Prom Impossible

by Laura Pauling

  Zeke whispered, “You’ve done it now.”

  I even got a glance from Jasper. Was that a gleam of respect in his eyes for me? I decided to act on that. “I just think sometimes simple is best like when writing a paper for English. When we add too many details or adjectives it muddies what we’re trying to say and our grade goes down, but if—”

  Jules finally moved and clapped her hands. I stopped talking, fearing the worst.

  “You. Are. Brilliant!” Except on the word brilliant she couldn’t stifle the tiny scream of excitement and it sounded more like brill-eeeeh! “That is the best idea ever!”

  Ava whispered in her ear, and Jules spun, whispering back with many animated hand motions and facial expressions. A smile spread across Ava’s face, and I wondered what I’d said right.

  With a huge smile, Jules faced the prom committee. “We were going to take all next week to brainstorm themes for this year’s prom, but we don’t have to. All thanks to Cassidy.”

  You could’ve heard my heart punching against my ribcage. No one understood, including me.

  “A guy and a girl. A fairytale prom. Simple.” She punched the air. “That’s it! A fairytale theme, complete with a castle, a bridge, a moat and, of course, princes and princesses at the ball!” She started going off on rabbit trails and ways to incorporate this theme into the rest of the year.

  “And Cassidy, you’re heading up the decoration sub-committee. Choose someone to help, and let me know if you need more.”

  Perfect. After the meeting was over, I’d get Jasper to help, hinting that I could use his big muscles. He could never resist the chance to flex in front of other people, even if it was just himself.

  But then Zeke spoke behind me. “I’ll help her.”

  “Thanks, Zeke. That would be perfect.” Jules smiled warmly at us. “It shouldn’t take up too much of your time, and a lot of it can be through email or texting.”

  I tried not to scowl. It was like everyone knew about my secret plan to use Jasper to make Michael jealous and had decided to go out of their way to squash my efforts. I had a deal to make with Jasper, the offer of a mutual partnership where we could both help each other out. Strictly a business relationship.

  When the meeting ended, I decided to follow Jasper out to the parking lot and share my proposal with him there, but then Jules asked to chat with me and Zeke. Turned out she wanted to be kept up to date on our plans so she could approve.

  Every time I tried to talk to Jasper the next few days, it was like he had hired a flock of girls to be his body guards, because I could never break through to say hello or wave.

  Finally, I got desperate.

  Friday morning, I planned my outfit down to the tiniest details, like the short skirt and dangly earrings. Later that day, I skipped World Studies, and slipped into the boys’ bathroom in the math wing. It wasn’t hard to figure out Jasper’s schedule. His entourage had it memorized. All I had to do was walk behind them in the hall a few times before one of them let slip something about what class he had next.

  In the bathroom, I waited in a stall, just in case some other boys walked in, which they did. I sat up on the toilet with my feet up against my chest so the guys wouldn’t see my girl shoes. A couple of them tried to open the door. I held my breath and waited for them to leave. Finally, I heard the gentle swish of moccasins on the tiled floor. I freshened my lip gloss and walked out of the stall before I caught Jasper in an awkward position.

  He was surprised for about three seconds, then took it in stride. “Hey, there, Cassidy. What’s up?” Like girls approached him in the bathroom all the time. Who knows? Maybe they did.

  I jumped up on the windowsill, tugged on my skirt, and crossed my legs. Gosh, how do girls manage wearing short skirts all the time?

  He leaned against the wall, one leg crossed in front of the other, his hands in his pockets like he was posing for a magazine shoot. How did he do it? Something about his confidence unnerved me and I forgot my practiced speech. I should’ve brought note cards.

  “You’re cute when you’re nervous.” He tilted his head, his smile seductive.

  “I’m not nervous just, um, well, anyway, how’s senior English?”

  The door partially opened. Jasper called, “Occupied!” The door shut. Geez. Talk about power. “What do you mean?”

  Clearly, he hadn’t expected me to talk about schoolwork. “Well, I happened to notice that you struggle a bit in that class and I thought we could help each other out.”

  A full-blown smile spread across his face that said he loved my idea. “What’re you thinking?” He closed the gap between us, and I suddenly found it hard to breathe. He rested his hands on either side of me and brought his face right in front of mine. “What do you want from me?”

  Gosh, did girls approach him in the bathroom all the time? I thought he’d be outraged or offended, but I didn’t expect this. “I’ve had my eye on a certain guy and even though I’ve tried other methods of getting him to notice, they’ve all failed, so I thought maybe…”

  “You’re even cuter when you ramble.”

  I sucked in a breath. “Really?”

  He nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Wow. No one’s ever told me that,” I whispered. Then I noticed the tiny almost invisible freckle right above his lip.

  “It’s about time someone did.” He peered into my eyes like they were a deep pool and he was testing the waters. “Let me guess. You need my help in making the guy jealous.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  His breath mingled with mine as he whispered his next words. “And you’ll write my papers for a date once a week.”

  “Uh, huh.”

  He brushed his lips against my cheek. “I’m all yours, Cassidy.”

  “Uh, huh.”

  Then his lips were on my ear, and I felt this floaty feeling overtake me like my fairy godmother had put me in a bubble. He whispered. “Get ready to have a lot of fun.”

  Then he was gone.

  “Uh-huh.”

  Chapter 19

  I sat with Zeke on one of our support group meetings. We didn’t meet as frequently anymore, and as much as I wanted them to end, it was a great excuse to spend time with him.

  “Cassidy?” he snapped.

  “Um, what?”

  “What do you think about that?”

  “Well, considering, I mean, um, yeah, it’s a great idea.” The words all came out in a rush, and I ducked my head so he wouldn’t see the obvious blush. I had no clue what he’d said. My first date with Jasper was that night!

  He laughed, then leaned forward. “Can I ask you a question?”

  “I might not answer.”

  “If you don’t like attention then why did you bring all that stuff to the Program?” His laughter had faded, and the look in his eyes was so intense and caring, nothing like most people’s when they ask me questions about stupid stuff I do. Mostly, people are just curious or nosy or want fresh gossip.

  “I was desperate and hoped that I’d get kicked out.”

  He smiled slightly, revealing his crooked teeth that were growing on me. “Why would they kick someone out for breaking the rules when it was a program for teens who break rules?”

  “I sometimes do stuff before thinking. It’s not about trying be a rule breaker or rebellious or get the attention of my parents or make some big statement.”

  “Then what is it about?”

  I opened my mouth to answer then caught myself—thank God! “I see what you’re doing. Nice one, counselor.” I waggled my finger. “Shame on you, taking advantage and trying to get me to reveal my deepest secrets.”

  He shrugged. “Isn’t that why we’re here?”

  “No! We’re here to please my parents and the school and everyone else who thinks I have behavioral issues, so they’ll let me graduate. When really I’m like any other teen. I just get caught.”

  He nodded. “Fair enough. You might want to think—”

 
The door opened and Jules popped her head in. “Do you guys have a minute?”

  “Sure,” Zeke said dryly, “It’s not like we were talking about anything important.”

  “Oh, good.” She dragged an armchair over and joined our cozy group, which I found oddly appropriate since technically she should be the one sitting in this room with me. “Have you guys been brainstorming decoration ideas at all? I’ve barely had a minute to catch up with you.”

  Zeke winked at me. “Cassidy said something about dressing up on Valentine’s Day.”

  “I did?”

  Jules giggled but then her eyes widened and excitement spilled out like she was an alien with an internal lighting system. It practically shone off her face. “Zeke! You’re a genius.”

  “Yeah, I don’t think so!” I snorted.

  “Calm down, Cassidy. It could be a disaster with the wrong costumes, but…what if you two dressed as a medieval knight and princess on Valentine’s Day and delivered the carnations?” Her excitement bubbled over and—I’ll admit—was contagious. “This would be the perfect segue into our prom theme!” She clapped, did her little squeal thing, told us she’d be in touch and was gone, leaving behind the faint trace of her fancy perfume.

  Zeke broke the silence as the shock of what Jules wanted us to do sank in. “Is she always such a whirlwind?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. She gets it from her mom.” I swallowed, trying to coat my throat, which had gone dry at the prospect of dressing like a medieval princess for a day. “Valentine’s Day is next week, isn’t it?”

  ***

  When I got home, I put to the back of my mind what I had to do next week, because I had a date to get ready for. Jasper was picking me up at six.

  Honestly, if I’d thought this through, I would’ve realized the greatest flaw about this plan. Me on a date with Jasper. The king of the crowd. The guy everyone wants. What if I said the wrong thing or heaven forbid starting rambling on and on about my life and totally bored him to the point where he couldn’t take even one more date with me? Because that could happen.

  Desperate times called for desperate measures. I knocked on Carter’s door.

  He opened the door a crack and one eye peered out. “What do you need?”

  “Well, you see, I have a date tonight, and I could use a guy’s opinion.”

  “Wear clothes, maybe some lipstick, look like yourself and try not to talk too much.” Then he shut the door.

  “It’s with Jasper.”

  Carter flung open the door and yanked me inside. “How did you get a date with him?” As he spoke, his thumbs flew across the keyboard of his phone, texting. He finished and threw it on his bed.

  I glanced at the mound of duct tape on his bed. “I know all that stuff has to do with a girl, but it’s looking kind of suspicious.”

  He shrugged, but he couldn’t hide the gleam of excitement in his eyes. “You’ll find out when everyone else does. Nothing illegal. Don’t worry.”

  I flopped on his bed. “I don’t know what to wear.”

  “Don’t worry. I took care of it.” He pulled me off his bed and pushed me toward the door.

  “Wait! What do you—” Then I was in the hallway and my phone was ringing.

  It was Jules. She squealed that I had a date with Jasper and ordered me to my closet. I described my clothes and she said no to everything until my entire closet was on the floor.

  “There’s nothing left.”

  “Hang tight. I’ll be right over.”

  Forty-five minutes later, Jules had me ready for my date. Again, we’d spent the whole time focusing on everything but what really counted. I missed talking to my cousin.

  I looked in the mirror, not sure what to think, but I didn’t want to disappoint her. She’d brought over a bunch of clothes and she’d settled on a shirt with so many ruffles I looked like Big Bird, with black skinnies and what looked like pirate boots. She put on my make-up, mascara, lipstick and everything. Then with a kiss and whisper of “Go, go get ’em” she whisked out the door.

  I sat in my room, keeping an eye on the street, watching for his headlights. I couldn’t bear to look in the mirror at the mini-Jules she’d turned me into. Maybe I could find something in my closet…I heard a car outside. Too late. It would take me at least half an hour.

  I trudged toward the top of the stairs. Carter opened the door to his bedroom and whistled in approval.

  “Thanks.” I hesitated. “It’s not too much?”

  “Nope. You’ll have the guys drooling.”

  Great. Not sure I wanted that much attention. Jasper had arrived and Dad was chatting with him. Everything else was forgotten.

  “You’d better go,” Carter said.

  After taking a deep breath, I launched myself down the stairs, gushing, out of breath, already babbling like some kind of wish fountain. I stepped in between Dad and Jasper. “Dad this is Jasper. Jasper this is Dad. Okay, we gotta go.”

  “Whoa! Wait a second, young lady.” Dad put a halt to my hasty exit. “I just want the chance to meet your date. After all, I don’t get this opportunity very often.”

  Great Dad. Way to embarrass me. But it turned out I didn’t need help in that department because when they shook hands, I cringed. Jasper’s expression had crinkled into confusion. He’d looked at me like he expected someone different.

  This was all a big terrible mistake.

  At the last minute, I rushed into the bathroom. Without thinking through anything, just desperate, I grabbed Mom’s sewing scissors jammed in a kit in the linen closet and was about to slice off some ruffles when I remembered it wasn’t my shirt. What was I thinking?

  I gripped the sides of the sink and took in several deep cleansing breaths, which did absolutely nothing for the rising level of panic. The answer came. I’d just hide my shirt. Simple. I sidestepped out of the bathroom to the closet where I grabbed the largest coat, which happened to be Mom’s, and slipped it on, covering the shirt.

  Dad gave me a curious look, but I slipped my hand into Jasper’s and sighed in relief as we stepped outside and the darkness of night hid me like a shroud.

  Miracles happen. I didn’t talk for the first three minutes of our car ride. We zoomed through the streets of our town in a car that felt like a spaceship.

  Jasper turned off the radio. “So who’s this guy you like and what do you want me to do other than make him madly jealous when my hands are all over you at the party tonight.”

  “It’s Michael Greenwood. And whoa. I don’t think so. This isn’t some free grabfest.” I flashed him my don’t-mess-with-me look, which I didn’t even know I had. “You might get away with that with other girls but not with this one.”

  He smiled, his cocky grin that he usually wore at school. “Seriously, I’m just telling it the way it is. Nothing makes a guy more jealous than seeing a girl he can’t have.”

  “Well, I don’t think that will work with me. Instead, I want to walk in with you so everyone can see we’re together. Then, later, casually like it was a complete accident, bump into him and share good stuff about me that would make him jealous.”

  “Like what?”

  “Well, anything would work whether it’s the truth or not, because right now I couldn’t look any worse in his eyes than I do right now.”

  Jasper whistled. “No problem.” He saluted. “I’m yours for the night.”

  At the party, he walked inside with his arm around my shoulder and within three steps of entering the house, he had his lips on mine. He whispered, “That’s just the start.”

  He let go of me to bump fists with his friends. To me it felt like the blaring music and the chatter stopped, and a wave of whispers started. My temperature skyrocketed especially in my mom’s coat. She has okay style. It was more that it was meant for zero degrees and I was inside a stuffy house packed with people.

  He mentioned something about grabbing us a drink and then he left me stranded. I drifted through the crowds, apologizing
when I bumped someone’s arm and their drink spilled, but the coat added an extra three inches I wasn’t used to.

  But if I took it off, I’d be the Ruffle Queen.

  I caught glimpses of Jules and Ava dancing and laughing, making the whole party scene look so easy, so natural. Carter winked and hid a smile, his arm draped over his latest date. I began to wonder if this night would completely fail, because I hadn’t seen Michael or Elena yet.

  I moved into the hallway to escape the crowd and ran into Michael. I turned, heat flooding my body. This was a big mistake. Making a guy jealous was one thing, but letting him see you as Big Bird was completely different.

  “Cassidy?” he asked.

  “Um, yeah?” I zipped the coat down a tiny bit to let in a cool draft. My frills-for-days shirt was sticking to my back, and I desperately needed to take this behemoth coat off.

  “What are you doing here?”

  I flipped around. “What’s that supposed to mean? I’m just as surprised to see you here.”

  Michael’s eyes widened as he took me in. “I mean, I don’t usually see you at this scene.”

  I leaned against the wall and twirled my finger around a lock of hair, trying to copy a typical Jules move. “Maybe you’ve just missed me.”

  The bathroom door opened and Elena sashayed out. Michael immediately dropped out of our flirty conversation. “Hi, Elena.”

  She smiled, her whole face lighting up like she truly was glad to see him. “Oh, hi, Michael. Nice party, huh?”

  Michael’s head bobbed up and down. “Definitely.”

  “Oh hi, Cass.” She pulled me down the hall and whispered, “Can you believe it? I never thought we’d be friends, but he’s kinda cool.” She tapped her chin. “I guess, in part, it’s thanks to you.”

  “Huh?” There was no way I pushed the two of them together. Even if it was just a friendship.

  “I think it all started when you hurt your ankle and Michael helped me pass my science test.” She smiled. “It started slow but soon after Christmas just took off.” She leaned forward and whisper-giggled. “I even like his pointy ears.”

  She turned back to Michael. “Wanna get a drink?”

  “Sure!”

  Together, fast friends, they left the hall and re-entered the party. I slipped into the bathroom, trying to control the rising panic attack and then happened to glance at the mirror.