Page 45 of The Year I was Almost Prom Queen

I bury my face in my hands. “It’s not the attention I like, I could do without that. But…I legit like all three of them,” I admit. “Oh Steph, I don’t know how to decide!”

“You’re sick,” Stephanie says, but she’s smiling when she says it.

“Help me, Steph! What do I do? How do I decide?”

“Hey Emma.” Jaron steps down and sits on the bleacher right beside me. He has a couple friends with him, who sit on his other side.

“Hey Jaron, I’m glad you found us.”

He leans down, his lips against my ear. “It’s easy to spot the prettiest girl in a crowd,” he whispers.

Stephanie looks at me. She’s terrible at hiding her amusement. I’m sure my face is crimson by now.

He sits up and looks down at the field, shaking his head.

“This sucks,” he says.

“I’m sorry, Jaron. This is all my fault. You should be down there with your team. They need you.”

“Don’t you dare say that. I would do the exact same thing over again, if given the chance. Brody was harassing you.”

One of Jaron’s friends engages him in a conversation and Stephanie leans closer.

“I guess he’s pretty okay,” she whispers. Then she adds a, “Dang it.”

I smile.

There’s a commotion down on the field. We crane our necks to see what’s going on. A group of boys in their baseball uniforms gather together and spell the word ‘prom?’ with theirarms. Then one of them drops to one knee and holds his hand out to a giggling cheerleader. She nods. They hug. It’s so adorable, I want to puke.

“Looks like prom-posals are still going strong,” I say.

Then everyone in the bleachers begin getting to their feet. We glance around and follow suit. Adika glides across the field and steps onto the pitcher’s mound, mic in hand. She carries herself gracefully. Her long neck stretches tall as she flashes her best smile and looks around. No high school girl should exude that much elegance. It’s not fair. We’re all supposed to be awkward teenagers.

Music blares from the speakers and Adika raises the microphone. Her lips part as she sings the national anthem. My mouth drops open. Stephanie voices my thoughts.

“She can sing too?” Stephanie blurts. “Ugh! Show off.” But I spy a smile creep across her face.

I lean closer so only Stephanie can hear. “Why don’t you just ask her out already?” I whisper.

Stephanie looks at me, her eyes wide. “I wouldn’t be caught dead dating a pop!” she shoots back.

I drop the subject. Stephanie can dish it out, but she can’t take teasing back. I smile to myself. She’ll get there. I can see the way her eyes sparkle every time she looks at Adika.

When Adika finishes, the stadium roars with applause. Jaron cups his face in his hands and leans forward. He releases a huge sigh as the players run out onto the field. I look down at Dad in the dugout. I catch his eye and he smiles back at me. He waves and I wave back politely. He nods to Jaron, and I can see his jaw tighten from here. I know it’s killing him to not have two of his best players out there. Especially against his rivals. He looks away and shouts something to the team as they settle into their positions.

Jaron scoots forward more in his seat, until he’s practically falling off the bleachers. I reach over and gently rub his back. His gaze flicks to me. “Thanks,” he says quietly.

The first pitch is thrown and we’re off. I realize how little I know about baseball when I watch the players move around the diamond. Maybe Mom was right. Baseball is Dad’s whole world, yet I know almost nothing about it, other than whacking the ball with a bat and three strikes you’re out. I’ve never taken interest in Dad’s passion.

“Why isn’t he swinging the bat?” I ask.

“Coach must have told him to take the walk,” Jaron says.

“Okay.”

Jaron’s eyes remain glued to the field. I watch him for a moment. He’s intense looking when he watches baseball. Somehow, he looks even hotter.

“But why?” I ask.

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