When Hope's early alarm went off, she was still sitting awake, pouring through the pages of Penelope's magic journal. She ran her fingertips over the indented words on the page, strokes carved into the surface as if Landon had actually pressed a pen to this very piece of paper to write the lyrics to his song about Hope.
She brushed the stray tears from her face, sniffled hard enough to clear her nose, and then put the book under her pillow.
A few minutes later, she was standing outside the classroom door, eyes clear of any evidence of crying. She could hear two low voices talking behind the door as she pushed it open.
Jed and Kaleb talked together quietly, Josie sat across from them just watching, and Emma stood at the head of the table, waiting.
"Who voted for you?" Kaleb asked when he saw Hope enter.
Hope sat next to Josie stiffly. "I ran unopposed."
"You didn't have to be elected in?" Josie furrowed her eyebrows worriedly.
Hope tilted her head and stuck her chin in the air. "There are no other tribrids to vote for or against me."
"Let's begin," Emma interrupted gently. "Thank you for meeting so early this morning. I know it's not what you expected when you ran for Honor Council, but we have an urgent matter at hand to discuss. A dragon has been spotted by the locals - more than once -"
"Dragons aren't real," Kaleb interjected, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table.
Hope scoffed. "You could say the same about vampires, or magic in general."
"We haven't determined the authenticity of the dragon yet. It may just be an elaborate illusion spell over the town. What we're here to discuss isn't the circumstances of the dragon. We're here to discuss how the school should respond. If we sit back and do nothing, we risk exposure, not just to our school but to our entire supernatural community, including our friends and families back home. But if we get involved, we risk endangering everyone here and the possibility of involving them in a supernatural threat." Emma clasped her hands in front of her. "It's a hard decision, but the four of you represent your classmates and I know you'll keep their best interests at heart. As the representative for the younger children, I will be voting in the interest of their safety."
Emma placed her stone on the scale, tipping the balance in favor of sitting back.
"Well, the tribrid faction votes that we go after the dragon." Hope tossed her stone on the opposite side, leveling the scales again.
Kaleb laughed under his breath. "Don't say 'faction' as if it isn't just you." Hope glared at him until he grabbed his own stone. "The vampires vote that we stay out of this. We can keep compelling the locals to forget. Until the dragon hurts someone, we stand back." The scales tip again.
"The wolves vote we go after it. No one threatens the pack." Jed's tile rebalances the scales.
Four sets of eyes turn to Josie who looks paler than usual in the candlelight. She swallowed heavily and glances between everyone. "I can't be the deciding vote." She shakes her head and leans back in her chair, trying to get as much distance between her and her voting tile as possible without getting up and running out of the room.
Hope looked at Josie sideways. "You signed up for this."
Josie let out a long, harsh sigh, turning her eyes up towards the ceiling.
Hope pushed again. "At least your sister would've known exactly how she'd vote."
"Well she's not the one the witches voted in, is she?" Josie snapped suddenly.
Hope seemed unaffected by her outburst. "Just pick a side."
"Fine." Josie's eyes flickered around the room, fingertips touching her stone. She looked back at Hope. "We should go after the dragon."
Her tile decided the scale. Hope smiled, just a little, and Kaleb pinched the corners of his mouth as he looked between Jed and Emma.
Emma smiles pleasantly through the tension. "Thank you all for your time and for your votes."