Hello! Another chapter for you all :) Totally forgot I was meant to upload yesterday, woopsie! But anyway, here it is. Hope you like it! :D BIG DRAMA in this one, woo!

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"So..." said Olivia, as they filed into the school’s giant main hall and took their seats near the back. "Election day, huh?"

Monday morning had finally arrived, and after two weeks of intense campaign promotion, tensions were running at an all-time high. Every student had been given the morning off schedule to attend the assembly, in which both candidates would make their speeches and seize last-minute votes. After the speeches were finished, voting would be officially open and the members of the new student government would be announced a few days later.

"I bet Courtney’s crapping herself," Chelsie stated, looking over the sea of heads to focus on the stage, which was decorated with banners in the school’s colours. A large podium stood in the centre, the school logo plastered noticeably on the front, ready and waiting for Alyssa and Courtney to begin slating each other behind it.

"I wouldn’t be so sure," Fred said, with a dismissive shrug. "Alyssa’s not so confident now. I think she realises that Courtney might actually stand a chance at beating her."

"Well, we’ll see." Olivia turned over the flyer in her hands, which had been placed tactfully on her chair by Alyssa’s campaign team. The A5-size piece of paper was neon pink, and brandished the words ‘Vote Alyssa’ clearly in the centre of the page. There was also a beaming photo of the candidate on the front, too obviously photo-shopped, holding up a cupcake in her right hand and smiling sweetly.

Urgh, she thought, as she folded up the flyer. Does she really think stuff like this will get people to vote for her? Especially after spending two whole years with the girl, a good photo of her smiling and offering free cupcakes would not make up for the evil bitch she had been to everyone for their entire high school life.

The hall was filling up rapidly, and in a matter of minutes it was heaving with students, all dressed in the same drab uniforms that they saw every day. Some of the more senior members of staff had taken their seats at the back of the stage, and Mr Delmar was already ascending the steps to get onto the stage.

As he arrived at the podium, tapping the microphone loudly with his finger to get the students’ attention, he inhaled and began to speak. "Good morning, students. As I am sure you are all aware, today is the day of voting for your new student government."

There were a few mindless whoops and cheers from various Alyssa/Courtney supporters on the front row, which earned them disapproving glares from Mr Delmar.

"Now, the student government plays a very important role in the decisions of the school. They have the power to take many issues to the senior staff, and very often are successful in changing various aspects of the school curriculum, uniform..."

His monotone voice droned on and on for at least five minutes, until he finally recognised the dull expressions plastered on every student’s face as boredom, and got the hint. "As you all know, we have two candidates running for the extremely highly regarded title of student body president. They are Alyssa Taylor and Courtney Powell."

There was a mixed reaction of both whoops and jeers after each name, mostly originating from their friends near the front row, gaining them a second glare from Mr Delmar.

"And without further ado, please welcome your first candidate... Alyssa Taylor." He nodded towards the wings of the stage, before stepping away from the podium and settling down into his seat alongside the other senior staff members. Seconds after his introduction, Alyssa strutted out onto the stage, as confidently as ever.

Her gold-coloured hair was looking shinier and more voluminous than ever before, sitting perfectly on her shoulders and cascading down her back. Even from the back of the room, it was easy to see the layers of make-up that sat on her face, and the thick black fake eyelashes that she had expertly glued to her lids. The sleeves of her shirt were rolled up to her elbows, and only two or three of the front buttons were actually fastened - obviously to persuade the more perverse males of the school to vote in her favour.

"Hello, Serenity Falls," she said, grabbing the microphone and bringing it closer to her mouth, not even bothering to stand properly at the podium. Cheers erupted from the audience and she grinned back at them, her dazzling white smile reflecting the lights on the stage.

"Oh, God," Olivia muttered to Chelsie, as the backdrop of the stage was suddenly transformed into a beaming projection of one of Alyssa’s posters.

"So, first off, I just want to say I am totally privileged to be up here, running for your class president. When I heard about the election, I just knew I wanted to run, because this school is such an awesome place, I just felt like I need to give something back."

"That’s all the crap to keep the teachers happy," Chelsie whispered to Olivia. "She’ll get onto bitching about Courtney in a second, just wait."

"So, you might ask, why should you vote for me?" Alyssa rolled her eyes, grinning back stupidly at the audience. "Who am I kidding? Of course you’re not asking that, because you’re going to vote for me anyway, right? But... if you’re still not convinced, let me tell you what I’m planning to do if..." she paused, correcting herself, "when I become president."

The projection flickered onto a new image - a bullet pointed list of Alyssa’s so-called ‘manifesto’.

"Number one," Alyssa said, reading from the slide. "My daddy’s company, Sync. industries, will provide the best equipment for this school. And I mean laptops, TVs, any electrical products you want - you can have them. And the best part? Absolutely free." She shot a smug look towards Courtney, who was waiting in the wings, as the students began to cheer.

"Number two," she continued, feeling more confident as she basked in the audience’s reaction. "I will listen to minorities. When I’m president, I will listen to everyone. And I will work my butt off to make sure you get what you want."

"Minorities?" Fred scoffed, as everyone began to clap again. "They don’t even realise that she’s insulting us, and yet they’re lapping it all up."

"That’s the Alyssa effect," Chelsie rolled her eyes. "And everyone’s forgetting what a bitch she is in real life just because she’s offering free stuff. It’s wrong, but that’s exactly what happens here."

"Number three." Alyssa was on a roll now, strutting around the stage with a smirk on her face. She walked over to the podium, bending down to retrieve something that was stored behind it. And when she lifted it, stretching out her arms so it was clearly visible to the students, it became apparent what it was. "Everyone who votes for me will get an exclusive Alyssa Taylor cookie."

And with that, she reached into the basket, her hand curling to grab a handful of plastic-wrapped cookies, each tied with a pink bow, and proceeded to toss them into the audience as if they were confetti.

"Well, you can’t deny that she knows how to work a crowd," Olivia shrugged, as various cookie-receivers began to cheer. Alyssa was still standing on stage, looking increasingly smug by the second, throwing biscuits as far as she could manage. After a few more handfuls had been tossed in the direction of the crowd, her basket was empty and she placed it back down on the stage, stepping over to the podium once more, the dazzling smile not leaving her face even for a mere second.

Olivia had to hand it to her - she was good at working a crowd, especially since she loved the attention so much. It would be difficult for Courtney to compete with a performance like that, even more so when Alyssa had just promised free laptops from her father.

"So, if you’re still not convinced that you should give your vote to me," Alyssa said, her eyes beginning to glitter mischievously. There was no doubt that she had something up her sleeve, and Olivia was willing to bet her life that it had to do with Courtney. "I’m going to let you in on a little secret about my competition."

From behind the side curtain of the stage, Courtney froze. They had rehearsed these speeches beforehand, and this had definitely not happened then. Of course it wouldn’t - Alyssa was trying to catch her out. She couldn’t help but feel the beads of sweat forming on her forehead as she pondered on possible things that Alyssa could say.

"Why would you want Courtney Powell to be your president, hmm?" she was now saying, as she strolled across the stage, her heels clinking on the wood below her feet. "Well, I have no idea. But... I can give you many good reasons as to why she would not be the presidential figure that this school deserves."

"Alyssa, this speech is to promote yourself only..." Mr Delmar said, but Alyssa didn’t even give him a backwards glance.

"Because first of all, that skank, who was supposed to be my friend, went behind my back and stole my boyfriend!" Alyssa said, miles away from the beaming smile she had brandished only moments ago. "Why would we want a cheater to be our class president, hmm? For all you know she could be banging your boyfriends too!"

"Alyssa!" shouted Mr Delmar, rising sharply from his seat.

But she wasn’t about to be stopped now. Oh, no. She was only just getting started.

"And you know another thing about Courtney?" Alyssa raised her eyebrows, exhaling deeply as if anger was escaping her mouth. "Uh huh? That ‘perfect’ little nose of hers?" She coughed, as if to hide what she was going to say. "Nose job!"

A few disbelieving gasps could be heard throughout the audience, followed by a wave of murmurs and laughs. Then, without warning, Courtney rushed onto the stage, her own heels clattering loudly as she scurried towards the podium. "I have not had a nose job!" she squealed, trying to claw the microphone from Alyssa’s grip, but proving unsuccessful in her endeavours.

"Don’t even try to deny it, Courtney!" Alyssa scoffed, tightening her grip as she forced the microphone higher, out of Courtney’s pathetic reach. "If you’re going to pretend it’s real, at least get a good plastic surgeon to do the job decently!"

"Girls!" Mr Delmar shouted, pushing the two apart and grabbing the microphone himself. "Alyssa, your speech is over. Please remove yourself from the stage or I will remove you from the election!"

She opened her mouth to protest, before thinking better of it. There was no point in getting herself disqualified now, especially on election day. That would just be handing the crown over to Courtney willingly... and that was the last thing she wanted to happen. She threw a death glare at her opposition before storming off to the side of the stage, behind the curtain where she was not visible to the audience.

"And now..." Mr Delmar said, with an exasperated look. "We hear from the other candidate... Courtney Powell."

As he passed the microphone over, Courtney smirked as she regained her composure. "Well, I’m sure we’ve heard enough from Alyssa." She said her name with disgust, wrinkling up her nose as if a bad smell had entered her nostrils. "And I promise you, everyone, that I am not the person she makes me out to be. Alyssa is just... troubled at the minute - she is still very distressed after breaking up with her boyfriend."

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Alyssa said, marching back out onto stage. "I am not ‘troubled’! How dare you, you little skank!"

"Alyssa!" Mr Delmar stood in front of her, blocking her from going in Courtney’s direction. "This is your last chance - get off the stage or you will be disqualified from the election."

"As I was saying..." Courtney continued, smirking as Alyssa made an irritated ‘hmph’ noise to herself and stormed off once more. "In many cases, I have been wrongly portrayed as someone I am not. And I can assure you, I would be an asset to this school if elected president."

"I’m surprised she even knows what the word ‘asset’ means," muttered Fred.

"I could stand here and tell you all the reasons why I should be your president. But that’s what everyone does, and it’s boring, isn’t it?" She shot a smug look at her opposition, making eye contact for less than a second before she averted her gaze back to the audience. "And anyway... I’ve got a better idea."

She stepped out from behind the podium, making her way leisurely to the front of the stage as she spoke.

"I think everyone is well aware of my opponent here. After all, Alyssa Taylor has made quite the impression on this school in the time that she has spent at Serenity Falls. You all know her as the queen bee, the popular one. But no matter how many posters she puts up, no matter how many cupcakes or cookies she hands out, no matter how nice she fakes being to you... how many of you know the real Alyssa Taylor?"

"Mr Delmar!" Alyssa said angrily, as she stood in the wings with the principal. "You said she’s supposed to be promoting herself, not talking about me! Stop her!"

"Alyssa," he said calmly, holding his hands up. "It will be fine. As long as she’s not doing anything overly offensive, we can leave her to it."

"But that’s not fair!" she protested, glaring at him with narrowed eyes. She was not used to being on the wrong side of Mr Delmar. With a father who made such huge donations to the school’s fund, she usually found him backing her up in most situations. But he had grown tired of her brat-like personality and irritatingly high-pitched voice to the extent that just being around her in this state infuriated him.

"Just calm down and listen to the speech, please."

Courtney was now pacing the stage, placing one foot slowly and carefully in front of one another with precision, enjoying the steady beat it gave her as she walked. "How many of you can see past Alyssa’s front... and see her true personality?"

She paused for effect, her eyes scanning the audience as she watched one or two students look at each other and murmur. All was going to plan. She could hear Alyssa arguing with Mr Delmar in the wings, annoyance clearly evident in her tone of voice. But she didn’t care about that. As long as she revealed this now, shown everyone the truth, everything would fall perfectly into place.

"Not many people get to see the real Alyssa Taylor, but I have done." Courtney turned her head, looking from one side of the room to the other, her sight crowded by baffled expressions. "And now you will too."

Tilting her head towards the projection room, she snapped her fingers and immediately the background of the stage was transformed into a photograph. A photograph that completely silenced the room, tension descending immediately as everyone inhaled sharply, silently wondering if their eyes were deceiving them.

But their eyes were working perfectly well, and this photograph was real.

"Now it is very clear what is shown in this photograph, but in case you are unsure, let me point it out to you," Courtney said quietly, her hushed voice echoing around the space of the hall whilst she spoke into the microphone. "This is Alyssa... obviously sharing a passionate kiss with a lover, but who is that lover? I am sure most of you would be shocked to know that the person in this photo is Mr Hammond."

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Yup, I'm leaving you on a cliffhanger. Sorry about that! Remember to vote to encourage me to upload the next part on time! ;) And if you haven't already, please please please check out my other story "Musically Gifted? Well, I Used to Play the Recorder" :D