CHAPTER 30
THE BREAD AND BUTTER OF ALL VALEDICTORIANS

IT had become more apparent to Margo that graduation was quickly approaching. Two months from now, she would be walking across a stage, clutching a tight, scrolled-up degree in her hands. The principal would congratulate them all. She would be tipping her cap up and throwing it in the air. Margo would look behind her, spotting her aunt and loved ones in the crowd, as well as Jacob.

Margo smiled at the possible future as she walked down the halls on an early Wednesday morning. She thought of Jacob smiling and cheering from the crowds at graduation, but the inevitability of the ceremony finally hit her, and she wasn't happy anymore. Margo unlocked her locker as she remembered that she still needed to talk about Jacob about college.

The imprinting made everything so complicated. Margo was willing to go long-distance with him, and she wasn't mistrusting of him in the slightest. It was just the imprinting in general. To know that she had to leave her apparent "soul mate" for four years tugged at her heart strings. And what was she to do about the pain thing? Emily always reiterated that staying away from Jacob was painful, so what would happen when Margo was millions of miles away in California by September?

Just the thought of this made her brain hurt, and Margo found herself hitting her forehead against her locker.

•••

Margo felt the bruise form on her forehead in English class. She sighed, rubbing at the spot that she continuously banged her forehead into. Her head throbbed with each painful step. The only way for her to get through mental pain was just to enact something physical.

Her teacher was currently explaining the underlying themes in Jane Eyre. Margo's hand scribbled across the paper at a fast speed. She tried to bullet point every statement her teacher made, and her quick writing skills usually made this easy, but something about her throbbing head caused difficulty. Or maybe it was because she didn't like Charlotte Brontë. She wasn't big on the classic romances, because she thought them to be boring.

Margo released a heavy sigh as the school phone obnoxiously rang. Most of the students' heads popped up, but Margo kept her eyes firmly on her notebook page. Her teacher approached the phone on her desk and picked it up, greeting, "Hello?" Margo scribbled down her instructor's remaining words as the teacher continued to speak, "You want to see her right now? She's in class, learning something very important ... Fine. I guess that's more important."

The phone slammed down on its speaker, and Margo felt the presence of someone in front of her. She saw a pair of frumpy, nude heels in front of her desk, and she cautiously looked up to the sagging eyes of her teacher. "Margo Richards," her teacher spoke in a bored tone, "you're wanted in the principal's office."

The class immediately erupted in a childish, "OOOOOOOOH!" Margo whipped her head around as she gathered her belongings, sending each student a glare. She scoffed before swinging her bag over her back.

Margo heard the class laugh loudly as she exited the room. "Settle down, children!" Their teacher screamed, leaving Margo to roll her eyes. The door clicked shut behind her and Margo began to walk down the quiet, empty halls to Principal Newman's office. She noticed her hands were shaking. School faculty didn't scare her, and she had worked with the principal before to help out the school secretary. She had just never been called to Mr. Newman's office before.

Walking up to the secretary's desk, Margo smiled brightly. "Hi, Mrs. Dooley," she greeted, despite her nerves. "I was called down here by Mr. Newman."

"Oh, yes, Margaret," Mrs. Dooley nodded. She stacked a group of papers together and placed them in a marked folder. "He's actually waiting for you inside his office. Just go in, dear."

Margo smiled nervously before stepping behind Mrs. Dooley's desk. Near her workspace was the principal's door, which had his name printed in large, black letters on the door. After swallowing down the lump in her throat, Margo knocked her fist against the cracked door that began to open at her touch. She peaked her head in from the corner, meeting the principal's eyes as he said, "Come in, Miss Richards."

Mr. Newman was an erratic man, and also someone that the students didn't see often. He was usually cramped in his small office day-to-day, releasing most of his messages to students through the loud speakers. He was currently balding at the top of his head, but Margo noticed he was now brushing the little amount of gray hair he had left over the bald spot.

Margo set her backpack at her feet as she sat down in the chair in front his desk. Mr. Newman's tiny, blue eyes stared at her as she did so, not saying a word. Margo blurted, "Am I in trouble for something? Because I swear, whoever is framing me will have –"

"You're not in trouble, Margaret," the principal began to laugh out of nowhere, disrupting his serious expression. "The news I have is actually quite the opposite."

Margo leaned forward, lifting her brow. Her curiosity had spiked.

"I called you in here to congratulate you," Mr. Newman continued. "I would like to award you with the title of valedictorian at graduation."

Margo's mouth dropped. "Me?!" She exclaimed, holding her hands to her chest. "I'm going to be valedictorian?!"

Principal Newman nodded quickly. "With your record of good grades, it seems the title would fit you perfectly. We can discuss more about your speech and responsibilities another time –"

"OH, MY GOD!" Margo screamed, jumping up in the air. Her feet danced across the ground as she laughed her heart out. "I'm going to be valedictorian! I need to tell my aunt, Melinda –" Margo paused for a moment, realization dawning on her. A wide grin appeared on her face. "I get to brag to everyone."

Margo suddenly turned to Mr. Neman, grabbing his hands and shaking them fiercely. "Thank you, sir. Thank you so much!"

"It's – um – my pleasure." He tried yanking his hands away.

Margo squealed one last time before exiting the office. She jumped on the balls of her feet, sprinting off to the cafeteria as the bell rang for lunch. Her stomach grumbled, but her excitement trumped any other feeling she had before.

From inside his office, Mr. Newton shook her head. "Teenagers," he grumbled.

•••

Margo felt like she was floating on air when she entered the lunchroom. She sprinted to the table, her backpack thumping against her spine. Melinda was already there, biting into a celery stick from the pile of vegetables in front of her. Margo blurted her news immediately, causing both girls to grab each other's arms and jump around. Their toes barely touched the ground as they screamed and flailed their arms, earning weird looks from their classmates in the cafeteria.

"Oh, my god, Mar!" Melinda shrieked, halting their jumps for a moment. She grabbed her friend's shoulders. "You're going to, like, head graduation! Your speech is going to lead us all in adulthood!"

Margo had a grin spread on her face, but once she heard Melinda's word, a frown formed. "God, you're right." She slumped down into a seat beside her friend. "My speech is gonna stay with people past high school. How can I possibly make it memorable?"

Melinda bit into another celery stick. "I'm sure whatever you say will be memorable, Mar. Don't sweat it."

"But I am sweating it now," Margo replied. She slapped her head against the lunch table, not minding the painful bruise that she had already gotten this morning.

"Hey, guys."

Both Margo and Melinda lifted their heads, spotting Jessica Stanley and her friends loitering by their table. Before Melinda could say hello, Margo muttered, "What do you guys want?"

"We heard the news," Mike said as he approached Jessica's side. He threw his arm around his new girlfriend, but Jessica's arms remained firmly crossed over her chest. "Congrats, Margo."

"Yeah, congrats," Angela agreed. "That's such an honor to be valedictorian."

Jessica rolled her eyes. "I was supposed to be valedictorian, but ... I guess your grades were higher." She met Angela's worried stare before turning back to Margo. "So congratulations. You deserve it."

Margo smiled genuinely. "Thanks, guys."

A moment later, both Bella and Edward approached the table with wide grins. Edward took the spot beside Melinda while his girlfriend wrapped her arms around Margo's back. "Everyone's talking about the valedictorian news," she exclaimed. "Congratulations!" Bella received a hug back from Margo before she sat at the lunch table.

The couple's presence caused Jessica and her crew to want to sit down, leaving Margo thoroughly annoyed. Even Eric Yorkie had to pull a seat over to fit in. She chose not to say anything, for once, because they had been nice to her. But she didn't appreciate Mike throwing around his ideas for speech. The last thing she wanted was to copy words from a Neanderthal.

"Maybe you should say something like," he cleared his throat, "anything is possible, if you just believe."

Margo furrowed her brow. "Thanks, but no thanks."

"I don't think she needs your help, Mike." Eric replied. "Margo Richards is the smartest kid in school. She's, like, the bread and butter of all valedictorians."

"And that is why you are not valedictorian," Angela joked.

Margo and Melinda stifled a laugh, which made Eric roll his eyes. Bella leaned forward and said, "Margo doesn't need clichés like that. This speech will be epic, no matter what." Edward agreed with a smile.

"Epic?" Melinda repeated. "It'll change lives!"

Margo laced her hands together as she laid them on the table. "Well, your confidence in me is appreciated."

Edward looked up to see his siblings, Alice and Jasper, striding towards the table. Alice had had hands together behind her back, and she was biting her lip in excitement. Edward knew that whatever news she had couldn't be good, at least not in his eyes.

"Hello, everyone!" She greeted, while Jasper stayed traditionally stoic to her right. "I've decided to throw a party."

Jasper nodded along. "After all, how many times are we gonna graduate high school?"

Margo noticed a hint of mischief in Jasper's bright, golden eyes.

"A party? At your place?" Angela asked.

Jessica's head whipped in Alice's direction. "I've never seen your house," she muttered in disbelief.

"No one has ever seen their house," Eric whispered in her ear.

"Another party, Alice?" Edward grumbled.

Alice rolled her eyes. "It'll be fun," she persuaded.

Margo noticed an odd tension in the air between the Cullen siblings, and it sparked her brain's interest immensely. As much as she tried to ignore the Nancy Drew within her, it took everything in her willpower to look away from Alice as she noticed the vampire was in a trance. For someone like her who saw visions of the future, Margo could only guess from her facial expression that whatever she saw wasn't good.

•••

Jenny had never been more ecstatic for Margo after learning the news. Much like everyone else, she already began asking about a valedictorian speech. Margo hardly wanted to think about it, but her excitement did cause ideas to brew her in head. Throughout Jenny's enthusiasm, Margo knew her aunt was even more excited that Carlisle Cullen had returned working at the hospital.

"When I saw him, he greeted me like nothing had ever happened! At least he remembered me," Jenny gushed as she chopped food for their dinner that evening. Margo smelled onions. "Its so weird now knowing why his face was always so perfect. I always thought he had a good plastic surgeon in Seattle."

Margo nodded, lost in her thoughts. Now that Carlisle was back at the hospital, she'd never hear the end of it. Jenny was completely infatuated with her almost-one hundred-year-old boss and it made Margo wonder if she was actually okay with the age. She guessed, in Jenny's mind, all she cared about was that he was pretty. Margo, in that case, couldn't blame her.

"Oh, speaking of Seattle," Jenny continued as she caramelized the chopped onion in a pan, "the girls and I were talking at work. Apparently, the police are suspecting kids from Forks and other towns surrounding Seattle might be going missing too. A kid named Riley Biers has been missing for months. He was from Forks, but he was said to have gone missing near his university in Oregon."

Margo's brow lifted at that. "That's weird. I think I remember him being a senior when I was a sophomore."

Jenny spun around suddenly. "Do you think its –" She brought her fingers up to her mouth to mimic fangs.

"I ... don't know," Margo replied with confusion. "You mean vampires? I'm no expert on them." She then snorted. "Its totally against the rules, but ... why don't you ask your devilishly handsome boss what he thinks?"

"I am not asking him that!" Jenny scoffed, turning back to the sizzling frying pan. A smirk tugged at the ends of her mouth as she looked over her shoulder. "How about you ask your little wolf friends –"

Margo bounded for the stairs. "We're not having this kind of conversation!"

•••

A/N: Thank you guys so much for getting this story to 100k reads! 💕 I'm so happy you guys are enjoying Margo and my characters in the Twilight universe!!!

There is also now a Spanish translation of "Curious" by sofia_voley5 for those who read in that language! Check it out on Sofia's profile ☺️