At Connie's, after about an hour of work, Mike saw Lina off, and then took Paige to the Cooper family.
At this point, it was just the Cooper family's dinner time.
Because of Sheldon's absence, the atmosphere in the dining room was a bit heavy.
After the pre-dinner prayer, seeing that no one was speaking, George broke the silence first: "Mike, the Summer League is about to start, when do you plan to return to the team? I'm still keeping the captain's armband for you."
After Aaron stepped down as captain last year, George had always reserved the position of football team captain for Mike.
Whether from the perspective of contribution, influence, or strength, Mike was the most suitable person for the team captain position.
"If I remember correctly, there's still more than a month until the official game. If the team still needs me then, you can notify me," Mike thought for a moment and replied.
With his skill level, he could join the team at any time and become a key player.
Mike didn't mind getting involved in such an effortless matter; he might even be able to sell posters and make a profit then.
Moreover, as far as he knew, after the reorganization, the football team's players were not bad; they were at least at the top ten level.
Leading a team like this would also be much easier.
"OK, I'll notify you a week before the game. And let you have some time to get used to your new teammates." George, having received the commitment to return to the team, finally felt relieved.
The current standing of the Medford Team could be said to have been single-handedly brought about by Mike.
To be honest, without Mike in the team, George was a bit uneasy.
Just as the two finished chatting, Sheldon suddenly asked: "Mike, are you planning to run for this year's student council president?"
The awful experience from the morning made Sheldon's face still look very bad even now.
"No, no, no. The student council president is not a good job, it's not in my consideration." Mike shook his head in disgust: "Why do you ask that?"
The student council president in United States high schools is just someone who runs errands for teachers, has a lot of responsibilities, and easily offends people on both sides.
Even a dog wouldn't take that job!
"I was just asking." Sheldon visibly relaxed, and then continued: "Actually, I'm planning to run for this term's student council president."
Because of today's embarrassing experience, Sheldon wanted to find a stage to prove himself capable, and at the same time try to overcome his weakness—panic disorder.
And coincidentally, in his opinion, the student council president was very "impressive."
(In fact, students generally dislike annoying student council presidents, so they instinctively avoid them.)
Having a preliminary idea, Sheldon didn't put other competitors in his eyes.
The only people in the school he truly recognized were the highly intelligent Mike and Paige.
And because Paige was a girl and the same age as himself, Sheldon subconsciously ignored her as well.
Therefore, the only opponent preventing him from becoming student council president was actually Mike all along.
Now knowing that Mike had no intention of becoming student council president, Sheldon felt a sense of loneliness, as if no hero in the world was his match.
It was like standing at the peak, looking down on all the smaller mountains.
"Oh, Shelly, Meemaw's Sheldon, you're going to be the student council president!" Connie exclaimed in surprise, with an expression of her good grandson achieving something.
Mary also spoke up at this time, encouraging her youngest son.
It seemed to them that the student council president was a very sacred position.
This also made Mike's words of persuasion remain in his mouth.
"Shelly, have you thought about your campaign speech?" George could be considered calm, but he also agreed that his youngest son should try more things.
"Speech? What's that? Is it like a presidential campaign speech?" Sheldon seemed a bit confused.
"No, it's not that exaggerated." George waved his hand with a chuckle, and continued: "To run for student council president, you just need to follow the students' wishes and help them. Naturally, people will support you."
High school elections are actually not that complicated.
There was once someone who promised everyone a lollipop and thus became student council president.
So, given the simple minds of high school students, bribing them is the quickest way to win them over.
"Hmm, just giving students what they want can make me student council president? That doesn't seem difficult..." Sheldon seemed to understand his father's meaning.
"I don't think that's right." Missy, who had been listening for a while, suddenly spoke up: "To succeed, you just need to defeat all your opponents. That's how I became class monitor."
The "defeat" Missy spoke of was literal.
She successfully defeated all the children in her class, thus becoming the class's 'kid king,' which is commonly known as the class monitor.
"What you said also seems to make sense." Sheldon thought for a moment and asked: "So, how exactly should I do it?"
"It's simple, you first need to find out who your real opponent is, and then figure out a way to target him." Missy offered advice in a serious manner.
"My real opponent..." Sheldon murmured, recalling the characteristics of all the twelfth grade students with his super-high palace-like memory.
In a moment, his eyes lit up, and he said: "I've got it, my real opponent is Nell Cavanaugh."
Strictly speaking, Nell was a truly good student in every sense; she had excellent academic performance, was very good at uniting classmates, and also knew how to please teachers.
Well, this was from Sheldon's perspective.
The actual situation was that this girl named Nell was very enthusiastic about power, and for this reason, she did not hesitate to become a "lackey" of the teachers.
As for uniting classmates, it was to blend into the crowd, listen in on students' little secrets, and be ready to report them to teachers at any time.
Previously, students didn't know, so they would naturally become friends with this enthusiastic and proactive girl.
But things always come to light eventually.
Therefore, Nell, who didn't have Regina's looks as a foundation and loved to stir up trouble, was actually not well-liked among students.
However, on the other hand, in some respects, Nell was indeed quite suitable for the position of student council president.
"Nell? Very good." Missy, like a strategist, offered advice: "You already know your opponent. Now, you just need to pull out the microphone plug when your opponent is giving a speech and campaigning."
Pfft—
Connie almost spat out her beer.
"Missy, is that your plan?" Connie was trying very hard to hold back her laughter.
George and his wife also had a look of absurdity on their faces.
"Yeah, isn't this a good idea?" Missy wasn't embarrassed at all, and with a flash of inspiration, she continued: "Oh, right, Sheldon. On the day of the speech and campaigning, you can also secretly hide Nell's outdoor shoes. Campaigning barefoot would be hilarious..."
False competition: Both sides engage in schemes, strategize, plan deeply, and subdue the enemy without fighting!
Real competition: Pull out the opponent's plug, pull the opponent's hair, use cream and tomato juice, stop at nothing!
Evidently, Missy had grasped the essence of competition.
"Enough, Missy—" Mary finally couldn't hold back; she was afraid that if she waited another second, her youngest son would learn bad habits from her daughter: "Sheldon, I want you to promise me you won't use Missy's methods."
"Of course, Mom. I will defeat my opponent fairly and squarely." Sheldon had his own pride.
Using underhanded methods to defeat ordinary people would be a desecration of a genius's reputation.
"Hmm, do as you please." Missy, who was giving advice for the first time, wanted to appear indifferent.
However, her slightly furrowed brows still betrayed her.
Not long after, as she tried hard to think of other new methods, she once again spoke up in surprise: "I remember now, Nell's sister seems to be in our class. Maybe I can get some inside information from her to help Sheldon defeat his opponent..."
"Quiet for a bit, Missy. Shelly doesn't need that kind of help from you." Mary once again interrupted her daughter's speech.
The little girl, after being reprimanded, lowered her head and started eating, but from her flickering eyes, it seemed she hadn't given up on her plan.