“I know. I wanted to tell you so bad. Trust me, I’d rather be talking about Sean than having to call you about this.”
“Good. I just want my friend back. So, no hard feelings, man?”
I force a fake laugh through the phone. “Nope. No way man. We’re good.”
“Good. I’m calling you on my break and I wanna talk Prom and most importantly, get all the nasty details on Sean finally growing the ovaries to ask you out.”
When we hang up, I drop my phone, grab a furry orange pillow, and hurl it. It smacks and slides down the wall of old records that Kallie and I spent the whole summer collecting and hanging before our junior year. We did the same to her room, but her mom freaked and had all the nail holes filled and the whole wall repainted within the week. I snatch the pillow, lean up and slide down the wall, too. Sigh. At least I have my friend back. Best friends again, but with limits.
Sean calls before I’m about to go to bed and I tell him about the convo with Kallie. Not that I expect him to, but he doesn’t really get it.
“Hey at least you laid it out there. They’ll figure it out. Just be glad to have your friend again.”
We talk a little more and he says he’ll see me in class tomorrow.
Maybe he’s right about Kallie and the others, I think. Guess I’ll just let them all work it out.
****
I drop my Howl free-writing assignment on Mr. Norderick’s desk.
“Looks like you had some stuff you needed to get off your chest, Ms. Hughes.” I look down at my paper and nod. I can see how my sharp, heavy strokes and a handful of all-caps fuck-bombs jumping off the page might have tipped him off.
I shrug. “Maybe a little.”
“Hey,” I say to Sean as I slide into my chair. I’m really talking to Sean in class and making eye contact. I don’t drown, but my heart definitely kicks up a notch.
“Hey.” He smiles. Glad you two are cool again.” Sean turns to Kallie and asks where she was Friday. “You missed out on our sober taxi. Maybe next time.”
When we leave class and run into Todd, he punches Sean in the shoulder and says “Hi” to me like Friday never happened. I raise my eyebrow but say hi back. The four of us walk out to the parking lot and part ways to go to our cars. When I get in my car, my phone rings. Sean Mills.
“Hey,” he says, ”I know I just saw you a minute ago but wanted to tell you that you look nice today and … I want to ask you something but I’m not sure if it’s too soon. So maybe we could hang out again on Friday and we’ll talk about it then.”
“Sure,” I say. Please God let him be talking about Prom. “And thanks.”
THIRTEEN
Prom In Paradise
An Evening With The Stars
Twilight Memories
Jungle Boogie Nights
It’s Tuesday after school and everyone on Prom Court is sitting at one of the cafeteria tables.
Brian’s texting on his phone, Chris and Laura are on opposite ends of the table, which means they’re broken up again, and the rest of us are passing around poster boards and the list of Prom theme ideas.
“Are they kidding me?” Molly says. “This is awful.” She shoves a neon green poster board back to the middle of the table. “Jungle Boogie Nights? What the heck? How does the committee come up with this crap? So lame.”
“Easy,” says Sean. “They know what they want and present it in such a way that you have to pick, hmmmm … pick …” He sets the boards up side by side. “None. They all suck.”
“Twilight Memories?” Laura asks. “Someone is going too far celebrating their cultish book love.”
“They can’t be for real,” I say. “We can’t pick a theme that includes cutouts of vampires and werewolves, can we?”
Clearly, Twilight Memories is what the Prom Committee wanted us to like. The presentation board is pretty professional. Beautiful calligraphy, crisp gothic magazine cutouts and detailed illustrations of fancy punches, satin streamers in blood red, smoky gray, and jet black. Not going to lie, it’s sharp. But they lose me at the werewolf and vampire cutouts. The other themes are totally thrown together like afterthoughts. A few magazine and Google images glued onto tag board. A generic beach scene with a sunset, a map of constellations with the promise of star confetti, and a monkey in a tuxedo hanging from a jungle vine.
Jane straightens her gold headband and frowns. “I’m not trying to be mean, but should anything Breanne says count? I mean, you guys, she’s not originally on court.”
“Really Jane?” snaps Kallie. “I’m pretty sure Bree is on court. I’m also sure Bree was voted in fair and square and not as a joke like Maisey was, which was probably your asshole idea. Furthermore, she’s going to feel the same way as the rest of us. Right, Bree?”
“Um, yeah,” I say. The same knots that were in my stomach at the party tie themselves tighter.
“Ladies, ladies,” says Todd. “How ’bout we just figure this out. It’s not that serious. Everyone, just be cool.”
“I’m always cool,” Kallie says and kisses Todd on the mouth.