May Parker's Guide to Winning the Election

Tip #4: Cater to those Who Don't Have a Voice

"This main hallway is the prime place to tape posters, but we can't forget about the other nooks and crannies of the school." I say, twirling a roll of tape around my finger as Riley struggles to hold up the pile of my posters. He nods in agreement as I find a clear stretch of wall that will complement my posters nicely. Riley sets down the posters next to me and picks up the top one, situating it in the middle of the wall. I tear off a few pieces of tape and secure it before stepping back to admire my handy work.

Riley and I spent all weekend trying to come up with a catchy slogan and a poster idea that would knock the rest of the candidates out of the park; it took a few days, but in the end, we figured it out. Our posters had me superimposed onto some sort of angelic beam of light with the words 'May Parker, a legacy to believe in'. It isn't perfect or clever, but it's a good launching pad for the first round of voting. In other words: it'll be enough for now. Riley and I go up and down the hallways until we only have one poster left; it's the one we're going to hang on the door of my campaign headquarters in the journalism room. We walk back down the hallway and pass a few of Trip's posters.

"If anyone can, Trip McCan can do it." Riley chuckles, barely able to get the sentence out. "I don't think you have any competition with this one, May."

" He did not..." I say, staring at Trip's poster in disbelief.

"Oh, but he did." I turn around and find Trip walking towards me. "You like it?"

"Are you stalking me or something?" I say, tucking my poster under my arm. "I see you way too often for my liking."

"Speaking of liking, what do you think of my posters?"

"I think I could come up with a better slogan if I was six feet under the ground." I say, crossing my arms and smirking at the arrogant picture of him in the middle of his poster. "But, I guess if that's the best you can do..." I smile sweetly and continue my trek down the hallway, turning the corner and walking straight towards the journalism room. Riley holds up the poster for me and I tape it down, effectively sending a message to the rest of the candidates that I own the media. Riley and I walk through the door, the sounds of cheers filling my ears. My campaign team applaud and then commence typing away on their computers again, researching the breakdown of students in the school and the issues they care most about to help me develop my platform.

"Do you have your speech prepared for Friday?" Riley asks, consulting his clipboard of campaign notes.

"I've started it, but it isn't perfect yet." I say, pulling up the document on the computer in front of me.

"That opening is too pedestrian; you don't want it to sound empty or lifeless." Riley says, barely looking up from his notes. "Everyone will say that; you want to be different." I sigh and backspace the opening sentence as he sits down next to me. "You need a hook, something to grab their attention and hold it for the duration of the speech."

 I nod and type something new in, turning to him for approval. He bites his lip as if he's gauging how the sentence will appear to the audience. He takes the keyboard from me and changes a few words before giving me his blessing. I chuckle and finish writing my speech before sending it to the printer. I pick up the warm sheets of paper and tuck them into a new manila folder.

"I'll see you at lunch, Riley, don't forget the candy." I say and grab my bag, heading down the hallway to my speech class as the bell rings.

~~~~~

"Be sweet and vote May Parker for school president." I say and hand some candy to a group of girls who are walking through the doors of the cafeteria. They accept the candy and walk over to their lunch table. I look around the cafeteria, taking in the atmosphere and gauging how best to optimize my candy giving for maximum exposure.