Chapter 38:

Your New Class President Is...

Zac and I take our seats, scanning the room. On the stage are balloons in red and orange which are Oakmore's school colours. A banner hangs above reading 'Class President Elections'.

This is a day I've dreaded for the past few months. There's not a single part of me that willingly wants to sit in this seat and listen to Amelia drone on about why she's the best candidate, brainwashing her followers into the popularity scam. But, if it's for the group's sake, it's a pain that I'll have to endure.

I've never heard Sophie sound as serious as she did on the phone last night, it somewhat scared me. We didn't say much more and she continuously refused to give me any more information. Zac is also none the wiser as it was also considered too risky to tell him.

At this stage of the presidential campaign, Amelia and another girl called Lucy were the only candidates left. This morning is their final opportunity to pitch their aims to the school in hope that they'll receive a vote when the voting opens this afternoon. By the end of the day, the votes are counted and the new class president is announced over the tannoy.

I felt sorry for Lucy because she doesn't stand a chance against Amelia and in all honesty, she never has. From what I've heard, she's relying on winning to put on her college applications. She's one of the brightest students here and she needed something to make her stand out as she's applying to Ivy league universities.

Imagine having your future taken away from you by a girl who views this position as a popularity contest. I wish I could say that I'm surprised that the school allowed it and didn't recognise the importance of this campaign to other candidates but Principal Clark is so far up Amelia's arse, you can practically see his grey hairs at the back of her throat if she opens her mouth wide enough.

Frustrated is an understatement. Right now the only emotions that my body is capable of producing are anger, irritation and anxiety which is not a good combination.

The group's original plan was that I was going to skip today with my mum's permission, something that wouldn't have been hard to get. They knew it'd be hard for me and they didn't want to risk Amelia spotting me in the crowd and using my past as a way to make her look like a good samaritan.

Oakmore has officially been brainwashed and today will finally prove it.

"Hmm." Zac murmurs, catching me off guard.

"What?" I ask, watching his eyes follow two people across the room.

The people are dressed in suits and look as if they'd be in their fifties. As a pair, they make their way to the front row, metres away from the stage before Principal Clark stands to greet them. The middle aged man switches his briefcase to his other hand whilst stretching out the other for Principal Clark to shake. His pinstriped suit looks tight as if he needed a size bigger and his face is stern, making the Principal's clearly nervous smile more obvious than it should've been.

The woman to the left of him is poised completely differently. She holds her files under her right arm and the other stretches out to introduce herself to the Principal. Her stunning complexity makes her dark skin glow as she shows off a wide grin, contrasting with her colleagues' deadpan face. Her suit flattered her curves yet her perfectly styled hair made sure she looked like a powerful businesswoman.

As a pair they were ice and fire. One giving a cold exterior, making people shudder under their glare whilst the other is warm and enticing, making people ease. However, the heat of the fire should not compel people into forgetting it's nasty burn and it's at that point that they'll realise the soothing coldness of the ice shouldn't have been overlooked.

The fire will always burn and the ice will always melt.

"They're the directors on the school board. I've never seen them actually come to the school before." Zac answers my question, his frown lines appearing on his head.

"Why would they be here?" I ask, matching his confusion as my eyes continue to watch them chatter away.

"I'm not too sure. Most students only ever see them if there's a serious problem that is above Principal Clark to solve."

"Wait, have you ever had to meet them before?" I turn to look at Zac, his eyes also watching the three as they converse.

"Once." He doesn't look away.

"What for?"

"It was for Amelia's party. It had affected the whole town and hundreds of parents were complaining. The school board had to come up with a suitable punishment for us all. It was dreadful, we all sat there with our heads in our hands, hearing our parents argue with Principal Clark in the room next door."

"I don't think I'll ever get over what she did to you guys." I shake my head in disbelief.

"In the same way that we'll never get over what she did to you. That girl is crazy." He replies.

We fall back into silence as the room packs with people. Many students are wearing their vote for Amelia badges and are furiously typing supportive messages on the school feed with her specialised hashtag.

"That's it!" Zac shoots up, snapping his fingers.

I face him, my head drawing back as I switch between frowning and laughing.

"They'll be here to watch Amelia! After the truth came out that the party was all Amelia's fault, it was them who excluded her. Perhaps this is some kind of review on her actions over the past few months."

"Oh." I reply, not sharing the same amount of enthusiasm as he carries.

"Now this Miss Haywell could get very interesting," Zac looks at me with a smirk upon his face.

"Very interesting indeed."

***

The echoes of claps begin to fade away as Lucy walks off of the stage, the claps of students who were going to betray her by voting for Amelia.

I don't care if I am her only vote. My vote will be going to Lucy.

Principal Clark raises from his seat, using his hands to soothe any creases that have gathered in the time that he's been sitting down. The school board directors look up after they finish writing their notes on the first presentation.

He taps the microphone, looking at the sound students in the wings of the stage before nodding, knowing that he can be heard loud and clear.

As if the camera starts rolling, he clears his throat, a smile stretching across his lips.

"Thank you very much to our first candidate for that wonderful presentation." His false smile may be convincing to the rest of the room but definitely not to me.

"Remember that if you want to vote for Lucy, the votes will be open this afternoon." He finishes before his face drops.

"Next up we have our second candidate for this year's presidential campaign." A smile returns to his lips yet this time there isn't a trace of the falseness that sat there before.

"Everyone put their hands together for the presentation of class president candidate Amelia Sweller."

The room explodes into cheers and claps before Amelia has a chance to step foot on stage. Many of her devoted fans draw out their phones to snap a picture or film her grand entrance.

This is a noise that hadn't existed when Lucy appeared on stage and for that, my heart goes out to her.

"Go Amelia!" Liam shouts before letting out a high pitched whistle, causing my stomach to twist.

He sat close to the front, creating the loudest sound. If I didn't know any different, I would've thought that he was some creepy, stalker fan at a concert who holds up banners and sniffs the ground their crush walks on. Either way, considering it's Liam, I'm probably not that far off.

"You all alright?" George says, taking the seat next to me.

Looking down the aisle of empty seats, Zara follows him and the two of them sit beside us, trying to draw little attention to themselves.

"What are you doing here?" Zac asks, worried that other people will notice and question the plan.

"Getting a good seat for the show." Zara laughs and for the first time in months I realise that she seems relaxed.

"What show?" I ask, more confused than before.

"Popcorn anyone?" George asks, grabbing a packet from his bag.

"You actually bought some?" Zara snorts with laughter.

"Popcorn is a necessity for moments like this."

"What do you me-" I begin to say before being cut off by the increase in volume as a figure appears on the stage.

"Hello Oakmore." Sophie's voice comes over the microphone, Blake beams beside her.

The room falls silent and low whispers are scattered amongst the students.

"I know this wasn't what you were expecting but for Amelia's campaign, she wanted to do something a bit different." Sophie looks over to Blake.

"We all agreed with her that the typical style of presentations are overdone." Blake agrees.

"Therefore, she agreed to let Blake and I create a presentation on Amelia and tell you all the reasons as to why you should vote for her to become the new class president this afternoon!" Sophie says sweetly, winning over the crowd.

Blake turns his body to face the screen on the wall behind him, pushing a button on the remote in his hand.

A powerpoint flashes on the screen, a picture of Amelia and the group stares back at us with the caption 'Vote for Amelia' written in red above it. The picture of her and the group looks old and it isn't long before I realise that Zac's in it.

"Oh my god. Is that from Amelia's party?" Zac's eyes go wide as he asks George about the picture.

"That picture was my suggestion, nice touch don't you think?" He replies, sarcasm licking his lips.

"Since joining the school, whether that be as a freshman or four months ago, Amelia has been a beacon of light that this school has needed. Everyone in this room has always known her name and always will for many years to come after leaving Oakmore." Blake addresses the room as Sophie nervously stands by him.

"Many students, including myself, have always looked up to her. Amelia is the ideal student: smart, ambitious, friendly and beautiful. She has offered kindness and at times a shoulder to cry on over the years but most importantly, she has offered a friendship like no other." Sophie says.

As I look around the room, the smiles that clung onto students' faces before this presentation began have since disappeared, almost as if reality has slapped them in the faces. You'd have to be blind to believe in what Sophie is saying right now.

Amelia has been the reason that people have cried, crushing peoples' hopes and filling them with insecurities. Amelia isn't capable of producing friendships, only hierarchies in which she puts herself above everyone and treats those around her as her slaves.

"By now, everyone knows her aims in this campaign and today I would like to finally highlight the impact that Amelia has had upon many lives in this school." Sophie continues to say.

"Next slide?" Blake asks and Sophie nods.

The next slide appears and the low whispers turn into loud chatter as people watch the picture change from Amelia with the group to me with the group.

"Example number one. Lola Haywell. Many of you will know exactly how Amelia treated her." Sophie's expression changes and her friendly voice is underlined with seriousness.

"Not only did she harass Lola for weeks on end but she also profusely blackmailed her." Sophie folds her arms over her chest, her friendly voice is underlined with seriousness.

"Lola has made mistakes that is clear but what Amelia did was pick bits out of the truth in order to destroy Lola's reputation at this school. It was a complete assassination of someone's character." Sophie says as the noise in the room grows dangerously louder.

"Later today, we will be posting the full story of Lola's background on the school feed for you all to read and then you can all realise how untruthful and unlawful Amelia was being." Blake adds.

"Not only has this been going on, but I have also found out that Amelia has been paying fellow students to stalk Lola Haywell, even at her own home where her mother and four year old sister live." Sophie's anger seethes through her teeth.

Outcry can be heard throughout the room as the transfixed mines of students finally break and for the first time they begin to revolt against Amelia. The people have been given a voice through this presentation and it isn't taken long for the 'we love Amelia' parade to disperse.

I look over at Zac, my eyes suddenly filled with hope whilst his contain a mixture of shock and uncertainty.

"We have multiple accounts from students who have told us that they were aware of Amelia doing this and some even told us that they have attempted to report it."

"But this isn't the first time that Amelia has harassed students in this school." Sophie addresses, causing shouts of agreement from the crowd.

"Amelia bullied my girlfriend for years, making her life a living hell. She emotionally abused her more than any of you will have ever known and unbeknownst to you all, she's been doing the same to you all for months." Blake pulls his arm around Sophie as her eyes gloss over, watching the waves of support hit her from the students.

Amelia bursts through the side door, determined to stop the slander against her but she's met by Kieran and Steven who stand in her way, stopping her from reaching the stage. Their faces are stern as they tower over her, acting as a wall between good and evil.

From the enraged waving of arms, it's clear that she's protesting but the sound of her rage is overpowered by the disgusted screams from the rest of the school, finally starting to see Amelia for the person that she really is.

George laughs from beside me, shoving piece after piece of popcorn into his mouth.

"So, you tell me Oakmore, is that girl right there really the girl you want to vote in as our class president?" Blake asks.

More roars erupt from the room.

"More importantly, does the girl who has made so many of our lives a misery, including mine, deserve to remain as a student in our head." Sophie plants the seed into the minds of everyone in the room, if the school doesn't kick her out, the students certainly will.
"Do you want to know the most outrageous part of this story?" Blake rhetorically asks.

"This is something that the school has been made aware of countless times but unfortunately our own Principal has been receiving money off of the Sweller family in order to keep this bullying and harassment a secret, something that Amelia has very openly admitted to many students around the school." Blake shakes his head, overcome with outrage.

The directors look over at Principal Clark who's mouth hangs over, speechless. He doesn't dare to stop Sophie and Blake as that only backs up the evidence, making a bigger case against him.

Through the speakers, Amelia's voice can be heard after Sophie asks about her family funding the principal. Without hesitating Amelia laughs and openly admits the truth to Sophie, clueless that she's just incriminated the principal and herself.

"I think you've heard everything you need to know and now it's up to you to vote this afternoon." Blake smiles, drawing the dramatic five minutes to an end.

"We'll be hanging around here for a while if anyone has questions or wants more evidence. In the coming weeks I'm going to be setting up a group for anyone who has fallen victim to Amelia. I want to support you all." Sophie smiles as everyone watches her in admiration.

The lady from the school board stands up, throwing her files onto the seat behind her. She marches up the stage, with each click of her heel, the tension continues to grow.

"I think that I have heard enough to draw my own conclusions." She starts.

"It is clear to me that this school has been keeping some secrets from the school board and has been failing to protect it's students. I expect nothing less than my students to feel happy, safe and protected which is something that has not been achieved here at Oakmore." Her eyes flick from one student to the next as if she's addressing us all individually.

"To any student that has been affected by the actions of Amelia Sweller, I can only give my sincerest apologies from the school board and reassure you that we were completely unaware of any payments being made to Principal Clark, which may I add is appalling." Her harsh words continue to flow.

"I will see to it myself that not only is Principal Clark removed but the main culprit behind all of this is too. Therefore, Amelia Sweller, you are removed as a student at Oakmore High School with immediate effect-"

Once again, the room breaks out into disarray.

"And this time, permanently.' She finishes, leaving the room to descend deeper into chaos like a pack of wild animals.

"Due to this, the voting this afternoon will be suspended. I suppose that leaves me with nothing more to say than, your new class president is Lucy Harris."

The shouting of students changes from outrage to joy. The kind of joy that can't be untrue. The kind of joy that hasn't been heard in this school since the year began.

Whether it be out of fear or simple delusion that caused many people to worship the ground that Amelia stood on, their eyes have been opened and in the matter of five minutes, everything they thought they knew about Amelia has changed. She's gone from being the most popular girl in the school to the most hated.

This will cause many students to speak out about their treatment from Amelia, soething which will bond this school together in a way that was never possible whilst she was here.

This school will have some form of unity again and it'll all be because of Amelia, but not in the way that she wanted it to be. Perhaps we should thank her, for being able to rebuild herself to allow herself to be broken again.

Like always, Amelia's name rolls off of everyone tongues, her name appears all over the school feed like a rash and she's the daily hot topic. However, this time it's all for a different reason because today is the day that the truth about Amelia Sweller has come out and it's had the ability to completely and utterly destroy her.