Chapter26. Oui

November fell upon us like an autumn leaf. It was unusually chilly compared to the other years that passed, but I doubt it had something to do with the weather. We were all nervously anticipating something. The school elections.

"Oui," Ester murmured. "Say it with me, Spence. Oui."

The three of us were in the library like we've promised Genesis. She wanted to save us from the mayhem of having her final campaign for this afternoon's votes. I didn't see why. Having us there could have provided her with moral support.

"Oui," Ester repeated.

Spencer tossed the book he was reading to the table and glared at his twin. "I know what oui is. Don't repeat it every few seconds."

"Oui."

He covered his ears. "Stop it, sis."

They continued speaking in hushed tones while I tried to focus on the paper in front of me. It wasn't an ordinary paper too. Years back, dad went to visit a friend in the city. When he came home, he brought a stack of stationery as both a sorry and a thank you gift for leaving me to sleep in the twin's house. That was exactly the paper stuck on my notebook now. It might have lost its scent, but that didn't mean its function was gone. Kind of like me and Genesis. She might not love me anymore, but my feelings were still there. It was complicated.

"And you," Spencer said. It sounded like their sibling love had ended, so they were looking for other people to torment. Well not this girl.

I yanked the notebook out of his reach before he could swipe it clean from my hand, then stood. The librarian, of course, didn't appreciate the scraping of the chair. Somewhere in the room, I heard the clearing of a throat.

"See what you've done." I pinched my eyes at Spencer. "I'm blacklisted."

"You're not blacklisted. She does that to everyone and forgets about it." He nudged his chin to my notebook. "What's that you're writing?"

"None of your beeswax. I'm going to that table to focus on my schoolwork, oui?" I smiled when he scowled, then gave Ester a nod before going to the next table in the corner where I could have my peace of mind. Now where was I?

Dear Genesis, Gene, never mind, you know who you are,

As you can see, even though I've written you so much letters and emails in the past, I'm still hopeless at making it. But let me try. This, after all, might be the most special letter I would ever give you. Where do I start?

I could choose a thousand different scenarios, a million different events in our life; meeting you in the ruins, us playing with Boy and Girl, exchanging messages through the window. But even though all of those are important to me, and even though all of those lead to what we are now, none is as important as the day you told me you loved me. And I have to thank you for that, for having the courage to say it to me even though your voice was shaking, and you were so scared.

Because of you didn't. . . Because if you didn't. . .

Genesis, I wouldn't have realized how much I loved you too.

Maybe it's too late. Maybe you've moved on. This is not to complicate things more than it is. It's not me begging you to love me back. It's just a girl saying she fell in love with a girl in the middle of doing all those important things. I hope nothing changes between us.

"What are you doing?"

I crumpled the letter and glanced up. Genesis was leaning on the table, a curious smile on her face.

I waved my hands frantically when she was about to put her things there too. "We're not staying," I stammered. "And it's nothing."

"Nothing?" Her brows moved together as she took in the sweat on my upper lip, the state of disarray of my hair, and I probably looked homeless in her eyes right then, but what could I do? "Are you okay, Des?"

I stood and took my notebook. The crumpled letter between it was the best I could come up with. Maybe I could still salvage the damn thing by folding it later. Or maybe I shouldn't give it at all. I mean, what was I thinking in the first place writing it?

Genesis snapped her fingers under my nose as we made our way back to the twins' table. "Are you listening to me?"

"No. I mean, yeah, yeah. You were saying something about the campaign, right?"

"I was saying your lips are kissable."

I stopped and stared at her. "W-what?"

She grinned and tugged my hand. "See, you weren't listening. Yes, I was talking about the campaign. Let's get out of here before the librarian throws us out. It will be bad for my rep."

"As if you care about that," I said.

By lunch period, the whole school was obviously feeling the anticipation in the air, not only our group. Most tables were silent, save for some whispers here and there, whispers about the possible outcome of the election.

It was a tough competition this year. Genesis' rival was not a small fry. The woman just happened to be the head of the cheerleading club, was popular on her own, not to mention a dirty player. In and out of the bedroom, from what I heard, but my lips were sealed.

After lunch period, we were given more time to consider our votes before the actual filling of ballots. And when the procession begun. Everything was quiet.

Spencer and I met outside the voting room right after. Genesis would be busy with her campaign group until the announcement later, while Ester- well it was always best to get out of Ester's way, so it was just me and her brother.

He steered me to the hallway where most people were headed anyway. We weren't allowed to leave the school until the new President and the succeeding officers had given a speech in the gym. Sucks.

"Who did you vote for?" Spencer asked.

"Are you seriously asking me that question?"

"Just curious."

"Well who did you vote for?"

"The other girl."

I pinched his side. "Don't you try."

He laughed. "How do they say it again? My competition's competition is not my competition."

"You've made the quote so much harder."

"That's my middle name. Spencer Harder Gonzales. Cute?"

"Oui."

He laughed some more while I unzipped my bag. I didn't know what I was looking for. Sometimes, I just got the urge to shuffle through my things. Weird habit while waiting, I guess, and there was still half an hour before we were summoned to the gym.

"So what were you writing again?" I heard Spencer say. "Do we have an essay that I don't know about?"

"It's nothing," I dismissed.

Where was the letter anyway? I've taken the time to fold it earlier. It should be here somewhere.

"Where is it?" I murmured.

Spencer and I had slowed down on the hallway. People were passing us like water on a rock.

"Where's what?" he asked.

The question made me search harder. My fingers were beginning to numb.

"You okay, Des?"

"It should be here."

"What is?"

"Nothing."

"Stop saying that. It's clearly not nothing."

I froze when he touched my shoulder. Cold sweat broke on my back. The letter was missing.

It wasn't easy to retrace my steps. The school was too big. Aside from that, it felt like I'd gone to every corner since lunch. The letter could be anywhere.

"What do I do?! My life is over." I grabbed my hair and paced the corridor. Panic was overwhelming me. It was creeping, tripping, making me think of all the things that could go wrong.

Spencer paced with me, hands tucked in his jeans pockets. "Did you lose something?"

"Yeah, my mind." He stopped when I stopped. I pulled his collar. "We have to retrace the steps. Can you help me?"

"Sure. But tell me what you've lost first."

How do I tell a boy who liked me that I loved a girl and have written a confession for her without sounding like a total ass? I lied.

"It's a letter to your sister."

"My sister?"

"It's just a letter, okay? If you won't help me find it, then that's alright." I gestured to the students lounging around. "You can go with your buddies to the gym. Run along with Brad."

"Brad is not my friend anymore."

"He isn't?" My hands loosened on his shirt before I totally pulled back. Spencer scratched his head. "But the football team," I trailed.

The muscles on his jaw clenched. "Brad might have given a good word for me to the coach, but it's my skills that put me on the team. No one is taking me out without a good reason."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." He looked away. "I told you I'll spend the rest of my life regretting what I did. It's going to start by cutting off bad people from my life. That's the only way I can get back to your good side." He exhaled before glancing at me again. "I'll do everything, Des, even if it means finding the letter you're going to give Genesis."

Sometimes I wondered if I was that oblivious to other people's feelings, or I was just too easy to read when it came to Gene. Looking at Spencer, I came to the conclusion that it was both.

Why were humans like that? Why was I? Why did I fail to notice things until it was too late?

"I'm sorry," I said while we made our way down the stairs. The students filing around have thinned. Most of them had made their way to the gym.

"It's okay," Spencer answered. "Like I've said, not all of us are the favorite people of our favorite people."

"How do you deal with it though? I really want to know."

"The same way you deal with it."

"By brushing it off?" I said.

"By still trying." He smirked at me before sitting on the stair railing. He started sliding down.

I had to mimic his actions to catch up on the second floor. It wasn't the time to be playing, but then I was never on time for things that counted the most. If I was, then Gene and I would be together. I would have told Spencer no before he became what he became. It would have saved us all this trouble. And heartache.

Spencer caught me before I hit the ground, and let go once I was secure on my feet. His eyes were twinkling as he twisted to the empty hallway. "You know, I've always imagined us getting married in the ruins," he said.

"Huh?"

"It's your favorite place, right?"

"Yeah, but. . ."

"But I'm not her. I know. I know. You've told me a dozen times."

We started walking quietly, me just hanging back so I didn't have to see his face.

"I was going to say that it's impossible to get married in the ruins together when you're afraid to go there in the first place," I mumbled.

His shoulders shook as he chuckled. "Another area where Genesis has an advantage over me. I'm so on the losing side."

A voice, loud and distinct, made the two of us stop. Spencer was frowning when he looked at me over his shoulder, then pointed to a room not far from him. I nodded and followed.

Inside, Kyle, the nasty little punk who bullied me in the welcoming committee, was putting something in his backpack while singing. He closed the zipper, but not until I've noticed the blue metallic sheen. Spencer saw it too.

"He's coming. He's coming." Spencer puffed his chest. Kyle was about to exit the room, and Spence was readying himself for a confrontation. "Yo, bro. What do you have in your bag?"

Kyle's mouth opened upon seeing us there. It looked like he wasn't expecting anyone to ambush him. "None of your business, Gonzales." He shoved Spencer with his elbow to get out. Spencer shoved him back.

"The hell are you doing, bro?!" Spencer said. "Why's the ballot box in your bag?"

"What ballot?"

"We both know what I'm talking about."

Kyle's beady eyes narrowed at Spence, then to me. He grinned. "This is payback for what you and your friend did to me bitch. Your secret will come out." He pushed Spencer out of the way and ran.

"Shit!"

I stood there for seconds, just watching Spencer dash after Kyle. And then I was running too.

"Stop him!" I yelled. "My letter's in the ballot!"

Spencer looked shocked as he turned the corner. His legs started to pump harder.

Meanwhile, mine was shaking as I turned the corner too. That letter was private. I wasn't even sure when I was going to give it to Gene, or if I was going to give it at all. All I knew was that after Rox had left, I felt the decision to come clean. Why did it have to be this way though?

"He's running down the science department!" Spencer shouted. "There's another door on the other side. I'll cut him through there."

"What about me?!"

"Stay on course!"

My lungs screamed as I raced to Kyle. Being good at sports made him so much faster, but there were only so much to go to inside the school, especially when two people were after you. Sure enough, he made a wild dash to the science department.

"Spence!"

"I'm here!" He appeared inside the room where Kyle had just entered, and tackled the guy to the counter. Beakers crashed down on them, but I was more concerned about the backpack than two guys who could obviously handle themselves.

I grabbed the bag and opened the zipper. The ballot box was unlocked.

"You're going to pay for this, Gonzales!"

"Shut up and fight me, asshole!"

Grunts and thuds filled my ears as I took the box and opened it. Overhead, the school intercom sounded. "The counts have been made and tallied. Thank you for waiting, Bear Creek High. Let's welcome our new student President for her speech."

They must have assumed that the ballot was lost and didn't even care to search for it. That only meant that the election was a landslide. The counts on this ballot wouldn't change the result, though my life would be ruined if I didn't find the letter soon. I fumbled through the folded papers in the box.

"Good afternoon, Bear Creek High," Genesis' voice rang above. "I didn't expect to win, but as my father said, be prepared for everything. I've written a speech especially for today."

Spencer and Kyle were still fighting. I was still elbow deep on searching for my letter. Above, I heard the shuffling of papers through the speaker. Genesis' must be readying her speech.

She cleared her throat. "Dear Gen- Huh? What. . ."

Spencer's eyes met mine across the room, but I could only say one thing. "Oui."

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