May Parker's Guide to Winning the Election

Tip #8: The Enemies of Your Enemies are Your Friends

 It's Saturday, which means one thing: the rally. I've spent all week mentally preparing myself for this moment and now that it's here, I want nothing more than to retreat to my room and hide from my public, the ones who expect too much of me, the ones putting me through this election hell. By the way I'm talking, many would think that I should just drop out, that all this complaining doesn't make up for the prize at stake; I'd tell them all they're dead wrong. If I had a choice, I would drop out. I'd hand the election to Trip, but at this point, there's more at stake than my family's reputation; I have my own competitive stake in this: shattering Trip's ego once and for all, wiping that insipid smirk off his face.

Riley goes down his checklist; finalizing the itinerary, the menu, and my speech while the rest of my team rushes around the house, making sure everything is in the proper place. My foyer, living room and back deck have been transformed into rally central. Purple balloons and streamers decorate the walls and a banner hangs near the front door; "May for Student Body President' painted in large, neat letters is easily legible from a considerable distance. I readjust my shirt and smooth my shorts as I stand anxiously by the door. I'm no good at these types of events, especially around people my own age. Usually, I have my parents talking for me, my only job being to smile and nod politely. Now, I have to do all the talking for myself and it's my entire reputation on the line.

The clock strikes noon and people begin to pull into the driveway. I shake a few hands and greet my constituents before another member of my team leads them to the backyard where the band from the arts group is setting up. After half an hour, my backyard is filled with all my usual voters and a few wannabes and scorned popular kids. The band fires up, igniting the crowd with raw excitement as the lead singer strums a chord on his electric guitar. He introduces the band as 'Everest Rest' and begins to play a cover of a well-known rock song, the audience chanting along. Riley and I watch from the deck, our gaze tracing the entire crowd in a matter of seconds.

"Genevieve is one of the scorned." Riley whispers, pointing out a redhead who's standing near the back of the crowd. "She and Trip were dating until the end of last year. He said he wasn't feeling it anymore and dumped her over a text before turning around and taking her best friend to prom."

"Damn, she must hate his guts." I say, a mischievous smile playing on my lips.

"Precisely," Riley replies with a wink. "Get her on your side and you may be able to flip the scorned and the wannabe vote in your favor."

"Oh, I have better ideas than just getting her to vote for me." I say thoughtfully, my eyes transfixed on the back of her bobbing head. "You know what's better than having your enemy's enemy voting for you?"

"What?" Riley asks, his amused gaze implying he knows what I'm going to say.

"Having your enemy's enemy run with you." I wink and begin to walk down the steps towards Genevieve.

"The enemies of your enemies are your friends." Riley calls back with a small laugh.

"Now you're catching on." I smirk and continue to make my way towards Genevieve. I exhale a deep breath and put on my best political smile; it's the one I've perfected throughout my parents' many campaigns. It's fake, but resembles a normal smile enough that its falseness goes almost always undetected. I tap Genevieve on her shoulder and she turns around, returning my smile. She steps off to the side and I follow her.

"It's a great party, May." Genevieve says, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Thanks, it's just a little something I threw together, so I could get to know my voters."