So what if I have to move home.Arlene would kick me out after a week of living there anyway. The worst my father could do was stop paying my tuition and expenses. While I wasn’t ready for that, I couldn’t have him suffocating me or telling me who I could or couldn’t see.
“Are you ready to address my class?” Mr. Bridges asked.
A minute later, I was walking into a room of about twenty-five students, most of whom were hurrying to put their phones away.
I smiled, remembering my days at boarding school when the teachers would confiscate our phones if we got caught with them out during class. I’d had mine taken away a few times. The days of writing notes in class had resurfaced since we couldn’t use our phones to text anyone.
Mr. Bridges settled in front of his desk, tucking his hands into his khaki pants pockets. “Straighten up. Ms. Hale is here on behalf of her father, Senator Hale, who couldn’t be here today. She’ll talk to you this morning about what she does for her father during a campaign.”
I stood a few feet away from Mr. Bridges, scanning the room. Two girls in the first and second rows sized me up. It was typical of girls to vet out a new female.
I smoothed a hand down my knee-length skirt. I was dressed in a professional manner and had been taught to dress appropriately for the occasion.
Mr. Bridges waved me over. “You have the floor.” Then he went over to the bank of windows that overlooked the grassy area behind the school. Well beyond that, stadium lights stood tall from the football field.
I had no idea what I was going to say. I hadn’t thought too much about the topic, and the only thing my father had mentioned was that I should keep my opinions to myself. He’d also told me to talk about how important it was to vote. I couldn’t argue with him on that since I agreed with him.
I cleared my throat as I leaned against Mr. Bridges’s desk. “Actually, I’m not going to tell you about my role in my father’s campaign because I don’t help out. For me, school is important.”
“So you’re not studying politics?” a girl directly in front of me with bright amber eyes asked.
I regarded Mr. Bridges. “I want to be a high school teacher.”
“I do too,” the girl replied.
I scanned the class, finding droopy eyes and bored faces. I couldn’t say I blamed them for being uninterested. I remember how bored I’d been in my high school government class but not because the topic had put me to sleep. I’d already known too much about politics, thanks to dear old dad.
I tried a different tactic. “Instead of me talking, what questions do you have for me that are related to politics? I might not help my dad, but I do know the subject.”
“My parents aren’t voting for Senator Hale,” a boy said from the back of the room.
“Mr. Cleary, ears not mouth,” Mr. Bridges said. “Or ask an appropriate question.”
A brunette raised her hand. “What’s it like growing up with your father in politics?”
Brutal when your father hides you away or doesn’t want you to make a spectacle out of him.“I hardly lived at home. I went to a boarding school. But when I was home, my father entertained a lot. So I got to meet lots of politicians around the country.” Not that I’d been excited about that. But the girl seemed interested.
Another hand went up from a boy with wavy brown hair that was in need of combing, or maybe unruly was the new fashion trend. “I saw you at the church last Sunday, talking to Leigh’s brother, Ryker. Can you get tickets to the football games?”
“Mr. Cleary.” Mr. Bridges’s tone was deep.
“I’m not going to be president of the country, and I don’t care about politics,” Mr. Cleary said. “Leigh got us tickets.” He lowered his gaze to his desk as though he were remembering her in a loving way.
Mr. Bridges opened his mouth to speak.
“Mr. Cleary,” I said.
“My name is Zack.”
“Okay, Zack. You may not be president of this country one day, but you should understand who is running for office and vote for those that you believe in.” I might not want to go into politics or listen to my father, but I felt it was important to vote.
“So do you vote for your father?” he asked.
I hadn’t had the chance to vote in a major election since turning eighteen, and my father had been elected six years ago when I wasn’t of age to vote.
“Actually, I will, and not because he’s my father, but because I agree with him that we should protect our environment. Look, we live in a state that is home to lots of different industries like the oil industry. Therefore, it’s important to keep them running for the economy, but it’s equally important to ensure that we have strict laws on emissions, water discharge, and other such things so that we do live in a safe and clean environment.”
Mr. Bridges smiled proudly at me. I had no idea what he and my father had discussed. Frankly, I didn’t think my father even knew I agreed with some of his policies. Maybe if he gave me the time of day, we could chat about things rather than arguing.
