by Casey Peeler
Chapter 19
Cadence
Jade leaves after lunch along with half of the students. I can’t believe that Gran and Mom made me stay until the end of the day, but I quickly get over it. When the three o’clock bell rings, I walk to the truck and drive to Lawndale.
From what Jade has told me the parade isn’t that long, but everyone will be there. She wasn’t kidding. By three thirty the streets are lined with people. Who knew there were this many people in town? I see Barrick on the other side of the street standing with Gran. Did she ride with him? Obviously, I have her truck. Gran waves at me and I look both ways before I go to meet her.
“Are you excited?” she asks me.
“It’s just a parade,” I say, waiting for it to start.
“Honey, just wait. This is just the beginning of it,” she says giddily while quickly clapping her hands.
Cars start to flow down the street as the parade begins. The line starts with clubs and organizations followed by the class representatives. I’ve never seen so much big hair in my life! Didn’t they know that died in the eighties?
As the senior homecoming court approaches, I look for Jade. She is in an old Mustang convertible. Her hair is perfect, not too big like the others, and she’s smiling from ear to ear.
“Look, Gran! It’s Jade. The girl I was telling you about. Doesn’t she look gorgeous?” I ask.
“She does. What do you think, Barrick?” Gran asks.
“She looks pretty, I guess,” he says before turning to talk to a group of guys that I assume are his friends.
Jade finds me in the crowd and smiles even bigger. I’m so glad I didn’t give her a choice: she’s totally got this. When I see Maddie, her hair is in a poof the size of our barn and there are so many sequins on her dress that I’m blinded from the reflection. Someone should really tell her less is more. She waves at me and I’m in shock until I see Barrick and his friends give her a slight nod.
When the parade is over, I go home and relax a little before the game starts. I have it timed perfectly so that I can shower and get ninety percent ready before the game.
Gran, Mom and I ride to the game together. I wear a pair of skinny jeans and a top. Gran is head to toe in school apparel that is at least thirty years old. I shake my head as I get in Mom’s Suburban.
When we get to school, the parking lot is full and the stands are packed. I take a seat beside Mom and we watch as the game begins. At halftime, the homecoming nominees line the field and I hold my breath as the queen is revealed.
The announcer comes through the speaker. “Your 2015 homecoming queen is Jade…” and that’s all I hear as the stands go crazy. I look to Maddie, who is in complete shock. “Goodie,” I say as I look at Gran and Mom. “Told you guys she’d win.”
“That you did,” Gran says with a smile.
Jade makes her way to me and I hug her. I’m glad I have her since I can’t be with Lauren. When there are a few minutes left in the fourth quarter we get ready to leave to beat the traffic. Jade asks if I want her to come help me get ready, but I know that if she leaves now she’ll regret it later. Now is her time to shine.
As soon as we get home, I go upstairs to touch up my makeup and hair. I carefully slide on my dress, add the perfect accessories and slip my feet in the heels. I take a deep breath and look in the mirror before heading downstairs. I look fabulous!
Gran and Mom are waiting at the bottom of the steps.
“Hold on right there. Let me get your picture,” Mom says. “I promised I’d send it to your…” she stops mid-sentence.
“Who?”
“Your dad. He needs to see this.” Just like that my mood flips and I don’t give two shits about him seeing me in this dress.
“Mom, he hasn’t even called me yet. Why does he deserve to have a glimpse into our lives?”
“Because he’s your father. Now smile,” she says as she holds up her phone. Just as she’s about to snap it, I flip off the camera.
“Cadence!” Mom shouts.
“What? I thought that was fitting? What do you think, Gran?” I question because I know she hates him as much as I do. Wouldn’t any mother hate their cheating ex son-in-law?
“Hold on a minute,” Gran says as she comes to stand beside me. “Now Regina, take one of the both of us.” Mom looks nervous as Gran smirks at me. As Mom tells us to get ready, Gran whispers for me to do that again. When the flash happens Gran and I both flip off the camera and Mom comes unglued.
“I can’t believe you two!” she exclaims.
“Well, I never liked him anyways,” Gran says.
I start to laugh. “Mom you should come do a selfie with us. I promise it feels good.” She shakes her head no, but then gives in. We laugh and it feels good. Afterward Mom asks me to take a serious picture. I do, and when I walk down the porch steps they both tell me I look beautiful. Mom gives me the keys to her car, and I drive to school.
The parking lot is full and the stadium lights are still on, but there isn’t a soul over there. I hear music coming from the gym. I can’t believe I’m going to a school dance in a gym. I scan the parking lot for Jade’s car and I see her walking toward me.
“Cadence, you look amazing!” she says.
“Thanks, so do you! So how does it feel to be homecoming queen?” I ask her.
“Fan-freakin-tastic,” she says as she loops her arm through mine and we laugh as we walk toward the gym door.
I’m in awe that the gym has been transformed to look like I just stepped into a fairytale. I look around to see if Prince Charming is waiting for me, but that thought quickly fades when I only see teenage boys in slacks and button down shirts. I do have to say they clean up pretty well.
Jade and I walk around and she is stopped every few steps by classmates congratulating her. As more students arrive, we find a seat at a table to sit and talk. I’m amazed how everyone is just sitting around and not on the dance floor. That’s when I see Maddie and her posse. They walk in like they own the place, and up until now she has. I nudge Jade.
“Oh lawd, I sure hope she’s not walking over here to run her mouth some more,” Jade says.
“What do you mean?” I question.
“After you left the game she tried to have a not-so-friendly conversation with me, but it didn’t go as she hoped. I swear, one day she’s going to realize she has no one. Right now she has a few people that think she’s the best thing ‘round here, and I used to be like that. Not after tonight. I’ve seen that I can be me, and people like it. Thank you, Cadence. If you hadn’t nominated me, I wouldn’t be here.”
I’m almost at a loss of words. I nominated her because I wanted her to beat Maddie, but I didn’t realize what it really meant to her. I have a flash of guilt, but it quickly fades.
“It was nothing. I knew you wanted to, but just needed someone to push you in that direction. Oh, and if she runs her mouth, we’ve got this,” I say as the music changes to a new country song.
“Oh my gosh! I love this song,” Jade says and tries to get me to dance. I shake her off. I’m not dancing to that. Jade dances with a group of girls and as the music slows down I see Aaron ask her to dance.
Almost everyone is on the dance floor and I feel out of my element. I’ve never been on the sidelines at a school dance. I’ve always been one of the first ones with a date. As the music changes to an upbeat country song all of the girls squeal and I see a line dance breaking out. I shake my head as Maddie walks by.
“So, you too good for us? I’d think a girl like you liked to have a good time,” she says in a condescending tone and something in me cracks. I watch as everyone lines up in a row and does the same steps over and over. I count the beat in my head, watch their feet for two eight counts, and take a deep breath. I can’t believe I’m going to do this, but it’s time that she knew exactly who she’s messing with.
I stand and walk toward Jade on th
e dance floor. “Do you know this?” she asks. I shrug my shoulders. I join in like I’ve been doing this for years and don’t miss a beat or turn. After we make it through the line dance one full time, I decide to step it up a notch, and throw in a little extra spice. When the song ends, Jade looks at me. “You’ve been holding out on me,” she says with her hands on her hips.
“Nah, I just watched a few eight counts, and made it a little more Cadence-like,” I say with a smile just before I feel a tap on my shoulder.
“So, that all you got?” Maddie quips.
“Are you serious right now? It’s a freaking country line dance. It’s not rocket science. I figured you’d be over your high-and-mighty self by now. I mean, please. You aren’t as great as you think you are, and people around here know it,” I say as her mouth falls open and she turns around without another word.
“That was awesome,” Jade says.
“It’s the truth, and it’s time someone stood up to her. I’ve got a question, do they play other music besides country?” I ask.
“Oh yeah. You just have to ask. They start out with country, but they will play anything, even the Wobble. Whatcha thinkin’?”
“Did you say Wobble?” She nods her head yes. Um, that’s so two years ago, and that’s when I see Maddie walk to the DJ, and as the song ends the Wobble begins to play. Jade and I look at each other and begin to laugh. “Come on,” I say to her as we hit the dance floor, but not before I stop and request a song.
Jade and I both follow in line and it’s obvious that she’s a dancer, and that Maddie has major white-girl dancing issues. I can’t wait to see what happens when my request comes on. As the song ends, a hard beat begins to play and everyone looks at each other. I look at Jade and she reads my mind. We begin to dance and don’t care who is watching, but it’s obvious that everyone’s eyes are on us, especially Maddie’s. I laugh when I see her cross her arms and walk toward a table. She couldn’t hang with us if her life depended on it.
As the song ends, the rap is replaced with country again, and we exit the dance floor and take a seat.
“That was awesome, Cadence! You seriously have been holding out on me. You’re amazing and you should come to the studio with me. I’m sure it’s not what you’re used to, but you should at least try it,” Jade says.
“I don’t know. I’m not sure I can.”
“What do you mean?” she questions.
“I promised I wouldn’t. It’s my senior year and everything is so different. It doesn’t feel right, and not to mention I don’t know what dancing at a small studio is going to do for my career.”
Jade’s eyes about bug out of her head. “Career? Well, I can promise you this. Not dancing at all will not help your career. We might be small, but Ms. Lyndsay is amazing. We compete on a competitive level everywhere we go, and have a trophy case full of Crystals.” Seriously?
“Are you serious?”
“Now why would I lie about that? Please, just go with me and see,” she pleads.
“I don’t know.”
“Well, think about it,” she says.
