Chapter 166 – Student council’s plans
That evening during dinner, the family talked about the incoming school vacation. Benjamin, Olivia, and Chloe's plans were already set in stone. Grace would attend college since she didn't have a break, their mother would work, and their grandmother would enjoy her life as usual. The only one who had an unclear program was Nova and the discussion naturally turned toward her.
"It's nothing special, we need to make some preparations for the next student council event."
Intrigued, Benjamin asked her.
"What sort of event?"
She sighed as if she wasn't very satisfied with it.
"It's a popularity contest."
"Is there anything wrong with that?"
She looked at him and frowned.
"I wanted to do something different but the rest of the members voted for this and I lost to the majority. They picked that to make fun of me. They know how popular at school you are and how I hate it so they chose that on purpose. Stupid Maisie, she just couldn't stop giggling. She said something about preparing bets, like how many of the total votes you would get and whatnot. I'll strangle her again tomorrow."
He imagined a strangled Maisie, half laughing and half choking, making him smile. Their grandmother took the opportunity to declare.
"Oh? I didn't know you were that popular, Ben. As expected of my grandson. I was also in high demand when I was younger. Good old times."
It was hard to say if this was true or another imaginary recollection of hers since she was good at keeping a poker face. No one commented on her story but Chloe couldn't help trying to show off.
"I'm also super popular at school! Everyone likes me!"
"Even the boys?"
"O-of course!"
"Stop lying, Chloe, it's obvious the boys hate you with your personality."
"No, they totally like me!"
"Yeah, yeah."
Benjamin tried to bring the discussion back on track.
"Anyway, do you need the whole vacation to prepare for this?"
"There's a lot to do. We're going to start tomorrow after school already. We've got to find a place suitable for so many people, contact the sponsors, transmit the information to everyone at school, rent a truck to transport the props, prepare for the contest itself, and many more things. We'll be very busy once again."
"I see. Let me help you in that case. Tomorrow after school, right?"
"Don't worry about it, we're starting early to be sure we have enough time. We'll manage on our own."
"It's fine. And it's been a while since we've done anything together, right? I'll make myself useful."
She hesitated, watching him for a few seconds.
"Well... Alright. Help is always welcome. Thanks, Ben."
"You're welcome. I'll come to you after school."
"Do you know where the student council room is?"
"Yes."
She nodded and the topic changed once again, the meal continuing peacefully. The rest of the evening was spent watching a movie, after which they separated to do their things. After surfing the Internet for a short while, Benjamin decided to sleep early, still feeling tired from the day's happenings.
Monday. Nothing special happened at school on that day. Benjamin checked Sarai's blog as he often did, noticing it was still getting increasingly popular. He wondered if this sort of content was what girls were interested in, in this world.
Soon enough, the last class ended and he said goodbye to his friends. He headed toward the student council room, which was on the third floor of the building. On the way, he came across Saul, the council's treasurer, and they started to chat. He was already informed that Benjamin would come to help today and was grateful for the help, joking that boys would be the majority in the room today and have the power. When they reached the student council room door, Saul entered as if it was his home. In a way, it wasn't quite far from the truth since it was a room shared by only four people.
Benjamin followed him and examined the place. It was quite simple overall. There was one big table in the center with four computers sitting on it, two on each side. There was a whiteboard on one side and a fridge on the other, with some sofas around it, giving the place a more cozy atmosphere than expected. The three other members were already here and Maisie immediately came to him with a big smile.
"Our future star is here! It's been a while! It's good to see you! Thanks for coming to help us today!"
She spoke as fast as usual but he wasn't surprised anymore. Contrary to what she said, they sometimes met at school and she always greeted him in a similar hyped manner. When this happened, he returned her greetings with his standard brilliant smile, which has now become his trademark.
"Hello, Maisie. And hello, Roy. How are you?"
Roy didn't even try to reply and just nodded, probably used to the fact that he would never be able to answer faster than Maisie, which was very accurate because she replied instantly, and for everyone too.
"We're all super good! And even better because you're here!"
"That's nice. I heard you were creating bets about the contest. Is that something official?"
"Of course it's official! We'll rope the whole student body in and earn big bucks. But we need to find some other strong candidates or we'll be forced to bet on your numbers of votes instead of on who will win."
Nova frowned and cut into their discussion.
"Don't listen to her, Ben. Students aren't allowed to bet."
"Hehe, busted. It's just between us, Ben. No big money, just one dollar each. Do you want to participate?"
"Sure, sounds fun."
"That's what I like to hear! You're so much better than ever-too-serious Nova. Hey, wanna become the president instead? I'll support you!"
"Of course. I guess it's time for a revolution. Nova, are you going to fight or will you abdicate peacefully?"
"Be quiet, you two, and get to work. We have a lot to do. Ben, come sit here."