“Group drama?  No, my group’s pretty chill.”  I naively said about a month ago, but within the past two weeks, I have faced more drama than I have in my entire life.  At this moment, three girls in my group are refusing to talk to me because of group drama between the three girls and me.  Out of these three girls, I am most hurt by Madison and the way she has treated me as a result of an election. 

A month ago, Mrs. Dabdoub asked me to run for president of Sailing club because she knows that I am responsible and will do the job correctly and efficiently.  A week before elections, Mrs. Dabdoub sent an email to the members of Sailing Club asking if anyone else would like to run for any positions, along with who was already running for the positions.  An hour after I received this email, Madison texted me, “Are you running for president for Sailing?”  I replied, “Yes, Mrs. Dabdoub asked me to.”  Madison texted back, “Well, I’m running too.”  Before, I was running unopposed, but now I was running against one of my close friends.  I don’t know whether Madison saw my name on the ballot and thought, “I don’t want Kate to be president,” or if she thought, “Wow, it would be easy to beat Kate.”  Either way, Madison decided to run because she found out I was running. 

The day of Sailing elections, I was terrified.  I had just lost mascot and board elections, and I was prepared to lose this election as well, since Madison was more popular than me and had been in the club for a longer amount of time than me.  At the end of the school day, the members of Sailing Club went to Mrs. Dabdoub’s classroom.  Mrs. Dabdoub’s classroom was where the candidates for the positions gave their speeches and the members of the club voted.  I had a speech ready for a month, but Madison didn’t prepare a speech.  Madison gave a summary of her experience in Sailing Club and then tried to bribe the voters by offering them cannolis.  The cannolis smelled heavenly, and they were drizzled with chocolate.  I knew that some members would vote for her because she brought food.  Since Madison had decided to play dirty, I made sure to mention after my speech that I had mini oreo cheesecakes downstairs for the end of the year party.  After the members cast their votes, we headed downstairs to go eat the food we had brought for the end of the year party.  Once inside the cooking room, I grabbed a slice of pizza, sat down at a table, and tried to remain calm, but my leg continued to shake underneath the table.   After a couple minutes, Mrs. Dabdoub called for everyone’s attention and announced who had won.  I was already prepared to tell Madison congratulations.  Even if I didn’t win, I would still be happy for my friend.  Once Mrs. Dabdoub had everyone's attention, the room went completely quiet, and Mrs. Dabdoub announced the new president.  I had won.  As soon as Mrs. Dabdoub said that I had won, Madison left.  She didn't even wait for Mrs. Dabdoub to say who had won the other positions.   Her reaction spoke louder than words.  She was obviously very angry and hurt over the results, but I assumed that she would still be my friend after the results.  When I got to school the next day, I asked Madison, “Hey, what are you eating for breakfast?”  Madison always eats something weird for breakfast, such as key lime pie, so I was curious and asked my question in a joking manner.  Madison didn’t answer.  I then said Madison's name.  I was sitting right next to her, and she completely ignored me.  Then Hailey started talking about who won swimming elections.  Hailey said, “Yeah, this girl who I didn’t want to win, won.”  Madison replied, “Wow, relatable,” and then walked away.  Madison has not spoken a single word to me since elections. 

I have learned two lessons from the effects the Sailing election caused.  I have learned who my real friends are, and I have learned to put my feelings first.  I now know that Madison is not my real friend.  A real friend would be happy for me when I won something I really wanted, even if that meant that they lost.  I have also learned that my feelings should come first.  Madison was angry that I won sailing president, but I needed to put my happiness first.  I was so happy when Mrs. Dabdoub called my name.  I love Sailing Club, and I am so honored and ecstatic to get the privilege to represent the club.