PART V - HELEN

I had already organized everything; I just needed an excuse to leave the room. I couldn't quite pin down the reason why Sofia had such an effect on me. Why did she let Jonathan ask all these questions? Was she that desperate for attention? I didn't know what to make of her as a whole.

Being the student body president came with some advantages, for example, no one questioned if you said you needed to leave class early. I played by the rules most of the time, but I knew that there wasn't anything interesting happening in this class. It was the first class, after all.

I went to the library, sat down, and checked my phone.

David Collins @Me // 8:35 AM I'm going to be late today. Love you, honey.

Me @David Collins // 8:44 AM See you tonight. Love you, too.

I was getting those messages nearly daily.

I'm gonna be late.

I won't make it to dinner.

I'm in a meeting. Don't wait up.

It never happened before Mom died. Before that, he was never late for dinner. He would never let her fall sleep alone. And then she died, and he started digging himself into work. Not that I was complaining. I could have friends over whenever I wanted.

I leaned back and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath. This day was going to be good. I worked out a perfect speech for the council. I had made my mind up on the play I wanted to enact this year. It might have started differently than I expected, but that didn't mean it was going to stay that way. It's going to be good. This day was going to be great.

The bell rang and, with a smile on my face, I made my way to biology.

"Hey, princess," Jonathan said and sat down next to me.

We had been lab partners for the past three years since he moved to the US.

"You okay?"

I nodded and gave him my best fake smile.

"I'm sorry if I threw you off earlier."

I shook my head. "No, it's okay, you wanted to impress the new girl, I get it." Then I added: "Look, I don't care what you and Jamie did in Europe."

"Okay. Oh, and the thing with the dying uterine lining was actually a pretty good comeback."

"Thank you."

I loved him the exact same amount I disliked him. He was terribly annoying and as Jamie's best friend, he always ended up crashing our date nights. On the other side, he was probably the most honest person I knew, and I admired him enormously for it. He never said anything he didn't mean, and yet was never cruel. Also, he was a hardworking student and the best lab partner.

I must've been staring at him because he grinned awkwardly and asked me if everything was alright. I nodded assuringly.

"Do we have a council meeting today?"

"Yes, sixth period. Be on time, please."

"I will, I promise!"

Jonathan took my place as class president when I became the student body president, and honestly? Knowing you had a friend by your side who is unexceptionally honest is the best thing when you're in a position of power. It sounded pretentious saying "position of power" when talking about the student government, but it was a great honor and made me feel so proud when I was standing in front of the council, the students, and the teachers. Plus, it looked great on college applications.

The student council meeting was uneventful, my speech went as I had expected, and I was feeling like my old self for the first time that day. In that mood, I entered Mrs. Hudson's office. We joked a bit about her dogs and exchanged some holiday anecdotes. This – this was the way I expected my day to be. Everything else was just a minor inconvenience. Nothing to worry about.