The Great Debates

I'm sorry about the lack of updates recently, I've been sooo busy! Between the campaign and the newspaper and of course my schoolwork, I've barely had time to breathe! Sometimes I wonder if I've stretched myself too thin.

Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, the election. It's next week, so campaigning has reached a fever pitch. I've come to the conclusion that the competition for sixth grade class representative has really come down to Meredith -- and me. The other students in the race just don't really matter.

Meredith and I had to address the entire sixth grade in an assembly. The thought of standing next to her made me retch, but I straightened out my blouse and calmed myself down. We posed for the obligatory yearbook picture.

Just before the debate started, though, Meredith shot a look at me that could melt steel.

"You're not going to win the election, Haley Hotchkiss," Meredith hissed. "So you need to just quit while you're ahead.

"I'm not quitting, Meredith," I vowed, "even though I know you sent Natasha to tear down those posters."

"How do you know she tore them down?"

"Oh, come on, Meredith! You think I was born yesterday?"

So there Meredith and I stood, side by side but worlds apart. I didn't look at her and she didn't look at me. I stood there and told the sixth grade why I was running: I'm smart, I'm a hard worker, and I'm willing to learn. I'm hoping to convince 'fringe voters,' aka people who haven't made their minds up yet, to at least consider voting for me. I've figured that those who have already decided to vote for Meredith aren't going to be convinced otherwise.

Meredith resorted to her old tricks of teasing and name calling. I said to myself, Haley, don't lower yourself to her level, just talk about the issues. I wanted to talk about student activities, she was just there calling me names like geek and nerd. It became clear to me that she wasn't running to better the sixth grade. She was only running for her own selfish reasons -- and if she were to get elected, nothing would get done.