When all the posters were up on the board, Mr Mack clapped his hands. ‘Well done, guys! You’ve all come up with some great ideas. Now we’re going to nominate our eight candidates. Let’s do the girls first.’

Hands shot into the air as everyone strained to get picked first.

‘OK, Layla,’ said Mr Mack. ‘Your nomination.’

‘Aysha,’ said Layla, smiling at her twin.

‘Aysha, do you accept or reject Layla’s nomination?’

‘Accept, please,’ said Aysha.

Mr Mack wrote her name on the board.

Holly and Lily glanced at each other in alarm. That had been so quick, and now there were only three spots left!

Holly almost lifted herself out of her chair trying to wave her hand higher than everyone else.

‘Umm …’ Mr Mack looked around the room. ‘Olivia?’

‘I nominate Ching Ching.’

‘And I accept!’ Ching Ching called out, before Mr Mack could even ask.

‘Done,’ said Mr Mack, writing her name under Aysha’s. ‘And … Zoe?’

‘Isabelle!’

‘And Isabelle?’

‘Yes, I accept. Thank you.’

Isabelle’s name went up on the board.

‘Now, one final nomination for girl class captain.’

Holly thought her shoulder would come right off if she tried any harder to get Mr Mack’s attention. But he wasn’t even looking at her.

‘Let’s see … Iris?’

Holly dropped her arm and slumped back into her chair. Beside her, Lily did exactly the same thing. Obviously, Iris would nominate her best friend, Zoe, so it was all over.

But then Iris said, ‘I nominate Holly.’

Holly blinked. What?

‘Holly?’ said Mr Mack. ‘Accept or reject the nomination?’

Holly bit her lip and looked sideways at Lily. If she rejected the nomination, then there was still a chance for her to nominate Lily, and Holly knew how badly Lily wanted it.

On the other hand, she thought, I want it, too, and there’s no guarantee that Mr Mack would ask me for a nomination anyway …

Avoiding Lily’s eye, she looked up and said, ‘I accept.’

‘Excellent,’ said Mr Mack. ‘Four great candidates. Now for the boys.’

Holly didn’t pay attention to the boy nominations. She was tingling all over, feeling so happy that Iris had thought of her for class captain.

But then she noticed that Lily was hunched over in her chair, crossing out something in her diary, and looking seriously upset.

Uh-oh, thought Holly, the tingly feeling disappearing.

The boys’ nominations went up as quickly as the girls’. Joe, Oscar, Nelson and Cooper were nominated.

Holly barely noticed. She was too busy trying to figure out how to get Lily’s attention, and what to say when she did.

Lily was stubborn, though, and ignored Holly completely.

‘All right,’ said Mr Mack. ‘We’ve got our eight candidates. It’s time to vote. Each of you, grab some paper and write down one boy’s name and one girl’s, then put them in this ice-cream container.’

Excited chatter broke out, and Holly heard kids discussing with each other who they were going to vote for. She strained to hear if anyone was saying her name.

‘So, who are you voting for?’ asked Lily, finally speaking to her.

‘Um, I don’t know,’ said Holly, feeling relieved that they were actually talking. ‘Maybe Cooper?’

‘No, I mean, which girl?’

‘Oh, right,’ said Holly. ‘I reckon probably Isabelle.’

Lily gave her a small smile. ‘I’m voting for you. You should vote for yourself, too.’

‘Oh, well … nah,’ Holly said, shaking her head. ‘That would be weird. I mean, what kind of a budget-brain would vote for themselves?’

Across the room, Oscar was standing on his chair and showing his paper to everyone around him. ‘Look carefully, friends,’ he was saying loudly, pointing at his name. ‘You spell it O-S-C-A-R. That’s right. And remember, a vote for Oscar is a vote for less homework.’

‘That,’ said Holly, ‘proves my point.’

Lily laughed, and by the time they went to put their votes into the container, things were feeling a bit more normal.