Page 60 of One to Watch

“So far, so good.” She forced a smile.

“Well, what would you say if I told you that you and Wyatt had been voted prom king and queen?”

Bea eyed Johnny skeptically. “I would say the voting was pretty well rigged, since none of these people have ever met me?”

The kids laughed appreciatively, as did Johnny. “You’ve got us there, Bea. As a matter of fact, the students chose their own prom king and queen as well—let’s welcome Cort and Tara to the stage!”

The kids started screaming and cheering again as two teenagers bounded up to join Bea and Wyatt—a guy in a rented tux who was tall and handsome and absolutely a basketball player (or maybe a football player? or maybe both?) and a girl who was blond and teensy in her lacy pink dress.

“Okay, you four,” Johnny said conspiratorially, “since there can only be one true prom king and queen, what do you say we have a little competition to see who wins the crown? It’s time to play the prom date game!”

Bea had no idea what that meant, but it turned out the “prom date game” was a barely reimagined version of The Newlywed Game, wherein Bea and Wyatt would compete against Cort and Tara to see how well they knew their respective prom dates. This didn’t seem quite fair to Bea, considering that Cort and Tara had presumably spent more than ten minutes in each other’s company prior to tonight, but it was no use protesting. A PA handed them all squares of poster board and thick black markers, and they wrote down responses to a list of questions before Johnny publicly grilled them to reveal their answers. Five rounds into the seven-round game, Cort and Tara had, predictably, won every single time.

“What,” Johnny asked dramatically to begin round six, “is your prom date’s favorite condiment?”

Bea guessed Wyatt’s correctly (“She’s right, I do love ketchup”), and revealed her own proclivity for sour cream (“It goes with every kind of potato!”), before Cort was forced to admit he’d misread the question when he flipped over a placard that read “Trojans.”

“It’s mustard, Cort.” Tara shook her head disdainfully. “He knows how much I love mustard.”

Cort hung his head in shame as Bea and Wyatt grinned at each other, pleased to have finally won a round of the game—but their victory was to be short-lived.

“Okay, guys, we saved the best for last,” Johnny effused. “What is the craziest place your prom date has ever had sex? Or, Cort and Tara, the craziest place they’ve ever been kissed, in your case?”

Cort and Tara exchanged a knowing look, and Tara giggled. “Whatever you say, Johnny.”

The teens were answering first this round, and it was clear there was no question as to whether they’d guessed correctly: They were both holding back uncontrollable laughter as they shouted “Mr. Asalone’s classroom!” in unison, which was met with a roar of cheers and applause from the rest of the kids. Cort and Tara high-fived, and while Bea was happy for the teens’ sex-positive attitude, it certainly didn’t make her feel better about the answer she was about to give.

“Over to you, Wyatt and Bea,” said Johnny. “Bea, what’s the craziest place you’ve ever had sex?”

Bea sighed and figured if she was going to be ridiculed for her answer no matter what, she might as well tell the truth. “Get ready to be really shocked, everyone,” she said with what she hoped was a good-natured laugh. “My answer is, in bed!”

The crowd was silent, and Bea saw some of the kids frown and tilt their heads with apparent pity. But she felt a surge of affection for Wyatt when he turned over his placard and she saw that he’d written “FASHION SHOW.”

“Wow.” Bea laughed. “Looks like we really stereotyped each other.”

She flipped over her own placard to show him she’d written “BARN,” but instead of laughing along, Wyatt flushed deep pink.

“Wyatt?” Johnny prompted him. “Did Bea guess right?”

Wyatt looked at the floor. “No,” he said quietly.

“It’s okay,” Bea said gently. “I mean, you heard my answer, right? Whatever yours is, it’s fine.”

He looked up to meet her gaze. “The answer is nowhere.”

Bea was puzzled for a second—but then she realized what he meant.

“So you’ve never …?”

He shook his head.

The gym was completely silent except for the sound of whirring generators. “That concludes our game!” Johnny said grandly, pushing through the sense of awkwardness that had settled over the crowd. “Bea and Wyatt, you were worthy competitors, but it looks like this year’s crowns will go to Cort and Tara!”

Everyone clapped halfheartedly as the two teens donned their sparkly plastic headgear, and Johnny moved them quickly to the next portion of the night: the dancing. The kids poured onto the floor as the band kicked back up, and Bea and Wyatt grabbed some punch and went to sit on the bleachers. Bea was grateful for a chance for a more private conversation with Wyatt—even if they were still being filmed.

“That took a lot of courage,” she told him.

He shrugged. “Didn’t have much of a choice, I guess.”