He's a Fighter & I'm a Runner

FOURTEEN

I was in a pretty good mood today...until I saw a Dave Albright sign on my run.

I never thought they'd make it up here. Frankly, I haven't seen any campaign signs with the exception for mayor. I assumed no one was particularly targeting this area or the town had some law against campaign signs. I was wrong.

I don't know what came over me, but some spark of anger decided to completely explode when I saw his name. I could bear to look at the sign every single morning on my run, so I ripped the sign out of the ground, tore it in half, and in half again, then shoved it into the near by garbage can. You know, casually.

I let out a deep breath once it was done. I used my hand to wipe off the sweat from my forehead, and when I looked up, I saw Luke watching me with his calculating eyes. Why now?!

Before he could think about coming over, I sprinted back into the woods and went home the way I came. I'm defiantly not going to talk to him about this. Ever.

During AP GovPol, I completely ignored him. Luckily for me, the teacher was showing videos and lecturing, so talking wasn't really an option anyway. Unluckily for me, we watched campaign videos and talked about the politicians.

I sat in my seat tensed. I couldn't help but overthink everything. Could I really get away from my old life if part of it is always on tv? I don't know yet, but I have a feeling I'll find out soon.

Luke stared at me occasionally. I noticed he looked my way every time my teacher mentioned senators. He was trying to figure me out. He already knows I dislike Dave Albright, but he didn't know how much until this morning. I was nervous about him asking me, especially since he gave me a sneak peak into his life.

He would figure it out eventually. There's not a doubt in my mind he will. The only question left answered is how long exactly it will take.

"I know all of you love partner projects," the teacher started, grabbing almost all the students' attention. "So, well do one about campaign strategies!" He exclaimed.

Some students were impassive, but some were excited. "You need to pick a politician, present or past, and research how their campaign has helped them. The rubric is on my desk. It due in a week, so pick your partners and start."

I groaned.

"Lila!" Nate shouted. I looked up to him with a questioning look. "You can be—"

"You're working with me." Luke's voice rang out. I looked up to him to see his eyes showing the don't-argue-with-me look. I'm so screwed.

"Okay." I agreed. I heard Nate whine in the background, and then Daniel suggesting they could do it together.

"So, which politician do you want to research?" Luke casually asked.

"Just spit it out, Luke. I know you want to ask." I sighed.

"Do you know Dave Albright?" He quietly asked, so no one could hear us.

"Yes." I whispered.

"Okay, so the project? How about a president? Who's your favorite?" He asked, noticing I didn't want to talk about it and that this isn't the time to.

"Reagan." I answered.

"Good taste, like always." He smirked. He brought his wrist up to check his watch. "Do you want to meet in the library to work on this after school?"

"Yeah. It would be nice to get this out of the way." I agreed.

I stretched and groaned as Luke and I were finished with the project. Finally. Our 32 slide PowerPoint took quite a while, so it was dark outside by the time we left the school.

He walked me to my car, but when I got there, it wasn't there. I swear I had my parking pass and parked in a student parking lot. There is no reason for it to be gone!

"Where's your car?" Luke asked tentatively.

I saw a piece of paper of the ground. I picked it up and the words made my blood boil.

Look like the only way to come home is with me.