Surprisingly, Adam didn’t back down. He got angry. “At least I asked for her consent before doing anything with her, rather than just doing whatever I want to Nicole without even making sure she was okay with it first!” he yelled back, right in Phil’s face.
Phil’s right eye twitched as he processed the information. He couldn’t even focus enough to hear the gasps in the room. Adam knew about him and Nicole…? Worse, he accused Phil of doing something to Nicole without her consent. First of all, and Adam didn’t know this, that was a bad look for a son of the Love family, given Nicole’s history with his brother. Secondly… it was something Phil himself always felt paranoid about. He was kind of clumsy with Nicole and didn’t know what she wanted, and figured assertiveness was what she craved from a guy. She always seemed to like it, but there was always this voice in the back of Phil’s head telling him she actually disliked it, and disliked him too.
And today that voice had a name. Adam Watson.
“Yeah, I know about that.” Adam boldly continued. “I know all about how even though Mr. President is talking up quite a storm, he still can’t handle it when he doesn’t get what he wants, so he takes it, whether or not she’s okay or even comfortable with it.”
Adam was trying to reverse the roles, and instill doubt in the President. Doubt from others, or from Phil himself. And on the Phil front, it was working. Phil’s face was frozen in anger, but behind the expression, where no one could see, he was terrified. Not of Adam, of his own self. Did Nicole say something to Adam? Did he witness their first kiss? How did the worst possible person to know, the school’s newest girl-manipulator, get a hold on both this info and Phil’s biggest insecurity? Phil felt himself lean back, then painfully tore his eyes away from Adam, not able to face anything but the floor. He knew he had to speak, and the longer he stayed silent, the more true Adam’s lies would seem. “I-”
“What a load of crap!” came the furious voice of Nicole Baker, who stood up from her seat. Her eyes held fury, but then she looked at Phil, and with her eyes alone, told him one thing – it’s okay. Phil almost physically collapsed with relief as she continued. “Phil didn’t even need my consent. I was practically begging for it. This fucking dweeb here must have seen us and is now just twisting the facts.”
Phil felt like he’d ascended to heaven. Nicole was confirming she wanted it. He could never bring himself to ask her if what he did was okay, so hearing this confirmation was gratifying, validating, and ego-boosting, all in one.
“So you and Phil are a thing?” Jeff asked from the back. His tone sounded neutral to anyone but Phil, who knew Jeff disapproved of their coupling. Phil concealed a smirk.
“Fuckin’A we are, Jeff.” Nicole replied, fist-bumping him. And now, the retaliation had failed. Sure enough, all eyes returned to Adam, though oddly, Phil couldn’t find the energy to speak. He was too busy thinking. Everyone else was riled up from the failed takedown of Phil, and spoke for him.
“So what do we do with this fuckin’ liar?” Jeff asked.
“Why don’t we just, like, boot him out?” Natalie, the representative for the school dances, suggested.
“He yelled in Phil’s face. Highly unprofessional for someone who represents the school.” Eli, the treasurer, added.
“I’m cool with kickin’ him out.” Jeff piped up again.
“As long as we’re all in agreement.” Nicole added, her tone menacing enough to slay the Gorgon.
“No. We’re not.”
Phil realized that was his own voice speaking up. Everyone turned to face him. Something, something deep inside Phil, compelled him to advocate for Adam. Maybe it was his deeply held belief that everyone bad could be rehabilitated, maybe it was the fact that he could see a powerful ally in Adam if only he won him over. Phil wasn’t entirely sure. He only knew that it felt right to do this. “Yeah, he did some bad things, but that’s only strike one. He was still voted by the school to be here, and I say we give him one more chance to clean up his act.”
To the best of his ability, Phil tried to give Adam some private advice with his eyes. I know what you did. I know who you are. Shape up and become a better person. Adam met his eyes, and Phil could swear he saw a response, something to the tune of, ‘Okay. I will.’ In the moment they had an understanding. Phil had caught Adam red-handed and figured out his true personality, and had told Adam to change. The rest was up to Adam himself.
Jeff interjected. “I don’t think-”
“This isn’t up for debate.” Phil did not want to ruin the perfect opportunity he had to make Adam a good person again. “Just this once, this isn’t a democracy, because all of you would just vote him out. But I want to give him a second chance. Student Council is about improving the school. It’s not about preserving the good kids, it’s about changing the bad. Adam is staying. Just this once, as President I’m gonna make that an order, not a vote.”
Phil gazed towards Nicole, whose facial expression sat somewhere between fearful and baffled. Nevertheless, he continued. “And no one is to treat Adam badly in or out of council meetings for this. But Adam here is going to clean up his fucking act, and come back next week proving to us all why I wanted to keep him. Isn’t that right, Adam?” By the end of Phil’s speech, Nicole was giving him a small smile. She seemed… proud of him. She knew in that moment she could trust him.
He could barely hear Adam’s “Yes, Mr. President,” but was satisfied he got one. With a sigh, Phil moved back up to the front of the room.
“Great. As I was saying, Adam and Megan won’t be working together for the rest of the year. Blah blah fucking blah. We won’t discuss this point again. Moving on, Mack, Tina, do you have the reports for the extracurricular attendance?”
No one said anything. They still appeared to be in shock about everything that took place.
“Guys.” Phil clapped loudly to regain everyone’s attention. “We’re still a council here. We’re still a team, right? Fuck the drama, fuck the bullshit, we’re above that. Let’s get some fucking stuff done and be the best damn council we can be.”
Nicole’s smile wasn’t small, or reserved, as she looked at Phil now.
***
“Man, vector quantities are some bullshit.” Jeff grumbled under his breath.
“Shoulda taken precalc, bro.” Phil whispered back, not turning away from his work. Cautiously, he gazed up to see Mr. Graves working at his desk, looming over the room. “I wish we got Sigorsky instead though.”
Jeff joined his friend in peering at the teacher. “Yeah, Graves is fuckin’ scary.” he agreed. “I can’t wait to get out of here.”
“Got a party to plan or something?” Phil replied slyly, grinning at his friend.
“Speaking of, motherfucker, are you down or not?” Jeff impatiently asked him. “Everyone else told me they were coming like a fucking week ago. It’s literally today.”
“I’m not much of a party guy.” Phil almost whined.
“Unless it’s your own.”
“Unless it’s my own.” he agreed. “Look, I’ll let you know by the end of the day, okay? I gotta see if I got plans or not.”