A Prom to Remember

by Sandy Hall

  High school was ending, and she might never see them again. She was okay with that, but she liked the idea of closure. One last conversation, one last laugh, and one last night together before the end of the year.

  And eventually, she decided, she might even miss these people.

  Eventually.

  Chapter 33

  Cameron

  Lizzie and Cameron were quiet on the way to Jacinta’s house, and quiet when they got there, quiet as they helped her mom set up a table for snacks and drinks, and then they were quiet while waiting for everyone else to arrive.

  And then they separated for a while so Lizzie could change out of her dress. When they found each other a little later on, it was like seeing each other again for the first time. At least, that’s how it felt to Cameron.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “Hey,” she said.

  They stood there mostly looking at the ground, but sometimes sneaking glances at each other.

  “I liked your dress,” Cameron finally said. “I’m sorry it got soaked.” Lizzie had a bag in Luke’s car, prepared for the hotel room slumber party, so at least she had clothes to change into after her dress got soaked. Cameron had changed back into the jeans and T-shirt he’d had on for work earlier.

  “Thanks,” Lizzie said.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t show up,” Cameron said. “I know I said it earlier, but I really just want to say it again, slower this time. I don’t even really have a great excuse, but I was working, and it got later and later. I should have tried harder to get a message to you or something. I shouldn’t have stood you up. That was very not cool of me.”

  “I mean, you did get a message to me, through Jacinta.”

  “Right, yeah.”

  “Did you know who I was?”

  He looked at her, finally meeting her eye. “Definitely not. Jacinta didn’t even tell me who you were. She made me wait in the parking lot while you found us.”

  Cameron looked around and realized that the backyard had been slowly filling up around them. The news of the after-prom party had spread with the demise of the prom. He tried to find Jacinta, to catch her eye, to smile, to thank her for putting this together.

  “I was worried when you didn’t show up it was because you knew who I was.”

  He shook his head. “I really did try. We just couldn’t get in after eight. I couldn’t leave the pizza place without getting fired, and time just got away from me.”

  Lizzie nodded. “I get it.”

  “God, I’m so freaking nervous,” Cameron said, wiping his forehead.

  This time Lizzie laughed. “Why?”

  “I just want to make a good impression. And I already messed up so bad by not showing up to the prom. I figure I’m working from like down here,” he said, then he gestured with his hand, down at floor level. “And I want you to, like, not hate me.”

  “I don’t hate you.”

  “I’m so sorry I didn’t show up. I know I could apologize like a million times.”

  She put her hand on his arm. “It’s okay. I’m really not mad.”

  “How?” he asked.

  “I wanted you to be there, of course. I was disappointed and pretty bummed out. But, like, you didn’t do anything that bad. Hearing you explain yourself, it’s not like you purposefully skipped out. You worked late, you got held up.”

  He blinked hard a couple of times and shook his head.

  “Next time you’ll have my number, and you can let me know if you have to work late,” she said.

  He broke into a huge grin. “You’ll give me another chance?”

  “Of course! Why wouldn’t I? God, you made this whole year bearable, you realize that, right? Like I’m not just going on what I know about you from tonight. You were like my saving grace half the time. Coming in at the end of long days at school to make me laugh last period.”

  “Oh, last period,” he said. “I had English first period.”

  “I’m really surprised it’s you,” Lizzie said. They had finally moved out of the center of the patio and found a pair of seats in the corner, away from the action where they could talk.

  “I’m sorry. Did you hear that I deal drugs behind the pizza place?”

  “No, I did not hear that,” she said. “Who said that?”

  “Somebody heard it somewhere, I guess,” he said.

  “I never heard it.”

  “Okay, cool. Good. I feel better.” He wiped his hands on his pants.

  “This was really awesome of Jacinta’s parents to let everyone come here like this.”

  “Yeah, it’s super awesome of them. We should send them flowers or an Edible Arrangement or something.”

  “Me and you?” she asked, clarifying.

  “Me and you,” he said, taking her hand and squeezing.

  Jacinta

  Jacinta felt like the belle of the ball. Everyone kept coming up to her and thanking her for putting together such a great last-minute party.

  Otis’s friend Tag approached. She wasn’t sure she’d ever actually spoken to Tag before, but he hooked his arm around her neck.

  “Bro,” he said. “Thank you so much for this. I had like zero after-prom plans, and when the walls exploded I figured my night was over. Which is just so dumb, you know?”

  “Totally.” She pulled away because damn, his arm was heavy.

  “Turned out you had my back,” he said, holding his fist up.

  She bumped it with hers, feeling awkward. “Uh, you’re welcome.”

  “I grabbed the box of plastic cups from the hotel,” he said.

  “I don’t know what that means,” Jacinta said.

  “You know, the prom-to-remember cups.”

  “Oh, the keepsakes.”

  “Yeah, I rescued them. So you could give them out here. ’Cause, dude, it was definitely a prom to remember, right?”

  “Totally,” Jacinta said, the irony not lost on her that she was going to get stuck with hundreds of champagne flute keepsakes for a prom she didn’t even attend. Maybe she’d return them to school on Monday, or maybe she’d make them disappear so one less class would have to use the aging theme.

  He pulled an airplane bottle of vodka out of his pocket. “A gift for the hostess.”

  “Oh, no thanks. My parents are actually home, and they will be super pissed if they find out we were drinking. So you should probably put that away.”

  He raised his eyebrows and shoved it back in his pocket. As he turned away, he held a finger to his lips, a silent promise that he wouldn’t tell anyone about his own liquor, she assumed.

  After that bizarre exchange, Jacinta couldn’t stop smiling. For once she was the main character in her own life; she’d finally found a leading role that she felt good about.

  Kelsey and Landon walked in around eleven with their dates after having gone home to change and grab their bathing suits. When they heard about Jacinta’s party, they had decided not to go to the city.

  Kelsey walked right up to Jacinta. “Thank you, again, for doing this. And I’m so sorry about the prom.”

  “You don’t have to be sorry. I didn’t want to go.”

  “No, I totally understand. I kind of forgot that you might not have fun at the dance. And holy crap! I can’t believe you helped with the surprise for Landon! How could you keep that a secret from me?”

  As if on cue, Landon popped up in the middle of their conversation. He hugged Jacinta hard.

  “Thank you so much,” Landon said. “Emma told me that you made sure she’d be able to go to the prom with me, and I totally appreciate it. It wouldn’t have been the same without her.”

  Jacinta worked hard to keep her nostrils from flaring. Even though she felt totally over the Emma issue, apparently she couldn’t stop involuntary physical reactions. Her nostrils might flare at the mention of the name Emma, any Emma, for the rest of her life.

  “You’re so welcome.”

  But it was hard to hold on to whatever was left of her hurt feelin
gs when Emma swooped in and hugged her just as tight as Landon had. Jacinta had done a good thing, no matter how much it annoyed her. She had helped people and made them happy.

  And that’s what a good supporting character is supposed to do, but sometimes you need to be the one in the spotlight. For once, Jacinta had chosen herself, and it was good to know that things didn’t fall apart just because she didn’t go with the flow. It was better than good, it was relieving, it meant that maybe she’d be able to do this again in the future, to leave her comfort zone and say no to events that didn’t interest her.

  Landon, Mike, and Emma wandered away to find some drinks.

  “This is a really good party,” Kelsey said.

  “I know, right?” Jacinta said. “Kind of shocking. Sucks that it took me until senior year of high school to realize I’m kind of good at planning stuff. Maybe I would have spoken up more during prom committee.”

  Jacinta’s conversation with Kelsey was followed by what felt like a million more. Madison, Paisley, Margie Showalter, Cora, Josie, and Teagan. The sheer number of people who’d shown up at her house shocked Jacinta.

  The highest echelon of popular kids seemed to have opted out. Amelia Vaughn and her lackeys weren’t there, for example, and neither were many of the guys from the football team.

  But aside from that, it seemed like everyone had decided to go to Jacinta’s.

  She hadn’t just saved prom for herself, she’d saved it for her graduating class.

  That’s not something a background character does.

  That’s the move of a Boss Level Prom Savior.

  And Jacinta couldn’t stop smiling.

  Chapter 34

  Henry

  After Paisley wandered off, Henry made a beeline for Cameron. Henry was holding a tray of Rice Krispies Treats that his mom had somehow managed to throw together in the ten minutes that Henry had spent looking for his bathing suit.

  “Oh man. Can I get one of those?” Cam asked, gesturing toward the tray.

  Henry grabbed one and handed it to Cameron.

  Cam sighed contentedly. “I haven’t eaten all night. Thanks for this.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  The two boys stood in silence for a minute while Cameron’s jaws were glued shut by marshmallow-y goodness.

  “I’m so sorry I didn’t make it to the prom,” Cam said. “I know I said I’d be there to cheer you on with the prom king stuff.”

  “It’s cool,” Henry said. “I was wondering where you were.”

  “Yeah, I probably should have texted or something. But I had like the craziest night.”

  “Oh yeah? Did you meet the girl from the laptop thing?” Henry asked.

  “I did. It was Lizzie Hausner. She’s inside changing out of her dress.”

  “Huh,” Henry said. “I didn’t have a guess who it was. But I feel like Lizzie makes sense.”

  Cameron nodded. “Anyway. I hope it wasn’t too terrible.”

  “Confession. I may have hidden in the bathroom when Ms. Huang announced my name.”

  “That sounds about right for you. Like when you hid under the table while everyone sang “Happy Birthday” at your seventh birthday party.”

  “You remember that? Man, I still want to hide under the table when people sing “Happy Birthday.” Guess that’s something I’m not going to grow out of.”

  Cam shrugged. “It’s all part of the Henry Lai experience.”

  As Lizzie came out of the house, Henry smiled at her before fist bumping Cameron and moving on. He didn’t need to play third wheel to anyone tonight.

  After his conversation with Cameron went so well, Henry decided to track down Jacinta. It took longer to find her than he would have guessed. As he walked around the yard in search of Jacinta, he handed out Rice Krispies Treats along the way, interacting with more people than the two he had promised Paisley. Even if he did kind of feel like a cater-waiter.

  Finally Henry found Jacinta in a gaggle of girls in the far corner of the yard. He lurked around for a few minutes and almost decided to try again later, but then Jacinta caught his eye.

  “Hey, Henry,” she said. “I wasn’t sure if you would come.” The group around her dispersed.

  “Yeah, Paisley talked me into it.”

  “I had a feeling she might.”

  “My mom made me bring these, but I passed most of them around already.”

  “Thanks. We could always use more food.” Jacinta took the tray from him and stuck it on a nearby table where a few people quickly descended on the remaining squares.

  Jacinta and Henry chatted for a while about what happened at the prom, about how and why they both missed the big flood.

  “I thought you should know that before you texted, your mom called my mom to invite me over.”

  Jacinta sighed and put a hand over her eyes. “They’re monsters. They’re never going to let this go.”

  “It’s very possible that they never will.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I just wanted to thank you for having everyone over.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  He scanned the yard, watching his classmates have fun together. “It’s a really good party.”

  “Thanks. Turns out I’m not half-bad at this kind of thing.”

  “I think you’re probably not half-bad at all kinds of things.” He shook his head. “That was a really awkward sentence.”

  Jacinta shrugged. “I appreciate the sentiment.”

  “Well, just so you know, you have a standing invitation to come hang out with Paisley and me whenever. No mom interfering necessary.”

  “Cool.”

  “I’ll let you get back to your guests,” Henry said.

  “Make sure you take one of the champagne glasses from the prom!” Jacinta said. “Please don’t leave me with two hundred plastic champagne flutes emblazoned with the phrase ‘A Prom to Remember’.”

  Henry smiled and gave her a thumbs-up.

  She waved and Henry walked off in search of Paisley, and the aforementioned champagne glasses, only to find her in the middle of a game of pool volleyball. She hopped out of the pool to talk to him when he called her over.

  “You do know that you hate volleyball, right? Like when we play volleyball in phys ed all you do is complain and try to get out of it.”

  “Maybe I like any pool-related version of sports.”

  “I would like to watch you play water polo someday.”

  “Maybe in college. I have a feeling college-Paisley is going to be a fascinating individual.”

  “Well, does high school–Paisley want to leave? ’Cause it’s been an hour. And high school–Henry is seriously ready to go.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Would you hate me if I stayed?”

  “Of course not.”

  “I’m gonna stay, then. I think I might even sleep over. A bunch of girls are, and it sounds kind of fun.”

  “I don’t even recognize you anymore.”

  “I don’t even recognize myself,” Paisley said, jumping back in the pool. “I’ll text you in the morning.”

  With that Henry took one more look around the yard, taking a mental picture of this bizarre night.

  When he got home, he took a shower and crawled into bed, exhausted from not only the long day but also all that socializing. He needed several weeks of alone time to recharge.

  When he checked his phone one last time, he had a message from Amelia.

  “Is there really a party at Jacinta Ramos’s house tonight?” it said.

  Instead of answering, Henry rolled over and fell asleep.

  He’d text her in the morning.

  Maybe.

  If he felt like it.

  Otis

  “I can’t believe we’re here,” Otis said, lying next to Luke on the bed. They were still mostly clothed and had only just gotten in a few minutes ago, having had to wait until Luke’s cousin took over his shift at the front desk. Otis had only shed his wet jacket and Luke had done the sam
e.

  “I can’t believe it, either,” Luke agreed.

  Otis flipped on his side to look at Luke. “I was really scared to come here with you when you first mentioned it because I didn’t know what you wanted from me.”

  “Wanted from you?”

  Otis rolled his eyes. “Like we’ve only gone so far, and I was scared of, like, what a hotel room meant to you. I wasn’t sure what I was ready for.”

  “You could have told me that!”

  “You were so confident!” Otis shot back. “I felt weird and wrong for not being as confident as you.”

  “You are weird. But you’re not wrong. You’re never wrong for how you feel. I mean, nobody talks about this,” Luke said. “We don’t talk about this stuff. But I definitely can’t imagine my dad having a gay sex talk with me. So of course it’s kind of scary and unknown. They barely cover straight sex in school.”

  “And even then everyone knows what straight sex entails, but like gay sex is so completely taboo.”

  “Which inherently makes it more scary. I get it. But you could have talked to me about it. You could have said, ‘Yo, Luke, dude, my man. I am scared shitless about all the sweet gay loving.’”

  “That doesn’t sound like me.”

  “It sounds like you a little bit.”

  Otis grinned.

  “There are those teeth I love,” Luke said, touching Otis’s chin. “Anyway, we don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. Tonight or ever. Obviously. Of course. Always.”

  “Obviously. Of course. Always,” Otis repeated. “So now what?”

  “Whatever you want.”

  “Maybe a little TV might be nice,” Otis said.

  “Sure.” Luke turned on the TV and flipped through the channels, stopping for a minute here or a minute there. Otis rolled over and leaned his head on Luke’s shoulder, enjoying the domesticity.

  After fifteen or twenty minutes, when Otis’s pulse had calmed down and his brain felt less fuzzy from the adrenaline of the whole night, Otis said, “Or maybe no TV.”

  Luke looked at him.

  “It seems kind of silly to have this room and only use it to watch TV.”