$old to the Highest Bidder

$tudent Body President

I was standing at the kitchen counter, fully dressed, keys in hand, breakfast already eaten by the time I would have been waking up on any normal day, contemplating how terrible a person it would make me if I were to deprive an orphan of a meal for my own personal gain.

I came to the conclusion that it would make me a very terrible person, and that my two options were to face the situation head on or to run my car into a tree on the way to school.

Tempting as the latter was, I settled on the former.

I sighed and set my keys down on the counter, the pounding of my heart mocking me the same way the ticking of the clock did. Really, it was ridiculous how excited everyone got for this stupid, archaic event. Maybe I just didn't see it the same way all my peers did since I wasn't as flush with Daddy's money as them, but I'd heard stories of people saving up their inflated allowances for years in anticipation and still losing out to a higher bidder, and while I was aware that the event raised thousands for the district orphanage each year, it still seemed to me that there had to be a better alternative to what was only thinly separated in concept from prostitution.

That was what he had always called it.

The thought had me on me feet, pacing the kitchen, and as I was passing the sink for what felt like the hundredth time, I felt my phone buzz in my jacket, stopping me in my tracks as I leaned back against the counter and pulled it out. There was only one person it could be this early in the morning.

Well, I suppose it could have been two, but I'd blocked his number, so that was unlikely.

Back to pacing.

My initial suspicion was confirmed when I saw the message on the screen: Excited for today?

With a relieved sigh, I opened the message and replied: Ugh, don't even joke. You know how I feel about this. Do you and Mason have the money?

My best friend typed for a moment before her response popped up: Yeah. I still can't believe you're making my boyfriend buy a date with you XD.

I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks. I wasn't one to kid myself; I knew having Sophia's boyfriend bid on me was a cop out, but what was I supposed to do? We all knew that if I went into this without a plan, he was going to make a bid— the only bid. He'd get what he wanted for less money than it costs to buy a laptop. Well what am I supposed to do, Soph? It's not like anyone else is going to bid on me.

She typed for a second before stopping, clearly not having a rebuttal. And how could she? I was the textbook definition of nerd: I was president of the National Honors Society and of the chess club. I had a 4.5 GPA.  I was a shoe-in for Valedictorian. And how could I forget? The title that was to blame for my current situation: I was student body president.

Not that there was anything to be ashamed of about any of that; on the contrary, I was quite proud, smiling despite myself as I ran through the list in my mind, still pacing through the kitchen. However, that didn't change the fact that I hadn't been on a date since—

Not pacing anymore.

Walking through the living room, towards the coffee table, fixing my hands around the succulent planter. Unscrewing the fake plants from the top and grabbing out a single bill—a hundred.

Just in case.

"What are you doing?"

I whirled around, the bill crumpling in my fist. I let out a sigh of relief upon seeing it was just Leon, my brother, and the tension that had been holding my body hostage released, draining from my muscles. "The Auction is today," I offered by way of explanation, turning to screw the fake plants back on.