Allison Larien's Arc

Chapter 1 of 2

Allison Larien needed the crown her mother and grandmother had both worn. At Grand Luxe Highschool, that crown was family. She was the new girl, three weeks in, and her campaign had been dying since the first poster went up. This morning, that changed. She walked through the front doors and the hallway turned toward her. A girl pressed a signed pledge into her hands. Two others asked where she'd bought her white top. A boy near the lockers said her name like he'd known it for years. Her posters were gone from the walls, but no one had torn them down. People had taken them home. By lunch the vote tally in the student office showed her name on top by a wide margin. The same peers who ignored her last week now circled her table. One called her the prettiest girl in town, loud, so the room could hear. Allison smiled and let it land. For the first time, the tradition felt within reach. Mom would not have to pretend she wasn't disappointed. The win felt complete until she crossed the track after school. The captain of the track team stood by the polished lanes, water bottle in hand. Tall, dreadlocks tied back, a gold chain on dark skin, grey joggers already streaked with sweat. He'd earned his spot the hard way, showing up until the coach learned his name. He watched her the way the hallway had watched her all day. Allison had wanted exactly this. He was the second half of what she came here for. He walked over. No rush. "Jarion," he said. "You're Allison." "I am." Her heart moved faster than she expected. "You've got the whole school talking," he said. "I don't do talking much." "What do you do?" "I show up." He said it flat, like a fact. Then he looked at her longer than a stranger should. "They see a pretty face. I want to know if there's more." Allison's smile held, but something tightened under it. All day people had handed her the title. He wasn't handing her anything. He was asking her to prove she was worth it. "There's more," she said. "Show me, then." He picked up his bag. "I run here every afternoon. Come find me when it's true." He jogged back onto the track and left her standing there. A sleek silver car rolled up to the curb, her father's, waiting to take her home. Allison climbed in and stared out the window at Jarion running his lanes. She'd won the whole school in one morning. She'd won it on her face alone. And the one person she actually wanted had just told her that wasn't enough. The crown was close. But now she had to become someone who deserved more than the looking.