The band the Caped Crusaders, four men in their thirties wearing trendy black suits with cupid wings and white tennis shoes, were jamming on a makeshift stage underneath the home team's basket.
Dullsville's students had metamorphosed from cheerleaders and jocks into princesses and princes. Girls glistened in their evening gowns—a rainbow of pink, blue, red, and orange dresses from Jack's department store swept over the basketball court as if we were at a Hollywood premiere.
I noticed a small brunette girl in an amazing blue vintage gown holding the hand of her dashing young date.
"Becky!" I called, running over to her.
"Raven! I rode in a limousine!"
"I know. I saw you get out. You looked like a movie star!"
"You are the prettiest one here!" she gloated.
"No way, you are! That dress is so you—and so gorgeous!"
While Becky and I gushed, Alexander and Matt made small talk.
"Let's get our picture taken," Becky said. "All four of us."
My heart sank. Again I would have to miss pictures with Alexander.
"I'm still blinded from all the flashes at home," I said.
"Very funny." Becky pulled my arm and eagerly led me to the photo area. I glanced back. Matt was following us, but my dark-suited boyfriend stayed still.
"Where's Alexander?" Matt asked. "I thought he was right behind me."
"He hates pictures. Something about them stealing your soul," I rambled on.
A crowd of promgoers gathered, waiting for their Kodak moment. All of a sudden, Becky pulled Alexander from between a group of couples standing behind us.
"Your turn," the photographer said, pointing to me.
I froze, but Becky pulled me to the black duct-taped X marked on the center of the floor. "I'll cherish this forever.
"Maybe they'll pick this one for the yearbook," she continued.
"We can only hope," I said through a cheesy grin.
"I didn't know vampires showed up on film," I heard one of the students say. They were referring to me.
The photographer angled Becky and me in a V shape and arranged Matt and Alexander behind us as if they were giant game pieces.
I glanced back at Alexander, who I was surprised to find smiling for the camera.
"On the count of three," the photographer said. "One, two—"
"Hachoo!" I said, faking a sneeze.
"Bless you," my friends said.
"Gesundheit," the photographer said, stepping away from his digital camera. "Again, on the count of three." He focused behind the camera. "One, two—"
"I really must get a tissue," I said, holding my hand up.
Becky held my arm so I couldn't move.
"I have three hundred pictures to take this evening. I can't take the picture if you keep moving," the photographer warned.
I could feel the crowd around us getting restless.
The photographer stepped behind the camera.
"One—" The flash went off. Tricky man. Luckily the room was bright enough that the flash didn't blind me, much less Alexander.
Another couple scurried toward us, making their way for our spots.
"I'm thirsty," Alexander said anxiously, suddenly leading me through the crowd and away from the photographer.
As Alexander and I made our escape, I could hear Matt calling us.
"We have to take it again," he said. "The photographer cut Alexander out of the picture."
My nonphotographic boyfriend and I gathered at the punch bowl. The refreshment table was sprinkled with red and white chocolate kisses, bowls of Red Hots, and heart-shaped boxes filled with more chocolates.
I saw Jennifer Warren in the black cocktail dress I had wanted to purchase at Jack's. I was still annoyed she had pulled the dress out from under my nose, but she really did fill out the dress so beautifully that I couldn't help but tell her so.
"That dress was made for you."
"And yours as well," she said with a catlike grin.
"Thanks," I replied.
Deep down I knew she didn't mean it as a compliment.
Trevor, in an unbuttoned sleek black tux, crisp white shirt, and solid red silk tie, walked over to Jennifer.
He looked me over from my midnight black hair to my charcoal witchy boots.
"Too bad you didn't want that dance," he said softly. "I was planning on showing you a night to remember."
"It will be a night to remember. Only I'll be forgetting you were in it."
Just then, Alexander stepped between us. The Caped Crusaders began to play "Love Shack."
"May I have this dance?" Alexander said, offering his hand.
We left Trevor by the refreshments and for the next hour, Alexander and I rocked and rolled until I was seeing hearts. Finally we were both so exhausted, we headed back to the punch bowl for a pick-me-up.
Mr. Ferguson took center stage and stood in front of the Caped Crusaders. "I'd like to thank you all for coming out tonight for Viva las Valentines!" he said into the microphone to massive applause. "I'd like to thank the Decorating Committee for volunteering their time and transforming the gymnasium into a valentine paradise."
"Go, Becky!" I shouted, clapping for my best friend who was standing next to me.
"And finally to Shirley's Bakery for the candies and refreshments," Mr. Ferguson continued.
"Now we're applauding the punch bowl," I whispered to Alexander.
"I am very pleased to announce tonight's King and Queen."
"Woohoo!" a soccer snob shouted over the sound of applause.
"Drumroll, please…," Mr. Ferguson commanded.
The crowd stood quiet as my study hall teacher opened a letter-sized valentine.
"I'd like to present to you this year's Prom King…Trevor Mitchell."
Trevor high-fived his soccer-snob teammates and ran up onstage like he was receiving the World Cup.
I rolled my eyes. "Big surprise. When Daddy owns all the land in Dullsville," I whispered to Alexander, "he can afford to buy his son a throne."
Heather came over to Trevor, who was now standing center stage, waving to the crowd, and placed a silver staff in his hand and a crown on top of his blond locks.
"And this year's prom queen…" Mr. Ferguson opened the second valentine and began to say, "Jen—"
Jennifer Warren started for the aisle.
Mr. Ferguson's eyes bulged out like Jameson's. He cleared his throat and said, "I mean, Raven Madison."
The crowd went quiet.
"Raven Madison," he said again.
I stared at Trevor, who gave me a triumphant wink.
All eyes were on me as the spotlight hit my face.
"This must be wrong," I said to Alexander.
Jennifer Warren stood stunned at the foot of the stage. "This is my senior year! I demand a recount!"
Becky started clapping. "Raven, Raven!" The other promgoers were as shocked as I was, but they joined her.
"Raven! Raven! Raven!" the crowd began to cheer.
"Get up there," Becky said, pushing me toward the stage.
I gathered my dress and walked up the few stairs toward the stage. It felt like an eternity, walking in slow motion, as I headed over to Trevor and Mr. Ferguson. Heather came over, gave me an evil look, put a silver faux-diamond-encrusted tiara on my head, and handed me a bouquet of red roses.
I awkwardly smiled as the crowd cheered. I felt like I was in a scene from Carrie. I now knew what my payback from Trevor would be. He'd imagined that I'd be excited that I, the school oddball, had been chosen by the student body to be Prom Queen. At any moment, just like in the horror film, a bucket of pig's blood would fall on me, embarrassing and belittling me in front of the whole school.
Only I had a different weapon than Carrie had.
A Victorian parasol.
I opened my elegant umbrella and glared back at Trevor, then the crowd.
I waited. And waited. And waited.
Nothing came down. Not even heart-shaped
confetti from the ceiling.
I stared out into the crowd of Dullsville High faces, all looking confused. Then it hit me and I realized my fate.
Trevor had a far worse plan for me than embarrassing me with pig's blood—he wanted to dance with me in front of the whole school and, most important, Alexander.
"This dance belongs to Prom King and Queen, Trevor Mitchell and Raven Madison," Mr. Ferguson announced.
All eyes were on me. I wanted to run, but I was surrounded by staring students.
Trevor gripped my hand harder than a goalie holding a soccer ball.
I saw Alexander, who stared back at me, his eyes lonely, clapping with the rest of the students. I felt awful holding another guy's hand in front of Alexander, especially the hand of my nemesis.
Trevor led me down the steps of the stage and pulled me onto the center of the dance floor.
The lights dimmed, and red hearts danced around the gymnasium walls and floor.
I could barely breathe. Trevor put his arm around my waist and pulled me close.
I was dizzy from the lights and the music. I felt sick to my stomach. I didn't invite Alexander to come with me to prom to watch me dance with Trevor Mitchell.
I didn't care what prom protocol dictated or who Trevor had paid off.
I pulled away from my nemesis. "You fixed this," I yelled over the music. "I'm not really Prom Queen. This dance belongs to Jennifer Warren."
"Don't ditch me in front of the whole school," Trevor said through gritted teeth, trying to grasp my hand back.
"Forget it!"
"Once a freak, always a freak. I'll get you, Monster Girl."
Trevor's words churned through my veins like jagged glass. As far as Trevor and I'd come in the last few weeks, we were right back to being two kids in kindergarten.
I pulled my tiara off my head.
Jennifer, who was being consoled by the Prada shoe snob, smiled at me.
"This belongs to you." I handed her my tiara.
I turned around, triumphant, to celebrate with my vampire boyfriend.
Instead, all the smiling faces I saw were mortal.
I looked everywhere, making myself dizzy searching for Alexander in the sea of promgoers as they watched Trevor and Jennifer Warren dance. It took me a moment to catch my breath, my heart was beating so fast. I pushed through the crowd and found Becky and Matt. "Where is Alexander?"
"I don't know. He was here a minute ago. I can't believe you are Prom Queen! Why did you give your tiara to Jennifer?"
"We'll talk later. I have to find Alexander."
"Hey—we have to retake the picture of us," Matt called to me.
I searched the tables where couples were sitting. Not a vampire among them.
"Have you seen Alexander?" I asked our class treasurer.
"Who's Alexander?"
I ran over to the punch table. A few couples were munching on chocolate kisses.
"Have any of you seen Alexander?"
"Alexander who?" one kid answered. "The zombie? I think he's already been buried."
My heart sank.
I raced to the side exit. A sign read EMERGENCY USE ONLY. IF DOOR IS OPENED, ALARM WILL SOUND.
Drats!
I passed the photographer, who was dismantling his equipment. I flew out the gymnasium entrance and hurried down the hallway.
Memories of the nightmarish end to the Snow Ball came storming back to me. Running outside in the pouring rain, finding a lone Alexander, begging him to talk to me as he walked home to the Mansion.
However, when I opened Dullsville High's main door, it wasn't pouring rain—or raining at all—but was cool and quiet.
"Alexander!" I called.
There, standing at the bottom of the stairs with his back toward me, was my vampire boyfriend.
I gathered the hem of my dress and hurried down the front steps.
"Alexander, please. I didn't want to dance with that jerk."
Alexander didn't reply.
"Please, look at me," I said, my eyes welling with tears.
Alexander turned to me and stepped aside, revealing Henry, who was standing with him.
The pit of my stomach turned. What was Henry doing at prom?
"Where's Billy Boy?" I asked, worried.
"He just told me he was going to Valentine's house," Henry said.
"He's supposed to be grounded," I said.
"I thought you should know."
I gazed at Alexander, who seemed as surprised to find Henry here as I was.
"Valentine said he'd been staying with his aunt, Maria Maxwell," Billy's nerd-mate continued. "Since Billy's been grounded, I had some free time, so I searched the town records for Valentine's aunt. I couldn't find her listed anywhere. There is not a trace of anyone here by that name. Then, tonight, Billy dropped off our Project Vampire for me to work on. I found this."
Henry handed Alexander an eight-by-ten weathered piece of parchment paper.
It was a gravestone etching.
In jagged letters were the words:
Maria Maxwell
Beloved Aunt
1824-1922
16 Sibling Rivalry
“I have to find Billy before it's too late," said Alexander. "Valentine is at the end of his rope. If I don't return within an hour, have Matt drive you home." Alexander gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and started toward his car.
"I'm going with you," I said, following after him.
"Stay here," he said, proceeding on. "I'll come back for you when I'm finished."
"I'm coming too. Billy's my brother."
Alexander continued cutting through the grass instead of walking on the sidewalk.
"Where does Maria Maxwell live?" I asked. "Or, I mean, where's she buried? In Dullsville's cemetery?"
"Henry said Billy was going to Valentine's house. I have an idea where that might be."
When Alexander and I reached the Mercedes, my usually gentlemanly boyfriend didn't open the door for me. Alexander was preoccupied as he started the car. We continued to sit in silence as we drove through downtown.
"This isn't how I imagined spending my prom," I said. "Trevor getting even with me and now Billy Boy in harm's way."
"Trevor is more of a vampire than I am," Alexander admitted. "He thinks like one and acts like one."
"That's why I love you," I said. "You are a vampire with a soul."
"While I am buried in the darkness of my coffin, I know Trevor can see you every day, share classes with you, gaze at you in the cafeteria. Things I never get to do—and will never be able to do. I know he was shoving it in my face."
"Well, it's a heavenly face," I said, caressing his shoulder.
"You looked so beautiful tonight," Alexander said as he continued to drive. "I only wish I could have been the Prom King dancing with you."
"Well, I didn't dance with Trevor. I gave the tiara to Jennifer Warren. She's the most popular girl in school. I can guarantee, now that Trevor tricked both me and her, he'll be riding home tonight in his million-dollar stretch limo alone."
I gazed out into darkness and at the same haze-covered fields we passed a few days ago. We drove through a forgotten meadow and along a bumpy dirt path.
The car's headlights shined on the darkened cavern and illuminated something shiny at the mouth of the cave.
I quickly got out of the car. Billy Boy's bike was outside.
"You were right!" I said proudly. "My brother's here."
Alexander handed me the flashlight and we crept into the darkened cave.
"Billy!" I called, but only my voice echoed back to me.
A few inches of water trickled over the stone floor as we traipsed through the dark and dank cave in our prom outfits. I held the hem of my dress up with one hand and the flashlight with the other while Alexander kindly guided me through our subterranean surroundings.
"This isn't like Billy. He's not this adventurous. This is something I'd do."
"Maybe that's why he's doing it," Al
exander deduced. "To be more like you."
"I thought he was trying to impress Valentine."
"Maybe impressing you is more important to him."
"Billy!" I called. No answer.
We reached the trickling waterfall and fanglike stalactites where Alexander and I had had our romantic interlude. Alexander and I stopped and called out to Billy again. Once again we didn't hear an answer.
My flashlight illuminated what seemed to be a round patch on the stone floor. On further inspection, I realized it was a circle of dirt.
"This circle isn't big enough for a coffin," I stated.
"He's not sleeping in a coffin," Alexander surmised. He pointed above us. I turned my light toward the cave's ceiling. A few bats, hanging upside down, were startled and flew off.
I gasped. "Is one of them Valentine?"
Alexander shook his head.
We continued to forge on, proceeding farther into the cave than we'd explored the last time we were here.
"Billy!" Alexander hollered.
My light caught an odd shape in front of us. At first it appeared to be a dead end. But then I realized the cave split off in two different directions.
"Which way do we go?" I asked anxiously.
"We'll have to separate," Alexander instructed. "We don't have enough time to search each path together. I'll be able to find you."
But will we be able to find Billy? I wondered.
Alexander squeezed my hand and then let go. I flashed the light in his direction, but he was gone.
I shined my light in front of me. A chill ran through my veins. The air was cool and smelled musty. I took a deep breath and proceeded into the passageway. As I journeyed deeper into the cave, the passageway narrowed, the walls closing in on me. Soon the branch of the cave was only wide enough for one person to fit through.
Normally I'd have been exhilarated, feeling comforted by the nocturnal elements around me. Instead I was anxious. If I didn't get to Billy Boy in time, he'd be grounded for eternity.
As I crept through the skinny passageway, the air turned chillier and the sound of trickling water grew faint. The flashlight illuminated only a small pathway before me. I averted any protruding stalagmites by reaching out before me in the blinding darkness as I continued on my way, deeper into the cave.
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