Page 15 of My Return to the Walter Boys (My Life with the Walter Boys #2)

School started on Monday, and much to my surprise, the first day of junior year went off without a hitch.

In addition to having a class with each of my friends and two with Alex, people no longer cared about me being the new girl.

Even better, Kim stepped in when Riley and Heather attempted to grill me about how things were going with Cole; one well-placed, icy glare was all it took for the two of them to back off.

By Friday, I’d settled into a comfortable routine and decided it was finally time to pick an extracurricular.

While attending Hawks, I’d been involved in multiple school organizations, from debate club to yearbook committee.

Last year, however, my guidance counselor prohibited me from joining any clubs at the request of Uncle Richard so that I could adjust to my move and focus on healing.

The first student council meeting of the semester was scheduled for after school, and I figured it would be a good place to start.

When I arrived at the auditorium, Skylar was waiting outside the door for me.

“Well, look who it is,” I said, crossing my arms. At lunch, I had asked my friends if anyone was interested in joining with me, but every single one of them laughed.

“I’m surprised to see you after receiving such a thorough rejection.

What was it you said? Something about not wanting to spend more time at school than necessary while being forced to work for free with a bunch of try hards? ”

Skylar didn’t even try to look bashful. He flashed me a wide grin. “I might have said something like that, but I’m allowed to change my mind. It would be cruel of me to let you go alone, especially when you looked so dejected and pathetic.”

“Riiight…” I rolled my eyes. “Why don’t I believe you?”

“After living with the Walters, I suspect you’ve developed an excellent bullshit detector,” he said, which got a laugh out of me.

“That’s true. I need it for self-preservation purpose. But for real, though. Why the change of heart?”

He stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Because I heard Chase talking about coming to today’s meeting.”

“Who?” I asked.

“Chase Kennedy. He’s the editor for the school paper. Sometimes when the news cycle is slow, he publishes an article from my blog to fill the space.”

I gasped in mock offense. “So you’ll show up for some random guy when he mentions he might be in attendance but not for your good friend? Geez, I see how it is.”

“For your information, Chase is the devastatingly handsome senior who I’ve secretly been obsessed with for three years,” he said. “Sorry, babe, but you don’t come close in comparison.”

“Of course. How silly of me.”

Skylar grinned and looped his arm through mine. “Glad we sorted that out. Come on. We’re going to be late.”

The meeting must have been about to start, because when we entered the auditorium, everyone was already seated and turned to look at us.

“What is she doing here?” snarked a familiar voice, which I followed to its source.

Long auburn hair. Brown doe eyes. A heart-shaped face I recognized immediately.

Erin was seated in front of the stage surrounded by a posse of friends who all tittered at her question.

I knew I was meant to hold my chin high and pretend I didn’t hear her, but before coming back for the school year, I’d made a resolution against taking shit from anyone.

Not from the Walter boys or Mary and certainly not from one of Cole’s old hookups.

I stared Erin down. “I’m sorry, am I in the wrong room? I thought this was student council, a student organization run by students , and I just so happen to be one of those.”

Erin turned pink and averted her gaze when a surprisingly large number of people laughed. I took this for the win it was and followed Skylar over to an empty row at the back of the room.

The next hour passed in a blur of boring housekeeping information and start of term notices, the only noteworthy moment being when Erin raised her hand as one of the hopefuls running for president.

When the meeting came to a close, I went to add my name to the sign-up sheet for the homecoming committee while Skylar wandered over to a guy who looked like a Disney prince come to life—perfectly coiffed ebony hair, cornflower-blue eyes, and an aggressively patrician nose.

When I turned around, I nearly ran smack into Erin.

“Just so we’re clear,” she said in a threatening tone, “if you think you can waltz in here and sabotage my campaign for president, you’ve got another thing coming.”

Good Lord, this girl was ridiculous. If I didn’t put a stop to this one-sided beef immediately, I had a feeling she’d make every meeting from this point forward brutal. “So because a boy you liked decided he was more interested in me, I’m suddenly out to get you?”

Erin gaped at me. “What?”

“Look, I’m not here to cause a scene or sabotage you or whatever else you’re thinking,” I told her.

If I’d known Erin was a member of student council, I might have chosen a different club to avoid the drama.

“I don’t have an issue with you. All I want to do is join an extracurricular to pad my college application and be left in peace. ”

My admission must have taken Erin by surprise, because she paused. The friend standing at her side, however, scoffed at me. “Then why don’t you pick another club?”

I shrugged. “Because student council is the perfect fit for me. I have great organizational skills; I grew up helping my mom plan parties, charity events, and fashion shows; and I spent the summer interning at a top investment company. Also, I don’t need your permission to join.”

That shut the girl up.

“Okay,” Erin said after considering me for another moment, her frosty expression melting. “Any chance you can apply those skills to running an election campaign?”

My brows shot up in surprise, but I recognized her offer for the olive branch that it was. “Yeah, I think I can manage that.”

She smiled and held out her hand. “Then welcome to student council, Jackie.”

***

By the time I went to bed that night, I had a rough plan for how to get Erin elected as student council president, subject to her approval.

Campaign Checklist

Brainstorm campaign slogans

Design a logo (maybe Katherine can help?)

Print, hang, and distribute posters/flyers around school

Create social media content

Network with other student organizations

Order T-shirts (keep as a surprise?)

Help Erin prep for the debate

Draft victory speech

***

The kitchen was strangely packed when I wandered in for lunch on Saturday afternoon.

Nathan, Alex, Lee, Jack, Parker, Zack, and Benny were seated at the table, Monopoly money divvied up between them. Isaac stood behind the island with a cheese grater held up to his mouth as he displayed a mostly empty box of leftover pizza.

“Going once, going twice. Sold to Alex for six hundred!” he announced in an exuberant voice.

“Come on,” Lee groaned and banged his head against the table.

Alex hopped up. “Tough luck, coz.” He exchanged the majority of his paper money for two slices of pepperoni. “Maybe you shouldn’t have spent so much on a granola bar.”

“How was I supposed to know it was expired?”

I slid into the empty spot at Nathan’s side. “What’s going on?”

“Jordan tripped and fell down the stairs,” he explained. There was a Smucker’s Uncrustables wrapper in front of him along with four beige hundreds and a blue fifty. “Mom had to take him to the ER, and she put Isaac in charge of making sure everyone eats lunch.”

Well, that explained the loud crash I heard twenty minutes earlier. “Is he okay?”

Nathan nodded. “Broken finger, but he’ll be fine.”

“That’s surprising, then.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, his forehead creasing into a frown. “Jordan’s tough. His finger was sideways, and he didn’t even cry.”

“I was referring to your mother, not Jordan. I figured the situation must be serious if she panicked enough to put Isaac in charge.”

Isaac drew himself up to his full height. “I’m the oldest here.”

“And yet…” I said, tilting my head to the side.

“He’s the least responsible,” Nathan finished with a smirk.

“Says who? Not only am I feeding everyone, but I’m making sure they have a blast while doing it.”

I side-eyed Jack, who was eating out of a mixing bowl filled to the brim with ice cream. It was covered in chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and, strangely, jalapenos. “Yeah, I’m sure this is exactly what Katherine had in mind,” I deadpanned. “What’s with the cheese grater?”

“This is my microphone ,” Isaac said, feigning offense. “I’m an auctioneer.”

“Don’t you think you could’ve chosen something a bit more, I don’t know…cylindrical?” I glanced over at the ceramic utensil holder next to the stove; it held a plethora of better options, including a whisk and a wooden mixing spoon.

Isaac’s lips curved into a wicked smile. “I can give you something cylindrical.”

“Gross,” I said, wrinkling my nose. “Forget I said anything.”

The auction continued after that. Nathan spent the rest of his money on a ham and cheese Hot Pocket, which he split with me, while Parker made the mistake of buying a mystery item.

It turned out to be a container of leftovers Isaac found at the back of the fridge.

Normally Parker was a black hole that would suck down anything edible within range, but even she gagged when the moldy baked beans were revealed.

Only Zack and Benny had yet to purchase something as they were too afraid to spend their money and kept getting outbid.

“Next up,” Isaac announced as he pulled a familiar can out from behind his back, “we have a strawberry lemonade Kickstart!”

“Hey!” Alex looked up from his pizza. “You can’t auction that off. It’s mine!”

I held up a finger. “Yeah, I second that.”

Isaac sneered at me. “You don’t need to take his side, Jackie. You’re not dating anymore.”

“I’m not taking anyone’s side,” I replied.

“I don’t think it’s healthy to give six-year-olds that much caffeine.

” I’d read the back of a Kickstart before; it was basically poison in a can, and everyone would suffer if one of the terror twins turned into the Tasmanian Devil.

Besides, I didn’t think Katherine would consider a sixteen-ounce energy drink a proper meal.

“I doubt it’s healthy for anyone to have that much caffeine,” Nathan added.

“Don’t worry so much,” Alex told us. “I drink one of those a day, and I’m perfectly fine.”

“Well, that explains why he’s such a moron,” Lee mumble. “All those energy drinks must have melted his brain.”

Alex bristled and directed a dirty look at his cousin. “You know I can hear you, right?”

After bickering back and forth for a minute, we convinced Isaac to nix the Kickstart, which he replaced with another mystery item. Benny, who was elated to finally win something, burst into tears when Isaac revealed half an onion and a bottle of soy sauce.

Chaos quickly ensued: Alex’s chair toppled over when he jumped up in outrage, Jack and Parker started booing, and Lee chucked his uneaten granola bar at his brother’s face. I attempted to soothe Benny, but no matter what I said, he remained convinced that he wouldn’t get to eat anything for lunch.

“I don’t know how to calm him down,” I said, turning to Nathan for help.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Cole.

He was standing at the threshold of the kitchen, feet bare and hair damp from a shower.

He surveyed the scene with shrewd eyes before crossing the room and squatting down in front of his little brother.

“Hey, bud.” He rubbed his hands up and down Benny’s arms. “What’s wrong?”

“I-Isaac is running an auction,” he answered, his chest hitching, “but everyone keeps winning all the good food!”

“Sounds like your cousin is being a punk,” Cole said.

Isaac scoffed, but Cole didn’t pay him any attention.

“You know what sounds really good right now?”

When Benny shook his head, Cole crooked a finger at him, gesturing for his brother to lean in, then held a hand up to the side of his mouth like he was about to share a secret. “McDonald’s,” he stage whispered.

That must have been the magic word, because Benny immediately stopped crying. “I spent all my money on the onion.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Cole told him, his eyes soft. “This will be my treat. Just you, me, and Zack Attack. How does that sound?”

“Can I get a Happy Meal and a milkshake?”

Cole grinned and ruffled Benny’s hair. “Chocolate or vanilla?”