Campaign

The campaign officially began today, and Rosie wore a REP polo shirt and a smile as she arrived at school. She's confident she'd win the election without going to any of the campaigns, but she has to do this for formalities. The rival company's tarpaulin, though, was right next to theirs as she passed through the hallways.

She turned to see who they were up against, but when she recognized a face, she furrowed her brows. She smirked slowly and then chuckled.

"Seriously? She's really competing against me?" she mumbled as she stared at Maxene's face on the tarp. Rosie can't believe Maxene really signed up for this. She did, however, find it amusing that Maxene hardly possesses the qualifications to go up against her. Anyone can tell that Maxene is not fit to be Vice President of the Student Council.

Rosie is therefore unwilling to even worry herself because she is certain that she will win the election in any case. But then, when she walked past some students, she noticed how they were holding Maxene's flyer. Although there were few of them, it made her feel a little bothered, but she regained her composure. "It's not as if that's enough to win against me," she thought to herself, not letting it get into her head.

When she saw Ridger's back, a smile automatically formed on her lips, but she immediately bit her lips to hold herself back. She cannot let herself look stupid.

"Hey guys," she uttered when she was near the Royal Eagle Party list. It seemed like they were all getting ready early.

Ridger turned to her and said, "It's a good thing you're already here, Rosie." He opened a folder and gave her a copy of their script. "Here is yours. You can revise or add something to it the way you want to," he told her.

Rosie took the copy and read it. She smiled and looked at him. "I think this is all good," she assured him with a smile. But then her expression changed when she remembered something. "Uhm, Ridger?" she said, taking his attention.

"Yes?" he replied without looking at her. He was still busy reading his script.

"Did you know that Maxene is running for vice president?" she inquired, which made him pause.

"Yeah, I do know," he briefly answered.

"But did you see her credentials? I mean, not to put her down, but she does not seem to have experience leading. Why would she run for the election, all the more vice president?" asked Rosie as she set her bag down on the table. "But on the other side, I thought maybe they let her in so they could continue with their candidacy. In short, she's their life-saver. What do you think?" she added.

"It's not our business, Rosie. There are more important things to do than talk about the other party," he uttered, rising up while looking at his wristwatch. "We must start the campaign now. I'll call the others," he said, taking his phone. Meanwhile, Rosie can't help but feel humiliated because of what he said, even though no one heard their conversation.

On the other hand, despite ignoring Rosie's remarks, Ridger had been thinking the same thing. He's confused as to why Maxene would run for the election despite the fact that Rosie would most likely win since she's well-known. However, if Maxene won the election, it would be in his favor because he'd be able to watch her more.

Knowing about Maxene's candidacy has kept him thinking about it lately. Although he needs to watch her, he would not let someone who has no experience be part of the student council. Ridger doesn't believe Maxene would win against Rosie, though.

"Is there something wrong?" Nathan suddenly appeared in front of him, which took his mind back to reality.

"Nothing," he briefly replied.

Nathan smirked. "Let me guess, is this about Max?" he uttered, resting his back at the corner of the table.

Ridger frowned at him and replied, "If you have no lead, don't bother me."

Nathan chuckled and responded, "Yeah, I don't have any. I still can't find out who's her backer. Do you really think she'd be connected to your family enemies?"

"It's just a guess, Nathan," he replied. "I could be wrong and just overthinking things," he added.

"But you have the right to overthink things after what happened to your mom and sister," Nathan answered.

"Thanks, man, for your help," Ridger told him. Meanwhile, Nathan just tapped his shoulder in response.

—

At the same time, Maxene saw Lianey walking with different girls around her with a smile on her face. She seemed to have been really trying her best to make friends, just like Maxene suggested. So far, her plan is working. Now, a lot of students know about her candidacy, but Maxene knows it's not enough.

"Hi Max!" Lianey greeted her when they saw her. "Look, we are distributing your flyers," she added, showing her the papers they were giving away that had Max's face on them.

"Wow, so this was the photo for," Maxene mumbled. The last time they were together, Lianey insisted on taking a photo of her.

"You look so pretty there, Max!" Anna exclaimed. "I was the one who edited and laid it out, you know," she said proudly. She has the same class as Maxene and Lianey, and they have talked once. Maxene never expected she'd support her this way.

The other girls agreed with what Anna said and expressed their support for her. These girls don't have that much influence, but their favor would still help her candidacy.

"By the way, we'll have to leave now, Lianey and Maxene. We still have a class," Anna stated and smiled at them.

"Okay, we'll see you around!" Lianey told them before they left.

Meanwhile, Maxene turned to Lianey and said, "Aren't they on Rosie's side before?"

Lianey chuckled and replied, "Not really. I found out that they didn't seem to like her nor hate her. They were just going with the flow. When they found out that you were running for the election, they were thrilled because they could see how good you were at leading in class and told me they wanted to support you!"

Maxene smiled because of what she heard. The election will happen next month, which means she still has more time left to plan her next move. But if all her plans fail, she will have to resort to her last hope, which is Crow. She will use him to hack the system and change the number of votes in favor of her. No matter what happens, she has to be part of the student council.

Maxene looked at Lianey and said, "Thank you so much, Lian, for helping me. I will forever be grateful for everything you've done for me."

"This is nothing. Don't worry, I'm sure you'd win against her," Lianey whispered to her ears and winked.

Then Maxene suddenly remembered something. "I'm going out with the WCP later in lunchtime. You should come with us," Maxene uttered.

"Really? Can I?" Lianey asked.

"Yeah, they actually invited you," Maxene replied. It's true that Lorraine really invited Lianey, but Maxene is not dumb enough to know that she only did that to gain popularity. Lorraine wanted to win against Ridger, so she would do anything to win the majority's favor, just like Maxene was doing. And it is obvious to Maxene that Lianey is too naive to notice that.

Lianey smiled happily and answered, "Okay, I'll go."

"It seems you've become more comfortable outside of your comfort zone," Maxene remarked.

Lianey nodded and said, "Yeah, thanks to you! I think I'd enjoy college now since I realized it's not really that bad to socialize. It's actually kind of helpful, especially in academics."

Maxene smiled, but then she suddenly saw Ridger walking meters away from them with his party. They were greeting a lot of students along the way. When Maxene and Ridger's eyes met, she gave him a soft smile, but he just stared for a second and looked away.

—

End of Chapter 17