The Halo Effect

36 | fairy godfather

Waiting for Trip McKenna was like waiting for rain to fall from a dark storm cloud.

I knew he was attending Macallan's Monday morning campaign meeting in Mrs. Aspen's classroom, but he'd yet to show up despite his roommate's presence beside his girlfriend and a scowling Win Petrov. I assumed Win's scowling had at least something to do with a conversation I'd overheard between him and Macallan in which he expressed concerns that having Jameson, the current student body president, in attendance would be bad for her image.

''You're your own candidate, Macallan,'' Win had said in a hushed tone prior to Jameson's arrival.''Having the sitting president here could inadvertently mislead your future constituency, and give your opponents ammunition-''

"This is high school, Win. I don't actually have a constituency,'' she'd retorted in that angelic yet firm way of hers. ''You're the mastermind behind this campaign, but please don't drive me crazy with political jargon just yet.''

If my apprehension over Trip's arrival wasn't about to swallow me whole, I would've disputed Win's status as a mastermind and pointed out that he was driving me crazy. His involvement in Macallan's campaign made his presence feel borderline constant. It was unfortunate that I was the only one of my friends who seemed to mind.

Finally, Trip entered the classroom with his backpack slung over one shoulder and his curls going every which way like he'd just climbed out of bed. After exchanging a few words with Jameson, he gradually made his way over to where I'd sequestered myself off in a corner with an air of casualness that might have been deliberate.

Despite spending the better part of the last 36 hours preparing for this moment, I panicked and resorted to mundane niceties.

"Good morning." I mentally kicked myself for speaking in a high and strained voice that wasn't anything like I'd heard before.

"Morning," Trip said, his tone excruciatingly cordial.

"I'm glad you're here."

A muscle in his jaw twitched as his gaze swept the classroom. "The plan's to hang up the campaign flyers, right?"

I nodded quickly, fidgeting with the sleeve of my cardigan. "For us, yes. Win Petrov planned other campaign nonsense involving baked goods, but he's delegating to Gianna and Kelsey-"

I abruptly stopped talking mid-sentence because Trip side-stepped me and approached the table with the campaign flyers. I didn't move a muscle as I watched him briefly chat with Macallan and collect a stack of flyers that displayed my friend's stunning picture. Anxiety fluttered inside my ribcage as he returned to me, armed with an escape clause.

"I'm short on time," Trip explained in a clipped voice. "I've got a Guys With Ties meeting, and I need to swing through Headmistress Harvey's office before the first bell for the first round of Valedictorian interviews."

Trip was already halfway to the door before I realized that he intended to leave me alone in a crowded room. My body jolted itself into action as though I was a marionette with someone pulling my strings.

"Trip, wait!"

And he did.

The relief that fired through me was almost painful. I felt the itchy weight of a few pairs of prying eyes on me as I caught up to Trip and assumed I'd spoken a little too loud. But that didn't matter. I wasn't a young school girl who needed to use her inside voice.

When I arrived in front of Trip, he faced me squarely with a neutral expression. I dared to trail a hand slowly down his arm, from shoulder to fingertips, and his eyes tracked my movements.