Chapter 247 Holmwood Legacy
Artea Holmwood had always been someone who aimed not just to meet expectations but to surpass it.
In everyone's eyes, she was someone who had her shit together. From a young age, she had straight As, won 1st place in every competition she joined, including in the fields of Science, Mathematics, Journalism, Debate, Sports, and even the Arts.
If Artea puts her mind to it, she will succeed above all.
She also had the picture perfect family, who supported her throughout everything she pursues. Politics in the 90s wasn't really an easy field to enter as a woman of color, much less excel at. The US had 42 presidents at this point, none of which were female nor POC.
The same could be said about the student government of Holmwood University.
When she first campaigned, she had experienced a major pushback. People think that she was already lucky enough to be included in the Political Science program, which they claim had something to do with her connection with the Headmaster again.
They thought that surely, he was the only reason why a Latina like her could even be admitted into a dominantly white private university. He was also the reason why she won the presidency 3 years in a row.
This was Artea's last year, and she would soon be studying law. For her, this was just the start. She still had much to prove, and the best way to do that was to win the final elections of her year.
"Losing would mean failure. Failure would mean losing everything."
That's what her grandmother would always say.
She had gone this far. The moment she loses this streak, everyone will start to doubt her capabilities. She had to prove them wrong over and over again, never skipping a beat.
FLUSH!
Artea retched once again in the school's bathroom, and flushed it.
She washed her face, then quickly covered up the dark bags under her eyes with heavy concealer. She put on make-up for about 5 minutes, the kind of look that people think of as 'natural'. When really it was layer upon layer of cosmetics and paint to cover up her skin.
A mask of her own face.
Once she was done, Artea practiced smiling again.
Bright, flawless smile. Yet her eyes were all empty, if only people would pay attention to it.
She then stopped smiling, her face becoming taut. No thoughts came to her head besides the constant reminder of her agenda for the day.
'Take classes, promote and campaign during the campaign, eat, drink, sleep, rinse, repeat.'
Like a machine, she had prepared her responses to every situation and every person she will encounter for today.
Well, all except one.
"Do you know what you will be doing for today?"
"Yes. I'll mostly just be following around Madam President and reciting the script given to me, right? How hard could it be?" Harker Jones smiled just like Gulliver Swift, her vice presidential candidate, would smile.
Artea couldn't understand it. She was already expecting Harker to be getting sarcastic and moody towards her as usual. But this….
This was pretty unexpected.
He was just as focused on the objective as she was. He didn't say anything besides what he was told. He acted just like Gulliver Swift, a friendly and suave man, just as easily as he breathed.
If Artea didn't know any better, she would have thought that he somehow hijacked Gulliver's body and was simply controlling it.
He looked just like Gulliver too, though Artea wasn't really surprised about that part. Roland's connections were something else. If it was some kind of skin suit or highly advanced make-up or prosthetics, she'd believe it. Technology was getting crazier by the minute.
By lunch time, she had arranged for her and 'Gulliver' to eat alone instead of their whole party like they usually do.
The other candidates found this strange, but then again, she's the boss. Maybe they were discussing some secret tactic against their opponent.
After all, Kian Shaw may be some new hotshot nobody, but there was some advantage to his favor. His party was the only one going against Artea's, and there were no independent candidates running for president.
That's because before he came around, everyone already believed that she would win. So trying to go against her was pointless.
But because he came as an underdog, people will see him as some champion challenging a tyrant. A David facing against a Goliath. And besides…..
He's a man, and he's white. Much of Artea's haters were white men waiting to see her downfall simply because they believe no woman should be in a high position in anything.
If Kian played his cards right, he could very well dethrone the Queen of Holmwood.
This was the reason why Artea was more stressed than usual, and when she was stressed, she tended to have a lesser appetite and a sensitive stomach.
Harker noticed her picking on her food as she talked to him at lunch.
"So Roland told me that you're here to spy on Galeas Fieldings, right? Since Chief Fieldings is your main suspect?"
Harker nodded, eating his food quietly. But he still observed her mannerisms.
Artea seemed to have a habit of having her eyes move around. It was fast enough for people to not notice, especially if they were engaged in conversation with her and trying to think of a response.
But since Harker had just been quiet, he noticed it.
Artea would often be distracted by just the smallest noise in her surroundings. A studently laughing a little too loud, clanging of plates….? Even just the notion of someone passing them by would cause her to have this anxious look on her face.
Harker realized that these traits were a little similar to Roland back in high school.
He had always noticed it. He can't remember when it began, but….. He thought Roland increasingly became uneasy during those years yet told no one about it.
He didn't say anything because he didn't really know what to say. He didn't know what to do. But he wished he at least tried.
It must be hell feeling that way.
"I see." Artea said, her feet tapping about uncontrollably. "Well….. I'll help you as much as I can."
He could sense that she was feeling awkward, not used to having someone not answering and merely looking at her.
And he was right. Artea felt that every time Harker would stop paying attention to his plate and looked up at her, he would be looking deep into her soul. Knowing things about her that he shouldn't, things that she had hid to everyone for such a long time.
Harker sighed, and decided to speak to calm her down.
"Thank you. I do appreciate it, Ms. Holmwood."
Artea's eyes widened, and she let out a breath at this. "Oh…. You're welcome."
There was another awkward pause. This time, Harker decided to be the one to break the silence since he can't stand the anxious aura around this woman.
She was like a swan. Looking all graceful on the outside, yet under water, her feet were paddling for dear life to keep her afloat.
Besides, he had been meaning to learn more about this topic anyway.
"By the way….. Can you tell me more about what you know about Kian Shaw?"
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m