Riley's Box

Part 10

I'll also admit that, after thinking on what I had said to Susie, I felt a little guilty. 

Regardless, it was not the time to dwell on that matter. It was in the past now, and with a little luck Susie wouldn't take what I had said too seriously. 

Even so, I supposed that I didn't really want her to go for the head girl post. Was that so bad? On second thoughts, yes, okay? It was a little bad. 

Nevertheless, I had been silently wishing to be head girl ever since seventh grade and I didn't want to let anything, or anyone, for that matter, get in my way. 

God. I was beginning to sound like Jason and though I admired his competitiveness, I had to ask the question. What was happening to me? 

I had never cared so much about the student council, as I had done recently. 

Perhaps Jason's inspirational words had switched a gear in me and now I was determined, more so than ever, to become a part of the student council. 

Jason was busy at chess club after school, so now was the time for me to be independent. 

I went to the library on the walk back from school and, thankfully, didn't run into any more weird shadows or, what I could only imagine them to be in my over-active mind, shadow people. 

Although I liked spending time with Jason more than most human beings, I knew that it was also good for me to have time to be self-reliant. Jason and I would be potentially competing against each other if we were going to be on the student council and no, while he wasn't going to be head girl any time soon, I knew that there was a good chance that we would be competing for a seat on the council, anyway! That was why it was important that he wasn't too clued into what my plans were. 

You can do this, Riley, the voice in my mind spoke again and I was glad that it was being inspirational this time around, rather than tormenting. Of course, I already knew that I could do this. I had to love and take care of myself. If I was going to become head girl, then there could be no time nor room for self doubt and pessimism. 

So, I didn't spend too long in the library because I knew that doing so would lead to me becoming over-tired and burnt out, but I did manage to complete a poster for the school council. Results! 

Well, I hoped that, in creating a poster for my desire to be on the school council, my action would have some positive results. 

After spending time in the library, I went home with a clearer mind. It turned out that spending a little time by myself in amongst all the weirdness going on, with the shadows and Susie and the council, had been good for my mind. 

I walked in through the front door with a smile on my face. I had made the right decision. 

It had also not been a completely terrible decision to walk home, though April had been a little concerned about it after her run in with the shadow person. 

This was assuming that I could even refer to what she had seen as a 'shadow person'. Again, we didn't have much of a clue as to what was going on just yet, but I hoped that would come with time. 

"Hey, kid. What are you going to get up to, now?" my father asked me, as he noticed me heading hastily up the stairs, moments after I had got through the front door. 

"I need to go and organise my textbooks for class," I said naturally because I was actually going to study today. 

I couldn't let people like Susie get higher grades than me. 

Wait. Why did it even matter? 

Uh...it mattered because I was almost in my final year of school and I wanted to come out on top. That's why it mattered. 

"Alright, have fun," my dad replied, but he had a slightly taken aback expression upon his face. 

It wasn't as though I never studied! 

Alright, so I spent most of my time watching shows on my computer or getting lost in a book, but I could be organised, when I wanted to be! 

As it turned out, the motivation to be organised had struck right then and there, so I started to sort through my exam notes and hoped with every fibre in my being that my hard work would pay off eventually. 

I supposed I was good at managing my time. In fact, if I did manage to become head girl one day, perhaps I could put that on my resume. 

I had never been entirely sure of what I was going to do after school was over, but there was always the possibility of me getting a career in management. 

For instance, in English class earlier in the day, Miss Richardson had told me that she wanted to be the leader of my group project! 

Secondly, I was currently leading an investigation into some strange shadow people. 

If nobody else was impressed by these things, then I certainly was. 

Jason probably would be, too. He was my best friend in the whole wide world, yes, but he was also sort of my personal hype man. That meant that he would always say and do kind things to hype me up about myself. 

I had to admit, that was one of the best parts about him on a long list of best parts. 

By that I meant personality-speaking, of course. However, he did have really pretty eyes. I had always thought so. 

It was only in that moment that I realised I had been staring at the clock for the past five minutes! 

Focus, Riley, I thought to myself again. I needed to motivate a group of guys that had no interest in literature to write a five-thousand word essay on Pride and Prejudice. It was time to think.