Growing Pains

Chapter One

Courtney

"Hi! I'm Courtney Barlow! I'm running for Junior Class President, and I hope I can count on your vote." I said firmly, just like my mom taught me, as I stared down a kid who passed by.

He let out a nervous chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Um, okay. Yeah, I will... do that."

I broadened my smile at the tall awkward brunette with dark eyes, "Great! Voting is in two weeks from now, so don't miss it." My tone was more demanding than nice at this point, which made him give me an anxious smile. I couldn't help but notice the gap between his teeth; it almost made him endearing.

"I won't. I promise." He walked away, taking the pin I gave him and half of the school. My mom helped me set up my entire campaign, making sure everything was perfect. If I wanted to get into an ivy league college, then I needed every opportunity to bulk up my college apps. Not to mention, my mom was barely home, so the fact that she was so insistent on helping me with this made me want to succeed even more.

My parents—when they weren't away on business trips that seemed to last forever—were constantly drilling me with information about colleges. They were already trying to set up meetings with their friends who were faculty at different schools. At this point, it seemed like my senior year was shot. That meant junior year had to be perfect.

"Lay off them, princess. You're starting to scare the freshmen, and that's my job." A familiar voice said from behind me.

I didn't have to turn around to already know the smug look that filled Duncan's face; it was a look that always filled his face. "I have to be aggressive if I want to win. Heather already promised to make cupcakes apart of the cafeteria's menu. I need to be on top of my game if I want this win. And I want this win."

Duncan plopped down in the empty seat my other best friend, Bridgette, just occupied. She ran off to "take a bathroom break", but I was pretty sure it was her excuse to go find her new boyfriend. Not that I blame her, her new guy was pretty cute, but I still wanted her company by my side.

Duncan put his arms on the table, messing up some of my flyers, and propped his chin up with his hand. "Well, I for one find cupcakes overrated."

I shook my head, "You find every dessert overrated."

He shrugged, "Just don't understand the hype."

I rolled my eyes, and pushed his arm off of my flyers. "Don't you have something better to be doing? Like picking on some freshman or vandalizing the school bathrooms?"

He crossed his arms and slouched down in the chair, "While those offers do sound tempting, nothing beats spending time with you, babe." He winked at me.

I stuck my tongue out at him, "You're disgusting, you know that?" He simply shrugged and continued to watch me with a smirk.

Duncan and I had been friends since freshman year. We were a part of a friend group we formed in our 9th grade homeroom class. There were only a couple of us, but we were as thick as thieves. I hoped we always would be.

I started handing out flyers to people as they passed by, forcing them to take them. I shivered at the cool breeze that brushed my brown hair off my shoulders. Fall was definitely here. I could tell just from the bright blue sky, only marred by a couple puffy white clouds.

Bridgette suggested that I stood outside to pass out my flyers, that way I'd be able to talk to almost everyone that walked through the front doors. So far, it was a pretty good method.

As if my thought conjured her near, Bridgette walked over to my table. She eyed Duncan as she walked over, a teasing frown playing on her lips. "That's my seat, Duncan."