Kal had called Noelle to sit down with her in the library. She wanted to show her only real friend her song for Alma and one for herself, but for now, she had other things in mind.
"Think we could use any of your coding coolness to help out with the elections? I'm not talking about cheating," she said and gave Noelle a hard look. "I mean doing something cool. Unique?"
It was weird getting involved in school politics, after having very aggressively avoiding them at their old school because she found everyone involved annoying as hell.
But Kal was really into it, and she liked Kal. So she was willing to help a friend, and...dare she say...she was actually enjoying it a bit? She wasn't sure if she'd ever want a position herself, but it was fun helping out.
"Right, so..." Noelle pulled out a notebook, flipping it open. Yes, she had been actually thinking about it even when she wasn't with Kal.
"A basic website to start. Real straightforward, giving all the deets about your platform and all that. And then...one thing to make your site stand out that I considered was a quiz. People fucking LOVE quizzes--'which candidate is your best match' kinda thing."
"Oh, that's a really good idea. I haven't even thought about that. You think a website is too much for such a small running?" Kealani began to write things down, doing mock-ups of her ideas.
She pulled one of her fliers and a pin from her backpack to show it to Noelle. The pin had a small spider icon with "Dignity" and "Responsibility" on each side of it with a yellow banner.
Her poster was much of the same, but it featured a picture of her smiling a hint awkwardly. It was simple and understated. Posh. Like her.
"Nah man, I think a site is perfect. You can only put so much information on your flyers, and peoples' short ass memory spans are only going to remember so much from your speech. A website gives people a straightforward way to get all the info they need."
Noelle jotted a few more quick ideas down for the site on her notepad, before she took a look at Kal's pin and banner.
"Nice, I like them!" She said with a grin. "I can make the site look like them too--gotta have a consistent theme."
"Oh, for sure. I could set up a facebook group real quick, too."
She jotted more notes down. She had a lot to do for Kal, but she didn't mind. She liked to keep busy. It was moments like this when she actually enjoyed her coding skills--when it could actually help someone else. Otherwise, she'd rather be drawing...even if she was way better at coding than drawing.
Noelle looked up and blinked when Kal asked how she could repay her. Noelle pulled her face mask off, letting it dangle from one of her ears as she smiled at her.
"I'm here to help. I don't need anything in return."
That made Kal... a little emotional. She blushed brighter and sighed, smiled a bit. "I... Well, thanks anyway. I mean this means a ton to me. I guess mention I'm working with Alma. I'm going to make my platform about keeping Starlight's prestigious name sparkly and clean. After all the bullshit with the past elections, I want to bring back Starlight's good name. Put our best foot forward, you know?"
Noelle nodded, with Alma's speech still lingering in her mind. She had been so open and honest, and she seemed to be taking this whole thing really seriously. Just like Kal was.
"Alma is a valuable ally in this, for sure. She's smart, and really wants to make the school better. Just like you."
It was a note in the back of her mind--Talk to Alma. You fucked up before but you can turn it around.
Noelle leaned against the back of her chair with a sharp breath.
"At my old school, everyone seemed so 'vote for me because I'm popular!' when it came to this election stuff. This is the first time I've ever seen people being like...hey, I actually want to do good shit. Like you and Alma."
Kal couldn't stop feeling flustered. Yes, she did want good for her school. She'd never been anywhere but here, so she wasn't sure about other schools.
"I mean, I know some of the running is about popularity, but I'm not popular. I think all my work with Mystique speaks for itself about my ability to organize and handle money. I managed to surprise clubs that wanted to do the same thing, and I did it on my own with my own drive.
"Heck! I might end up on the Lilac concert. I want to get us a gig with the concert."
"I think you've got enough credentials to make up for not being 'the popular kid' or whatever. That shit doesn't mean much, anyway. "
Noelle shrugged. She didn't really notice how flustered Kal was getting.
"Hopefully people here actually pay attention and don't just go 'oh, I'll vote for the hottest person.' I mean, I'm sure there are a few of those around, but...just seems like people use their brains a bit more here than humans our age."
When Kal mentioned the Lilac Festival, her eyes widened and she leaned forward a bit.
"Yeah? I haven't been to the Lilac Festival in yeeeeears. I bet you'll get the gig, and I'll definitely come see it," she said with a smile.
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