The iCandidate (14 page)

KYLIE

In some ways, Michael is an extremely competent strategist.
He knew it was only a matter of time before both political parties came after him, and was patient enough to wait until their strategy became evident before making a move to counter. On the other hand, running a campaign is all about timing, and he may have waited too long.

The problem is
the sheer number of fronts his opponents could attack on. Since Michael’s resources are limited and political allies non-existent, there is little margin for error to chase red herrings. Figuring out what approach another candidate will use to beat you is tricky, but I can’t help but think he should have seen this tactic coming.

Over the prior
week, a series of op-ed articles were published in local newspapers by parents expressing concern over a teacher using students in a political campaign. Some were probably legitimate – if I were a parent, I’d be concerned too.

However, so many in such a short period of time reeked of
sleazy politics. After a little digging, I found the root cause of our headache. My only surprise was where it’s coming from. Winston Beaumont was not launching the ‘March of the Parents’ assault on Michael Bennit, Richard Johnson was. That man is so dense light bends around him, so the thought his ploy is gaining traction is downright scary.

The Republicans are weak in this area
of the country and can do little more than focus on stirring discontent in the Sixth District. While they may cause some heartburn for Michael, Beaumont wields the clout to successfully influence members of the school board. That makes him far more dangerous in the short-term. If Dick Johnson is scared and desperate enough to attack Bennit using sympathetic parents in the press, it’s a certainty Beaumont has already made his move using other means.

I went to work a
fter Michael’s frantic voicemail and the quick conversation that followed. Investigative journalism is what I was born to do, and it didn’t take long to figure out Beaumont had three of the seven members of the Millfield School Board in his back pocket. Needing a majority to end things for Michael, they would need to convince one other member to join them. Swaying a vote was not an insurmountable challenge under the circumstances, so I changed the situation to something more in our favor.

Elected officials in small towns are not use
d to extensive media coverage outside of the local newspaper. School board members get even less love from the media. So when a reporter calls asking for a response to allegations made by an anonymous source, they clam up. It doesn’t matter if claiming Winston Beaumont may be promising favors in return for a favorable decision about a certain teacher running against him is true, it just has to sound legitimate enough to print. Everyone likes a good scandal.

Planting the seed of political
misconduct was Act One. To hide my rather ethically questionable attempt to do my own manipulation, I added a little color in the form of an article featuring the allegations, coupled with an appeal from a student running the campaign. By the end of the brazen piece, I practically dared Millfield’s school board members to vote against Michael.

The
story went out late on Saturday evening over the AP wire and was picked up by almost every major news outlet in the country. Political skullduggery means scandals, and scandals mean ratings. Cable news broadcasts seized on the opportunity to keep their weekend audiences tuned in. Sunday morning political shows on ABC and NBC devoted a segment to the brewing storm. Every major metropolitan and local paper had the write-up, including much to my surprise, the Sunday edition of
The New York Times
.

Beaumont and Johnson
did me a big favor. Their fear of Michael Bennit gave me a fresh angle to expand the coverage of his campaign. In terms of a political interest story, the plight of the iCandidate was now a national issue, and all eyes were training on the Millfield School Board.

* * *

“How many news shows did you do today, Kylie?” Chelsea asks me from the overstuffed chair in the corner of the Perkfect Buzz.

“I saw her on six,” Laura calls out from behind the counter.
She may be schlepping coffee all day, but that woman does not miss a beat. She was only off by one. Now that I am recognized as the deep background reporter for the Bennit camp, every media outlet in the country wanted to talk to me about my story before the big meeting tonight.

I sit in the corner of this charmingly eclectic coffee house with Michael and his inner circle. He has been tweeting almost non-stop since we got here
, and only put down his iPhone to pick up his iPad. His students are equally preoccupied on their own devices. I’m pretty certain they’re not playing Candy Crush or Angry Birds.

Everyone knows the campaign is at a crossroads
. All that is left to do tonight is continue the social media assault as if nothing else is happening. The school board will have finished their deliberations and rendered their decision by now, so trying to further influence opinions is pointless. We are beholden to the waiting game.

“Hold on, this is my favorite part,”
Michael says before reading my masterpiece off one of the news sites he connected to on the iPad. “‘Our campaign has faced many obstacles already,’ explained Orsini, ‘but our school board has the power to end the whole thing. It strikes me as counterintuitive how elected officials can, in good conscience, be against the practice of democracy and the social and political activism of teenagers.’”

“
Counterintuitive?” Amanda mocks from opposite Vince, causing him to shrug.

“You had to have put lipstick on that pig,”
Chelsea says to me with a huge smile.

“His words, swear to God,” I reply truthfully.

“Oh wait, it gets better,” Michael says as he scans down the article until finding the sentence he is looking for. “The same people this town entrusted to promote these ideals are about to take action to silence our voices and retard our learning.”

“
If anybody knows anything about being retarded, it's Vince,” Brian jokes, providing a much needed tension-breaker at a time where tension is the highest. Vanessa even gives him a high five. The only one in the room that seems to be relaxed is Michael. Given the fact he has the most to lose, I have no idea why. Must be a military thing, I guess.

“
Well done, Vince. You made me the school board's public enemy number one, but it’s what we needed. And, of course, a special thanks to Kylie who never seems to have a problem getting anything published these days.” He offers up a short round of applause and everyone joins in. I bow my head with some theatrics, but I mean it. I haven’t felt appreciated in a long time, and Michael’s words were sincere.

“
What will you do if the board ends up voting against you?” Peyton asks.

“
Fortunately, it won’t come to that,” a tall, leggy, blonde woman says as she breezes up to our little corner. She almost sounded disappointed. “You’re on thin ice, but still in the game.”

Michael rises and gives her a quick peck on the lips
, which is barely returned. A guy like that only gets a peck? What the hell is wrong with her? I mean, maybe she had a long day or is stressed out, but I expected more support from the future Mrs. Bennit.

The students are exchanging celebratory high-fives and fist bumps like one of them returned to the dugout after crushing a grand slam.

“And you must be Kaylee Roberts,” Jessica says coolly.

“
It’s Kylie, actually. Pleased to meet you, Jessica,” I respond, offering my hand to shake. After taking a moment to decide whether she wanted to, she begrudgingly accepts the gesture with the limpest handshake I have ever experienced. Really?

“I
’m heading home. Try not to be too late tonight,” she says to Michael before whirring on her heels and sulking out the door. No goodbye kiss or anything. Things between them must be worse than Michael lets on because the chill is causing the windows to frost over.

I can see what attracted him to her though
. In terms of physical beauty, she has few equals outside of fashion magazines and
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Editions
. I mean, I feel downright ugly next to her. Damn, is she ever a bitch though. Or maybe I don’t like her for other, more personal reasons.

“I’m heading
home, too. I have some homework to do, so I’ll see you tomorrow,” Vince says after packing his things.

“
Bye, Vince. Great job these last couple of days,” Michael calls out as Vince shuffles toward the door.

The rest of the students file out in small groups, and I am left with Michael, who amazing
ly, is holding yet another refill of his espresso. How he can consume that much caffeine and still sleep is beyond me, and I consider myself a die-hard coffee drinker.

“Can I ask you
a non-campaign related question?”

“So long as it doesn’t end up on the front page of tomorrow’s
Wall Street Journal
,” he responds, only half-kidding.

“Deal.
” I can’t come up with a clever way to approach this so I go with the direct approach. “Did I read her wrong, or was your fiancée not thrilled with the board’s decision?”

Michael grimaces and pinches the bridge of his nose his index finger and thumb,
pushing outward and tracing along his sinuses. He exhales deeply, and I begin to think I‘m not going to get an answer. He looks at me with eyes I can only characterize as wounded. It isn’t a look Michael appears comfortable wearing.

“I think she looked at
this vote tonight as her ‘get out of jail free’ card. She’s not happy with this campaign, and was probably hoping the board would end it before she had to say something.”

“And when
will she say something?”

Michael
turns off his iPad and picks up his coffee, swirling the dark liquid around the cup. I think I overstepped a boundary in our relationship.

“
I’m sorry. I understand if you don’t want to talk about it with me.”

“I really don’t, but not because of anything to do with you. I don’t know
is the honest answer.” I keep forgetting he is a typical soldier, all go, no quit, and not the best at keeping in touch with his emotions. The way Jessica is acting must bother him, but probably has no idea what to do about it.

“
I don't think I have thanked you for everything you've done for this campaign. The school board would have ended this if it weren’t for your article.”

“
I'm just a simple reporter doing my part. You dodged a bullet, but only the first shot.”

“Yeah, I know
, he’ll really be coming after me now.”

“
If he can find an opening he will, and if he can’t, he’ll make one.” I know Michael realizes the cold, hard truth, but it isn’t any easier hearing someone say it. So far, the Bennit campaign has been a fun ride that could change into a nightmare at a moment’s notice.

“The problem is
, he won’t find anything on me. His next move is a wild card. Not sure how the kids will react to what may be coming next.”

“They worship you,” I say.
“They’ll stick with you through a lot.”

“I’m not
sure about the worship part, but you can’t question their dedication. I’m very proud of them. Watching them makes everything worth it.”

I suddenly feel a little like
Wile E. Coyote must when he realizes he ran off the end of the cliff and hangs there before plummeting to earth. When you are used to dealing with the egos representing us in Washington, any act of selflessness is truly shocking. So the stunning conclusion I just drew about the motive behind this race has me identifying with Looney Tunes characters.

“
That’s what this is about, isn’t it?” I ask as I lean closer to him. “It’s why you won’t mention your military service or take a firm stand on issues. This campaign isn’t about you, it’s about them.” He didn’t need to say anything, because for the first time since I met him, his face gave it away.

“I will never question your investigative skills,” he says, somewhat weakly
trying to recover. He gave that ground up way to easily, so there must be more.

“That’s not the whole story though, is it?” I press.

“Enough of it. So what happens now?”

I know I am quickly losing objectivity. I shudder at the thought that I am turning into my sister, the voice of a campaign instead of the dispassionate reporter covering it.
Part of me is disappointed to discover he may not be as serious about taking on Beaumont as I thought. The other part is captivated at the thought a teacher would go so far for a lesson.

“
Okay, I’ll make you a deal. If you’re not going to issue trust, you have to give me the chance to earn it. If you really want to make this about them, then let’s make it about them. I have an idea for getting you the exposure you want. Just let me give you one warning – be careful what you wish for.”