Chapter Four

Ryan’s Pov

After spending an entire afternoon visiting local businesses with her, I was beginning to realize my first impression hadn’t been entirely wrong. She was opinionated. She was definitely stubborn. But there was so much more to her than I’d allowed myself to see.

The next committee meeting took place two days later, and for the first time since this whole partnership had started, I didn’t walk into the community center expecting another disaster. That alone should have worried me.

I arrived a few minutes early, balancing two paper cups of hot chocolate in one hand while carrying my folder under the other arm. The weather had turned colder overnight, and the sharp wind outside had left almost everyone complaining before they even made it through the front doors.

Zoey was already there. I wasn’t surprised. She sat at the same table as always, her notebook open, completely absorbed in a color-coded schedule that looked complicated enough to organize an entire city. I walked over and placed one of the cups beside her.

She looked up in confusion. “What’s this?”

“Hot chocolate.”

“I can see that.”

“I figured after the last meeting we deserved something warm.”

She narrowed her eyes slightly. “Are you trying to bribe me into agreeing with your ideas today?”

I laughed. “If I were, I’d have brought coffee instead.”

For a second she simply looked at me before shaking her head. “I still haven’t decided whether you’re surprisingly thoughtful or incredibly annoying.”

“I’ve been called worse.”

She wrapped both hands around the cup before taking a careful sip. “It’s actually good.”

“I’ll accept that as a compliment.”

“Don’t.”

“You almost smiled.”

“I absolutely did not.”

“You definitely did.”

She looked away, but I noticed the tiny smile she was trying so hard to hide. Maybe Mason was right. Maybe she wasn’t nearly as intimidating once you got past the walls she kept around herself.

Mrs. Dawson soon called the meeting to order, and everyone settled into their seats. “Today,” she announced, “we’ll be assigning responsibilities for each section of the Winter Festival.”

Several committee members immediately began volunteering for the easier jobs — decorations, social media, entertainment, photography. By the time the list reached logistics, almost every hand had disappeared.

Mrs. Dawson looked down at her clipboard before smiling knowingly. “I think our committee leaders are the perfect choice.”

I already knew I wasn’t going to like whatever came next.

“You’ll be organizing the festival’s main attraction.”

Zoey looked up. “What exactly is the main attraction?”

“The opening ceremony.”

The room immediately went quiet. The opening ceremony wasn’t just another event. It was the first thing the entire town would see when the festival began — parents, teachers, sponsors, reporters, everyone.

Mrs. Dawson continued, “You’ll also coordinate every student group participating in the ceremony, which means you’ll be working together almost every afternoon until everything is finalized.”

I heard a few students whisper sympathetic comments from the other side of the room. Apparently everyone understood exactly how much work that would involve.

The meeting moved on, and before long we were discussing performances, volunteer schedules, and stage layouts. At one point Tyler, a member of the Ridgeview committee, leaned back in his chair and let out an exaggerated sigh. “This planning is getting way too complicated.” He looked directly at Zoey. “I think you’re making everything harder than it needs to be.”

The room grew quiet. Zoey didn’t respond immediately. Instead she calmly closed her notebook before meeting his eyes.

“I’m trying to make sure every club gets the same opportunity to participate.”

“We don’t need every club.”

“We do if this festival is supposed to represent the entire town.”

Tyler shrugged. “People only come for hockey anyway.”

Before Zoey could answer, I found myself speaking. “They come for more than hockey.”

Every head turned toward me. Tyler frowned. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

He laughed. “Since when do you care about drama club and the school orchestra?”

“Since they started working just as hard as we are.”

Even I was surprised by how naturally the words came out. Tyler stared at me as though I’d suddenly switched teams. I leaned forward. “If we’re asking the whole town to support this festival, then the whole town deserves to see themselves represented.”

For a brief second nobody spoke. Mrs. Dawson smiled quietly before continuing the meeting. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Zoey looking at me — not with suspicion, not with annoyance, but with surprise.

When the meeting finally ended, students slowly packed their bags and headed toward the parking lot. I was stuffing papers back into my folder when Zoey stopped beside me.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

I looked up. “Do what?”

“Defend me.”

I shrugged. “I wasn’t defending you.”

She raised an eyebrow. “No?”

“I was defending the festival.”

She folded her arms. “That’s not what it sounded like.”

I smiled. “Maybe your ideas are rubbing off on me.”

She laughed quietly. “I’ll try not to take full credit.”

We walked out of the building together, the cold evening air wrapping around us the moment the doors closed behind us. For once, neither of us seemed in any hurry to leave.

“I owe you an apology,” I admitted after a few moments.

She glanced at me. “For what?”

“I assumed you were trying to control everything.”

“And now?”

“Now I think you just care enough to make sure nobody gets left behind.”

She was silent for several seconds. “I thought you only cared about hockey.”

“I do care about hockey.”

She smiled. “I know.”

“But it isn’t the only thing I care about.”

The breeze lifted a few loose strands of her hair, and she tucked them behind her ear before looking toward the brightly lit community center. “I guess we’ve both been making assumptions.”

“I guess we have.”

For the first time since the pep rally, it felt like we weren’t standing on opposite sides anymore. We were simply two students trying to make one impossible project work.

As we reached the parking lot, Mrs. Dawson called after us. “Ryan! Zoey!”

We turned at the same time. She hurried over with a folder tucked under one arm. “I’ve just received confirmation from the principals.” She handed the folder to both of us. “Congratulations.”

Zoey looked confused. “Congratulations for what?”

Mrs. Dawson smiled. “You’ve officially been selected as the student representatives for this year’s Winter Festival.”

I looked down at the folder in my hands. That meant every public announcement, every interview, every planning session, and every major decision would now have our names attached to it. There would be no stepping back. No asking someone else to take over. Whether we succeeded or failed, the entire town would be watching us together.

I glanced at Zoey. Judging by the expression on her face, she had just realized the exact same thing.

This partnership wasn’t temporary anymore. It had just become the most important responsibility of our senior year.