Chapter 7: CHAPTER 7: BEGINNING THE STUDENT COUNCIL CAMPAIGN

Walking into the school the next day, I happen to pass by Abigail and her followers and give a fake smile. This seems to irritate her a little, but she doesn't approach me, so I continue my way to class unbothered by her attitude. I'll let the day draw out and see how long it takes her to confront me. I'm not the one in a rush.

 

The bell rings for class to start, and the homeroom teacher enters with a small folder in her hands. She starts the class by asking if anyone has been interested in applying for Student Council, so I raise my hand.

 

"Oh! Miss Viola! What a surprise. Can you please come up, hand me your candidacy sheet, and introduce yourself and your campaign?"

 

With my new confidence supporting me, I get up and walk past my classmates who all watch me. It appears that I am the only one in the class running for Student Council. I mean I understand why. The students in this class don't come from absurdly wealthy families like the higher wealth classes, so not a lot of people would find them dependable. Students in this school trust people with money. If you don't have money, you don't have access to the resources needed to run the school.

 

As I hand my paper to the teacher, I turn around to introduce myself. "My name is Viola Winter. You may know me as the girl who lost her whole family last school year. Although I may seem a little rough now, I am the new head of the family. I plan on crushing any and all stereotypes about girls not being able to lead mafia families. I believe that by becoming the new head of the Winter Family, I can learn from my time leading my new family and pour that knowledge into being your new Student Council President. I hope that you all will support me in my endeavor."

 

The classroom fills with murmurs once I finish. Again, I can understand why. I was a complete wreck last year. Comparing who I was last year to who I am today, a sudden change could be suspicious. Nonetheless, they have no other choice but to believe in what I said. Plus, having a classmate who is the head of a family will be a first for everyone here, so it would be in their families' best interest for their child to support me. That is how I will be able to get the support of my classmates. At the end of the day, wealthy families are powered by greed. They will want the best of everything to gain more power.

 

I return to my seat, and the teacher ends homeroom. Since we are given a few minutes before the next class, I choose to use the time to plan out my campaign, but my classmates had other ideas. They bombard my desk dishing out question after question. I have to get them to calm down; otherwise, they won't be able to get the answers they are so eager to hear.

 

I raise a finger to my lips. "If you are too loud, the other classes will become curious. You don't want other people to steal me away now, do you?" This makes them quiet down. If other students catch wind of my position, they will try to talk to me any chance they get. Since I'm in the lowest wealth class, my classmates are the greediest of them all. They are doing everything they can to get the upper hand on their wealthier schoolmates, and losing me to everyone else will ruin their chances of rising in the school ranks.

 

After my classmates quiet down, I stand up and head to the front of the class. "If anyone has questions, which it seems like everyone does, I will take them one at a time." My classmates make their way back to their seats and settle down. "Now that everyone is calm, I will go seat by seat and answer any and all questions that you have."

 

I begin the round of Q&A, and everyone seems to have the exact questions that I was expecting. What made me decide to be the new head? Why did I choose to be the new head if I will be faced with a lot of adversities? Do you think you have the power to beat up other mafia families and gangs if they try to attack your new family? Questions of that nature. It was when I landed on one of the male student’s questions that made me excited.

 

"Don't you need to have the power of snow and ice to become the new head of that family?"

 

I proceed to walk to the kid with a sly smile. The Winter Family is one if not the most well-known organization in Eshea, so it makes sense that just about every wealthy family knows of its rules for succession. "If I remember correctly, didn't we learn about the Winter Family in History class last year? If we all take a trip down history, everyone knows that the Winter Family is designated to produce the vessel for snow and ice. If there is no vessel, then there will be eternal snow in Eshea just like how there was back when Eshea was first founded. My father was the last Winter Vessel, but now he is gone. However, Eshea is not covered in snow. Now, why is that?"

 

Staring down at the kid, I can tell that the dots are connecting in his head. This makes him jerk his head straight at me with his eyes full of surprise. "It's because there is a new vessel to contain the snow and ice powers!"

 

"Exactly!" I shout as I proceed back over to the front of the class. "There is a new Winter Vessel. So with all of my family gone, who could possibly be the new vessel?"

 

My class then suddenly roars, "You are!!"

 

I smile at them and send a small flurry throughout the classroom. "That's right. I am the new vessel which means that I am the rightful head of the Winter Family." As I watch my classmates scurry to catch the snowflakes, I glance back over to the boy who asked the question. "Does this answer your question?" I ask giving him a sweet smile. He nods his head in excitement as he follows his friends in catching snowflakes.

 

The bell rings for the next class to start, so I quickly dissipate the flurry. Before I head to my seat, I gather everyone's attention once more. "Can I rely on you guys to support me in becoming your new President?" Everyone rapidly agrees, so I make my way over to my seat as the next teacher enters the classroom.

 

Lunchtime comes around, but before I leave the classroom, I remind everyone not to mention this to anyone until after lunch. Once everyone agrees, I head out to the quiet spot where I am expecting Abigail to show up. If she apologizes, she wouldn't do it in a public space since it will ruin her image. If she doesn't apologize, she needs a secluded place to humiliate me for her own satisfaction. This spot couldn't be more perfect.

 

It takes a little while, but eventually, Abigail and her followers show up. I set my food aside to prevent another accident just in case. She stops around three feet away from me and crosses her arms.

 

"I got yelled at last night by my father. That was your doing wasn't it?"

 

"Yes, it was. I told you that I would be speaking to your father since you didn't heed my initial warning. What about it?"

 

"He told me that I made a huge mistake to bully you, but honestly, I don't see what the problem was. I was just pointing out the obvious."

 

I sit in front of this pompous child silently thanking her for such a great opportunity. "So, I can assume that you aren't here to apologize for what you did yesterday. Right?"

 

"As if I would apologize to someone as lowly as you. You must have given my father some bribe money yesterday to make me apologize since in the end, you have no real power to make someone of higher standing do something. Are you that desperate to get back at me and have me get down and apologize to you?"

 

I stand up after she finishes yapping that annoying mouth of hers and slowly make my way over to where she is standing. "I absolutely knew you wouldn't let your ego go. That's probably your worst personality trait. Did you know that? I was really counting on you to not apologize to me to be honest."

 

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"And why is that?" Abigail asks as I get right up in her face.

 

"Because you will be my one-way ticket to the President's seat."

 

Abigail laughs as she turns around to walk away. "As if anyone would vote for you to become Student Council President."

 

"Abigail. Let me make one thing perfectly clear before you regret leaving this area. I didn't bribe your father to make you apologize to me. He heeded my advice to talk to you because he knew the consequences if he didn't."

 

"Oh yeah? And what kind of consequence can a delusional girl with no power dish out to someone as rich as my father?"

 

"That's very simple. I could have killed him," I answer with an evil smirk on my face. Before I let Abigail say another word, I surround her in an ice wall and slowly begin to crush her and her followers inside.

 

I can hear Abigail scream all sorts of profanities and threats that are reverberating along the ice walls. From what I can hear, it doesn't really sound like she is going to give up soon.

 

"If you don't want your followers' families to come after your dad for their deaths due to your inflated ego, I would suggest that you apologize quickly." The girls' screams have now attracted several students to come to the quiet area.

 

Abigail and the rest of the girls continue to scream and bang on the ice wall until Abigail finally gives in. "Fine! Fine! I'm sorry! Is that what you want to hear? I'm sorry! So please don't kill us!"

 

I release the ice wall to reveal five girls all huddling together in a tight circle. I get closer to Abigail and crouch down to her eye level. "Hm... this feels vaguely familiar... Oh! That's right! This is exactly how your father looked when he finally gave into fear. What was that you were yelling back there? I didn't quite catch it."

 

Staring menacingly into Abigail's eyes, I command an icicle to each of the girls' necks except Abigail's. "You might want to hurry with your answer, Miss Actona," I shrewdly advise as I steadily inch the icicles closer to the girls' necks.

 

"I'm sorry..."

 

"What was that? You're going to need to speak up louder for me to hear you."

 

"I said I'm sorry! You are the head of Winter Family."

 

"And?"

 

"And? What else do you want?"

 

"I want you to announce to your class that you support Viola Winter for Student Council President, and if they have any questions, have them come meet with me."

 

"That's taking it too far with my humiliation! Everyone will think that I am putting myself under someone of a lower wealth class. My image will look so bad."

 

"Do you think right now is a good time to be talking about your image? Your friends aren't looking so good. Those icicles are already skimming the top layer of skin. You wouldn't want their deaths to be your fault, right?"

 

"Fine! Fine! I'll do whatever you say. Don't hurt them."

 

I liberate the girls of the icicles and stand back up. "If I hear you say one bad thing about me behind my back, I will come after you. I have eyes and ears everywhere."

 

With that bluff, I look up at all of the students who are standing by watching. Perfect. "To all those who were watching, my name is Viola Winter! The new head of the Winter Family and the new Winter Vessel. With my new position and abilities, I will be running for Student Council President. I believe that no one is better suited to lead a team than me. I will use my ever-growing knowledge of leadership to its fullest if you elect me. I hope that I will have your support."

 

The students who heard my proclamation had mixed thoughts about me. From what I can hear, some believe that it would be a good idea since it makes sense to put the head of a family in a position that leads people. Meanwhile, others think that a person who is new to leading should not be in charge of leading a whole school. I can see their point. I would think about both of those things, too. However, I won't let the negative ideas about me grow any more. I will stop all hostilities towards me and become President.

 

Now, all I need is to find a second faculty member to support me.

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