's no surprise, it was partially aimed at her from the get-go after all.

She seems fond of those kinds of silly, deadpan gags.

”Um… first of all, I'd like to apologize for Nick's outburst of violence. It was in poor taste and, regardless of how he felt at the time, he was undoubtedly wrong. Jennifer is an amazing person and did not deserve to have to go through that. Uh, I sincerely hope that he's punished properly by the principal.”

My ass. She totally deserved it.

”Umm, anyway. Let's get back to the campaign. Sooo… why should any of you vote for me? As far as you're all concerned, I'm some lying, cheating, womanizing scumbag from the slums. A delinquent who does not deserve to even be at this school, let alone be your class president. And to that I'd say, you're right. If we're going solely off of the rumors, I should probably have faced some form of punishment by now. And yet, I have not. In fact, the only 'punishment' I've faced was at the hands of my fellow classmates, who rigged a game of dodge ball to try and inflict harm onto me.”

I feel their gazes grow colder in the crowd. Calling them out directly like this would have that kind of effect, I suppose.

”But don't worry. In your eyes, I deserved it. I'm not standing here to make you feel bad about it. I just wanted to correct the many misunderstandings you all have.”

I take a deep breath.

”For one thing, Scarlet and I were never dating to begin with.”

”What?!”

Murmuring erupted from the crowd of students before me, but the one who yelled out was Jennifer herself.

It's hardly surprising. All this time, she had just assumed that Scarlet had betrayed her expectations and found a man to love. Her perfect independent woman, someone who could share her feminist empire with her, had crumbled before her very eyes.

To hear that it was all a lie after all the things she's done must be a shock.

”Oh, yeah. The truth is, I was just supposed to be an accessory. She'd not only be able to claim that she did in fact have a boyfriend, but she would also have a convenient excuse to reject any guy who tried making a pass at her. It's perfect, right? And it really wasn't a big deal to me either, so naturally I went along with it.”

Some things were, uh, embellished, but overall I think that got my point across.

”Now, doesn't that seem strange? Even in the event that Momoka and I DID kiss, then there'd be no reason to call it cheating, now would there? But even that is a misunderstanding. The two of us did not kiss. In fact, the reason we skipped class was because she was being harassed by a senior who had feelings for her, and she wanted to hide until the day was over. Scarlet went over this in her interview with the Newspaper Club.”

”Wait.”

The one who called out was Miss Bell.

”If that's the case, then Momoka could have just come to me.”

Yeah, she could have. That is, if the reason she was scared that day wasn't because she basically assault him.

”I don't think Momoka wanted to get teachers involved. She's a kind person, and the senior, who I won't name, was just misunderstanding something. It was something she felt she needed to resolve, but she also needed the time to steel herself. Hence why I decided to take the time to help her out as someone who witnessed their interaction that day.”

”Hmm… Okay. Continue.”

Good, that should do it for the ground work.

Now onto the main course.

”Uh, I guess it's kinda hard to believe everything I'm saying. I mean, it goes against everything the rumors and Jennifer herself both have claimed so far. But I'm urging you all, please. Do not buy into these lies. There's a sophomore I met recently who went through something similar. His name is Jack Bourne, and he has a much worse reputation than I do thanks to similar rumors. He does make advances at women often, but I've recently come to realize that the rumors had put a completely different spin on it. They made it seem like he was taking advantage of these girls when he was simply having normal high school relationships with normal high school girls. Rumors like that could start up about anyone in this room. All it takes is making the wrong kind of enemy, and everyone's perception of you can change in an instant. And the worst part is, there's no 'proof' that you can offer to fix any of this. Because once the rumors start, that's that. People won't change the way they look at you anymore…”

I pause.

It's a powerful, deliberate pause.

But it's also necessary so that I can allow everything I've said so far to settle into the minds of my audience.

”Scarlet was actually the one who suggested I run for Class President. At first when she suggested it, I couldn't imagine why. The rumors had completely ruined my reputation, and yet she wanted me to embarrass myself by having me run against someone as amazing as Jennifer. You all might have thought I was an idiot for doing this, but to be honest, I actually wondered if I was suicidal at one point. I mean, you're putting me against Jennifer? Why don't you just expel me already?”

A few light chuckles bubble up from the silence of the room.

”Funny thing is, Scarlet really believed in me. She made it sound like I was this amazing human being who could make the impossible possible just by putting everything I had into it. So, I dunno… I guess I decided to not let her down. If this is all it takes to prove to everyone that I'm not such a bad person, then I'll do it. I'm sorry if this speech was a bit sappy or whatever, I just needed to get all of this out in the open so that there's no more misunderstandings. I think both Jennifer and Momoka are great people, it's just that the misunderstandings got far too out of hand and we all realized it. I'm sorry for any confusion that they may have caused. My only hope is that I do not die a villain, so that I may live long enough to see myself become a hero. Because if I don't, then high school truly is unfair.”

I close the notebook.

That's about it for what I've written.

This is everything Scarlet and I went over this morning.

But…

If we leave things as is then even if they do sympathize with me, there's no real reason for any of them to actually give me their vote.

”As far as policies go, I only have one.”

Scarlet's expression suddenly becomes more alert.

She realizes that I'm going off script here.

Sorry, but this is all necessary.

”Truth is, I do agree with Jennifer on something. We all need to come together and spend more time as a class. Unfortunately, due to my, uh, upbringing, I can't do anything fancy like buy a projector for us for movie time. However…”

And after uttering those words, a playful grin stretches across my face.

”Ladies and Gentlemen. I present to you, the change our classroom needs.”

With a quick turn, I walk to the blackboard behind me and immediately begin writing with one of the pieces of chalk that was still resting on the hanging partition.

The sound of the chalk pressing against the board fills the room as their eyes are presumably focused on my writing with anticipation.