Every morning since Lane had started missing class, Sammy still stood at the intersection where she normally met up with them, hoping that Lane would feel up to coming to school that day. It was hot that morning, the sun shone unobstructed by a clear, nearly cloudless sky.

Riley had told her to give Lane some time, but she was starting to become impatient, she wanted her friend back as soon as possible. So she held out, growing more expectant with each passing morning. She waited a little longer than she would normally, watching the cars go by, stopping at the stop sign and half remembering the right-of-way rules. For a moment, the intersection became clear of vehicles, allowing a short glimpse of the sidewalk ahead. Immediately her eyes latched onto a familiar sight: a head of blue hair. Sammy’s eyes widened and she had to stop herself from running into the street without looking.

“Lane!”

 Sammy waved wildly at her friend, grinning wide. They waved back at her sheepishly, not quite making eye contact. Sammy ran across the street, pulling Lane into a tight embrace.

 “H-hi, Sammy.”

 “You’re coming back to school?”

 Lane tucked a piece of hair behind their ear.

 “Yeah, I guess so.”

 “I missed you.”

 “I… missed you too.”

* * *

 “Ah, Destroia. I thought you dropped out.”

 “I haven’t, Mr. Snow.”

 “Well, here, I have all the classwork and homework you missed.”

 “Thanks…”

 The classroom seemed brighter to Sammy now that Lane was back next to her, even if they did look miserable staring at the large stack of papers that Mr. Snow had dropped on their desk with an indifferent thud.

 Sammy watched Lane carefully. Lane’s demeanor seemed to be a little different, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Lane’s eyes wandered, accidentally making eye contact with Sammy. Their eyes widened and they turned their head back to their desk. 

Sammy looked towards Riley, who stayed focused on taking notes. Riley had seemed a little off to Sammy as well, even since a little before the speech. Sammy thought she had been nervous, but Riley denied it, saying she was perfectly fine, that Sammy shouldn’t worry about her. That made Sammy worry more. 

* * *

After school, Sammy and Lane sat at desks near the front of the room they used for their campaign. It felt a little strange seeing the room free of craft materials.

“It’s great to have you back on board, Lane,” Riley said, standing at the blackboard and writing ‘Sammy Campaign Strategy Meeting’ in big letters.

“Are you sure you really want me back after I messed up the—”

“Shut your goddamn mouth, Lane.”

“Y-yes, ma’am.”

Sammy giggled, patting Lane on the shoulder.

“After my blunder as Campaign Manager, I really should have resigned, but Sammy has graciously allowed me to stay on the team.”

“You’re the best person for the job, Riley! Also, literally the only person who wants the job!”

“Thank you, Madam Sullivan,” Riley cleared her throat. “So, we are definitely working at a disadvantage here, but there has been some news!”

Riley pulled out a clipping from the school newspaper she kept in a manila folder and floated it up for everyone to see.

“Tim Robinson, our football team star rookie and the second favorite candidate for freshman class president has moved away.”

“To where?” Sammy and Lane gasped.

“To Florida! Let’s take a moment of silence for the only other candidate with an actual agenda. Sure, he was a single issue candidate for extracurricular funding but it was something. Let’s pray that hell-state doesn’t kill the poor bastard.”

They all closed their eyes and bowed their heads. Lane wondered who they were supposed to pray to. Sammy's foot tapped repeatedly.

“So, what does this mean, Lead Artist?”

Lane scrambled.

“I, uh… It means we can take his voters?”

“Exactly right, Lane! Now if you’ll direct your attention to the board…”

Riley walked over and whispered something to Lane. Lane stood up and drew a pie chart.

“According to an informal survey, Harper is in the lead with sixty percent, followed by Tim with twenty five, and you, Sammy, at fifteen. With Tim out of the race, we have a shot at his portion of voters if we were to play up your commitment to extracurriculars, and we might be able to be truly competitive if we can secure a puff piece from the school paper.”

“Do you have any connections?”

“No, but I could probably seduce the club president.”

“Riley!”

“What? It was a joke,” Riley leaned over to Lane in an exaggerated manner, whispering loudly. “Scratch that one out.”

Sammy chuckled. Lane looked worried that Riley might actually try it.

“Oh! If we play up your identity, we might be able to get you on the local news as like, the first openly bisexual candidate for freshman class president or whatever.”

Sammy sighed, propping her head up with her hand.

“They’d probably find out that I’m neurodivergent and decide to play me up as some helpless infant.”

“Oof, I didn’t think of that.”

Sammy stood up, clearing her throat.

“I can imagine it now!” She put on her best newscaster voice. “Inspirational: Little special needs girl with big dreams runs for class president! Look at how hard she’s trying but her brain just doesn’t work like our normal brains do!”

Lane snorted, Riley burst out laughing.

“That’s spot on!”

“This special message was brought to you by Autism Speaks, your donation goes fifty percent to corporate bonuses and fifty percent to eugenics propaganda,” Sammy finished with a flair.

Lane cracked up. Riley’s eyes watered with laughter.

“Oh my god, Sammy!”

* * *

It was Riley’s stop, so she waved goodbye to the other two. Sammy and Lane waved back. Lane was normally pretty quiet, but they seemed especially shy that day, they seemed to keep their distance a little more than they used to. They were holding their arms anxiously as they walked back home.

“Hey, Lane?”

Lane looked up at the taller girl. Sammy was struck with images of the sad puppies from those commercials.

“You know that I’m here for you, right?”

Sammy inched closer, Lane didn’t move away.

“You can tell me anything, Lane.”

Lane looked like they wanted to say something, but just turned their head.

“Whenever you’re ready.”