by C. S Luis
“I’m happy to be here,” I responded instead.
He smiled, that was a great reward for him to hear, after all we had gone through with his mother, with Rachel.
“I’m so happy you decided to give me a chance,” he said.
“Me too,” I answered. He leaned forward to kiss me, but a sound from the stage shook both of us. We darted our eyes over to the stage. The announcer was an English teacher I recognized from Milton, Ms. Johnson.
“Now, what we’ve all been waiting for: it’s time to announce our prom Queen and King.”
I heard Jimmy’s friends cheering for him and it seemed a few girls in the ballroom agreed with his teammates.
A chanting began of, “Jimmy! Jimmy!”
Jimmy rolled his eyes. I had the feeling he wanted no part of this.
“They want their king,” I whispered and he gazed at me.
His lips spread in a beautiful smile.
“Only if I can have my Queen,” he said in response.
“Who will be crowned Milton’s prom King?” Ms. Johnson trill. “And who will be our Queen?”
I heard Rachel’s name being chanted by her girlfriends. I wasn’t surprised, of course. She seemed like a perfect candidate for prom queen. She took credit very greedily like it was the natural choice to choose her. But why not, right? She was popular, pretty, and from a great family.
She even gave me a smug smile.
Jimmy immediately began chanting my name. “Claudia! Claudia!” I lowered my head and blushed.
And surprisingly a part of the ballroom of students began to follow in his chanting. I wondered if I was hearing this right.
I caught Rachel frowning over at me, and she even slapped one of the guys in Jimmy’s team when they started chanting my name.
“I can’t,” I whispered to Jimmy.
“Why not?” he asked. I had no answer for him and he smiled.
“You’re perfect, and who better to be my queen?”
“Okay, so everyone should have cast their votes last week. Today is the day everyone.” She cheered.
“Today is the day we find out who will be our King and Queen.” Ms. Johnson continued, standing on the stage near the mic. “Everyone excited? I know I am!”
Jimmy grabbed my hand but I hesitated. “Where are we going?” I asked. He smiled back at me.
“To vote,” he said. “You didn’t vote. Did you?” I shook my head. He smiled. I didn’t participate when it came to such events.
Why was I doing this? ‘Because this is the normal thing kids do,’ I told myself. ‘They dance, they date, and they vote for prom king and queen. And you’re a normal kid.’
I followed him and we came up to Ms. Johnson while she handled the envelope with the results.
When she saw me, she smiled warmly. The teacher was one of those overzealous women who found delight in everything. She loved being a teacher more than any other educator I had ever known.
“Claudia?” she looked surprised but she was trying not to be. Most didn’t see me as a social butterfly. I guess I had that reputation; my friends were teachers and principals. She was even far more surprised when she saw me holding Jimmy’s hand. Jimmy was the golden boy, the football player, the star of Milton.
“You and Jimmy?” she asked, unable to hold back her delight.
I thought everyone knew, to be honest. I only smiled.
“You guys look so good together!” she said.
Jimmy smiled broadly. “Is it already too late to vote?”
“I’m afraid it is Jimmy, voting took place last week. Didn’t you get a ballot in homeroom?” He nodded. I sensed his disappointment.
“You’re the favorite for Prom King.” she told him. “Good luck.”
“It’s not for me Ms. Johnson. It’s for Claudia.” He informed her.
She stared at me.
“You’re on the ballot, Claudia Belle.” I wasn’t even aware I was running for anything. Jimmy caught the perplexed expression on my face. He chuckled slightly.
Had he voted for me? His eyes seemed to indicate he had.
“On what ballot—?”
Ms. Johnson smiled at my response.
I pulled at his hand. “You voted for me? I didn’t think this was your kind of thing.”
“I wanted to vote for the prettiest, girl. You’re my queen.” I blushed.
“Ah, that’s so sweet!” Ms. Johnson said. She looked genuinely happy.
“Who did you vote for?” he asked.
I didn’t know what to say.
Jimmy glanced over at me. I winked at him and shrugged my shoulders.
“This is so exciting! You guys would be perfect! Good luck!” she stopped and said nothing else. I guess she couldn’t say anything but I could see it in her eyes as well as sense it. She hoped we would make Prom King and Queen.
She held the envelope with the final decision in her hands.
“Good luck, kids,” she whispered.
Jimmy led me back to the dance floor. He pulled me close, wrapping his arm around my waist.
“Do you really not care about that?” I asked, staring at him. His eyes had fallen upon me and I felt overwhelmed by a sensation of desire from him.
“I guess it would be a lie if I said I didn’t. Maybe a little,” he smiled.
We danced very close. Jimmy’s friends found us on the dance floor again, their girlfriends ignored me. I felt like an outsider when they patted Jimmy’s shoulder supporting his possibility of winning and becoming prom King.
“You’ve got this, man,” Jason, one of Jimmy’s teammates, said to him. He smiled at me and his girlfriend slapped him on the shoulder.
“What?” he asked innocently and they moved away from us.
Rachel and Greg were dancing nearby and I caught her as she glanced over at Jimmy. I knew what she was thinking, as clear as day, her on the stage with Jimmy as King and Queen. This would be the thing to rekindle their relationship, she thought.
She found my eyes and gave me a smug smile. I looked away.
Jimmy was staring at me. “Don’t let her bother you. I told you she’s jealous,” he softly whispered.
“Why did you guys break up?’ I suddenly found myself asking.
He looked surprised by my question but it didn’t seem like it bothered him much. Maybe he wanted to tell me, because I looked so troubled by her presence.
“You have nothing to worry about,” he said.
“I’m not worrying,” I answered. And he smiled. We danced away from the prying eyes of Rachel and moved to another part of the dance floor.
He took a breath and looked over at me. Something in his eyes sparkled, nothing like Quentin’s eyes did, but they looked magical.
“To be honest, Rachel and I never had anything in common.”
“We don’t have anything in common either,” I challenged him; he blinked at me and chuckled.
I smiled, waiting to hear what he would say.
“We have more in common than you think, Claudia,” he began to say as he seemed to gather his thoughts, and recall his moments with her.
“Rachel is only impressed by my wealth, she’s materialistic. I discovered that early on,” he admitted. “I know she likes me for my car and for the fact that I’m popular and because I’m on the football team, to name a few things. She didn’t give me the time of day when I first met her until she discovered my family had money. Only then did she want to go out with me.” He ran his hand over the back of his neck. I knew what it felt to be the new kid and I felt that from him at that moment, feeling alienated from people, not knowing anyone. Being judged for your appearance. But I doubted he ever had that problem. He was so handsome.
“At first, I didn’t care, I knew no one so it was nice to have someone with me that could show me around. Then I saw you,” he watched me tenderly, pushing back my hair.
“The moment you saw me, you knew nothing about me and you still looked in my direction.”
“But we just
talked a little at my locker that day,” I said, recalling the moment he was talking about. When Alex kept pulling me away from him.
“Yes, but you didn’t know anything about me, that I had a nice car or that my family had money. You didn’t judge me at first glance. I felt a bond to you then. And I think you did too. And the fact that you said something to me without knowing me. That’s what got me too.” He smiled as he came closer.
“I knew then I wanted to know more about you. But things were hard with Dr. Black around; he seemed to be always guarding you from me. I remember when I came to take pictures for the yearbook, you were there and I was overwhelmed just seeing you again. I didn’t think I would so soon. I wanted to ask you out. And you looked at me, like you did that day at the locker.” He stroked my face.
“I wanted to talk to you but again Dr. Black made me uneasy, he seemed overprotective. I was afraid he would say something to me. And not only that, I was still dating Rachel. It was only after I knew I wanted to be with you that I had to tell her the truth. She didn’t take it so well.” He chuckled.
“From that moment, I was determined to ask you out the first chance I got.”
I was surprised by his words.
I blinked at him; I couldn’t believe he was telling me this. And to think that I treated him so badly. But I was just a mess myself those days. With Mr. Slater leaving and turning his back on me. I was so angry and then the nightmares and voices. I surely couldn’t tell him all that.
“I’m sorry I treated you so bad. I was guarded by everyone. I had a lot of loss in my life. And I thought your stare and your attention was just my fantasy. I wanted to believe it. But why would a guy like you, ever look at me or want anything to do with me? I was afraid to be close to anyone else.”
“You are so much more Claudia, so innocent and so kind-hearted. Nothing like Rachel. You don’t give yourself enough credit.” He cupped my face.
“I knew you were in pain. I knew I had to reach you somehow.”
I smiled, “I’m glad you did. I didn’t make it easy.”
He chuckled. “No, you didn’t, but I wasn’t gonna give up. We connected, Claudia, in a way I knew it meant something great.”
Behind us, Ms. Johnson’s voice came over the microphone again. We both turned and saw her on stage.
“It’s time— the moment of truth is now here! Now to announce our prom royalty.”
She looked down at her assistants near the stage. “The envelope, ladies, please,” she said nervously, smiling wide.
I looked around and everyone’s stare was glued to the stage, this was a big thing in high school.
I caught sight of Rachel and her minions; they were just like everyone else, gawking towards the stage, all in anticipation of the moment of truth. I caught Michael looking on as well. Even the staff was glued to this important event. This was high school and I wanted to be normal so I looked on, trying to be “normal.”
“Okay, ladies and gentlemen…” Ms. Johnson said. She was handed an envelope, a smile took shape on her face, and it slowly spread to her eyes.
“Wow! Not a surprise here,” she blinked. I sensed right away what she knew. I hated that I knew before everyone else.
I gripped Jimmy’s hand and he squeezed back.
“Milton, let’s welcome your Prom King—Jimmy Reinhardt!”
A round of cheers exploded and Jimmy was practically ushered to the stage by his friends. He didn’t look like he wanted to leave my side but his friends and the other girls delivered him to Ms. Johnson. There, he reluctantly stepped up beside her.
A girl in a glittering gown placed a crown upon his head and the crowd went crazy. I was overwhelmed; I didn’t know how to react, this was all new to me. The whole thing, the socializing, the crowds of normal, active teens.
Then Rachel came to stand next to me; her girlfriends right beside her.
I slowly glanced over at her.
“Hey, Claudia,” she managed to say softly. I wouldn’t have recognized her voice if I wasn’t looking at her. I wrinkled my eyes, on guard by her sudden presence. “Good luck.”
I stared over at her, maybe I had misjudged her. I wanted to think so.
“Thank you,” I said. “Good luck to you, too.”
She smiled, then laughed and her girlfriends started doing the same. I didn’t understand the joke. “Please, like you have any chance of winning…I have an audience; what do you have? I’m the school favorite; what are you, like the school mascot?” Her friends laughed again.
“Oh, are you going to cry? Watch out girls, she might go Carrie on us.” They didn’t stop snickering.
I didn’t say anything and moved away to the other end of the ballroom, away from them.
Behind me, I heard Ms. Johnson now say, “And now for the Prom Queen, please come join your King.”
I glanced back and caught sight of Jimmy looking toward me curiously. He knew something was wrong. How was he so attuned to me?
“Oh, this is amazing and I don’t think this has ever happened. We have two candidates for Queen. A tie! Oh, my…Rachel Westcott…and Claudia Belle!”
There was an explosion of cheers. I looked all around the ballroom; my heart was hitting my ribs and I hurried away outside before I could be spotted.
I ran outside. I stood there for a moment, unable to move, as I heard the cheering back inside the ballroom. I wanted to go back in, but I was afraid.
What was I thinking? I didn’t belong here. I wasn’t normal. Why was I trying to pretend I could be? I could never be anything but me, and normal wasn’t a name I could call myself. Even at a young age there was nothing normal about me.
That was a realization I had early on when my father had forbidden me to use my powers. I realized that he was always trying to downplay what I could do. My good marks in school were disapproved of and he always said, “You have to start being normal. You have to be like everyone else.” Because that would attract the bad people, my father would say. Who were the bad people? Even then, he wanted me to be normal.
“Claudia!” I turned. Jimmy was coming out of the ballroom. I panicked. He looked handsome, but strange with a crown on his head. I wanted to laugh just a bit.
“Are you okay?” he asked. I nodded as he grabbed my hand and pulled me close.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. “Don’t you need to be inside? You’re the prom King.”
He smiled. “I’m looking for my Queen,” he said. “They’re calling your name.”
“But Rachel.”
“Don’t worry about her. This is your moment. Join me on stage, please.”
I stroked a lock of his hair back under the crown. I liked Jimmy; he was genuine. Nothing like what I felt from others. He cared.
I nodded. I hesitated but then moved with him into the ballroom. As soon as we entered, the crowd of my peers began to cheer. Whether they were cheering for Jimmy or me, I wasn’t sure. I could already see Rachel standing on stage waiting.
Ms. Johnson looked politely over at me. She seemed far more excited than the majority of the students in the ballroom.
Jimmy delivered me onto the platform, standing to the side with Ms. Johnson’s assistants as Ms. Johnson motioned me to the spot she wanted me to stand.
I came very slowly alongside Rachel who didn’t even look over at me, but I could sense her anger and disapproval.
I was now looking at the crowd before me; I tried not to tremble, not to think of the many faces now staring back at me. Some with disapproval, some with anticipation, some with positive looks. And yet some with curiosity as to who was Claudia Belle. No that wasn’t the question on their faces. It was more like approval, amazement, surprise that I was there at all.
“So, in order to break this tie, please cheer for your choice for Milton Queen.”
‘Is this how we were going to break the tie?’ I thought. I bit my lip. I couldn’t do this; I felt the nerves stirring and something in the pit of my stomach began to swirl like live but
terflies trying to escape. I thought people would notice my uneasiness.
I caught sight of Michael at the side of the ballroom, he was talking to the members of the chaperone group. Mr. Claypool and Mr. Vasquez were busy conversing with the only adults in the room.
“Rachel Westcott for Milton Queen?”
A roar of cheers erupted suddenly. Above, a rattling caught my attention; it wasn’t loud enough for others to hear but I could see it, since I could feel it.
The water sprinklers were starting to shake. ‘Please not here,’ I told myself.
Rachel glared over at me. “Don’t go Carrie on us…Pocahontas.”
I wrinkled my eyes over at her.
Above, one of the metal pieces of the sprinkler popped off and a single screw fell to the floor. My eyes darted over to it. I could see all of this happening, no one else was aware of what had occurred. I was trying so hard not to let my nerves lose control.
“Claudia,” now the voice returned.
‘Not now,’ I kept telling myself.
“Control your power,” it said.
How did it know…?
“Control it. They’re watching. They must never know you exist…Claudia, control your power.”
“For Claudia Belle as your Queen?”
More cheers exploded. I could hear Jimmy cheering. The exclamations didn’t sound any different to me. Ms. Johnson motioned to me, then cheering again, she motioned to Rachel and cheering again. This happened a few times, with exclamations and clapping.
Above, the rattling spread to the next one and the next. And the next, I closed my eyes; I was trying to do my breathing. It always helped.
“Control.” The voice said.
“I’m trying,” I whispered to myself.
The cheering grew; again Ms. Johnson did her dance with the crowd, motioning to Rachel then to me. And again the crowd clapped and hailed and whistled. Rachel even did a little dance on stage to impress her fans down below.
“Control!” the voice yelled. It felt like it was right in my ear; the man’s voice screamed again, “BE NORMAL!” A flash of my father’s face met my own, as he grabbed my shoulders and screamed at me after we had left the school and stood outside the building.
