Hannah blinks at me slowly. They all do. Like the thought of Aisling being the one who cheated isn’t possible. Though I’m pretty sure Aisling was the one who told them all about Ishu.
“You should vote for Ishita,” I say, thrusting the box of cupcakes in front of them once more before they can say anything else. “She’s the best person for this job, trust me.”
None of them look fully convinced, but they do each grab a cupcake from the box.
I manage to give out only a few more cupcakes—and tell a few more people that it wasn’t Ishu who cheated—before Principal Gallagher strolls up to the stage. I shuffle back into my seat as she casts a sweeping glance over the stage, a smile flickering on her lips.
“Welcome, fifth years,” she says into the mic. “This year you have the opportunity to make a very important decision in this school. You get to choose which student amongst these four will represent you, and the entire school, as our Head Girl next year. And you can decide who will serve as deputy Head Girl. Two positions that are of immense importance in our school.” She holds our gaze for a long, tense moment. She’s acting as if we’re choosing the next president of Ireland, not just the two people who will spend most of next year organizing school photos and planning our debs.
“So, this is your opportunity to listen to what each of these students has to offer and make an informed decision.” Ms. Gallagher glances at the four girls sitting at the back of the stage. Alex, Siobhán, and Maya smile down at the rest of us. But Ishu—sitting at the very edge, looks lost to this world. Her eyebrows are furrowed together and she’s deep in thought. My stomach twists at the sight of her.
“We’ll start with Alexandra Tuttle.” The room erupts into applause and Ms. Gallagher takes her seat on the other side of the stage.
All of us listen attentively as Alex tells us about her experience in leadership, and how she’s been at this school since first year, and wants us to graduate next year in the best way possible. Next, Siobhán says almost all of the same things as Alex but smiles a lot more. Maya spends way too much time talking about the debs, and how she’s been dreaming of her own ever since she saw her older sister’s debs dress a few years ago, so she will spend her time organizing the best dance she can possibly put together. She even has a PowerPoint presentation with some ideas of what our debs might look like. When she walks away from the mic, there are whoops and cheers.
Obviously, leadership skills and love of the school are not what the girls in our year are looking for in a Head Girl.
Finally, it’s Ishu’s turn.
“Hi everyone,” she says slowly. “I’m … Ishita Dey.” Ishu takes a shaky breath that reverberates around the hall. “I think you should vote me for Head Girl because … I’m the best person for the job, I guess. I’ve consistently been at the top of my classes, which shows I’m a hard worker, and—”
Ishu’s speech is interrupted by a low cough that sounds distinctively like “cheater.” It’s followed by another which more clearly mumbles “liar.” I glance at the top of the hall at Aisling and Dee, but the thing is I’m not even sure if it was them. It could be anyone—they all think Ishu is a cheater.
Ishu pauses in her speech and glances back at Principal Gallagher. I will Ms. Gallagher to stand up and tell everyone here the truth. That it was Aisling who cheated, not Ishu. But Principal Gallagher isn’t even looking at Ishu. She stares off into the distance, a blank expression on her face.
Ishu clears her throat.” … And on that note, I would like to formally take myself out of the running for Head Girl.”
Now, Principal Gallagher shifts in her seat. “Ishita—” she begins, but Ishu is already at the bottom of the stage, rushing toward the exit. The previously quiet hall explodes into a rush of whispers and giggles as everyone watches Ishu make her exit. She’s holding her head up high—though everyone thinks the worst of her.
I’m not sure where the motivation comes from, but one moment I’m sitting in my seat, looking after Ishu, and the next I’m rushing up to the stage.
“Ishita is not a cheater.” The hall descends into silence once more. Everyone’s eyes are turned to me but I can’t exactly stop now. “You’ve all got to be daft to believe that she is. What, do you believe every single thing Aisling has said to you?” I glance at Aisling, who is glaring daggers up at me. There’s a tug of discomfort in my stomach at her gaze. We’re best friends. We were best friends, I remind myself as I turn away from her, and toward Principal Gallagher. “Ms. Gallagher, you know it was Aisling who cheated. She told me so. Why are you letting Ishita take the blame for this?”