“Yes, I’m good.”
“Okay, I’m going to call Jack.”
I nod. Ford pulls his phone out of his pocket and leans against his locker. I notice a poster on the opposite wall next to the drinking fountain. It’s black with sparkly purple writing that readsVote Bree Chandler for Homecoming Queen.With a picture of her below. I step across the hall to get a better look. “What the hell?” It’s a picture of her and Ford from prom last year. At the bottom of the poster, as an afterthought, it says,And vote Ford Cross Homecoming King.I fist my hands, then shove them in my pockets so I don’t rip the stupid thing off the wall and tear it to bits.
“Jack says there’s nothing on the website.” Ford has come up behind me. I step to the side and point to the poster. “What the hell? Are you—No, absolutely not.” And he yanks the poster off the wall.
“No, don’t. It’s a campaign poster. You can get in trouble for tampering with it. It’s in the student bylaws,” I say.
Ford points to his name. “This is my campaign poster.”
“Oh, huh—I guess it is. I’d still be careful.”
“I just want it to show Mrs. Bouchard.”
“At least we know why everyone’s in a frenzy this morning.” I huff.
The five-minute warning bell rings. “I think it’ll be better if I talk to Mrs. Bouchard alone, and I’m not sure she’ll give me a pass. You'll have a week of detention if you’re tardy for English again.”
“Yeah, okay.” Ford hands me my backpack and gives me a quick kiss, and then we walk in opposite directions down the hall.
44. Let’s Make a Bet
My French teacher makes a big deal about the posters. She takes me to the administrative offices and has an office aide get Bree out of class. When Bree walks into the meeting room, she has the nerve to smile and wave at me. “Hey, what’s up?” she asks, acting all innocent.
“Mr. Cross says you put his name on these posters without his consent.” Mrs. Bouchard taps her pointy, manicured fingernail against the poster.
“I texted him to ask if it was okay. He never responded, so I figured he didn’t care.” Bree shrugs like it’s no big deal.
The teacher turns to me. “Is this true?”
I refrain from rolling my eyes and try to be as polite as possible. “I wouldn’t know. I have her number blocked.”
“Uh, why?” Bree pouts. I don’t bother to answer her question. The list is long, and I don’t want to waste my breath.
Mrs. Bouchard taps her nails against the table for several seconds. “What would you like me to do, Mr. Cross?”
“I want every poster with my name and this picture taken off the walls.”
“All my posters have this picture on them. I spent over eight hours making all of those. That’s not fair. You just want Clark to win, and that’s prejudice.”
I take a deep breath to calm my nerves. “I could say the same thing. You’re biased against Hannah. That’s why you used this picture.”
“No, it’s not,” Bree yells, her hands going to her hips.
“Enough. Miss Chandler, you need to take down all the posters that include Mr. Cross’ name. You can keep the posters with the picture, but do not make any more using that photo.
“Or any other pictures you have of the two of us.” I add.
“Yes, fine.” Mrs. Bouchard gives me an irritated look for interrupting her. “If you do, I’ll make you take all the posters down and ban you from any more campaigning.”
Bree crosses her arms with a humph. “Fine.”
Mrs. Bouchard looks at me. “Do you have anything to add, Ford?”
“Just that I object to the posters with my picture on them, and I want them all taken down.” It makes me so mad. I don’t care if she’d spent a hundred hours on them. Those posters have my face on them, and I want them taken down. I don’t want to be associated with Bree.
“Your objection is noted. I’ll give you both passes, excusing you from first hour so you can take down the posters.”
