Wide Awake by David Levithan Page A

true.
    Even my voice had seen.
    I didn’t want to jump to conclusions, because all the conclusions jumped straight to endings.
    I could go back in and confront them.
    No.
    I could go downstairs and tell Mira.
    No.
    I could forget it all.
    Not possible.
    I was so glad they hadn’t seen me. And I wished they had seen me, so it wouldn’t be up to me.
    I had no idea what to do.

eight
    “Did you see Keisha up there?” Mira asked as soon as I got back downstairs.
    I could tell from her voice: She had no idea. There wasn’t a thread of suspicion in the question.
    “Know,” I said, understanding full well that it would come out as “no.” Lying to myself that I wasn’t entirely lying.
    She believed me, because she didn’t think she had any reason not to. I wanted to say,
Go upstairs yourself,
but at that moment I heard footsteps coming down.
    Sara.
    She had a big smile for me.
    “Welcome to the victory party, Duncan!” she said. There wasn’t a crack in her cheer, not a scruple out of place in her expression.
    “I’ve got to find Jimmy,” I replied. What I really meant was:
I’ve got to get away.
    It must have shown. Even if Mira and Sara couldn’t see it, Jimmy could.
    “What’s wrong?” he asked me.
    “Nothing,” I said. Then, when he didn’t look satisfied with that answer, I nodded toward the open screen and said, “Kansas.”
    The newsreader cut to a live news conference at the opponent’s headquarters.
    We turned up the volume.

    “Ladies and gentlemen, the good people of America, believers in democracy and defenders of freedom everywhere, I address you tonight because over the past twelve hours a good number of events have come to light in the state of Kansas that have given me clear and fair reason to believe that the election for the next President of the United States is not yet over. Because of this new and important information, I will not concede the election, and will call upon my opponent to refrain from declaring an end to this contest until all of the American people, including the good and honest people of Kansas, have had their rightful say. Grave and serious doubts about the election have been raised, and when they are answered, I expect both the truth and the facts will show that I have won the state of Kansas, and thus the Presidency, a sacred office to which I pledge my undying devotion and loyalty. Whether it takes ten more hours, ten more days, or ten more weeks to determine the true and fair winner of this most important contest, I will remain strong and steadfast until that truth is revealed. May the great God shine on America, and may freedom ring forever and ever, amen.”

    “The man always uses twenty words when two will do!” Virgil burst out.
    The dancing had stopped now. We all watched as Stein took the podium at his own headquarters.
    “He doesn’t look that happy,” Jimmy mumbled to me.
    He was right. Stein looked like he’d been through a tornado, with pieces of his house still in his hair.
    “This can’t be good,” Janna murmured.
    As soon as Stein got to the microphone and the reporters quieted down, he went right to the point.

    “What is happening in Kansas is politics as usual, and it’s not good politics. We have won Kansas fair and square and we are not going to be bullied or intimidated into losing a state that we won. The American people have spoken, and half a million more of them voted for me than voted for my opponent. In Kansas, a thousand more of them voted for me than voted for my opponent. These are the facts, and we will let them guide us. We will not let rogue members of my opponent’s party throw the election. A democratic nation will not tolerate that.”

    It was an amazing thing to watch: The more Stein spoke, the more the fire in him blazed. Even if he’d started out weary, each word seemed to energize his presence. It made me believe in him once more.
    But the truth was: It wasn’t over. We had thought it was over. We had thought