fandom_votes (not fandom_counts >_>) to see who's endorsed by fandom, for fandom, etc. Also, bear in mind that the poll numbers are misleading; runoff voting means that the second and third choices do count, if one candidate doesn't wind up with a certain percentage of the first choice votes. (Also also, don't give trollish candidates the benefit of the doubt. Well, you can, but like me you'll probably end up concluding that they're sort of jerks.)How I wish we had a fandom candidate for president of the United States. (And no, Obama doesn't count simply because he's gained a fandom-like following. Gosh.)
"I have the position all wrapped up!" Horio crowed triumphantly, collapsing into one of the desk chairs. "I've been campaigning for two whole months, you know! And if you think about it," he added, thoughtful, "I've been campaigning since the beginning of junior high! Two years!"
Katsuo and Kachiro exchanged a glance and took their seats around him. "Horio-kun, nothing's for sure yet," said Kachiro carefully.
"Building my popularity among my peers," Horio continued, ignoring the dubious support of his campaign advisers. "Acting as the benevolent senpai to all the underclassmen! And now!" He jabbed a finger in the air. "It's all paid off! I'll be elected class representative, and there's nothing anyone can do about it! I, Horio Satoshi, will lead you all into the golden era of Seigaku."
"Someone else could still win," Katsuo said, even more carefully than Kachiro had made his comment.
"What!" Horio screeched, leaping to his feet. "Impossible! I have balloons, t-shirts-" he pointed dramatically to the shirts they were both wearing. Each bore an image of his face (or a reasonable fascimile) and the words 'Horio Satoshi: Two Years of Seigaku Experience!' "Buttons, posters, parties, marches, meet and greets! I even," he said, lowering his voice and giving them a significant look, "have Osakada Tomoka's support! She's my girlfriend, you know."
"We know," said Kachiro and Katsuo in chorus.
"So when they walk through that door and tell us the results, I, Horio Satoshi, will graciously accept the position!" Horio declared. "And then, in the ultimate act of selflessness, I will console my rivals and offer them positions on the council!"
Kachiro flashed Katsuo a look that said, Don't the runners-up get those positions anyway? Katsuo gave a barely perceptible nod and a shrug.
Suddenly the classroom door burst open, and here it came, the moment of truth. Tomo was wearing an enormous grin on her face. "And the winner of the position of class representative is..." She paused. Horio puffed up his chest. "Ryoma-sama!" she shrieked. Katsuo and Kachiro clapped their hands over their ears, and Horio looked as though someone had just told him that the laws of gravity had been repealed, and would he mind floating into the vacuum of space for a minute?
"But," said Horio, after a second. "But Echizen didn't even campaign!" His voice rose to a wail. "Echizeeeeeen! Tomo, you traitor, did you even vote for me?!"
"Of course not!" Tomo informed him, putting her hands on her hips. "How could I have, when Ryoma-sama was on the ballot! Ryoma-sama!"
She pranced out of the room. Horio stared after her, and then, once the door had closed once more, he let out a howl. "I will take my revenge on you, Echizen!" he vowed, shaking a fist at the ceiling. "Meet me on the courts, if you're too much of a coward to meet me fair and square in this election! I will have justice! I will have retribution! I will have a recount! I-"
As he kept going on, apparently ad infinitum, Katsuo and Kachiro exchanged another glance, and decided, as one, never to mention the Echizen t-shirts they were wearing underneath the Horio ones.
