Chapter 12

Chapter 12 EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT…SO YOU'LL KNOW WHAT EVERYBODY'S YELLING ABOUT! Po couldn't wait to arrive at school the next morning. He was pretty sure he had nailed that interview with the student reporter. His whole campaign was about to turn around. In a way, he was right. But not at all in the way he expected. He noticed the looks and the whispers as soon as he approached the school. Po was generally a popular guy. People tended to say hello to him in the hallways. Today, it was the opposite. Nobody seemed to want to talk to him. They all seemed to be talking about him instead. Finally, Po's teammate Ricky approached him. "Dude," said Ricky, "is it true?" "IS WHAT true?" asked Po. "What's going on around here?"

"The newspaper ran a story," said Ricky. He held up his phone to show Po the digital edition of that morning's Woodsword Chronicler. "They're saying you want to cancel the block party!" "That's not true," said Po. He thought about it for a second. "Well, it's kind of true. But I just said that because that's what people want me to do!" "Which people?" said Ricky. "I was looking forward to that party." He waved around the hallway at all the glaring, eavesdropping students. "And I'm not the only one." "Fine," said Po. "Okay. No problem. I can fix this." He pulled his megaphone from his backpack and held it

to his mouth. "Attention, everybody! There's no need to panic! I'm reversing my position on the block party. Po is the pro-party candidate!" He lowered the megaphone, then quickly raised it once more. "Vote for Po!" he added. "Are you serious?" said a student. "We need that money for repairs around here. The door to my locker just fell off!" "That's because you're always slamming it shut, Megan," said another girl. "We should spend the money on repairs!" someone shouted. "No!" said Ricky. "We study hard all year long. We deserve a party!" "I'm with Ricky," said Doc Culpepper, stepping out of her lab. "Things are too tense around here. A fête is just the thing." Ms. Minerva, Po's homeroom teacher, crossed her arms. For some reason, she was soaking wet. "Don't be foolish, Doc," she said. "You know better than anyone that we need new equipment around here." "Bah," said Doc. "I can just fix the old equipment."

"Like you fixed the sprinkler system on the lawn?" said Minerva. She wrung water out of her blouse. "Because I think it's still got a few bugs." Doc turned to Po. "Well, Po?" she asked. "What do you say?"

All eyes were back on Po. Everyone disagreed…but they all wanted him to be on their side. Po had absolutely no idea what to do. He hated to admit it—but if he had the spider's mind-zap mist power right now, he just might use it. Suddenly, a clear voice cut through the silence. "Give Po some space!" To Po's surprise, his defender was none other than Shelly Silver. "It isn't fair to catch him off guard like this," she said. "A politician needs time to consider their position on complicated issues." She waved her notebook in the air. "I've been thinking about it all week, and I'm still considering where I stand." Po felt miserable. He liked making people happy. And here he was, making them angry and

frustrated instead. And who came to his defense? Not Ricky. Not the Minecraft crew. No, it was his political rival speaking up for him. That made him want to lash out. "You sound awfully indecisive, Shelly," he said, loud enough that everyone would hear him. "Don't you think we need a class president who's daring and decisive?" Shelly didn't seem to know what to say to that. Her mouth dropped open. Po saw his chance. This was his opportunity, at last, to prove to everyone that he was the right man for the job. "Shelly Silver," he said. "I challenge you to a debate!"