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I stand from the table and my water glass wobbles. “I did not create that post! I don’t know who did.”
Mom and Dad exchange a glance. “Oh honey, if you want boys to notice you, you need to play a little harder to get.”
Dylan whips out his phone and holds it up for all to see. “Look,” he says.
I massage my temples. “Like I said, I did not post that. If I had any idea who did, I would…I would…” In reality I don’t know what I’d do. Probably just cry. I squeeze my eyes shut, wishing to be anywhere but here.
Mom reaches for the phone, shakes her head, then passes it to Dad. I watch as he reads it. My face feels like it’s on fire. It’s bad enough my parents work at the school. But on the rare occasion they miss something, like this, my little brother is here to fill them in.
“Did Stephanie do this?” Mom asks.
“No, she was just as shocked as I was when we saw it.”
“I wouldn’t give it another thought,” Dad says. He turns off the screen and tosses the phone into the air. Dylan catches it one-handed with ease. “Jaron asked you. Whether or not it was because of that ad makes no difference. You still got asked. And by a pretty great guy, if you ask me.”
“Oh, but honey, Ethan asked her too. That says something, don’t you think? Being on the arm of the student body president? It makes a statement. A lot of kids really like Ethan. Plus, he’s become really popular online recently, making videos of some kind. I don’t really get it, but my girls have shown me several of his videos. There’s no way you could lose if you went with him.”
“But Jaron is a baseball player. My team rules the school. Ethan is fun, but he’s kind of a goofy kid. Jaron is big, muscular, manly and he has several scouts after him. I think that would hold the most clout with the other students voting.
“We can’t forget Austin either,” Mom says.
“But Austin isn’t in any of the right circles,” Dad states.
“Right,” Mom says, nodding. “But he’s smart. Really smart. I heard from several other teachers at lunch that he’s well on his way to being Valedictorian. The majority of the kids at school are more brainy than social.”
“Oh, I get it,” Dad says, nodding. “If she goes with the kid who’s the most normal, the most relatable to the student body, she might get votes that way. Very sneaky, my dear.”
Mom grins. I put my head in my hands. I’m not even hungry at all. I just want to go back to my room.
The doorbell rings and I volunteer to go get it. Anything to leave this room of insanity.
I pull open our big, heavy oak door without even checking to see who it is. Austin is standing on my front steps. “Hey Emma, can I talk to you for a minute?”
I step further onto my porch and close the door behind me. “You’re not wearing your glasses again,” I say.
He puts his hands in his pockets and glances down at his feet. “Yeah, well, I’ve had contacts for a while, I just rarely wear them. After what you said today, I thought I’d give them another try.”
“You look good,” I say.
Austin kicks the toe of his shoe against the cement. “Listen, Emma, I don’t think I did it right. Earlier when I said you could ask me to go with you…what I mean is, I’d like to take you to prom, if you want to go with me?” Austin pulls a small bouquet of wildflowers from behind his back. “So, will you?” he asks. “Will you go with me to prom?”
It looks like the tips of Austin’s ears are a little pink. I’ve never seen him act this shy around me before. I nibble my lip. How do I say this without hurting his feelings?
“I really appreciate it, Austin, that’s really sweet of you,” I say, accepting the flowers. “I want you to know I didn’t write that post online. I don’t know who did.”
Austin looks at me. “I kind of figured. It’s not like you. The kids at school can be ruthless sometimes. I just wanted you to know I’ll always be on your side. I won’t let any of them hurt you.”
It’s my turn for my cheeks to flush pink. I never thought of Austin as protective before, but it’s really sweet how he wants to come to my rescue. “Here’s the thing,” I say. “Because of that stupid post, I got asked by three different guys. And I’m not sure what to do. I didn’t think I’d get asked even once.”
“Oh, I understand,” Austin says. “You’d rather go with one of them?”
I step toward him. “No, I’m not saying that at all. I’m just not sure who to choose. Or how to go about it.”
Austin looks at me. Without his glasses, I can see his eyes more clearly. I never noticed the flecks of green in his brown eyes before. “Is it too much to ask for you to give me a couple days to decide?”
Austin’s mouth turns up a little at the corner. “You mean I’m in the running?”
“Of course you are,” I say, grabbing his arm. I’m surprised by what I feel. Has Austin started working out?
