Flávia:hope you win:)
My stomach plummets. I have no idea what to say back.
Me:thank you, good luck to you too
It’s the only thing that feels sincere. I want to tack on anI miss you,because I desperately do; I even type in a heart before deleting it.
Chaewon and Jess come up beside me as I slip the phone back into my pocket. Chaewon hooks her elbow with one of mine, and Jess takes the other. They both smile.
“Ready?”
“Ready.”
After the judges have had a chance to speak to all the contestants, fake smiles and clipboards in place, they take their spots on the stage that’s been set up at the top of the hall. The rest of us gather around. An excited chatter builds in the hallway, broken only by a loud shriek from the microphone as Ms. Montgomery takes hold of it.
“Oh, sorry,” she mumbles, holding the mic up to her lips and smiling down at all of us. “Um. Welcome everyone. And a very special thank you to our judges, Mr. Kelly and Ms. Walsh, for joining us today. We’re so delighted that we got the chance to participate in this competition this year. It brought out so much dedication in our young Transition Year students, and I’m sure in a few years we’ll be seeing some of them up here on stage with us.”
As she hands the mic over to Mr. Kelly, I feel a presence a little too close to me. When I turn around, I find Flávia smiling down at me. She slips her hand into mine and leans close.
“I’m nervous,” she whispers, her lips grazing my ear and sending a shiver down my spine.
“Me too,” I whisper back. She edges closer, and I can smell her sugary-sweet perfume.
“There are a lot of excellent business ideas and executions in this school this year,” Mr. Kelly announces into his mic from the top of the hall. He’s wearing a plain black suit and tie. The judge next to him, smiling through bright red lips, looks more relatable. In an all-girls school I think she should be the one running the competition. She should be the main judge, to show girls that they can make it in the business world.
“But unfortunately, there can be only one winner.” As Mr. Kelly says this, silence spreads over the entire hallway. We all wait breathlessly to hear who the winner is.
Flávia’s hand squeezes mine at the same time Chaewon finds my other hand.
“And the winning business belongs to … Chaewon Kim and Jessica Kennedy!”
I gasp out loud, but it’s drowned out by the sound of the hall bursting into applause.
Chaewon and Jess have the biggest grins on their faces. I wrap my arms around both of them before shoving them through the crowd. They walk up, looking at the stage in awe. They obviously didn’t expect to win, but if anyone deserves it, it’s definitely them. They’ve been working hard through and through. No games. No sabotage.
My heart fills with pride as I see them up there, accepting their award from Mr. Kelly and Ms. Walsh. Their smiles are so wide it’s contagious.
“It’s funny, isn’t it?” Flávia leans down to whisper while everybody is still clapping.
“What’s funny?”
“That this was all about the business competition. That’s how it all started out and now …”
“I know. Neither of us are up there.”
Flávia heaves a sigh and turns away, trying to find someone in the crowd of people. “I better go … Chyna doesn’t look too thrilled with the outcome. Talk to you later?”
I want to tell her to stay, but I just shrug and say, “Sure.”
Jess and Chaewon can’t stop smiling after they’ve come down from the stage. I envelop them both in hugs, before admiring their trophy.
“I can’t believe we won,” Chaewon whispers. “I can’t believe we won.”
The trophy is translucent glass shaped like a diamond. In the very middle it says YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR’S AWARD in glittering gold writing.
“You guys deserved to win,” I assure them. “You’ve worked so hard for this.”
Chaewon wraps me up in another hug so tight that I can feel her ribs poking at me.
