The Rise

Veronica and Jessica stared at each other for a few seconds.

"Sorry, I was just looking for someone." said Veronica as she walked away towards the door

Veronica stops then turns around again

"We've never really spoke much, but I hope you don't mind me asking, what do you hope to gain by running? You never struck me as the politician type." said Veronica

"I'll answer if you tell me what your ambition in life is. What do you hope to become in the future Ms. Tundra?" said Jessica running her fingers through her hair

Veronica understood what the question meant - Tundra girls don't often have careers.

"Sure, in the future, I hope to be happy without having to sweat too much" said Veronica smiling.

Jessica chuckles in self-pity - Jessica will have to work the rest of her life to get half of what Veronica has without having worked a single day.

"Elections are great for making connections, speeches, debates and the like. It will help me become a better lawyer with bigger clients. That's what I hope to gain by running" replied Jessica

"And what about future ambitions? It's only fair you tell me too."

"To create the largest law firm in the nation" said Jessica almost naively

"You do realise that the Sego's have controlled the private attorney sector for decades. Even my father exclusively uses them" said Veronica

The Sego's were a family that had several law firms in the nation with the most elite clients.

Jessica smiles, still confident in her far-fetched dream

"Many things last for decades, Ms. Tundra, but nothing lasts forever." said Jessica placing emphasis on the Tundra in Ms. Tundra.

______

Leon rendezvoused with Justin and Taylor near the end of lunch at George's comedy event. They stayed at the back attracting as little attention as possible. There was a large concert-like crowd of students that were carrying hot dogs, drinks, popcorn and several other snacks handed out by George's campaign team.

"Last year they ended the show by making fun of every candidate, including George" said Taylor

"Didn't you say George apologised to you about his back-biting though" said Justin

"I guess he thinks it's fair play as long as they're making fun of him as well" replied Leon

The crowd erupted into laughter at one of the jokes that was missed by the trio.

The final act came up on stage, his mere appearance caused chants in the crowd of his name - Vivian. He was the ever-popular jester of the school with a large smile to match.

He threw jabs at George's receding hairline and made fun of Jessica being uptight and called Sinclair a kindergartner because of his baby-like face. All jokes were received well by the crowd. Vivian was about to begin his jab at Leon.

"Liam Lapuzi... wait sorry... Leo? Leon? Right, haha! Leon Lapuzi our fourth and final candidate" said Vivian "Leon, if you're in the crowd sorry I forgot your name, can you blame me, everyone knows Lapuzi but who the heck is Leon?" continued Vivan as the crowd laughed

"All jokes aside, Leon really had me excited for a second this morning, everyone's talking about ATMs and valets, the board even had the idea of having more charging ports for our phones. That's great and all, but who are we kidding, if we could've had those things we would've had them by now! If all it takes to win is to make crazy promises then I would've ran and pledged to give each and every one of you a pet dragon!" the crowd laughed again. Justin and Taylor didn't find it funny.

The trio left the crowd before the show came to a close. Vivian ended his remarks by reminding the crowd to vote for George.

"I guess we underestimated the comedy event." said Leon as they made their way towards class

"How so?" asked Taylor

"It wasn't just a way for him to boost his popularity, but a way for him to control the narrative of the election. By seemingly being unbiased, since the jabs are also directed at him, he is able to sway the public's opinion through these 'gags'. The best way to kill the legitimacy of someone is to turn him and his ideas into a joke" said Leon.

"But you expected this, that he would do everything in his power to keep this a popularity contest" said Justin

"I didn't anticipate it at this kind of scale. He's essentially neutralised this morning's effect on the election. Tomorrow's speeches are even more crucial now." said Leon

In the corridor they notice students from the newspaper club stapling papers on the bulletin boards around school. Leon looks at Justin prompting Justin to take out his phone.

"Ah crap, she messaged me a while back" said Justin scratching his head "I didn't think she could count those polls so fast" he continued

Leon walks up towards one the papers that has been put up. The title of the paper read

"MONDAY POLLS RESULTS"

Leon's face remains expressionless even after seeing the results but Taylor and Justin both looked at the results with a sour look.

"1,244 TOTAL VOTES

537 - GEORGE TOMHAWK

223 - SINCLAIR VINZENT

201 - JESSICA TWINT

95 - LEON L.A.PUZI

188 - ABSTAINED"