The Shrieking Violet was calling her sister—Leo was calling her sister—a loose cannon. Too emotional to be president. How would he like the same sexist comments to be made of his mom?
Cat texted Grady.
Cat: Those female-empowerment comments on Angeline’s feed? Maybe add one or two. Helpful to see specifics.
Grady: Good idea, Chief. Support comments for Leo too?
He should. To be fair. Cat glanced at the notebook Leo had given her. Leo, who no longer cared about fair.
Cat: One. Only if there’s time. We don’t want it to go too long.
Acedia Confronts Its Inner Sloth:
Controversy Surrounding Student Council Unprecedented in Charter School History
A SPECIAL REPORT
Part 3 of 6
Coverage by rival newspapers The Red and Blue, which began to employ new ways to reach its audience by increasing its online presence, and The Shrieking Violet, an exclusively online publication, flamed interest in the student council election within the walls of the school.
Quinn’s platform of more oversight sparked support from those who felt the administration was not properly addressing complaints, including harassment and cyberbullying, as well as from students wanting to free the school from what many saw as an unequal, hierarchical culture. Eliminating things like prom court, blocking texting in school, and tightening the dress code to forbid extravagance gained steam with a large percentage of voters. Yet a near equal number of students endorsed Torres’s campaign seeking fewer restrictions. Citing the dress code as archaic and biased, Torres found favor with those wanting the freedom to express themselves with clothing choices that defied expected societal or gender roles.
All of these issues begged for debate, but that Acedia’s student council election permeated beyond the walls of the school came courtesy of the Frankengirls. The salacious nature of the photos made them primed for social media sharing and engagement. And with no one to hold accountable, one voice of outcry became two, which became four, and so on in a social media spiral that reached hundreds, then thousands, and culminated with live television coverage of Quinn standing beside the statue of Major Mushing on the front lawn of the school.
Quinn, as an influencer popular mostly with young women, had a built-in platform that situated her well for encouraging and promoting calls for more action, particularly with respect to schools.
The Frankengirls shined a spotlight on the fact that schools are not—and many believe cannot be—immune to the discussions surrounding gender and diversity that have taken hold in the wider landscape in recent years. In fact, drilling down through simple fury and venting and “I’m with her” or “I’m with him” social media posts brings one to a core argument: the need for awareness and tolerance to be instilled from an early age in order to set patterns of behavior.
Torres himself remained largely silent as the online storm brewed. But a “no comment” attitude that may have worked in an earlier time does not stand now. Silence equals complicity, and Torres was hit with a landslide of feminist attacks. And so the Battle of the Exes that had once been stunts and pranks escalated in the online world, with some of the more vocal supporters on Torres’s side, including The Shrieking Violet, poking at Quinn.
But, some say, Quinn poked back. With near deadly consequences.
“Blue. My man could’ve slipped inside a Marvel comic, he was so blue,” Baker said of Torres. “Switched my vote after that. No way I was gonna test that witchy-woo mojo.”
Click for more: 3 of 6
19
When Angeline Becomes a Hashtag
10 DAYS TO THE ELECTION
#HotheadQuinnCantWin was trending.
Locally.
But still.
Trending?
Wasn’t everyone on Snap or Insta anyway? How was this much of Acedia on Twitter that #HotheadQuinnCantWin was trending?
Angeline defiantly strode down the hall to her locker, employing the deep-breathing exercises Sonya had helped her to learn from that meditation app. She’d trained herself out of blushing the same way she’d trained herself out of sweating. Her mind controlled her body, not the other way around.
Then she reached her locker. And the picture. Her head jammed onto someone else’s body, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit.
Her breathing grew short and fast.
So juvenile.
She pressed her hand against the metal door.
Pathetic cowards.
She tore off her cropped white denim jacket even though her #ad said she’d be wearing it today.
Who were voters.
Goddammit, that deposit was nonrefundable. This had better not make her lose—
Viewers.
That was how #HotheadQuinnCantWin was trending. It wasn’t just Acedia.
Oh my God, has Evelyn seen?
Her blood boiled, and her sweat glands defied her, and she couldn’t stop it, and she couldn’t breathe, and—
“Assholes.”
Leo surprised her by tearing the picture off her locker. “I’m sorry, Ang.”
“You should be,” she spat out.
He tore the photo in half. “You think I did this?”
“You didn’t have to do that, specifically, to be responsible. You’re spilling my secrets to them. It. Whatever. The Shrieking Violet.”
He set what she used to think was his trustworthy square chin straight. “No way.”
“That’s what I told Cat. I almost believed it too. How naive was I to think you couldn’t be the ‘source who says’? Tell me, who’s writing it, anyway? Least I can do is give her a name.”
“I can’t tell you because I don’t know. Maybe Baker or . . . who’s that guy who was opposite you in the school play last year? Doesn’t he do podcasts?”
“Ash? We’re friends. And I’m pretty sure he’s had a crush on me since freshman year. Bad choice for a scapegoat. Besides, this is all about access. You have it. Had it.”
Two guys passed, and the one wearing a DON’T BE SEXIST (CHICKS HATE THAT) tee called, “So how much is the inheritance, Angel? My uncle knows someone who can do more than light a match.”
Angeline’s chest inflated, and she felt herself about to unleash a rant that was sure to go viral. She settled her breath and leaned against her locker. “So we should all believe everything we read?”