For The Kingdom, The Power And Glory Are Yours

[Pigeon Army†]

Cli-click.

Rachel Gettys pushed open the heavy wooden door and stepped into the dark room. Room A12, located in a dark recess of the Language and Arts Wing, had been the unofficial home of GODspeed Christian Club for one year and five months now - Rachel knew, she helped found the group. She walked over to the pulled-down blinds and began opening them, one by one. With each blind's release, light spilled through a square and into the room, highlighting just how dusty it was.

Rachel opened the final blind, filling the room with light, and walked over to a desk at the front of the classroom, dumping her bag on it and taking out the necessary materials for this, the first meeting of GODspeed for the month. Flicking a stray strand of her impeccably straight hair out of her face, she flicked through the membership booklet. Turnout had never been great - Rachel understood that cowardice stopped many devout Christians in the school from being associated with such an openly religious group - but it had been improving slowly, and she was sure that, one day, when the group's membership numbered in the hundreds, they would look back and say, "That Rachel Gettys, wasn't she brilliant?"

Of course they'd say that. Why wouldn't they? She was Rachel Gettys.

Rachel got the obligatory GODspeed cupcakes out of her bag and placed them on the desk in front of her, and then got out the Official GODspeed Diary. She leafed through it and stopped on the day's entry.

GODspeed President Elections today.

Rachel smiled, the seemingly innocent and sweet curl of the lips hiding the arrogance and malice that motivated it. Today was simply a show election - all Rachel did was give the appearance of the democracy and fairness operating in what was her group, and her group didn't need to know otherwise.

Shutting the diary, she brushed her arm, trying to remove the dust that was landing on her burgundy sweater. Once she was satisfied that she'd done so, she leaned back in her chair and sighed.

It wouldn't be long before her followers arrived. Her devoted followers.

[Solomir†]

Tiffany was late to the meeting. She thundered down the hall, twisting and weaving past students who were unfortunately still in the hallways and in the way of her frantic scramble to get to the designated classroom. She got to the door and wasted no time in opening it as fast as its hinges would allow. "Hiiii," she yelled to the (almost) empty room.

Okay, Tiffany wasn't actually late. She just liked to tell herself that to make sure she could be there early. She just really didn't like showing up late, and it was always nice to be able to help setup or squeeze in some pre-meeting socialization.

Maybe this was why Peter never wanted to come to GODspeed meetings with her. He always complained that he had better things to spend the time doing. To be fair, he did have a lot of things to plan for the parish choir and youth group. Still, it did seem like he was avoiding GODspeed specifically; he would probably be totally down for shopping if she called him right after the meeting.

In any case, the only person in the room was Rachel, the president of the club. Tiffany waved at her frantically. "Hi Rachel," Tiffany crowed, "guess nobody else's here yet huh?. She walked over toward the other girl, dropping off her bag at one of the desks. "Oooh, are those cupcakes? They look delicious!"

She was just reaching for a cupcake when a thought crossed her mind. "Oh dear, maybe I shouldn't eat any. The squad wouldn't like it if I gained a few pounds and couldn't fit into my uniform anymore." Tiffany loved sweets, but she loved her spot on the cheerleading squad too. "Oh I guess one cupcake won't hurt too much. So, what are we doing for today Rachel?" Tiffany wasted no time in taking a large bite out of the sweetly frosted cupcakes.

[Pigeon Army†]

Rachel nearly fell out of her chair as Tiffany burst in, screaming "HIIIIIII!" at the top of her lungs.

Rachel wasn't a fan of Tiffany's too-happy-to-be-true routine, and the girl wasn't exactly well-off, but Rachel was the first to admit that she wasn't bad company when nobody turned up to GODspeed, and there could be worse Catholics in the world. Rachel tolerated Tiffany, even to the point of liking her occasionally, but the girl could be ingratiating sometimes.

"Hi Rachel, guess nobody else's here yet huh?"

"No, no," Rachel said, making sure all four chair legs were firmly on the ground in case Tiffany squealed next to her ear again. "They'll be late. They're always late."

Tiffany seemed to ignore her, instead choosing to exclaim, "Oooh, are those cupcakes? They look delicious!"

"Thank you," Rachel said. She didn't need Tiffany to tell her her baking was good, but she liked it when people said so anyway. Praise was always welcome, no matter how obvious it was. "There's cinammon in them - I believe that's your favourite."

Once again, Tiffany seemed lost in her own little cheery world, running through her thought processes out loud as she contemplated taking a cupcake. "Oh dear, maybe I shouldn't eat any. The squad wouldn't like it if I gained a few pounds and couldn't fit into my uniform anymore." Tiffany always seemed to be insecure about her place on the cheerleading squad, but Rachel never really paid much attention. The only team worth paying attention to at Bayview Secondary was her hockey team.

Tiffany, meanwhile, seemed to have made up her mind. "I guess one cupcake won't hurt too much. So, what are we doing for today Rachel?"

Rachel opened the diary and gave a superfluous glance into it, before shutting it again. "Well, we're meant to be having elections for the GODspeed club president today," she said frostily, "but if no-one turns up I guess we're going to have to postpone them. A shame."

Rachel let the last sentence hang in the air for a minute, before turning to the girl, smiling that menacingly innocent little smile of hers, and asking in a none-too-innocuous voice, "How's Peter?"

[Dropbear†]

((Continued from Sing Us a Song))

"Goddamnit!"

Sapphire, being slightly absent-minded, had forgotten about the GODspeed meeting after school. In addition, after going to the mall during the last two frees of the day, she didn't remember until she was walking back home via school, carrying her haul of shopping. Which now explained why she was having trouble with getting to the room with two full hands of beads and clothes, in a simple light purple dress that seemed intent on making herself trip up.

Finally she managed to lug herself to the small room. The large door was the final barrier and with a push with her shoulder, she wedged it open. Sighing, she dropped her gear into a vacant corner and grabbed a chair.

"Sorry I'm late, I kinda... forgot..."

Turning around, there were only Tiffany and Rachel in the room. Shrugging a small smile, she muttered "Maybe I'm not late after all."

Tiffany and Rachel were kind of like two opposite sides of a magnet, she thought as she sat down. Tiffany was the kind of person who would go out to cheer on other people and let you know what was going on, while Rachel... wasn't. But they were brought together by the same idea, same ideals. That's what was interesting. Anyone can join God.

Even so, there was a small nervous spot. Even though they went to the same group, Tiffany wasn't a good friend with her, and while she and Rachel got on and talked a bit, it was inevitable that they didn't see eye to eye with everything, with Sapphire being Anglican, and Rachel being Catholic. But still, it doesn't matter that much. Same ideas, same ideals. That's what was interesting.

Grabbing a cupcake, she took a small bite and after swallowing politely said "So, what are we doing?"

[Killer_Moth†]

Bobby walked into the room confidently. A quick glance around showed that this wasn't one of the better attended meeting. 'Ah well, what more can we ask, for in a group like this, than those who come when called?'

Rachel had clearly spent a lot of time putting the room together, baking the cupcakes like she always did, trying so hard to make a good impression on the rest of the group. He smiled at her, knowing that she was intending to make her stand for President of GODspeed today. The truth was that she deserved it. She put her heart and soul into this club, and he certainly didn't want to take it away from her. In matters like this, his personal glory mattered little. He didn't know who else would be standing, but didn't reckon anybody else stood a chance.

Nodding a brief, unspoken greeting to Rachel, he moved quickly and quietly towards a chair, trying to disrupt the proceedings as little as possible. While it was evident that they hadn't started yet, there was a firm battle to be the pre-meeting centre of attention going on between Tifany and Sapphire. Sapphire was clearly uncomfortable at having been forced into the situation, he noticed, as she nervously looked over at him. "She's probably relieved that somebody else can take the strain off of her"

Tiffany on the other had seemed rather contented, her mouth half full of cupcake. He liked her attitude towards life, and found that she was more than willing to lend a hand whenever needed. Being around her gave him a fresh burst of energy, and never failed to take his mind of any trivial matter that bothered him.

Sitting, he sighed as he flexed his knee to releae some of the pressure. There was a slight but definite tension in the room, as though he'd interrupted something. He waited for the group to come together, as they always did, eventually. That was the reason he tried to attend regularly. They may be a crazy bunch, but they were his friends, and he enjoyed their company.

[Solomir†]

The burst of cinnamon in Tiffany's mouth made her almost want to squeal with glee. The cupcake tasted divine, but Tiffany only allowed herself to let out a contented "mmmm" in appreciation. She chewed and swallowed her first bite, and was about to gush her compliments of the cupcake when Rachel icily rattled off the meeting's agenda.

"I don't see why we need to do elections now. There's only a few more months before graduation and then you can just appoint a junior to be next year's president." Tiffany took another chomp from her cupcake. "Plus, you're doing a great job right now. We don't need to replace you." Tiffany smiled sweetly. It was true. There weren't that many good people capable of leading a young group of Christians besides-

"How's Peter?" Rachel asked. Tiffany gave a little jump at the sudden change of subject. Of all the people to be asking about, it had to be the one person she was thinking about. "He said he was too busy planning a fundraiser for the church next week," Tiffany blushed at the thought of Peter being his usual meticulous self. He was good at planning things, though he was usually very modest about it. If he had shown up to today's meeting, he'd totally be getting her vote. "Knowing him, he's just skipping out and at the mall again," Tiffany sighed. Tiffany knew that most of the planning was already done, and there were still two weeks before the fundraiser. And since he wasn't actually planning.... "Hey! Maybe I can call him and pester him 'til he decides to come back for the meeting." Tiffany loved her great ideas.

Rachel was probably protesting, but Tiffany had already started back towards her bag to grab her cell phone. Peter was on her speed-dial, since she often forgot the church choir practice schedule or his occasional hastily planned meetings. She listened to the phone ring twice before he picked up.

"Peeeeteer! What are you doing right now?" Tiffany crowed into the phone. She frowned at the sound of chatter in the background as he replied. "Are you at the mall?" she asked. She smiled at Peter's sheepish reply. He was so cute when he did that. "I thought we were going to go after the meeting?" Tiffany tried to put on her best pouty face, not that Peter could see it. "Well, Rachel said we were doing elections today, so I thought you could come and contribute, yknow? Pleeeeeeaaase?" Tiffany knew that eventually, Peter would give in and come as long as she kept- The abrupt click of the phone signaled to her that he had hung up on her.

"He said he might be able to come, but I think his phone battery died. He always forgets to charge-" Tiffany was cut off by the entrance of Sapphire carrying a set of fresh shopping bags. Sapphire was a very shy and quiet girl, but had a great hand at making pretty little trinkets and jewellery. Tiffany herself owned a few necklaces and bracelets that Sapphire had made. "Hi Sapphire!" Tiffany sang across the room.

She moved closer toward the corner, trying to see what stores the bags had come from. She recognized the craft store logo, but the other bags were hidden behind that one. "Oh we're supposed to do elections today," Tiffany said in response to Sapphire's question. "Did you come from the mall? What did you buy?"

((The other half of the phone conversation can be found at Shopping for SOTF))

[Dropbear†]

"Oh we're supposed to do elections today," Tiffany said in response to Sapphire's question

"Elections, eh?"

Politics. Sapphire wasn't a big fan of anything bureaucratic. In the end, it was just a popularity contest, and Rachel was definably the popular leader. Thing was, there was no-one that could do a better job then her in hindsight. She was the one who ran the place, made meetings, put notices in the daily bulletin, and made the cupcake that she was now nibbling slowly. In reality, nobody could take her place. She got the job, and she did it well.

Tiffany eyed the bags in the corner of the room. "Did you come from the mall? What did you buy?"

"Oh, nothing much," Sapphire said, turning her head around to the bags to remember the contents of them. "Beading supplies, new jumper for the end of year trip, Pirates of the Caribbean DVD, a few CDs, beading book. Nothing really big."

CREEEK! The heavy door moaned as Robert Barron entered the room. Trying to undisturb the current talk, he quietly got a chair and sat down in the square-shaped circle, making the current total of 4 people. Not the best turnout.

Fidgeting slightly in her chair, Sapphire mumbled to Bobby. "Hello. What's up?"

[Killer_Moth†]

Bobby smiled at Sapphire. He whispered low, 'Oh, just thought I'd come along for the coronation.' Hoping to get a giggle or something out of the girl, help her to relax. These were always better when they were more informal affairs, he felt, and the younger girl could do with a little coaxing out of her shell. They were all here to celebrate their faith, not to be ashamed of it.

Still, there was always a little part of it that felt like what he thought an AA meeting would be. That slight reticence at the start would always give when the meeting started, and they would talk about anything and everything.

This time, he would have to be careful. For all that these were his friends it was still a Christian group. He didn't want to come out to them until he knew exactly how they were going to take it. He hoped strongly that they would accept him, but knew that most were going to be shocked.

Maybe Sapph could use a little shock No, that thought was unworthy. She was a nice girl. He didn't want to do anything to upset her. And certainly, the very last thing he wanted to do today was upset Rachel's big day. Maybe he'd wait till the end, and approach her, see if he could gauge a potential reaction.

[Dropbear†]

((OOC: I had to recheck your profile to work out what shock you were talking about. This can not end well... just the way we like it. ))

Bobby smiled and whispered 'Oh, just thought I'd come along for the coronation.' Sapphire grinned and shook her head. In a sense it was true, noone else could be bothered to take up Rachel's job. Everyone was happy currently, so why change it?

Bobby's smile slowly turned into one of deep thought. A long silence filled the room, only broken by the soft munching of a cupcake. Is it just me, or do I have the super-power to make awkward silences everywhere I go? she wondered. Looking around the group, everyone seemed to be thinking of something. I wish I could read minds. Then I would know what to say and bring up interesting topics and stuff. Heh, these are my friends, and I still can't think of anything to talk about!

Nervously turning her head around to the door and back to the group, she tried to say in a straight voice, "Well, it looks like no-one else is turning up. Should we start the meeting or something?"

[Pigeon Army†]

Tiffany hadn't been expecting such a...forward question. Rachel smiled - the girl thought she'd bought herself a reprieve with the kind words, but Rachel wasn't one to let an opportunity to ask about Peter slide. Rachel knew the boy didn't like her, and she wasn't exactly enamoured to Peter either.

Tiffany responded in the only way she knew how - cheery and defensive. "He said he was too busy planning a fundraiser for the church next week, knowing him, he's just skipping out and at the mall again." Rachel nodded, and Tiffany sighed. "Hey! Maybe I can call him and pester him 'til he decides to come back for the meeting."

Rachel smiled, a menacing smile that Tiffany didn't catch, too busy was she pleading with her little lapdog to trot on down to GODspeed. The conversation wrapped up with Tiffany letting out a dragging "Pleeeeeease", and Peter apparently hanging up on her. Rachel chuckled as Tiffany turned to her, frowning slightly.

"He said he might be able to come, but I think his phone battery died. He always forgets to charge-"

At that point, Sapphire McLeod burst into the room, carrying several massive shopping bags. Sapphire was an Anglican, which was almost all that Rachel needed to know. She barely tolerated the girl, but then, the senior management at the school had only allowed her to start up GODspeed on the basis she let in all denominations of Christians. Sapphire was a necessary evil, as it were, and she entertained the girl's delusions of acceptance so far as was necessary. As the perpetually-optimistic Tiffany and the uneasy Sapphire discussed shopping and elections, Robert Barron entered the room - another Catholic, which Rachel liked. She also liked Robert generally, and had designs on one of the most, if not the most, eligible Catholic bachelors in Bayview, though nobody would've suspected a thing, mainly because her designs, though involving romance, were by no means romantic. She knew he was rich, attractive, decent, and Catholic. Rachel didn't care for love. She cared for marriage - a trophy husband. Love didn't enter into it.

Today, Robert was more reserved and hushed than usual, and this immediately set Rachel on edge. Something was wrong, and she had a distinct feeling that this something would overshadow her inevitable election victory. Rachel hadn't mentioned the elections in the notices for a reason, and only a bare minimum of people knew about them. Nothing was meant to interfere with her success.

If he tries anything funny, I will make sure his remaining months at this school are a living hell.

A long silence ensued, and Sapphire piped up nervously, "Well, it looks like no-one else is turning up. Should we start the meeting or something?"

Rachel coughed, looking at the small group in front of her. Perfect. No individuals here. "Yes, let's start the meeting, thank you, Sapphire," she said disingenuously. "The first item on today's agenda is GODspeed Presidential elections. As always, we have these elections twice a year, to ensure that the group's voice is heard consistently. We shall have nominations first, and then voting."

Rachel let that hang in the air for a second, and then continued. "I am putting myself forward for President."

Again, she allowed for a pause for effect.

"Does anyone wish to stand against me?"

[Killer_Moth†]

Bobby grinned as the meeting proper started. He didn't have to worry about anything right now. This was Rachel's moment. he knew she had been looking forward to this for some time.

'Well, I'm not going to stand for the position. I'm happy to throw my whole hearted support behind you on this one, Rachel.'

He doubted whether either of the other girls would try. Sapphire almost certainly wouldn't. Not that Rachel would allow her to. She seemed to have something against the girl because she wasn't Catholic. Bobby didn't care what denomination you were, or even if you weren't Christian, as long as you were a good person.

Tiffany was another matter. Bobby didn't expect her to try and stand, but there was a distinct possibilty. Maybe Rachel wanted someone to stand, so that she could have a victory, rather than be proclaimed. He didn't want to second guess anybody, but it was too late now. He'd made his position clear to the group. Now, they had to make up their own minds.

[xylophonefairy†]

((Maddy Stone continued from dz/dt))

Maddy slipped into the room quietly just as Rachel asked if anyone wanted to stand against her. She sent a grin in Rachel's direction as she took up a seat, eyeing up the cupcakes but not really wanting to interrupt proceedings having walked in late. Carefully she took off her jacket and draped it over the back of her chair, and she tapped the feet of her plain black flats together, all very dull and all very Catholic.

She had always found it slightly ironic that out of school she went to such great efforts to avoid doing anything especially religioud, yet voluntarily went to the most conspicuous Catholic organisation in the school, and had been there since the beginning. Her elder sister was actually jealous that Rachel was in Maddy's grade and not hers, jealous that none of her crowd at school had started something up. Maddy secretly believed that it was the cupcakes that Eve really envied.

"Well, I'm not going to stand for the position. I'm happy to throw my whole hearted support behind you on this one, Rachel."

Maddy considered Bobby's statement for a moment, she agreed with him entirely, and it was partly this that made her think about it. It was true that Rachel had put her heart and soul into the club and that if anyone deserved the title of Presidency it was her, but Maddy couldn't help but wonder if it was holding the club back somehow. She was fairly sure that a lot of people, Catholics included, were slightly intimidated by her, and Maddy had a faint idea that if she wasn't friendly with Rachel anyway, she might not have joined. Also, there was the possibility that people though it would be boring, that their debates were dull which she knew was not true.

And that was why she did what she did next, thinking she was crazy, thinking it was completely suicidal, she jumped to her feet. She'd been in the room less than three minutes.

"Oh what the heck," she said out loud, keeping an amicable smile on her face even though she was terrified. "Just so that you have someone to beat this year, I'll stand against you." She winked in Rachel's direction, one of cameraderie, one that she was on her side. She knew everyone would vote for Rachel as they should but heck, it brought a bit of drama to the room.

[D/N]

"Ah, don't you worry Maddy. Ya aint the only one."

The booming baritone of Imraan Al-Hariq sounded from the behind, and the basketball player slouched in the doorway. Of course at his height, slouching was simply a matter of not banging his head against the frame. Once you'd done that a few times, you learned to cope, as it wasn't like the school was going to suddenly start accomodating his height after all these years.

"Sorry I'm late. Y'know, the season starts soon, had to get some practice in."

He smiled easily as he slid into the room and grabbed his seat, nodding at his fellow members as he did so.

"Then I had to shower, cause really, how many votes am I gonna get if I come here straight from practice? NONE, man. I mean, still probably not gonna get any, but hey."

Imraan shrugged a bit, still smiling. His participation with GODspeed had started on a lark during his sophomore year, but as his personal faith grew, so had his participation with the school's group. To be honest, he enjoyed working with his church more. They seemed more interested in actually getting out and doing work with the community, whereas GODspeed had often been bogged down in denominational debates and what he felt were silly and irrelevant school-related issues. Moreover, his knew full well that Rachel couldn't really stand the fact that his church was considered non-denominational, and he'd often felt that some of his ideas were shot down simply out of spite on her part. But still, he'd grown to cherish the relationships he'd made with many of the students he shared his faith with, and it's not like he'd considered Rachel a bad person, just too... old-school Catholic to accept the Palestinian in the baggy workout wear as being a part of her group.

"ANYWAY, yeah I'll throw my hat in the ring. Rachel girl, you know you do great work here, but hey, like Maddy said, we've just got to give you a bit of competition. Ain't that right?"

"But seriously, I've got some good ideas on how we can move GODspeed out of the classroom and into the school and community as a whole. We've spent a lot of time talking lately, and I just think we need to spend more time DOING. I mean, we're all brothers and sisters in Christ here. We know that. But we should be getting out more, helping those outside the club. And that's how we bring them over to us."

He said his piece quickly, then sighed a bit. He probably wasn't going to get the position, and frankly, he didn't really have time to be leading the group anyway. He was already considering dropping out of football (he'd never really used the term "soccer") this spring so that he could focus on his grades once the basketball season wound up, and running the GODspeed club might be more trouble than it was worth. It would certainly look nice on his college apps, though.

[Dropbear†]

"Yes, let's start the meeting, thank you, Sapphire," Rachel said.

"The first item on today's agenda is GODspeed Presidential elections. As always, we have these elections twice a year, to ensure that the group's voice is heard consistently. We shall have nominations first, and then voting."

We know that, just get it over and done with so we can have the rest of the meeting.

"I am putting myself forward for President. Does anyone wish to stand against me?"

Sapphire stared at Rachel with her dark green eyes, evaluating her.

Candidate: Rachel Gettys
Political Party: Catholic
Pros: Knows how to run the joint, has experience. Is relatively good at the job, and can help other people.
Cons: Slightly snarly at me, always has to be top dog. Get on her wrong side and my life will become a living hell for the next week.
Final Evaluation: Can do the job, and do it well. Just don't annoy her.

The boy next to Sapphire grinned. 'Well, I'm not going to stand for the position. I'm happy to throw my whole hearted support behind you on this one, Rachel.'

Rachel: 1

"Oh, what the heck."

Sapphire jumped. Turning her head around to the door, she spotted... Damn, what's her name? Megan... Morgan... MADDY! Maddy Stone.

"Just so that you have someone to beat this year, I'll stand against you."

Candidate: Maddy Stone
Political Party: Catholic
Pros: Nice, easy to get along with, talks a lot in meetings.
Cons: Virtual unknown to me, lack of experience.
Final Evaluation: Well, you need two people to vote for. Question is, can she do the job?

Before Sapphire could consider her options, she heard another voice, this one more booming, male. "Ah, don't you worry Maddy. Ya aint the only one."

Imraan ducked into the room.

" I'll throw my hat in the ring. Rachel girl, you know you do great work here, but hey, like Maddy said, we've just got to give you a bit of competition. Ain't that right?"

Candidate: Imraan Al-Hariq
Political Party: Independent
Pros: One of the more popular people in school (in regards to sports), talks about the big issues, easy to talk to. Promises to get out into the wider school community.
Cons: Rachel is not very happy with him, and Rachel as an enemy is bad. May not have enough time to do everything.
Final Evaluation: It looks like we have a major contender here.

Sapphire turned her head around to the group, lost in thought as Imraam and Maddy got chairs and joined the circle. She bit her tounge, trying to work out what could happen. Robert was going with Rachel, that was certain... but there was only Bobby, Tiffany and herself that were voting! And it was extremely unlikely that Tiffany was going to vote for anyone other than Rachel.

Rachel was a shoe-in, no matter who she voted for.

"I'll go with Imraan."

Rachel: 1, Imraan: 1. It was a waste of a vote, but just to see the look on Rachels face might be worth it.

[Candescence†]

((Tristan Matthews continued from Sparse))

"DANGDANGDANGI'MLATE!"

Tristan dashed into the room, sweating. He was so busy playing DS, he forgot about the club meeting! A few people were already here, and he knew the president elections were on. He skidded to a stop, slamming his hand down onto the table, panting. "I'm so, so, so sorry I'm late! First I was in the library trying to see what the heck is up with Madeleine Smith - I believe you saw that one too, Saph, then I'm playing DS in the Cafetorium and all of a sudden there was an argument and I just HAD to step in, and-Crud, I'mrablingagain."

Tristan took a deep, deep breath. He didn't seem that late, and it was only just starting. From what he had heard before he stepped in, people were already throwing their hats into the ring and voting too. He grinned, his head drooping a bit. "Well, since this meeting is already underway... I nominate myself. Who else is in the running?"

Then he spotted the cupcakes. Perfect, just the energy to get him going for the meeting. "Mind if I take one?" He asked, as he snatched up one, taking a bite out of it. The taste was perfect. Just what he needed. He swalled the portion he had bitten off, and made his best M. Bison impression. "Yes! Yes! This is DELICIOUS! Whoever made these deserves a medal!"

He sat down, laughing, but his laughter faded out quickly, as he regained his composure, and his heartbeat began to level out. He looked around, noting his potential "rivals" in this race for the top spot. First up was Rachel, whom, though he hated to say it, could be a bitch at times. Another reason to think 'I have nothing against God, but his fan club I just can't stand!' funny, Tristan was in said fan club.

Tiffany, on the other hand, was a cheerful and generally nice person, though admittably too trusting for her own good, and even Tristan had to admit that. But her cheerfulness never got old. If only everyone were like her... Actually, maybe not. It would get immensely annoying.

Bobby was from a rich family, but one of those people who weren't the type to flaunt it, which Tristan respected him for. In fact, Bobby seemed to have gone out of his way to make sure that his rich heritage wouldn't be the thing that people would judge him by. Good for him, it's better to have people judge you on your own merits.

Saphirre-waitaminute, he already encountered her in the library today.

Maddy... She was a devout Catholic, but he'd been hearing rumors that she was making constant lies in order to escape going to church on a saturday. Now, Tristan didn't go to church all the time either, but he felt lying about it was just wrong. He should at least talk to her about it sometime. Why he hadn't done that already, he wasn't sure.

Imraan Al-Hariq, he was sporty fellow indeed, one of the tallest in the school. A muslim convert from Palestine. Tristan didn't mind Islam, not just because he was tolerant of other faiths, but because he knew that Islam and Judaism worshipped the same God, they just disagreed with each other and with Christianity on certain things such as if Jesus was the son of God or not. But, anyway, Imraan was an awesome bloke, all the same.

With that, he sat back, taking another bite out of his cupcake. "This is going to be an interesting election."