When I arrived at Fair Oaks Prep, I was hoping for a fresh start. Instead, I ran into Kingston Blake, my childhood friend turned enemy. He threatened to make my life hell, and I had no idea why.
Things quickly escalated when Kingston and his cronies vandalized my beloved truck, Ladybug. It was humiliating, but it lit a fire in me. That's when I decided to fight back by running for student council Vice President with my new friend Maddy.
I'm determined to succeed at Fair Oaks Prep, not just for myself, but for Aunt June who sacrificed so much to send me here. My past - being abandoned by my mother as a child - haunts me, but I won't let it define me.
Kingston seems hell-bent on ruining my chances. He's torn down my campaign posters and threatened to reveal my past to the whole school.
I'm scared, but I won't back down.
When I confronted Kingston about his behavior, he was as infuriating as ever, but there was something in his eyes... pain? Confusion?
Whatever it is, I can't let it distract me. I have to focus on the campaign and proving I belong at Fair Oaks.
I don't understand why Kingston hates me so much, but I'm not going to let him win. This election is my chance to show everyone, including myself, that I'm more than my past. I just hope I'm strong enough to see it through.
***
Today was film day. The day Fair Oaks Prep would know my name.
I was mortified yet felt a rush of eagerness thinking how this reveal might affect my classmates. I had little faith it would make Sophia or Kingston change their behavior around me. But the rest of the senior class didn't know me. They just knew the rumors that Kingston or Sophia spread.
Maddy had arranged for her and Allen to have a campaign video shot, which was unbelievable to me. My old school didn't have a quarter of Fair Oaks' video equipment for students to use.
She and I spent the night going over a new video idea, which would focus on what I believe Kingston could use against us.
My past.
She told me Fair Oaks didn't need to know my darkest moment. I didn't need to let the school know about the video. But I knew it needed to be done.
I reached over to my nightstand and put on my eyeglasses.
My eyes drifted to the faded blue paint that started to chip away against the window sill. It flapped in the wind bringing in the wet earthy smell of the forest behind Grandpa Bo's trailer.
I heard my Aunt's footsteps walk past my door towards the kitchen. She was an early riser even though she hadn't found a job since we moved back to Fair Oaks.
I reached for my phone and began to check my social media accounts. I was scanning the newsfeed and reading the comments on the picture I uploaded last night. It was a picture of me in a nightgown with all the semester's books scattered around me.
It had almost a couple hundred likes and a bunch of comments, mostly from random people. I knew it wasn't healthy, but I needed a dose of dopamine before starting my day.
I worked hard to get my almost ten thousand subscribers and made sure to post daily for their sakes.
I scrolled my news feed again, paying more attention to the school's Instagram account until I came across a picture of the new football coach standing in front of the team.
I had made sure to follow all of Fair Oaks Prep's accounts before I transferred. I hoped to make the last year of high school the best it could be. I didn't expect to be bullied by the star quarterback for something I couldn't remember.
I zoomed in on Kingston's picture. He never smiled, and I wondered if he knew how. His straight, square jaw appeared smooth under the sun, almost statuesque.
I suddenly realized what I was doing. I hated that he was so good-looking. I parted my dry lips, licking them as I stared into his frosty eyes.
What was going on in that head of his? Why was someone so damn sexy, so dead set on making my senior year of high school hell?
"Sasha, are you awake?"
Auntie June's voice broke the silence of the small room.
"Yup," I replied through the door.
"Food is on the table, love,"
"I'll be right out!" I yelled before she could continue. It was a little past six in the morning, and I had to meet with the Audio Visual guys to go over the equipment for the video.
I stood up from the twin bed and reached for my school's mandatory uniform. A white button-down shirt and navy skirt paired with a heavy jacket with the school crest on the right pocket. I didn't have a closet or much room other than the bed and a small nightstand. The rest of my clothes were folded in bins under the bed.
As I slipped into the uniform, the stiff fabric scraped against my skin, a constant reminder of the privilege and expectations that came with attending Fair Oaks Prep. The weight of the school crest on my jacket pocket felt like an anchor, tethering me to a world I was still struggling to navigate. The crisp collar of the shirt chafed slightly against my neck, a physical manifestation of the discomfort I felt in this new social hierarchy.
I didn't know how long we would be staying with Grandpa Bo. It was clear he didn't need us living with him. Since he had the urine bag removed and was going to physical therapy by himself twice a week.
I slid out of my nightgown and into the stiff uniform, feeling confident in my decision to run against Kingston.
I could smell the coffee brewing from the kitchen, which increased my excitement for the day.
"Good morning, Auntie June. It's a lovely morning, isn't it."
I grabbed my mug and filled it with ice.
"It's always a sunny morning when I don't have to work," she responded with a soft smile. Her long silver hair was pulled back into a low bun. She wore gray fitted pants with a white blouse tucked in.
"What's going on today?" I asked.
I looked at her empty bowl of what looked like oatmeal and the half-eaten banana on the placemat.
"I have my physical this morning, and I'm going to meet an old friend for lunch."
I didn't know she had any friends left in town since we left ten years ago.
"Friend, you say?" I asked her with raised brows.
I poured the chilled coffee over the ice.
"Nothing like that, not that it would be any of your business anyway."
I let out a sigh. It irritated me that my Aunt was still a mystery after all these years together. This year will be ten years since she came to my rescue in a group home after my mother abandoned me. My Aunt didn't want a daughter. She barely wanted a niece. But she pushed those feelings aside and tried to give me a better home than where I was headed.
"I decided to run for class vice president for next term."
I don't know why I blurted it out. But she had to know. I wasn't the type of kid to be involved with school activities, so I knew this would seem odd.
A crash caused me to jump, and my eyes snapped over to where my Aunt stood over a pile of oatmeal on the kitchen floor.
"I want you to be careful, Sasha. These kids aren't like the ones back home."
"I'm running with Maddy, and I really think we have a shot."
The only reason I was doing it was Kingston. I couldn't let my Aunt's hard-earned money go to waste. I had my senior year coming up, and I didn't need Kingston ruining it for me.
"Plus, you said this was our new home, right?"
I watched as she grabbed the kitchen towel from her shoulders and knelt to the floor. She grabbed onto the stove for support before winching in pain. She barely cried out, but the pain was written over her face. From her scrunched-up brows to the death grip she had onto the stove handle.
I instantly ran over to her. "I'll get it."
Her hands went to her lower back. Her old bike accident pain was resurfacing again.
She patted my shoulders as she stood, "Well, if you can stick to it, then I wish you nothing but success."
If I can stick with it. What does she mean anyway?
She walked back to where she slept in a small corner of the living room. Grabbing hold of the patched-up recliner, then the floor lamp along the way. I felt like calling out to her in case she needed some help. But I knew my Aunt. She'd quickly flip the conversation onto something I had to get done.
After cleaning up the floor, I washed the pot and the few dishes in the sink. I went over to the stove and grabbed one of the blueberry muffins before heading back to my room to check my phone.
I was going to meet Maddy at a quarter to seven. We had to submit a new application to run in the election and shoot the video before our first English class started at eight.
The drive to school was eerie as a low mist from the river flowed onto the streets and through the neighboring trailers. The clouds hid the sun, and the spring morning looked and felt more like it was still winter. New England weather was funny like that.
As I approached Fair Oaks Prep, the imposing Gothic architecture loomed through the mist, its spires and arches like something out of a Victorian novel. The manicured lawns, still wet with dew, stretched out in perfectly straight lines, broken only by the occasional topiary sculpted into the shape of the school's crest. The contrast between the pristine grounds and the trailer park I'd just left behind was stark, a physical reminder of the two worlds I was straddling.
I parked my truck next to Maddy's Volvo. She hopped out as I turned off my engine.
I gripped the steering wheel hard before letting go, a shallow breath escaping my lips.
It was finally hitting me what we were about to do.
What I was about to say.
A wave of doubt washed over me. Was I really ready to bare my soul to the entire school? The thought of everyone knowing my darkest secret made my stomach churn. What if they laughed? What if it backfired and made things worse?
For a moment, I considered backing out, telling Maddy I'd changed my mind. But then I thought of Kingston's smug face, of all the whispers and stares I'd endured since arriving at Fair Oaks.
No, I had to do this. It was the only way to take control of my narrative.
"Wow, girl, you look stunning," Maddy practically screamed as she ran up to me.
I decided on wearing contacts instead of my glasses and applied some makeup for the video as she requested.
The school was too vain.
"Thanks, you look powerful," I complimented her. She turned around, and I got a better look at the blue heels she was rocking under her navy skirt.
She wore the school's stiff jacket and skirt way better than I had.
"Is yours tailored? No way that came from the administration office."
Maddy laughed, "Yeah."
"This looks like something Madam Vice President Kamala Harris would wear."
She reached over and pulled on my arm. Interlocking us together.
"I wished we'd thought about this sooner. We would have gone to the shop downtown. I think it's around the corner from your job, actually."
I smiled as we continued down the semi-light pathway to the building. Maddy was talking away about her plans for the debate when a large object fell behind us.
We both screamed before Spencer spoke. He was the best with all the video equipment.
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you guys," he said from behind two large boxes that hid his face.
"What the fuck, Spence," Maddy snapped. She knelt down and picked up a large briefcase-looking box that had fallen.
"Sorry, ladies, I hadn't seen ya,"
Spence wore a black shirt with the Batman logo in its center. The white button-down shirt and school jacket were open. His hair was long and shaggy and blocked parts of his face.
"I've never been on this side of school this early. It's giving off straight killer vibes," I said, hoping to lighten the mood.
Spencer chuckled, "this place is safe, see the camera's on the post,"
He nodded to the left, where little black cameras came into view on the side of the building.
"This section is pretty secluded. The cameras went up after the girl died."
"Wait, what did you say?" I stopped and faced him.
Now that was interesting. A murder at Fair Oaks. I need to know more about this.
Maddy stopped and turned to face us. She looked upset.
I needed to know, though. When and how did this happen. It never came up in my searches about the school.
"You haven't heard about the girl who supposedly committed suicide almost twenty years ago?" Spencer asked, seemingly shocked.
Maddy rolled her eyes, "Let's stay focused, guys. We only have an hour to shoot a video and take promo pictures before classes start,"
She started back walking, leaving us behind. The echoes of her heels filling the hallway we had entered.
I looked over to Spencer, trying to catch up with Maddy's pace.
"Who died?" I asked low as we followed.
"An exchange student jumped off the Kennedy building. I think they said it was a sleepover gone wild. That was when the school hosted end of semester events."
"Woah!"
I wasn't surprised to hear that Fair Oaks Prep had some sort of dark history. Most old elite schools had some form of darkness attached to them.
Maddy stopped by a door with the sign reading STUDIO on it.
"Wait a minute," Maddy turned to face me with her hands still on the doorknob. Her eyes kept darting around in circles, and I could tell something was up.
"What's up?"
She exhaled a large breath and opened the door for Spencer to walk through. She handed him the boxes that had fallen. Then once he was out of earshot, she wrapped her warm hands in mine.
"Are you sure you want everyone to know about what happened?"
I had to get it out there. I had to do everything to get the votes.
My heart raced as I considered my response. The weight of my decision pressed down on me, making it hard to breathe. For a moment, I saw flashes of my past – the confused faces of the Denny's staff, the kind police officer, the cold group home. I swallowed hard, pushing down the lump in my throat.
"I have to do it. We have to win. And this will make me connect with the students more."
Her eyes scanned my face, "That's a very adult thing for you to say, Sasha. I am impressed."
I chuckled. "It's all Mrs. Wilson's fault,"
We both had grown to adore our counselor. She was always available to us and had practical advice compared to what the Headmaster Smith gave during his morning address.
"Well, I am still impressed that you are willing to share something so personal,"
I rolled my eyes. "It's on YouTube, Maddy. The whole town probably knows my past."
She grabbed both my shoulders and turned so that I could face her. Light blue eyes stared into mine.
"Sasha, I don't want you to do this if it feels off."
I leaned my head to the side and called out over her shoulders, "Spencer, can I go first?"
I could see him attaching parts to the camera, facing a green screen. It was almost time.
"Ready whenever you guys are," he clicked on a lightbox that stood at least ten feet above us.
I grabbed Maddy's other hand and looked into her eyes. "Maddy. I want this. Don't worry."
She knew how I came to live with my Aunt June. I showed her the news clip of the child abandoned in a Denny's restaurant right down the street from the school.
The old restaurant has turned into an electronics shop since I'd been gone.
The newer news clip had my face blurred out, but I kept the one I was planning on showing the school. They had zoomed in when I was crying with a police officer trying to comfort me with a hug.
I had no idea what Kingston was planning, but nothing could beat the pity card. These rich kids had no idea what it meant to have nothing. I was going to show them. And in turn, I was going to get what I wanted.
Their vote.
As I stepped towards the camera, my heart pounded in my chest.
This was it. The moment that could change everything.
I took a deep breath, feeling the weight of my past and the hope for my future converge in this single moment. Whatever happened next, there was no going back.
I was about to lay my soul bare to Fair Oaks Prep, and I could only hope they were ready to listen.