Chapter Text
Marisol was expecting the worst when she pulled into the school parking lot today. Today was the election, and after yesterday she wasn’t expecting to win it due to Katie’s loose mouth but she was still going to fight.
As predicted, everyone around her was staring as she got out of her car and walked into the school. She wouldn’t be surprised if it was like this for the rest of the semester. She didn’t even have the energy to scare them off with a glare. No matter what, next year she was going to come back stronger than ever.
When she got to her locker, she could only frown as the words “Marisol Lewis Is A Murderer” were painted across her locker in a bloody shade of red. There was a small baby doll taped to her locker with red paint splattered all over it. ‘So clearly the Jesus Club is mad at me,’ she thought to herself numbly as she went to get her books for the first three periods out. She was raised in a Protestant household, but even the Friendship Club was too much for her. They were entirely too judgmental, obnoxious, and had been at her neck since Owen bragged openly about them having sex in freshman year.
Inside her locker were religious pamphlets and sticky notes with biblical verses written on them, all centering around murder, adultery, fornication, and the womb. She would feel humiliated if she wasn’t starting to get angry at the world for trying to break her. Everyone wanted her to be the monster but she was not one. She picked up all of the religious crap inside her locker and dumped them inside a trashcan nearby. Next, she was going to tear up that baby doll and wipe the ugly paint off her locker. She went into the bathroom to wet some paper towels.
“Marisol Lewis is a killer of the unborn” was spray painted across the bathroom mirror when she walked in. There were two girls standing by the mirror, and they were looking at her with judgmental looks on their faces. Marisol sneered at them before attempting to wipe the words on the mirror off. It was no use.
When she came out the bathroom with the wet towels, Ms. Oh was waiting outside her locker with a concerned look on her face. ‘Oh brother,’ she grumbled to herself.
“Marisol, how are you?” The teacher asked in a gentle tone of voice.
“Never better,” Marisol lied quickly as some students gathered around them. Despite her feeling numb seconds ago, the feeling was now replaced with anxiety as she felt everyone’s stares again.
“I’ve heard some things about you yesterday that have me concerned,” Ms. Oh said to her.
“I’m pretty everyone is concerned about what the baby-killing school slut is going to do next,” Marisol replied dryly. The teacher pursed her lips in response.
“I’m not here to judge you. I’m here to provide support. Abortion is a process that gives women different reactions, and any feeling you have over it right now is valid. Student counseling services are here for you,” she replied.
“I’m fine but thank you,” Marisol rejected as politely as she could. She didn’t want to talk to anyone. Instead, she just wanted to get the year over with.
“Are you sure?” Ms. Oh asked her.
“Yeah, I’m good,” Marisol answered as the bell for homeroom rang. Unfortunately, cleaning her locker would have to wait. She sighed as she closed her locker.
Grabbing her bag, she quietly walked to her interview with Adam Torres and Dave Turner.
“So you’re definitely one of the most popular girls in school. Do you think that’s gonna help you win?” Adam Torres asked her as him and Dave interviewed her for their radio show, Mano y Mano.
“It’ll certainly help. Popularity gets you a long way,” she answered with a polite smile.
“Is that the only thing you would care about if you were elected president?” He asked her, and she could detect the critical tone in his voice. She had to think fast.
“No, I also care about making Degrassi a fun, comforting place for students, like a home away from home. I know that a lot of us really don’t have anything to do after school or that we don’t live in the best environments, so my duty as school president would be to schedule activities and events for members of the student body so students can have a necessary distraction from schoolwork if they need it.”
“What about students that are more introverted? Or afraid to interact with people?”
“There’s something for everyone. For the more shy kids, I’m thinking of painting events, craft making, book clubs, and game nights. You know, to encourage them to interact more with other students.”
“That’s good..how will you handle a difficult situation like protests for example?”
“Well everyone has the right to protest, and I wouldn’t try to stop them, I would find a solution that pleases everyone.”
Adam nodded at her answers, and she hoped that he was impressed. This was one of the hardest interviews she had ever done in her life, and she still felt like she sounded dumb, but she had practiced for this for the past two nights. She was going to prove to everyone that she was fit for president even if she wasn’t elected.
Dave then pulled out an iPad, and he had a glint in his eyes that she didn’t like at all.
“For our next bit, we’re going to ask you a series of questions that you have to answer truthfully. If you don’t, the lie detector on this app will go off,” he warned as he put the device on a stand next to him and Adam. Both boys had mischievous looks on their faces.
She definitely didn’t like where they were going with this.
“Cool,” she replied flatly.
“Is it true that you had an affair with K.C. Guthrie while he was dating Jenna Middleton and raising a baby with her?” Dave asked.
‘I wouldn’t call what he did “raising”,’ she thought dryly to herself. He barely even brought up Tyson while they were together, his only concern was fucking her. But she didn’t see how this had anything to do with her candidacy.
“Yes,” she answered as the lie detector declared her statement as true.
“How can you expect to gain the trust of the female student body when you’re willing to sleep with their boyfriends?”
“Because I realized that my actions were wrong, had terrible consequences for everyone, and hurt another girl. I wasn’t thinking of Jenna’s feelings at the time because K.C. made me feel good, he told me about how alone he felt at home and how I was the best thing that ever happened to him. He said that by the end of the semester, he was going to leave Jenna and Tyson for me because he had a better connection with me than them,” she confessed as the lie detector once again declared her statement as true, “I know now that it wasn’t true, and our relationship was just a fun pastime for him as an excuse for not spending time with his family, and for that, I’m sorry Jenna.”
“Is it true that you got pregnant by K.C. and then had an abortion?” Adam asked her as him and Dave leaned in for her answer.
“What does this have to do with the election?” She asked in annoyance.
“You have to answer the question, Marisol,” Dave insisted, and she once again wanted the ground to swallow her up. But she had to remain strong.
“Yes, I did,” she answered through gritted teeth, “And I don’t regret a single moment in getting it. It was probably the best decision I made in my life. Are you guys satisfied with that answer?”
“We’re just asking what students would like to know,” Dave reasoned, and she snorted.
“Well, I guess what goes on in my sex life is everyone’s business now, I might as well tell all of it,” she began with a dark smile,” I lost my virginity at fourteen in a tent at the Ravine to Owen Milligan, who not only lied about being a virgin so I could sleep with him, but was actively cheating on me with Bianca DeSousa. Losing my virginity was one of the most painful experiences in my life as I wouldn’t stop bleeding because he rammed himself into me over and over again and wouldn’t stop even after I was crying. Sex between us never really improved beyond that, and even after I did my best in a great girlfriend, he still continued to cheat and let his friends openly disrespect me.”
“I think that’s enough-“
“No, no, there’s more. You’re probably wondering if I slept with any of the guys I rebounded with after Owen. David Michaels, no, but he did try to get me a drunk at a party so we can do it. That’s why I dumped him. Brian Thompson, no, because we only lasted a week. Joshua Brown, we tried to hook up one time and stopped because JT Yorke had a bigger stack of dimes than him. Also he called me a dumb bitch afterwards. Yes, I’m probably what you call a slut or a hoe, but until K.C. I wasn’t hurting anyone by having sex. This is MY body, this is MY vagina, and yet I have been shamed repeatedly for choosing to do what I want with it. I was wrong for helping ruin a family, and I’ll probably carry that regret for the rest of my life but I’m not going to let that decision define who I am. I made mistakes, and I’ll probably continue making mistakes but the important part is that I’m growing with each one. My bad decisions regarding my relationships does not change the fact that I want the best for Degrassi and its students, and I’ll work hard to make sure this is a safe place for anyone. None of you are going to shame me into silence for my mistakes, especially you, Dave Turner, who had a piss balloon thrown at him and tased his own friend. Any other questions?” She finished coldly.
Dave looked like he swallowed a bird, and Adam’s eyes were widened in shock.
“No, I think we’re done here. Thanks for taking time to talk to us, Marisol, and good luck in the election today,” he replied quickly. Giving them a both tense smile, she gathered her bag and got up from her seat.
“No thank you guys for taking the time to listen to me. Here’s to hoping for the best!” She said cheerfully.
All throughout her classes so far, she could feel Katie’s eyes on her. Actually everyone was staring at her because of the radio interview, but Katie’s stares felt especially intense. She tried to ignore it. When the bell rang to signify that the fourth period was over, she tried to leave as fast as possible, but her ex-bff caught up to her again.
“Mare, can we please talk?” Katie asked her as they walked together.
“Don’t you have Drew Torres to make out with?” Marisol asked her dryly in response.
“Please, Mare. This election is tearing us apart, and I hate that we’re fighting like this. At least hear me out,” Katie pleaded, and Marisol turned to face her with a glare.
“We’re fighting like this because you decided to out my abortion to the school, Katlynn. Here, walk with me and I’ll show you what my locker looks like right now behind your big stupid mouth,” she sneered as she led Katie to her locker that still had “Marisol Lewis Is A Murderer” painted on it. Her ex-friend’s mouth dropped in horror at the sight.
“Who would do something like this?” She questioned
“Who do you think? The Jesus Club,” Marisol replied sharply, “Not only am I being treated like Hester Prynne, but now I’m also being treated like a murderer all because of you. All because you chose to tell everyone my business!”
“It only slipped out because you ran against and attacked me during the debates all because Drew picked me! You started it!” Katie argued.
“Yeah, well, you clearly had your revenge and now you get an easier shot at winning now that everyone is back to hating me. Now fuck off, I have a class to go to,” she snarled before slamming her locker and shoving past her friend.
She didn’t bother to look back at Katie.
After class, Marisol went to her locker to take her books out for her later classes. It was now her lunch period, and she braced herself for being stared at more by the whole school.
When she saw more sticky notes on her locker with scary bible verses, she could only sigh in response. The Friendship Club was going to be on her ass for the rest of the semester, but what was their endgame for her? Were they going to stone her for committing adultery in front of everybody?
She began ripping the notes of when the president of the club approached her with two other members. All of them were glaring at her.
“You have committed several grievous sins, Marisol Lewis, but none worse than the act of killing your unborn child,” he began.
“It wasn’t my child. It was barely bigger than a pea, and why should any of you care? You weren’t pregnant,” she replied flippantly, not looking at any of them. They didn’t deserve her full attention.
“A life is a life, no matter how small, and it is concerning that you show no regrets for the murder you committed. How can you live with yourself?” He asked her.
“Because I don’t regret it. I wasn’t ready to be a mother,” she defended herself.
“So the child had to pay because you kept opening your legs to anyone like an irresponsible harlot?” He questioned, and she bristled at the words. She finally turned to fully face them while slamming her locker door shut.
“Here’s the thing, you loser Jesus freak piece of shit, what I do with my body has nothing to fucking do with any one of you,” she snarled, “I don’t give a shit what your beliefs are, they have NOTHING to do me!” She exclaimed while waving her history textbook around dramatically.
She was taken aback when he slapped the textbook out her hands.
“They have everything to do with your relationship with God! You claimed to be a Christian your freshman year and yet you fornicate with no regrets, commit adultery with no regrets, and commit infanticide with no regrets,” he ranted and she was starting to get afraid. “You are an unrepentant sinner.”
“What are you guys going to do about it, stone me?” She challenged, taking a step back, only for them to step forward.
“No, but we are going to-”
“Why don’t you fuck off from her already?” A voice demanded, and Marisol whipped around and was surprised to see it was Eli Goldsworthy, who approached them all with a glare. “Don’t you guys have somewhere to pray?” He asked in a mocking tone.
“We’re making it known that we don’t support the actions of a murdering whore,” one of the members, a girl explained.
“Harassing people that make personal decisions that doesn’t affect you because you don’t agree with them? Not very friendly of the Friendship Club,” Eli snarked.
“The Friendship Club does not support a candidate that repeatedly acts against God’s word, and she should resign from the election,” the other guy sneered.
“I’m not fucking resigning. I don’t need any of your holy votes,” she rejected, aghast at the idea. “Just leave me and my locker alone!”
“Not until you deal with the consequences of your actions!” The president of the club insisted as he tried to get in her face, but Eli stepped in front of her.
“Fuck off, asshole. Or I’ll get Simpson and you can deal with the consequences of your actions,” Eli warned, and there was a dangerous fire in his green eyes. She was reminded of the fact that he got into a whole war with Owen’s friend Fitz that culminated in the Vegas Night disaster. Despite being only like an inch taller than her, Eli Goldsworthy really had an iron will.
After a few minutes of tense silence, the members of the Friendship Club all looked at each other before finally giving up.
“This isn’t over,” the president warned before leading his club members away from them. Marisol sighed in relief before turning to Eli.
“Thank you so much. I thought I was about to be executed,” she told him in gratitude.
“It’s no big deal. I just don’t like seeing people being bullied, especially for doing what they feel is the best decision for themselves,” he replied with a shrug, and there was an awkward tension between them. Yesterday, she didn’t even want to speak to him to ask questions about the election but right now he just defended her from a bunch of wacky holy rollers.
“So I’m not a baby killing harlot to you?” She asked in hope.
“No, it’s your choice. None of us are perfect and have any right to judge you when we’re all fucked up in some way,” he assured her before walking past her. “Good luck in the election,” were his parting words.
As she watched him leave, she had two thoughts.
One, he wasn’t a total creep after all.
Two, he was kind of cute.
It was the final round of the debate before students were allowed to vote. As Marisol stood around in front of a crowd of people along with Mo and Katie, she felt super anxious. These past two days have been the most horrible and humiliating days of her life and no matter who won, she was eager to get this shit over with.
“Uh, what’s your number one priority?” Adam asked them when Simpson opened the floor up to questions.
“More dances,” she answered quickly into the microphone before letting Mo speak next. Several people cheered for her.
“More options for the caf,” he answered cheerfully.
“Mandatory sports. Research shows exercise enhances self-esteem,” Katie answered, and her tone was still shaky.
“Those researchers haven’t seen me climb the rope in gym class,” Mo quipped as several people laughed.
“You make 500 dollars in a fundraiser, how do you spend the money?” Dave asked next.
“I’d throw a party,” Marisol answered.
“With lots of pizza,” Mo added.
“I’d poll you guys and then base my decision off your feedback after all it’s your money,” Katie said.
“Being president is a lot of hard work, how will you manage the pressure?” Sav Bhandari asked. With a tightened stomach, Marisol jumped in to answer.
“Keep a calm head and a rational mind through it all,” she answered.
“Or kill your baby instead of taking responsibility for your slutty decisions,” a girl from the crowd sneered. There was a dead silence for a couple seconds as Marisol held back a rude response. The girl had ratty looking hair, a huge zit on her forehead, and thin lips. She was easy pickings to tear apart but she wasn’t going to be that girl right now. Marisol took a deep breath before she began to respond.
“Look my abortion-”
“Was her decision,” Katie cut in to her great shock. She could only stare at her ex-best friend with her next words. “Marisol made a mistake with potential negative consequences so she rectified it in the best way she could. I was there when Marisol got her abortion and it was difficult decision for her but she did it anyway because she knew that at sixteen, she wasn’t ready to be a mother because being a parent is way harder than having sex, and that is one of her best qualities. When Marisol makes mistakes or bad choices, she always tries to make up for it no matter what it is. And when it comes to handling difficult situations, from the time we were little girls, she pushed through them with a smile on her face. Last year, I was going through something horrible and I ended up in the hospital for it. Marisol was there for me the whole time with gifts and encouraging words for me. She has never given up on me or judged me for anything, even though I have been judgmental of her or dismissive of her pain on multiple occasions. Despite the image she portrays, Marisol is one of the kindest and most caring people I know, and I don’t know where I would be without her in my life,” her friend bit her lip nervously before saying the next part, “Which is why I’m dropping out.”
There were multiple gasps throughout the crowd at her statement, and she herself was very confused but Katie was actually serious.
“Marisol has every quality someone needs in a president: intelligent, strong, fierce, compassionate, determination, friendliness, and charm. She would be a better leader than me, and that is something that I have known our whole lives. Vote for her,” Katie proclaimed before stepping aside but not before giving her a soft smile.
Marisol didn’t know what to think.
She was numb as she left her study period to go to her locker. Mr. Armstrong had given her permission to finally wash the red paint off her locker after she explained everything to him.
After the final debates were over, she left quickly and quietly before she could fully process Katie’s decision to drop out. She still couldn’t believe it. Being school president is what Katie wanted since freshman year, and for her to actually give up that opportunity for her was the last thing she expected. The next thing she had after the debates was study hall, and she unfortunately shared that with Katie, who was eying her down again as she entered the chemistry room.
She wet the sponge with soap to start scrubbing, but just as she was about to do, Katie approached her.
“Hey,” she greeted.
“Hey,” Marisol greeted back in hesitation, not knowing what to make of this.
“I know you hate me, and you have every right to after what I did, but I want to say once again that I’m sorry for everything. I was angry at you for running against me over Drew, but I shouldn’t have outed your abortion to the school,” Katie apologized again, and now she was actually finding herself willing to accept it. But she was still hurt.
“I trusted you to tell no one,” she pointed out.
“And I betrayed that trust. But I don’t want this to be the end of us, not when we’ve been friends since we were little girls,” Katie replied.
“You have Drew now, don’t you?” She asked.
“Drew is great, but he’s not you, Mare. You’re practically my sister. I don’t want to lose you over him and this stupid election, which is why I dropped out,” Katie explained and she could hear the sincerity in her tone.
“It’s what you've wanted since like forever.”
“Positions are temporary, but best friends are for life, and I can’t take you not being in my life anymore. Please give me a second chance, Mare,” Katie begged her. She thought it over, and how much longer of this beef could she actually take?
“I have to admit that being mad at you is bringing me a lot of misery right now, and I can’t really take more of it either, Katie. I forgive you,” she accepted, “And I’m sorry for acting how I did over Drew as well.”
“It’s easily forgiven, let’s just be BFFs again,” Katie replied eagerly with her arms out. Marisol smiled softly before they shared a hug. When they pulled apart, her best friend had one more question for her.
“Can I help you scrub this paint off?”
When it was time for the results of the election to be revealed, Marisol tried not to let her anxiety show as she re-entered the cafeteria. There were dozens of stares as usual at this point, but only a few were actual disgusted stares.
“Marisol! Over here!” Katie called to her as she sat in the front row of the bleachers with Drew. Her bestie was no longer wearing her election shirt. Instead she was back to wearing their grade eleven red polo shirt. For the first time in three days, she was excited to see her.
“Katie-kins! Are we ready to celebrate my win?” She asked confidently as she sat down next to the couple.
“Katie and I already made plans,” Drew answered stiffly, and she was put off a little by his attitude.
“We can fit Mare in them, can’t we?” Katie argued to her boyfriend.
“Sure, whatever,” he replied, and she almost frowned at the exchange. She could understand why Drew didn’t like her, but did he have to be so open about it?
Dave stepped up into the microphone. “Alright ladies and gentlemen, it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for….”
She grabbed Katie’s hand tightly in anticipation and her friend clung tightly to it in response. Adam walked up next to Dave and pulled out an envelope. The younger Torres brother began to speak.
“The next year’s president is-”
“Dave Turner!” Dave interrupted with a joking smile, expecting everyone to laugh.
No one did.
“He’s kidding folks,” Adam explained with an awkward smile. He then looked down at a piece of paper. “The school president for next year is…”
Adam took a few seconds before he said who it was, and she felt her heart drop in nervousness. She felt like she was about to explode.
“.....Marisol Lewis,” he announced while looking at her with a smile.
Her reaction was instantaneous. She squealed in excitement and bounced off her seat as Dave demanded a speech from her. People everywhere around her were cheering and clapping for her, especially Katie. She won. She actually won. She was now school president!
As she walked up to the podium, she felt like she was on air. She cleared her throat before speaking.
“I want to thank all of you for hearing my story and coming out to vote for me. I promise you guys that I’ll be the most awesome and fabulous president Degrassi has ever had!” She promised. Dave then leaned onto her with an opportunistic grin.
“And the pres gets to choose her vice so if you want…,” he started to joke before he saw the look on her face, “Yeah….,” he trailed off awkwardly.
“For my vice president, there is no more fitting for the position than my bestie, Katie Matlin,” she decided with a smile to her best friend, whose eyes lit up in surprise before it turned to excitement. Katie got off from her seat and promptly walked up and hugged her.
“Who else am I going to rule the school with?” Marisol asked her lightheartedly, and Katie smiled proudly in response.
They then held hands and faced the crowd together as balloons and confetti fell around them.
“President Marisol A. Lewis, I like the sound of that,” Marisol boasted as her, Katie, and Drew walked to her car. Now that her and Katie were no longer fighting, everything was at peace. In all senses of the word, she was now going to be the queen bee of the school. She was going to be president AND captain of the Power Squad her senior year. Her family was going to be beyond proud.
It surprised that people still wanted to vote for her after the K.C. and abortion incidents, but maybe that rant she did on the radio show helped. What she said in that interview was true. She wasn’t going to let the mistakes she made in high school so far define her. She was going to be a better version of herself. That, she was confident of.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do with all of this power,” she added, a little scared at the prospect. She had been so used to only supporting Katie in leadership positions, that for once being in charge was going to be an interesting challenge.
“Hopefully it doesn’t go to your head,” she heard Drew mutter to himself, and her BFF sent him a warning look in response.
“Well you have me, vice president Katie Matlin to help you out. But I believe in you, Mare,” Katie assured her.
“I believe in us. That we can do this. Next year is going to be the best year of our lives,” Marisol vowed to her and they shared another smile together.
This may have been their ugliest fight yet, but they overcame it because their bond ran as thick as blood. They were not only practically sisters, but they were a team. Besides her family, she loved no one other than Katie Matlin and she knew that Katie felt the same way.
As they all got in her car, Marisol thought the sun never shined as bright as it did now.