Eli stepped forward beside me, her expression a mix of anticipation and curiosity.

Fujiwara stood directly ahead of us, raised his hand, and knocked on the door three times in a rhythmic pattern.

About a second later, two more knocks came from the other side in response, repeating the same rythm.

Making secret codes in a high school? Really? It cannot be that serious.

After hearing the response, Fujiwara made one final knock and began to open the door... slowly. Evidently a lot slower than he would've liked as the hinges creaked loudly. "In you go."

Eli strolled past the both of us impatiently, slipping through the doorway before it could open all the way. I, on the other hand, took slow careful steps, wary of the unfamiliar environment I was now entering.

The room inside was... bleak. The walls were about the same as the rest of the school, which is to say, terrible. However, the minimalist nature of the room, made the walls even more dull somehow. The rest of the space wasn't all that as well, with only a few chairs, some tables, and cold metal cabinets in the corner adorning the room with any kind of furniture.

But what truly caught the eye first was the large desk in the very center of the room, positioned directly in front of the doorway. Behind it, a wide window stretched across the entire wall, allowing a view of the courtyard outside.

Sitting at the desk was a severe-looking woman. Her hands gloved, and clasped under her chin like some genius villain in a superhero movie. She wore a gray vest over a turtleneck, her short ashen hair styled into a neat bob. Her eyes—gray like everything else—watched us calmly.

Ah. I think I know why the room looks like this now. Wonder if they renovate after every election?

Eli stood unfazed, the tension in the room was almost becoming more tangible every microsecond that passed as the two of them locked eyes.

Then, slicing through the tension with a chainsaw, Eli stepped forward. "Coleene Laina." She stopped a foot away from the desk. "To what do I owe the pleasure of coming face to face with you."

Coleene rubbed the back of her neck and spoke in a far more down to earth tone than I expected. "C'mon, let's cut the corny crap." She motioned toward the chair beside her desk. "Have a seat."

"Wait, hold on," Coleene said, her eyes shifting over to me, and then back to Eli, who was currently adjusting the fold of her scarf as she sat. "What's he doin' ere?"

Right, forgot I was even here.

Coleene's face twisted like she was about to raise her voice and shout, but Eli cut in smoothly.

"That's Bill Tolwart. Senior transferee this year, and my even newer assistant."

"Uh huh..." Coleene murmured, her eyes still firmly planted on me. In exchange, I offered a small, incredibly awkward wave.

"And don't blame Fujiwara," Eli added. "Bill being present in this meeting was my sole condition for even showing up."

Coleene paused, her gaze shifting back-and-forth between the two of us. Then finally, with a sigh, she let up. "Ah well, it is what it is." She pointed at me, then directed me toward the corner of the room. "Go on, pull up one of them chairs ova there."

"Oh uh sure," The words stumbling out as I awkwardly scooted over to the corner of the room and back dragging a plastic chair across the floor. I plopped down beside Eli in front of Coleene's desk, now looking like two kids at a doctor's checkup.

After I sat, intensely uncomfortable silence once again consumed the room. Eventually Eli broke through, sensing Coleene's apprehension, she casually pointed her thumb toward me. "Just pretend he's not in the room. Should be fairly easy."

"Excuse me?"

These remarks have gotta be malicious at this point.

Coleene gave me one final look over before shifting her full attention to Eli. With the least amount of grace possible, she dragged a gray(because of course it's gray)laptop from the side of the desk in front of us. "Hartley, to be frank, I don't got a clue where to start with you."

Eli tilted her head, "How about at the beginning?" 

To my complete and utter shock, Coleene actually smiled, albeit briefly, but a soft nostalgic smile was there either way.

"Ohhhh yeah. Three years ago. Same freshmen batch." Then the softness vanished like it was never there. "Old me didn't know then how much of a pain in the right asscheek you'd turn out to be."

Coleene leaned toward Eli, taking hold of a stack of papers from the compartment built into her desk and shoving it towards us. "Blatant rule violations, dozens of cases of inappropriate conduct, and... PDA. All perpetuated by her."

Eli chuckled loud enough to echo around the room, not taking anything said seriously.

"And no one did a god damn thing about it!" Coleene's voice peaked Mount Everest as she threw her arms up, knocking over multiple things from her desk.

She paused to calm down and catch her breath, bending down to pick up the fallen items.

I took it as a chance. "So is that why you ran for office? To do something about her?" I returned the favor of the thumb point.

C'mon, I wasn't just gonna sit in the background like furniture, this is getting too interesting to not ask questions.

Coleene stared blankly at me, clearly startled. Apparently she had completely forgotten that I was even in the room, and my existence for that matter, in less than two minutes of talking.

But even so, she answered with a calmer voice. "Damn right. First thing I ever did as president was file a report on your boss—"

"She's not my boss."

"—and sent it to the school counselor," she pressed on. "Actually managed to get the son of a gun sent to the office."

"But something went wrong, right?" I asked, already knowing Eli must've gotten away with it somehow.

Coleen sighed and lowered her head, tapping her nails against the desk.

"Let's keep it brief," Eli chimed in, "The counselor may have had some problems in the household that needed solving." She finished, adding a wink on top for good measure.

My jaw dropped slightly, and Coleene immediately remarked, "I know that face. Completely ridiculous huh?"

Eli scoffed, "No, what's ridiculous is you consistently singling out me instead of also dealing with—"

"Are you really still this pressed about Keley?" Coleene cut her off, her eyes rolling to the back of her head.

Keley. Even her name is enough to cause a reaction like that out of Eli. Wonder what started that beef?

Eli leaned forward, maintaining a cool and composed voice, "Even outside our personal feud, she has been far more complicit in school guideline violations than I ever have."

Coleene stood up suddenly, leaning over the desk toward Eli, her face hovering inches apart from the love doctor. "That's an exaggeration, and besides, Keley has actually been willing to be cooperative with us, unlike you!" She shouted.

"Oh please," Eli fired back, not allowing herself to lose control of her voice, but still not backing down. "Cooperate? Do you mean hijack? Because that's what she does, make every event the student council has set up revolve around her the very moment she's involved."

"So what? Maybe it's good that people participate, even if it is just because of her damn pretty face!" Coleene retorted.

I can't take this anymore.

I swifty interrupted, "Guys."

I was ignored, so I tried again, this time with feeling. 

"GUYS!"

The two bigshots arguing both turned their heads toward me in perfect sync, sharp silence around us as their eyes trained on me.

"I think we've kinda forgotten what this meeting was supposed to be about," I continued with both arms raised, like a man trying to calm down rabid dogs. "So maybe let's just all chill the f out."

The two exchanged one more glance at each other before finally leaning back in their chairs, venting off pressure with huffs of breath.

"Quite impressive." Eli said with a appreciative smile. "Didn't realize you had it in you Bill. But this is why you're my assistant."

Yeah, Whatever.

"Apologies." Coleene cleared her throat, clasping her hands together. "As I was saying, about all the trouble you've caused me and this god forsaken school... I'm willing to bury all that manure six feet under."

"If?" Eli asked, eyes narrowed with skepticism.

Coleene turned her laptop around on the desk. "I know your schedule's all tuckered out for the month" The screen showed a browser tab on a website called the TANNER TALLY HIGH Forum, with profiles discussing their love lives underneath a label reading: Love Guru Waiting List - Current Status: Empty.

"There's a freakin forum?" I blurted out.

"You... didn't know?" Coleene slowly asked in disbelief. "Not a soul told you?"

"I don't really have...friends." I offered a sheepishly constructed smile.

Eli's gaze sharpened, looking back up toward Coleene, "You're in need of my services?"

Coleene turned toward Eli again and nodded.

Eli didn't wait a moment more. Her bag zipped open, notebook already open, pen clicking to life. "Tell me," she said, her eyes lighting up. "What exactly do you need my help with?

No way this is happening.

Coleene exhaled, her hands curling up in her lap. "Ya know, this has gotta be the hardest part..."

She paused.

"I... have a crush."