Page 24 of Fundamentals of Being a Good Girl
“But don’t you get it, Fern? That’s exactly why youshouldrun. No one will see it coming.”
“But what happens if I actually win? Unlikely, I know, but then I’d be stuck with a job I don’t even want.”
“It might not be the job you want, but it’s one you’re already doing from what I can tell, so why not at least take the official credit so you can add it to your college applications. And you know what, Fern? Simon sounds like a politician, and just because you’re a good politician doesn’t mean you’re cut out for leadership. Sometimes the people who are the least interested in being in charge make the best leaders.”
She thinks for a minute and bites down on her lower lip. “Itwouldreally, really piss him off.”
“Just ignore me if this is too personal, but why did you two end it?”
Fern’s shoulders sink. “He dumped me just after spring break last year. He called it a break and said he needed to focus on himself.”
“I hate when people give you those little sound-bite excuses. What does that even mean?” I don’t know that it’s wise to trauma-dump on Fern, but I wish I could explain to her just how much I truly do understand what she’s going through. It is also possibly true that I want her to enact the kind of revenge on Simon that I wish I’d been savvy enough to do myself with Gentry.
“Right? Well, apparently, focusing on himself meant hooking up with the class VP and then boning his way through the statewide student government summit back in July.”
“What a bastard,” I whisper so the twins can’t hear me.
Fern leans in and I can practically see the gossip endorphins hitting her system. “Our whole relationship was all about him to begin with. He was already completely focused on himself, because I can tell you that he certainly wasn’t focused on me.”
“Okay, listen. If I were a different person, I would tell you that you should keep your head down and dedicate yourself to things that will bring you joy. They go low, we go high, et cetera, et cetera. But sometimes when people are rats, you have to play dirty, and what better revenge than to take the thing this jackass wants most?” It is without a doubt the thing I would have done pre-Gentry, and a small part of me wants this just as much for me as I do for her. Maybe her victory over this shit bag will chip away at the last four years of my wasted youth.
She chews nervously on the skin around her thumb. I resist the urge to pull her hand away from her mouth, because that is exactly what Penelope would do. Actually, she would bat my hand away like I’d been a bad dog, but still.
Fern shakes her head and I think I’ve lost her, but then she shuts her eyes and sucks in a deep breath. “Okay. Okay, I’ll do it.”
I squeeze both her hands and squeal with excitement. “I’m going to plan the shit out of this campaign with you,” I promise her. “Not only will Simon be sorry he ever let you go, but he will never forget the day he crossed Fern Loe for the last time.”
She shivers. “Wow. You make me sound way sexier than I am.”
I cringe a little. “Let’s go for badass over sexy.”
“Both things I’ve never been,” she confirms.
The door to the tiny mudroom off the kitchen whines as Bram walks in. He makes every door he walks through look like it’s the size of a doggy door.
It’s the first time we’ve seen each other since yesterday and his nostrils flare for a moment, his gaze trailing from my neck down to the V of my blouse.
“Daddy!” Letty cries as she flings herself against his legs and Berry quickly follows.
“Hey, I left a little early today,” he says, returning to the doting father I know him to be.
Fern pops up from her stool with a look of fierce determination. “I need a ride to the craft store,” she announces. “I need posters for my campaign. I’m running for student body president.”
“Okay,” Bram says, and then looks down at the twins. “All crafty hands on deck. We’ve got a campaign to win. But no loose glitter, okay?”
“Sure! Whatever.” Fern is already sprinting up the stairs, listing off everything she needs.
Bram glances back up at me, a pleased curiosity dancing at his lips. “You have something to do with this?”
I quirk my brow and lean back against the kitchen island. “You could say I’m a political visionary. And her ex-boyfriend sounds like a total shi—”
The twins preemptively giggle at me.
“A shih tzu,” I finish. “A very high-maintenance dog.”
“A real dog,” Bram agrees.Thank you, he mouths, and then,good girl.
My cheeks instantly warm and I give him a short nod. I like being his good girl. I like it far too much.
