by Elle Casey
Kevin wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close. “Oh, yeah? What’s that?” He lowered his head, intent on kissing her silly.
“I really hated that thing. It was soooo dorky.”
Kevin frowned. “What? You hated my cool tophat?”
She laughed. “It wasn’t cool. And yes, I hated it. You’re much handsomer without it, trust me.” She stood on tiptoe to kiss him, making him quickly forget the insult to his awesome man-attire. The song continued, but he heard none of it as he lost himself in the warmth that she brought with every touch, every kiss.
She was right. He did owe Barry for what he’d done. There was probably no way he’d ever be able to repay him for taking that airhead Gretchen off his hands and for freeing his sister to fall in love with the coolest guy he’d ever known.
***
Jonathan was dancing like he and Sarah had practiced, swaying to the rhythm of the song, desperately trying to hide his secret.
“You’re counting in your head again,” said Sarah, a small smile playing on her lips.
“No, I’m not,” he said innocently. One and two and three and four and one and two and three and four…
“Jonathan, stop counting.”
“I’m not.”
“Okay then, recite the periodic table to me with atomic weights.”
He opened his mouth as he thought of the first element, Hydrogen 1.008 … oh crap! I lost count! He accidentally stepped on Sarah’s toe.
She smacked him on the chest. “Ouch, Jonathan! Watch those giant clown shoes of yours!” Her words were angry but her tone wasn’t.
He stopped moving altogether, resting his hands lightly on her waist. “I’m sorry. I … uhhh … lost my rhythm.”
“You lost your count, babe. I told you. Just relax. Feel the rhythm … sway. Don’t walk. Don’t step. We can just stay in one place.” Her hands were playing in the back of his hair, sending chills down his spine. She was the most beautiful woman in the room … on the planet, actually; he hadn’t been lying to her earlier. And the feel of her gorgeous body up against his and her fingers on his neck were making him crazy.
He pulled away from her for a second, looking down at her now confused expression. “You’d better stop what you’re doing or we’re going to have a little problem.” He gave her a look, trying to express his meaning.
She got that dangerous expression on her face that told him he was in trouble. “Oh, yeah?” She pulled him back up against her, moving her hips just the tiniest bit. “What kind of problem?”
Jonathan rolled his eyes as he felt the warmth come over him. “Too late. You are totally tricky, Sarah, you know that. Now you have to stay right where you are until I can control myself again.”
She rested her head on his chest. “Never learn to control yourself around me, Jon. Never.”
Jonathan lowered his chin gently to her head. “Never? You always want me to be a mess, unable to stop myself from getting excited just looking at you and smelling you and stuff?”
“Never. Ever, ever, ever. Never. Don’t do it. Or I’ll hunt you down and kill you like the dog you are.”
“Oh. Boy. Okay, then. Consider me committed to being an uncontrolled male in your presence.”
The sound of distant screams coming from the doorway broke into their conversation. At first Jonathan thought it was part of the song, but it didn’t really match the overall beat or melody. Then the music stopped altogether and someone took the microphone.
“Everyone, please remain calm. No one is permitted to leave the building until further notice. Someone please turn on the lights.” The vice principal who’d made the announcement was having a heated discussion with the DJ. After he was finished, he raced off the stage and ran around the outside of the room, back to the doors that lead to the lobby and parking lot of the hotel where the prom was being held. The lights went on as the sound of the door closing behind him echoed in the room.
“What the heck is that all about?” asked Jonathan, trying to figure out what was going on but finding no clues in the area nearby. Everyone was standing around or moving into small groups, speculating about what could have ended their prom so abruptly.
“What can you see?” asked Sarah, jumping up and down to try and see over the heads around her.
“Nothing. Just some teachers at the doors not letting anyone out.”
Sarah reached into her hand bag that was hanging from her wrist and sent off a text. A few seconds later, she grabbed Jonathan’s arm and dragged him through the crowd. They ended up off on the side of the ballroom, near the refreshment table where Candi and Kevin were waiting.
Kevin held his hand up for a shake and Jonathan complied absently, still trying to make sense of the situation, his eyes darting around the room. It had to be something serious for the vice principal to have gone to these lengths, stopping the music and turning on the lights. And the teachers looked like bouncers at the doors, only not letting people out instead of in.
“What’s happening?” asked Candi, her tone high and nervous.
“I have no idea. Jonathan said teachers are at the doors not letting anyone out,” said Sarah.
“Wait! The doors are opening,” said Jonathan, noticing a hot pink dress and a bright blue one coming in by the P.E. teacher’s door. “Some girls are coming in … and … they’re crying, I think.”
“Let’s go see what’s going on,” said Sarah, grabbing Jonathan again and dragging him forward.
“Maybe we should just wait here,” he said, resisting and pulling her back.
Sarah spun around. “Jonathan, I have to pee. So either you get me to those doors and through them into the lobby, or I’m going to have an accident right here on this floor and humiliate myself and never be able to show my face in school again! I’ll miss graduation and everything!”
Jonathan’s eyes almost fell out of his head, picturing the scene he’d have to deal with if his high-strung girlfriend wet her dress at the prom. “Coming through!” he yelled, holding his hand out like a battering ram in front of him, bumping into people left and right but not stopping for anything. “Sorry! Pardon us! Coming through! Lady has to urinate! Sorry! Excuse me! Watch out!” They made it to the doors in under forty-five seconds. He checked his watch just to be sure.
“Thank you, sweet cheeks,” said Sarah, patting him on the butt. She faced the teacher who was standing in front of the door with his arms crossed. “Excuse me, but I need to get out.”
He shook his head. “Nope. No one goes out until security tells us you can.”
“You can’t hold me in here. It’s against my right to freedom, and also I have to pee. And I’m pregnant, so if you stop me from using the toilet, you’re violating my right to pee as an American, and I’ll sue the school.”
The teacher frowned, shaking his head and looking totally unconvinced. “I teach Civics Class with Intro to the Law, young lady. You have no right to use the toilet.”
“The hell she doesn’t,” said Kevin from behind them.
Jonathan turned, relieved to have Kevin as his wingman.
“You can’t restrain her freedom of movement or it’s false imprisonment. And if she suffers a humiliating event that affects her health or that of her unborn child, you and the school will be liable. The hotel too, probably.”
The teacher smiled begrudgingly. “So you were paying attention in class, Kevin. I had my doubts.”
Kevin shrugged. “I’m in stealth mode most of the time.”
The teacher nodded slowly. “Listen, I’d love to let you guys out of here, but someone’s been shot out in the parking lot … a student. They don’t want anyone else hurt, so that’s why we’re keeping you in here. We’re pretty sure the threat is over, but just to be sure, I need you to stay put.”
Jonathan could feel his ears burning. He put an arm around Sarah’s shoulders, drawing her close to him. He wanted to take her far, far away from this place, where anything might hurt her. “Are the police here?” he a
sked.
“Yes. And an ambulance.”
The door behind him opened, and a police officer entered. They all watched in silence as he made his way through the groups of students who were all talking in lowered voices, heading towards the DJ table. As soon as he was there, he took the microphone and spoke. “Hello, everyone. I’m officer Sam Sheedy of the local police department. We’ve had an incident out in the parking lot that we are in the process of managing. I need all of you to contact your parents on your cells and let them know you’re okay and to please not come down to the hotel. We’ve got the area blocked off, and they won’t be able to get in anyway. All of you will be released to go in about an hour. We just want to get everyone’s contact information in case we have questions for you later. When we open the doors, there will be officers standing outside to take your names and contact information. Thanks in advance for your cooperation.” He signaled to the teachers at the doors. “You can go ahead and open up, but the students need to go out in an orderly fashion, one at a time. Anyone not following this directive will be detained by the police. Thank you.”
The teacher looked at Sarah. “You heard the man. Go out, give your info, and I’m sure they’ll let you use the toilet.”
“Thanks,” she said, dragging Jonathan with her through the door the teacher was holding open. Jonathan pulled back on her and stepped in front of her. “Me first. Stay behind me.”
Sarah rolled her eyes but complied, putting her palms on his back. “Okay, fearless leader. Go forward. Momma’s gotta pee.”
Jonathan looked back and saw that his sister and Kevin were right behind him, the two guys keeping the girls between them. He smiled grimly, thinking how this reminded him of their trip through the jungle when they were running from the drug dealers with guns. It was a different time and place, but the fear was the same. And now he had one more person he had to protect - his baby.
***
Sarah finally got into the bathroom and took care of business while Candi waited for her. Sarah was washing her hands and checking her hair in the mirror as they chatted. “So, who do you think got shot?” she asked.
“I couldn’t even imagine. I’m just glad it wasn’t one of us. Is that terrible to say?” Candi asked quietly. The bathroom was mostly empty, everyone else milling around in the lobby trying to figure out what was going on, but Candi looked around guiltily anyway.
Sarah didn’t have time to answer before the door burst open and three girls came in all together, huddled around the one in the middle. Sarah turned to face her, the reflection of the girl’s bronze-colored dress immediately grabbing her attention. Gretchen, that cheating ho-bag. Sarah was about to let her have it with a comment about her date, Barry, but her words froze on her tongue when she saw Gretchen’s face.
Her mascara had leaked all down her cheeks, leaving streaks through the foundation and powder. Her eyes were swollen and bloodshot. Her friends were basically holding her up, keeping her from falling. They rushed her to a toilet where she vomited loudly.
“Oh, that is just … disgusting,” said Sarah, her own stomach churning.
“Shut up, Sarah!” yelled one of the friends, whipping around to face her. “Her boyfriend got shot tonight! Try to be nice for once in your life!”
Sarah flinched back at the viciousness spewing out of the girl’s mouth. If looks could kill she’d be dead. She felt something on her arm and saw that Candi had come to stand by her - and she looked ready to rumble.
Sarah put her hand in her friend’s and gave her a quick squeeze, letting her know she was okay before responding. “Sorry, I had no idea. Are you serious? Barry’s the one who got shot?”
The other girl nodded, crying herself now too. “Yes. It was terrible. We were standing right there.”
“Oh, my god,” said Candi, “did you talk to the police?”
“Yes. But then Gretchen got sick so we took a break.”
The other girl walked out of the stall to get some paper towels. She wet them in the sink before returning to the prostrate Gretchen who was still heaving over the toilet.
“Wow. That’s just … so friggin scary,” said Sarah. “Did you see who did it?”
The girl shook her head. “No. We heard this loud muffler kind of sound and then this low rider car came by, the back window rolled down, and they just … shot him.” She began to cry in a soft whimpering kind of way.
Candi handed her a paper towel, looking at a loss for words.
“You should get back to the police,” said Sarah. “The sooner you can give them all the details, the faster they can catch whoever did this.”
The girl nodded, looking over at Gretchen.
“We’ll take care of her,” said Sarah, sighing. “Go on. Go back out there.” She was waving the two girls away as they stared at each other, looking as if they were trying to decide whether to take Sarah up on her offer.
They both shrugged before quickly going over to the mirror. They did their best to fix their faces before going out before leaving Candi and Sarah there with a very forlorn-looking Gretchen. She was sitting on the floor now, her back up against the side of the bathroom stall, the door hanging open.
Candi went inside and flushed the toilet, putting out her hands to help Gretchen up.
Gretchen just looked at her.
“Get up,” said Sarah. “Come on. You look like hell. You don’t want one of those losers on the yearbook committee getting a picture of you like this.”
The fear leapt into Gretchen’s eyes, and she grabbed Candi’s hands, getting unsteadily to her feet. One of her shoes was missing its heel. She limped over to the sink and started crying all over again when she saw her face.
“Shhhh,” said Candi, rubbing her back. She looked over at Sarah, urging, “Do something.”
Sarah sighed. “My work is never done.” She dropped her little evening bag down on the counter, pulling open the drawstrings that held it shut. “Get some paper towels, Sugar Lump … stat. We don’t have a lot of time.”
Candy rushed over to pull several towels out of the dispenser.
“Use this,” she said, handing Candi a small bottle of hand cream. “Get all that shit off her face.”
Candi dabbed some of the lotion on a towel and used it like makeup remover to take off all the mascara.
“Eyes too. All of it.”
“You’re trying to make me look worse,” said Gretchen, suspicion in her eyes as she hiccuped.
Sarah pointed a long nail at her face. “That’s what you deserve, boyfriend-stealer, but that’s not what I’m doing. Because the fact is, you did me and my brother a favor. I owed you one, and this is me paying you back. After this, we’re even, and I don’t ever want to see your face again as long as I live.”
Gretchen smiled without humor. “That might be pretty tough seeing as how we still go to school together and we still have one more year left.”
“Yeah, well … just stay the hell out of my way.” Her mind wandered over to the situation of her pregnancy, wondering if she was even going to be able to finish her senior year with the baby being born in the middle of it. But now was not the time to be worrying about that. She had a mission to accomplish. Operation Fix Gretchen’s Butt-Ugly Face was now in full swing.
“I don’t have any foundation, but you don’t need it so we’ll just skip to the eyes. I have liner, shadow in two shades, and mascara. Your eyes will look a lot like mine when we’re done, but it’s the best I can do right now.” She smiled wickedly as she approached Gretchen. “Besides. You like having the same boyfriend as I do … maybe you’ll like copying my makeup, too.”
“Sarah!” scolded Candi. “Stop. That’s not nice. She’s been traumatized. Leave her alone and just make her beautiful again.”
Gretchen smiled tremulously. “Sarah’s right. I was a bitch. I stole her boyfriend, and I know it wasn’t nice.”
“Ha. Told you.” Sarah stuck her tongue out at Candi before reaching over to begin adding shadow to Gretchen�
��s lids.
“Barry’s just … Barry. You know?” whined Gretchen. “He flirts all the time. He’s hard to resist.”
“Yeah. He’s a player and an ass and you did me a favor … like I said.” Sarah cleared her throat. “Is he … is he okay?” She didn’t love him anymore, but she still didn’t hate him so much she’d want him shot. Not really. Maybe just a little. Like, shot in the butt cheek or something.
“The guy in the ambulance said he was going to be okay. They got him in the arm.” She let out a very shaky sigh. “But why Barry? I mean, he’s not a druggie or anything. Why would gangsters want to shoot him?”
“It was probably just random,” said Candi, rubbing her back gently again. “Wrong place, wrong time.”
She was shaking her head. “No. The police were asking us over and over why he was wearing that stupid, ugly hat and whether he had any enemies and stuff. And some little gangster guy was talking to them about it … the hat.”
Sarah’s hand froze in mid-makeup-application. “What hat?”
Gretchen looked guiltily over at Candi. “The tophat he stole from Kevin.”
Sarah dropped the mascara and backed up a step. “What the heck …?” She looked over at Candi, whose face had gone nearly white. “Candi, what the fu …. dge cookie?”
“I don’t know … I mean, just before they stopped the dance, maybe like ten minutes before, Barry came over, starting trouble with Kevin, and just took his hat and ran out of the dance. Kevin wanted to go after him and pound him, but I wouldn’t let him.”
Sarah bent down slowly to retrieve her makeup and carefully wiped it off as she thought about what they were saying. “So some gangster-looking guy is telling the cops that the hat was somehow involved? In Barry being shot?”
“Yes,” said Gretchen nodding, wiping under her nose with another towel. “That’s what it seemed like.”
Candi whispered. “So was Barry the target, or the guy wearing the tophat … Kevin?”
Sarah didn’t know the answer to that question, but she sure as hell was going to find out what it was. “Look up, Gretchen. I have to get this liner and mascara done so I can go figure out what’s happening.”