May Parker's Guide to Winning the Election

Tip #9: Catch Your Opponent When They Think No One is Looking

 "May, I hate to tell you this, but word got around about Trip's presence at that protest." Riley says on Monday morning as he types away on his computer, researching how the tide of public opinion has changed. "Apparently your dad's not well-liked around here. Trip, on the other hand, is more liked than ever."

"You're kidding," I mutter and look over his shoulder, a groan escaping my lips.

"There are two things I never kid about: my love for chocolate and poll numbers." Riley looks at me seriously. "We have our work cut out for us."

"How can they like him? He has no ideas, no substance, nothing." I complain and drop down in my chair. "I've been working my ass off these last few weeks to perfect my campaign and his numbers just rise by merit of who he is."

"May, he's the captain of the football team, the son of a business tycoon..." Riley begins, but I quickly interrupt him.

"But I'm the daughter of a politician." I point out blatantly.

"That's the point; he doesn't know how to run a political campaign, you do." Riley answers, authority dripping from his every word. "What he's been showing to the public is the facade he wears every day; it's not who he really is."

"Well, how do I figure out who he really is?" I ask, rolling my eyes.

"Trip isn't going to be how he really is in the public eye, but he will be his true self around the only people who won' judge him," Riley says, pausing for dramatic effect. "His friends." He wiggles his eyebrows mischievously; my face contorts in confusion. "His team mates, May, those are the only people who get to see the real Trip."

"So, what are you implying?" I ask, suspicion laced in my tone.

"Are you up for a little Mission Impossible?" Riley asks, his eyes gleaming with amusement.

"Riley," I say dangerously, my eyes daring him to stop joking around.

"Meet me at the gym around 4. I've got an idea that will ruin him."

~~~~~

It's four o'clock on the nose. I'm standing in the gym, pacing and checking my watch every few seconds. Almost fifteen minutes pass before I see Riley rushing into the gym. He looks out of breath and is holding a box under one arm. He leads me to an inconspicuous corner of the gym and sets his box down. It's filled with wires and walkie-talkies. I look up at Riley, his plan still an enigma to me.

"Sorry, I ran into a few issues when I tried to get these things from the audio-visual lab. The students would've given them to me no problem, but the Principal was in there for some sort of evaluation, so we had to figure out how to sneak the equipment out." Riley explains as he hands me some wires and a walkie-talkie.

"Please tell me what we're doing." I sigh and accept the equipment from him.

"Trip and the football guys are about to come back from practice. They'll be changing in the locker room and talking about whatever it is they talk about after practice. This is your one shot to catch Trip being his true self; it's one of your last chances to expose him to the public before the next round of voting."

"Where are you going with this, Riley?" I ask, looping the wire neatly around my wrist.

"You're going to record him in the act." Riley says as if it should be obvious.