by Amanda Ashby
“I don’t know.” Chase studied the potion in the wooden bowl, which still had a faint swirl of steam hovering over it, before turning to where Candice was busy cleaning her teeth with a toothpick. “How do you feel?”
“How do I feel?” Candice finally put the toothpick away and looked up at them both. “I feel like I’ll be sick if I ever look at another beef-jerky stick again. I swear I’ve eaten a hundred of them, and I have the most disgusting taste in my mouth. You know, I think I’d better call my doctor and see if I can get an emergency appointment to check my vital signs. What? Why are you both smiling like that?”
Mia turned to Chase and grinned. They had done it.
twelve
“So how does it feel to be a normal person again instead of a zombie queen?” Candice asked as they hurried down the hallway after the final bell rang.
“Well, I don’t miss spraying myself with water ten times a day.” Mia stopped at her locker to put her books in, pleased to see it was once again restored to its chaotic glory and there was absolutely no sign of zombie-queen-fattening food in it. As for how she felt, to be honest, the rest of the morning had been a bit of a blur. Chase had insisted on inspecting everyone’s faces for any signs of the virus, but by lunchtime even he had been convinced. (Probably seeing Candice order a green salad had been the final piece of evidence he had needed.)
“I still can’t believe I licked you. That is really gross.” Candice shuddered. “Anyway, now that prom is officially back on, I’d better go to the mall and get my earrings. I decided to go for the silver in the end. Nothing like a near-death experience to help give a girl some clarity. Do you want to come with me?”
“I guess so. I still need to get shoes.” Mia glanced around. “You haven’t seen Chase anywhere, have you?”
“I passed him before I went into history and tried to thank him for saving me from a life of being a flesh-eating moron, but you know what he’s like. He said you were the one who did it.”
“Well, if he was left to his own devices, he would’ve gassed everyone,” Mia pointed out as she walked through the front entrance and out in the afternoon sunshine. Funny how much brighter everything looked when you didn’t think a zombie was about to jump out and eat you.
“He also rescued you from the closet, not to mention mixed the ingredients together,” Candice reminded her as they walked toward her car. “Anyway, the important thing is that it all turned out so well. You must’ve been so relieved when Rob came up to you at lunchtime and spent the whole time talking about the corsage he’s getting you.”
“How can I be relieved when I haven’t seen the corsage yet?” Mia wanted to know. “Especially since I have a very bad feeling he’s going to get me a pink one despite the fact I’ve told him I hate pink.”
“No, dummy. I mean, that he would still want to take you to the prom once the spell was reversed. You must’ve been really worried that you would be back to square one.”
“Oh.” Mia stared at her friend. Actually, she had been so busy worrying about trying to fix this thing that she hadn’t had time to really think about what it might mean to her prom date. Still, the fact that Rob had sat with her meant he wasn’t going to dump her. Perhaps this was what they meant by having your cake and eating it, too?
“Look, his ears must’ve been twitching.” Candice turned to where Rob was jogging toward them with a broad smile on his face.
“Hey, Mia. There you are. Man, you’re not going to believe this, but I can’t get us a limo. I meant to order it during the week, but I totally forgot. So I was thinking of just grabbing a lift with Randy because the fender on my SUV is still all banged up. Are we cool if we just meet at the prom?”
“Oh.” Mia flushed since it was probably because of the zombie virus that Rob had forgotten, so she couldn’t really hold it against him too much. “Of course, that’s fine.”
“Great. You’re the best.” He grinned at her. “Anyway, a few of us are going down to the mall. Do you and Candice want to come?”
“Sure, we were going there anyway. I want to get some new shoes. Red shoes, because I hate pink,” Mia said, in case he needed another hint about the corsage. At that moment, she caught sight of Chase hurrying down the stairs on his own. She waved at him and he slowed down as he reached them.
“Hey,” he said as he thrust his hands into his pockets.
“Hey, buddy.” Rob clapped him on the back. “We’re in biology together. I hope I got your vote for prom king. Did you hear my speech? It was heartfelt, man.”
“Of course he did,” Mia assured him before turning to Chase. “So where have you been? I haven’t seen you this afternoon.”
He shrugged. “I’ve been around.”
“Mia.” Rob coughed. “We’re going to motor—are you ready?”
“Oh.” She turned back to Chase for a minute. “So do you want to come with us? We’re all going to the mall—it could be fun,” she said as she studied his face. It suddenly seemed like ages since she had seen him. For a moment, he returned her gaze and she felt her skin start to prickle, before he suddenly frowned and looked away.
“I can’t. I’m sorry.”
“Oh.” She felt her face start to brighten in embarrassment as an awkward pause seemed to fill the space around them. “Right. I just thought . . . well, never mind. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow morning, then.”
“Yeah.” He gave a vague shrug of his shoulders. “Anyway, you’d better not keep Rob waiting.” He gave her one final look before striding toward his Impala. Mia watched him get into the car and drive away and tried to work out why it felt so weird. Probably because she really felt like they had shared something today. After all, they saved the whole senior class from turning into flesh-munchers. Then she frowned. He was a rule-abiding zombie slayer and she was the stupid girl who made his job harder, not to mention watched too much television and was dating someone who Chase thought was dumb. No wonder he couldn’t wait to get away from her.
“Come on, Mia,” Rob called out, and she realized he was already sitting in Randy’s car waiting for her. She turned to Candice.
“I’ll meet you there, okay?”
“Sure,” her friend said as Mia hurried over and pulled open the door just as she caught sight of Samantha standing over by the stairs scowling. Well, at least some things never changed.
thirteen
“Wow, your mom is so cool. When I told my mom I was going to the prom, all she did was tell me not to buy anything in white because it would be a punch magnet,” Candice said the next afternoon as they sat at the beauty salon having their hair curled and pulled in all directions.
“I know. It wasn’t until I got home last night that she even told me that she’d arranged to have our hair and makeup done. Of course Grace was saying that she couldn’t imagine not having a trial run first,” Mia said as she flicked through the TV Guide and made a mental note to remind herself to TiVo a repeat episode of Supernatural that was on.
“As I’ve always said, Grace is an idiot.” Candice muffled a yawn. “Man, I tell you—after everything that’s happened, I swear I could sleep for a week.”
“Well, you’d better have some more caffeine, because we’ve got a big night tonight.”
“Yeah, that’s what Chase said.”
“Chase?” Mia turned to her friend in surprise before the hairdresser coughed and she was forced to face the mirror again. “I was looking for him everywhere this morning. Where did you see him?”
“I just bumped into him in the courtyard. He wanted to know what color my dress was,” Candice said, and this time Mia really did spin around to face her.
“What?”
“Okay, so I didn’t tell you in case you started harping on about the fact he is still upset about his dead girlfriend, but since I’ve got a spare prom ticket and he’s had a tough week, I thought he might like to go to the prom—so I asked him.”
“And?” Mia demanded in surprise.
“And he said
yes,” Candice said. “Stop looking at me like that.”
“Looking at you like what?” she demanded as the hairdresser once again coughed and Mia reluctantly turned back to face the mirror. “I’m not looking like anything. I was just surprised, that’s all—but if you’re happy and he’s happy then I’m—”
“Happy?” Candice guessed.
“Yes,” Mia agreed. “Happy.” Definitely. Of course she was. Why wouldn’t she be? “So does this mean you’re not going to get ready with me?”
“Don’t be an idiot. Of course I’m getting ready with you. The thing is that since you’re meeting Rob at the prom, I told Chase to pick us both up from your place. So are you sure you don’t mind?”
“Of course not,” Mia assured her, which was perfectly true, because why should she mind? She was going to the prom with Rob. She had almost turned the entire senior year into zombies just so she could go to the prom with Rob. As for Candice—well, she deserved someone nice, and there was no denying that Chase Miller was nice. Very nice. And kind. Not to mention calm under pressure, caring, sweet, considerate.
“Well, if you say so,” Candice said as the hairdresser stepped away and Mia was left to stare at her reflection in the mirror. Her shoulder-length brown hair had been smoothed down and coaxed into loose shiny curls and Mia, who had secretly been worried that she would end up looking like she’d put her finger in an electrical socket, couldn’t help but smile at the end result. It was perfect. She turned to Candice, whose red hair had been clipped on the top of her head so it spiraled down in all directions. Then they grinned at each other and went through to get their makeup done.
“Girls, you look wonderful.” Mia’s mom clapped the minute they walked back through the door.
“Thanks Mrs. E,” Candice said as she muffled another yawn. “It’s awesome. Though seriously it felt like we were there for hours.”
“We were there for hours,” Mia clarified as she walked in and her mom gave her a quick hug. “But it was totally worth it.”
“Samantha has been working with Luanne, her stylist, for the last three weeks. Luanne is over there now supervising everything,” Grace said, and Mia turned to see her sister sitting on the couch flicking through a magazine and looking annoyed.
“Whatever.”
“Girls, it’s prom night. No arguing.”
“Fine. So Mia, tell me again what time Rob is picking you up?” Grace said.
Mia glared at her. “As I’ve already explained to you, I’m meeting him there.”
“Oh, right. How could I forget?” Grace fluttered her lashes. If Mia hadn’t just had her nails done, she would’ve been tempted to strangle her sister. As it was, she just ignored her.
“Girls, that’s enough,” their mom repeated. “Besides, if you’re being picked up in an hour, you really need to go and get your dresses on. And don’t forget I’m taking pictures.”
Only an hour left? Mia yelped as she glanced at her watch, and the pair of them darted for the stairs. Once in the bedroom, Candice opened her bag and pulled out one of the cans of Red Bull that they’d bought on the way home.
“Do you want one?” Candice asked, but Mia shook her head. She was already too hyped, and she practically raced over to where her dress was carefully laid out on her bed. It really was happening. She was going to the prom. Mia Everett was going to the prom. With a date. Of course now that the spell had been reversed, she doubted she would be getting a close look at the prom-queen tiara, but that was hardly the point. The point was that—
“Candice, you probably shouldn’t try and take that tag off while you’re holding the can. You could spill it all over your dress,” Mia said too late as she looked in horror to where her friend’s dress was now covered in caffeinated soda, lying in a sodden mess on the floor. “Omigod. Your dress.”
Candice seemed to be staring at the wet heap in surprise. “Somehow the can slipped. It’s all over your carpet now. I’m really sorry, Mia.”
“Don’t worry about the carpet, worry about your dress! What are you going to do?” Mia picked up the delicate midnight-blue silk-shift dress that had totally suited her friend’s red hair and stared at it in horror. “It’s ruined.”
“It’s okay.” Candice shrugged as she sat down on the bed.
“How can you not be freaking out about this?” Mia couldn’t quite hide her disbelief.
“Remember that other blue one I tried on and I couldn’t decide between them? Well, I ended up buying both of them,” Candice said before shooting her a rueful grin.
“Oh, thank God you have a backup.” Mia looked at her watch. “You’d better get going, then.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Candice got to her feet. “Hey, you don’t suppose your mom will drive me home to get it, do you? It’s just I feel a bit woozy—it’s probably from all the caffeine.”
Privately she thought it was more likely from the zillion vitamin pills her friend had swallowed during the day to counter-balance her “brush with un-death,” but Mia kept her thoughts to herself. Instead she just gave Candice a hug.
“Of course she will,” Mia assured her as they hurried down the stairs to explain what had happened. Once her mom and Candice had gone, Mia headed back to her bedroom and looked at her dress.
Up until now she had been too superstitious to take it out of the long, clear plastic bag it was covered in. And in retrospect, her superstitions had obviously been well founded. But now that everything was back under control, she had absolutely nothing to worry about, and she carefully peeled the plastic away from it.
She wasn’t quite sure how long she stood there with a goofy look on her face before she realized she really should start getting ready, so she carefully slipped it on, the black silk rustling under her fingers.
She was just negotiating the ribbons that threaded across her exposed back when there was a knock on the door and her mom poked her head in.
“Need a hand?”
“Yes, please,” she said in a grateful voice before glancing around. “Where’s Candice?”
“Oh.” Her mom carefully started to thread the ribbon through the eyelets at the back. “She said she was feeling a little tired and thought she’d take a quick shower to wake up.”
“Man, I hope she doesn’t get her hair or makeup wet,” Mia said in horror as she thought how long they’d both spent at the salon. She’d purposely had a shower before she left to avoid such a challenge.
“I’m sure she’ll be careful. Anyway, she said for you and Chase to go on without her and she’ll just meet you there. Is she okay? She seemed to be acting a bit strangely.”
“You could say it’s been a strange week,” Mia said, the understatement of the century. “Besides, you know what Candice is like. She’s probably worried about her blood pressure or her red-cell count. She’ll be fine.”
“If you say so.” Her mom gave a final tug on the ribbons and then stood back. “Now let’s have a look at you.”
Mia grinned as she slipped her feet into the cute red peeptoe shoes she had ended up finding yesterday. Perfect.
“Honey, you look gorgeous. And now if you’re ready, it’s time for some photos.” Her mom beamed as Mia reached for her small purse and followed her downstairs to where Grace was standing in the hallway, peering out the small window at the side of the door.
“Oh, look, Samantha’s date has arrived to pick her up. And that has to be the biggest limousine I’ve ever seen.”
“Shut up, Gra—” Mia started to say, but the rest of her words were cut off as the doorbell rang. Before she could answer it, Grace darted toward it and pulled it open. Chase Miller was standing there holding a single red rose and wearing a hesitant smile on his face.
“Chase?” Mia said inanely. She pushed Grace out of the way and stared at him. “You’re in a tuxedo. Y-you look really great.” Really, really great. In fact, so great that Mia couldn’t stop staring at the way his face had suddenly turned into a series of perfectly sculptured planes and a
ngles. Or how the understated black jacket molded to his shoulders.
“So do you,” he said.
“I do? Really?” Mia couldn’t help but self-consciously touch the bodice of the black silk to check he wasn’t teasing her.
“Yeah.” He nodded before suddenly looking at the flower in his hand. “Oh, so I know you’re going with Rob, but I figured since I was picking you up I’d better at least get you a flower.”
“Oh, thanks.” Mia stared at the perfect red bud while in the background Grace made a snorting noise before it sounded like she was being dragged off by their mom.
“I got one for Candice, as well. I hope she likes it,” he added, and Mia felt herself come down to earth with a bump.
“Of course she will,” she assured him while hoping that her cheeks hadn’t gone red. “She’ll be thrilled. Over the moon.”
“Okay,” he looked at her a little strangely. “Well, that’s good.”
“Yup, it’s all good,” Mia agreed a little bit too quickly. “So did Candice tell you that she’s going to meet us there?”
“She sent me a text.” He nodded, and Mia couldn’t quite take her eyes off him. Had he always looked exactly like this? She honestly couldn’t remember, because suddenly everything about him was so familiar yet so different all at once.
“S-so I guess we should get going,” she stammered, still feeling completely flustered by the sight of him.
“Actually.” Chase gave a polite cough as he peered over her shoulder. “Your mom looks like she wants to take some pictures.”
“What? Oh.” Mia spun around to where her mom was hovering in the background waving the digital camera and smiling. “Yeah, I forgot about that.” She paused for a moment and nervously licked her lips. “Would you mind? It won’t take long.”
“Sure,” he agreed in the same voice he used when he was helping her escape from the biology closet, and at just about every other step of the way before they did the reversal spell. It was obviously his “be polite to civilians” voice. Mia was going to miss it, and as Chase stepped toward her, the smell of his cologne invaded her nose so that she practically had to clutch at the doorframe for a moment. Her mom had obviously tied up the back of her dress a bit too tightly, she decided, as she led Chase in and started the introductions.
