“Don’t forget to vote for me!” Tiffani chirped, handing the boy a lollipop. She gave him the brightest smile she could manage.

The boy looked down at the lollipop, reading the letters on the tiny ribbon-- VOTE FOR TIFFANI-- and smirked a little. “You might want to try a little harder,” he responded.

“Why’s that?”

The boy chuckled and replied, “Well, one chick’s been giving out pictures of herself in a bikini, and another one is giving out big candy bars, and the goth chick is giving out all kinds of food-- candy and cookies and brownies and cake. Oh, and that cheerleader chick is giving out roses.”

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Tiffani groaned.

“Nope. So, uh, you might want to step things up a notch. Just a piece of advice, you know?”

“Yeah, I know,” Tiffani responded, rolling her eyes.

“You might be able to get some pity votes this way. Sort of like, ‘Poor me, I stand no chance against those chicks.’ And, y’know, some people are going to be all like, ‘Aw, man, I feel bad for her. I’ll vote for her.’ If that’s what you’re going for, it looks like you’ll succeed admirably.”

Tiffani glowered at him and snatched the lollipop back from him. “On second thought, I’d rather not have you vote for me.”


“Excuse me, Miss Paxton,” the principal said, tapping Angela on the shoulder.

“Yes, what is it?” Angela asked, not turning to him. To the boy in front of her, she said, smiling warmly, “And be sure to vote for me. I hope you enjoy the picture.”

“Now, Miss Paxton,” the principal said firmly, leading her away.

“What is it?” Angela repeated, rolling her eyes.

“Miss Paxton, there are rules against this sort of thing,” the principal said sharply, indicating the pictures.

“Why? It’s not like I’m nude or anything. I’m covered up. See?”


“Yes, yes, I see,” came the hurried reply. “But still, have you no respect for yourself? You’re giving out tawdry photographs of yourself.”

“It’ll get votes.”

“Yes, but for the wrong reason.”

Angela smirked a little and said, “You know, even if you confiscate these, the pictures that I did give out are already circulating. People are still going to see them.”

“That is true, but if this continues, you will be removed from the competition.”

“There’s nothing in the rules saying these pictures aren’t allowed.”

“It’s generally understood that students are not allowed to give out photographs of themselves in skimpy bikinis.”

“Well, then, maybe it should be put into the rule book for next year,” Angela replied cheerily.


AJ walked down the hall, glancing over at the students eating various goodies. He paused, feeling something sticking to his foot. He looked down and carefully peeled a photograph from the bottom of his shoe. He raised his eyebrow, smirking a little when he saw it was a picture of Angela in a bikini.

Yeah, this is why I didn’t want to be part of this, he thought bitterly. You pretty much lose your soul, whoring yourself out in hopes of winning. I’m not even bothering to campaign. Why bother? I’m not going to win, and I don’t want to be involved in this. He sighed to himself. How could things get much worse? Oh, right, they can. Tomorrow is School Spirit Day. Dress in the school colors. And people running for Prom Court have to do it. He groaned to himself. Just kill me now, and get it over with. Please.