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Chapter 6
Countdown to the Event
Lily’s POV
Ugh, these people are driving me nuts. The event’s just around the corner, and it feels like I’m the only one who actually cares about getting everything done. Being secretary of the school board isn’t as glamorous as people think. If I hear one more student ask me, “Hey, Lily, can we get extra tickets for the festival?” or “Lily, what time does the talent show start?” I might just lose it.
Today was another crazy day of running around like a headless chicken. I had a mountain of paperwork to finish, decorations to sort out, and still had to check on the sound system for the talent show. Why does nobody else seem stressed about this?
I was stuck in the art room, making sure the banners were finished on time. A couple of freshmen were painting them, but honestly, their work was... questionable. I mean, why does our school mascot, the panther, look like a squashed cat?
“You missed a spot,” I pointed out, gesturing to a blank corner of the banner. The poor kid just nodded, looking like he was ready to cry. Whoops. Maybe I’m a little too intense sometimes, but whatever. This festival has to be perfect.
---
When I finally made it to the meeting room for the event planning committee, it was already chaos. People were talking over each other, papers were scattered everywhere, and no one seemed to know what was going on. I rubbed my temples, trying to calm myself down. I wasn’t going to let this get to me.
Khian was there, of course, sitting at the head of the table like the calm, cool president he always is. He was talking to Katherine about the catering, looking like he had everything under control. Must be nice, being him. Meanwhile, I was drowning in details that no one else seemed to care about.
“Lily, any updates on the guest list?” Khian asked, his voice smooth as ever.
I huffed, dropping the stack of papers onto the table. “Yeah, but it’s a mess. People keep asking for extra tickets, and there’s no way we have enough space.”
Khian nodded, flipping through his own set of notes. “We’ll make it work. Just make sure to stick to the original plan.”
Easy for him to say. He wasn’t the one dealing with everyone’s last-minute requests. But whatever. If he wasn’t freaking out, then I guess I shouldn’t either.
Katherine was pacing around, looking stressed but still managing to look perfect, as usual. She’s one of those girls who somehow manages to stay polished even when she’s freaking out. “The talent show lineup is almost final, but we still need a few more acts,” she said, her voice strained. “I can’t believe people are dropping out last minute. We’re so behind.”
“Don’t worry, Katherine,” Khian said, giving her one of his calm smiles. “We’ll find replacements.”
She sighed, clearly not convinced, but nodded anyway. I rolled my eyes. What a pick me. But I almost felt bad for her. Almost.
---
After the meeting, I headed back to the student council room to grab some supplies, and who do I run into? Ella. She was sitting at one of the desks, looking out the window, clearly lost in thought. Typical.
“Earth to Ella,” I said, tapping her shoulder.
She jumped, her eyes wide for a second before relaxing when she saw it was me. “Oh, hey, Lily. Didn’t see you there.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You okay? You’ve been spaced out a lot lately.”
Ella shrugged, giving me a weak smile. “Just... a lot on my mind, I guess.”
I sat down across from her, crossing my arms. “This is about Ethan, isn’t it?” Of course it's him, who else?
She hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. I don’t know what to do, Lily. It’s like... everything’s different now that he’s back, and I don’t know how to feel.”
I sighed. “Look, I get that you and Ethan have this whole history, but don’t let it mess with your head. You’ve got more important things to focus on, like this event. Trust me, guys like him come and go.”
Ella frowned. “It’s not that simple.”
“It never is,” I muttered, rolling my eyes. But I knew better than to push her too hard. Ella’s one of my best friends, and she’s always been the sensitive type. Still, I couldn’t help but feel like she was letting Ethan get in the way of things. She used to be so focused, and now she’s... well, all over the place.
“I just need to figure it out,” she said quietly.
“Well, figure it out 'after' the festival, okay? We’ve got enough to worry about right now without you going all moody on me.”
She laughed a little, which was good. At least I was getting through to her. “Okay, okay. I’ll try.”
---
The rest of the day was a blur of running around, handling one crisis after another. Sophie showed up at some point, totally clueless as usual. She was going on and on about some ridiculous thing she saw online, completely oblivious to the fact that we were in full panic mode.
“Hey, do you guys think we should have a petting zoo at the festival?” she asked, a big grin on her face.
I stared at her. “A petting zoo? Sophie, what are you talking about?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know, it just sounds fun.”
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Sophie, we don’t have time to plan a petting zoo. We can barely get the talent show together.”
Sophie pouted. “Okay, fine. But it would’ve been cool.”
---
By the time the day ended, I was exhausted. I slumped into a chair in the student council room, feeling like I’d been hit by a truck. How was it possible for so many things to go wrong at once?
Khian walked in, looking as calm as ever. “You okay?” he asked, sitting down across from me.
I groaned. “No, I’m not okay. Everything’s falling apart, and no one seems to care.”
Khian smiled, leaning back in his chair. “You’re doing great, Lily. You always do.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Don’t try to butter me up, Khian. It’s not going to work.”
He chuckled. “I’m serious. You’ve got everything under control.”
I snorted. “If by ‘under control,’ you mean barely hanging on by a thread, then sure.”
Khian didn’t say anything, just smiled that infuriatingly calm smile of his. Sometimes I hated how chill he was. But at the same time, it was weirdly reassuring. If Khian wasn’t panicking, then maybe I shouldn’t either.
---
As I finally headed home, my brain was still spinning with a million things I needed to do. But for the first time all day, I felt like we could actually pull this thing off.
If I survive until then.
---
By the time I got home, my legs felt like they’d been carrying bricks all day. I kicked off my shoes and threw my bag on the floor, not even caring that it landed on a pile of laundry I was supposed to fold last week. My brain was fried. All I wanted to do was collapse on my bed and forget that the festival existed, even if it was just for a few hours.
But of course, as soon as I sat down on my bed, my phone buzzed. I groaned, not wanting to look, but I did anyway. It was Khian.
“Just checking on final details. Make sure to send me the updated guest list by tonight.”
I stared at the message for a solid minute before flopping backward onto my bed. “Why am I doing this to myself?” I mumbled into my pillow. My phone buzzed again. I rolled over and texted back, “Yeah, yeah. I’ll send it.”
After a few more minutes of lying there, I finally dragged myself up and grabbed my laptop. The guest list wasn’t going to magically appear in Khian’s inbox by itself, no matter how much I wished it would. I typed out the names, double-checked the numbers, and hit send. Done. For now.
---
The next morning at school, everything was in overdrive. Students were running around, carrying banners, boxes of decorations, and whatever else they could manage without dropping. Sophie, bless her, was in the middle of it all, laughing and chatting like we weren’t in the middle of a disaster.
I caught her as she was putting up one of the posters for the talent show. “Sophie, focus! We still need to check the lighting and sound for the stage. The show’s tomorrow!”
She blinked at me like she didn’t even realize how close we were to the deadline. “Oh, right! I’ll do that now.”
I sighed. Sophie was great, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes it felt like she was living in her own world.
As I watched her skip off to who knows where, I spotted Ella down the hall, leaning against her locker. She looked tired, probably from all that emotional stuff with Ethan, but I didn’t have time to ask. I waved her over instead.
“Hey, I need you to help with the booth placements,” I called out, waving a clipboard at her. “Please?”
Ella walked over, her expression soft, like she wasn’t really there. “Yeah, sure. What do you need?”
I handed her the clipboard. “Just double-check where everyone’s setting up. Make sure we don’t have the food stalls too close to the stage. We don’t want the sound to drown out the announcements.”
Ella nodded, but she didn’t seem all that into it. “Got it.”
I hesitated, watching her for a second. Something felt off, but I didn’t want to push her too much. “Everything okay?”
She looked at me and gave me this small, tired smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just... a lot going on.”
I wanted to say something more, maybe ask her about Ethan, but we didn’t have time for heart-to-heart talks right now. “Okay, but if you need a break, let me know, alright?”
“Yeah,” she said softly before walking off to check the booths. I hoped she’d actually be able to focus.
---
Later that day, I found myself in the auditorium, checking on the stage setup for the hundredth time. Khian was already there, of course, making sure everything was in order, his usual calm self.
“You’re here early,” I said, raising an eyebrow.
He glanced at me, not even looking surprised. “Just making sure everything’s on track.”
I rolled my eyes. “Everything’s on track, Khian. You don’t need to babysit the stage.”
“I’m not babysitting. I’m supervising,” he said with a slight smile.
“Same thing,” I muttered, walking up to the stage to check the mic. “Is this even working yet?”
Khian reached over and flipped the switch. “Now it is.”
I glared at him, but he just shrugged. Typical Khian, always one step ahead.
“So, how are you holding up?” he asked casually, leaning against the side of the stage.
I shrugged, adjusting the mic. “Fine, I guess. Just trying not to lose my mind with everything that’s going on.”
“You’re doing a good job. You always do.”
I shot him a look. “Don’t try to butter me up, Khian. I’m too tired to appreciate it.”
He chuckled softly. “I’m serious, Lily. The event’s going to be great.”
I wanted to believe him, but part of me couldn’t shake the feeling that something was bound to go wrong. It always did with events like this. But Khian’s confidence was weirdly reassuring, even if he didn’t say much.
---
By the end of the day, I was beyond exhausted. I’d run around checking booths, fixing decorations, and dealing with last-minute changes. The event was tomorrow, and I just prayed it wouldn’t end in disaster.
As I walked home, I thought about what Khian had said earlier. Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad after all. Maybe we’d actually pull this thing off. But still, I couldn’t help but feel like something was lurking just around the corner. Something I wasn’t prepared for.
I shook off the feeling. Whatever happened, we’d deal with it. For now, I just had to survive one more day. One more day until the festival. Aish this month is the worse!Download Novelah App
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