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Stephanie moves forward into Adika’s arms. I watch them kiss and then turn and wave as they go to rejoin their group. I chuckle as I watch them leave. Ethan wraps his arms around my waist and puts his head on my shoulder. “What’s so funny?” he asks.
“I never thought I’d see Stephanie act like that. She’s completely smitten.”
“And what about you?” Ethan asks, blinking his eyes rapidly at me. “Are you completely smitten with me, too?”
I pretend to swoon. “Well, I do declare, Mr. Hayden,” I say in my best southern accent.
He smiles. “Your southern accent is definitely better than your British one.”
Ethan and I rejoin our group and dance in a tight circle. Ethan shows off his TikTok moves again, then grabs my hand and spins me into his arms. My cheeks hurt from all the smiling. When the music stops at the end of the song, everyone stops and looks around. A voice comes through the sound system and we all turn towards the stage. Mrs. Graidy is standing at the microphone.
“It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for,” she announces, with a flourish of her arms. “Could I please have all my prom queen and king nominees on stage?”
My stomach drops. I swallow a huge lump rising in my throat. This is it. Ethan walks up to the stage with me. My feet feel heavy, my face is hot. He kisses my cheek again.
“Good luck, Prom Queen,” he says.
My knees are shaking as I walk up the three steps and onto the platform that has been set up as our stage. I stand beside Tessa, who grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze.
“Good luck,” she whispers.
“You, too,” I whisper back.
Then Adika appears on my other side. She takes my other hand in hers and gives it a squeeze.
Mrs. Graidy says some words, but I can’t focus on them. I’m looking out over the sea of faces staring up at us. I look over at the two crowns, sparkling under the lights. Maybe it would be kind of cool to win.
I spot Mom and Dad in front, near the stage. Mom waves to me, excitedly. Dad nods in my direction, smiling. Stephanie is standing nearby, but she only has eyes for Adika. I have to hold in a laugh. I’ve never seen such a goofy look on her face.
“First we’ll announce the prom king attendants.” I pull my focus back to the vice principal and what she’s saying. I should really probably listen to this. Mrs. Graidy pauses dramatically.
“Your attendants are Henry Cho and Jackson Nichols.”
The crowd cheers loudly and I join in. Another teacher drapes a black sash with the wordAttendantwritten in silver script over each of their shoulders. Jackson smiles and waves, pumping his fist in the air. Henry smiles and takes a bow. We all laugh.
“And your prom king is…” Another dramatic pause. “Dean Payne.”
My eyes fall on Dean. He smiles broadly and walks forward to allow the teacher to place the large, silver crown on his head. Everyone cheers loudly. Taylor is screaming shrilly and going crazy. It takes all my self-control not to “accidentally” push her off the stage. He deserves a nicer girl than her.
Mrs. Graidy returns to the microphone and my mouth goes dry. I swallow several times, trying to wet my throat. “Your prom queen attendants are…” Mrs. Graidy looks around the room to make sure she has everyone’s full attention. I want to shout: just get on with it! But I bite my tongue.
“Taylor Cole and Emma Carpenter.”
The crowd goes crazy. I can hear my parents screaming my name. And Stephanie has two fingers in her mouth, whistling loudly. But no one is louder than Ethan. “That’s my date! That’s my date!” he yells above everyone else. I laugh and step forward.
Taylor bumps me with her shoulder and steps in front of me to get her sash first. Her face looks contorted with anger. I’m not sure what she’s more upset about. The fact that she’s not queen, or the fact that she has to be an attendant alongside me. Either way, I really don’t care. I feel nothing toward her anymore, except maybe a little pity.
I bend slightly. The teacher wraps the sash over my head and through my arm. It’s silver with the wordAttendantin black. I hold it up proudly and wave to all the smiling faces.
At the back of the crowd, I can see Austin standing there, looking up at me. He waves to me and I can see him clapping along with everyone else. My heart swells. I haven’t lost my friend. I return the wave. Maybe someday I’ll be ready to take the next step in our relationship. But for now, I’m glad he’s still my friend. Then I step back between Tessa and Adika. They both squeal and hug me. I return the hugs and we all share a smile. It’s weird to think these girls I used to think I hated are now becoming my friends.
“Now for your prom queen,” Mrs. Graidy announces. “Your prom queen…” she says. Pause. “Is…” Ridiculously long pause. “Tessa Mitchell!”
I jump up and down and cheer loudly. “Yay, Tessa!” I’m smiling so big, my cheeks begin to ache. She is definitely the most deserving. I clap my hands together until they sting. Tessa steps forward, a hand covering her mouth. Her eyes tear up as the sparkly, silver crown is placed on her head. The audience continues to clap and cheer for their chosen queen.
Then Dean leads Tessa down the steps and out onto the dance floor. The crowd parts for them and the music begins asthey share a dance together as king and queen. When the song ends, we clap again.
Mrs. Graidy announces that the king and queen now get to pick someone of their choosing for their next dance. And the attendants and nominees get to return to their dates. Taylor shoves her way past everyone and storms out. I just shake my head. Ethan is standing at the bottom of the steps, holding out his hand to me. I take it and he pulls me into his arms. He hugs me tight.
