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The tiny cheerleader bursts into tears. I clap politely, but I’m honestly surprised. Tessa would have been a much better queen. Then Taylor bumps past us all with her shoulder and shoves Kylie in the back, before stalking offstage. Whether she meant to push her that hard or not, Kylie loses her footing and falls offstage. Thankfully several kids in the audience try and catch her, which softens her fall.
The crowd gasps, then people begin booing Taylor. Mortified, Taylor runs from the room. I want to hate her, but I feel nothing toward her anymore, except pity.
Once Kylie is upright and back onstage, the sparkly, silver crown is placed on her head. Her eyes are still glistening with tears, but she seems a little shaken now. The audience cheers even louder for her now, and Kylie beams.
Then Jackson leads Kylie down the steps and out onto the dance floor. The crowd parts for them and the music begins as they share a dance together as king and queen. When the song ends, we clap again.
Mrs. Graidy announces that we get to return to our dates. Jaron 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 kisses me softly.
“I knew you’d make a good queen,” he says.
I laugh softly. “But I’m not the prom queen,” I say. “I didn’t win.”
“Maybe not,” he shrugs. “But you’remyqueen, and that’s all that matters.”
I hug Jaron tightly. “I’m glad I chose you,” I say.
“Me, too,” he says. “My night would have been a lot less fun if I had brought someone like Taylor. Eek.”
We both laugh.
I spot Stephanie in the crowd. “Hang on a sec. Wait right here,” I say. I weave in and out of dancing couples and grab Stephanie’s shoulder from behind. She turns.
“Oh my gosh, Steph,” I say, hugging her. “You look incredible! Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
“I was embarrassed,” Stephanie says.
“About what?”
“Admitting that you were right and coming here with a pop,” she says, sticking out her tongue.
“You mean?” I ask.
Just then Adika walks up. She puts her arm around Stephanie. “Hey, Emma,” she says.
“I knew it!” I shriek, pointing to the two of them together.
“Yeah, I know, I know,” Stephanie says. She pretends to be guilty, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen her look this level of happy before.
“Well, I for one am glad the two of you finally got together,” I say.
“Me, too,” Stephanie says, staring into Adika’s eyes.
“Hey, we need to get together and play Hogwarts trivia sometime,” Adika says. “Maybe the two of us versus you and Jaron?”
“Absolutely!” I say. “Speaking of Jaron, I need to go find him. But let’s plan on it. We can make it a double date.”
We wave goodbye. Stephanie takes Adika by the hand. I watch as they kiss and then turn to go rejoin their group.
I chuckle as I watch them leave. Jaron appears behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. He 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.”
“I know how she feels,” Jaron says, his voice low.
Heat creeps up my neck and into the roots of my hair. “I don’t know how to respond when you say things like that.”
Jaron turns me around to face him. He leans down and our lips barely touch when we hear someone clearing their throat behind us. Jaron snaps up straight, and drops his hands from off my waist. He runs his fingers through his hair and glances nervously at my parents. For how much he likes Jaron, Dad does not look happy right now. Mom doesn’t seem fazed. She pulls me into a tight hug. Then Dad steps closer and hugs me too, though his eyes remain on Jaron.
