Promised by Prom

by Jessica Bucher

  After the buzzer went off with our score firmly at zero, Nora flung her arms around my shoulders as she laughed. “You’re a bad luck charm!”

  “I guess I am,” I answered with a smile. “You can blame my presence for your tragic first date.” I grabbed my soda from the edge of the game and we meandered back to our table where our shakes waited for us.

  “Oh no,” she replied through a mouthful of chocolate. “That was doomed from the start.”

  “Please tell me you’ll stop those girls from setting you up with these losers,” I pleaded.

  “You think you can do better?” she asked, placing her arms on the table and glaring at me with a hidden smile.

  “I’d have a hard time doing worse.”

  She let her head hang back in a sweet cackle. When she looked back at me, she could only nod and smile, thereby validating my point. “They’ll get better,” she mumbled.

  “You let me know how that goes,” I replied. I took my straw out of and dunked it into her chocolate shake and took a long sip. She did the same in my strawberry.

  “Oooh, strawberry is better,” she moaned.

  “Told you. You really have to start listening to me more.”

  “Never!” she cried, and we laughed some more. If she was taking any stock of the situation, she might have been inclined to notice how much better the past hour had been than her first. If she noticed that, then maybe she’d be willing to tell her friends to bug off and date me instead.

  Then, a truly diabolical idea popped into my head.

  “You know…if you have any other crummy dates, I’m here to bail you out.”

  “Ha. Don’t tempt me.” She stole my strawberry shake from me without hesitation.

  “I’m serious. You know I don’t have a life. Next time you’re stuck with some dull moron, just text me something…” I looked around for a code word. “Strawberry shake. Text me strawberry shake and I’ll know that means you need to be rescued. I’ll show up, make a scene, and whisk you out of there like a damsel in distress.”

  Staring down at the pink ice cream as she stirred it, she seemed to be deliberating the idea. “First, don’t call me damsel again.”

  “Got it.”

  “And I think this is actually a good idea.” Her brown eyes lifted up to mine, and I let her look me in the eye for a long moment. Longer than normal. “If I had an exit strategy, I wouldn’t have such terrible anxiety about these dates. You sure you don’t mind?”

  Pulling back my shake and averting my eyes, I answered, “Not at all. I’m on your side.”

  The owner of the restaurant—whose name was tragically not Joey, came up to the table and knocked on the wood. “Hey, kiddos. We’re closing soon. No rush though. You two look like you’re having fun.” I looked around and realized we were practically the only people left.

  “Thanks,” Nora chimed with a smile. She greeted everyone with a bright smile, and with dimples like those, every moment she wasn’t smiling was a crime.

  “You know,” the old man said as he stood by our table. “I brought my wife here for our first date too.”

  “Oh, we’re not—” I started.

  Nora spoke over me. “Oh really? That’s so sweet.”

  “I’m glad kids are still coming here. Why go to the movies when you just sit quietly next to each other?”

  “Exactly,” she agreed. She gave him a warm expression and her full attention. And while she wasn’t looking at me, I could watch her and marvel at the way she kept her long sleeves gripped between her fingers or how she could confidently look someone in the eye while she listened to them.

  “Well, anyway,” the man said finally. “You two clearly aren’t on your first date, anyway.”

  Nora giggled and sent me a tight-lipped smile.

  “No, sir,” I answered as I leaned back. I saw the old man around the restaurant enough in my day that I was surprised he didn’t know me by name by now. Or maybe he did. Maybe he assumed this was our first date because first dates was usually all I had.

  “Yeah, I can tell. You two will be together a long time.”

  I watched Nora’s cheeks blush as she reached across the table and grabbed my hand, obviously playing along with the charade. Her eyelashes fluttered at me, and I couldn’t hold back the laugh.

  After the owner walked away, Nora and I broke out in a fit of giggles. I paid for our shakes and took her over to the prize center before they closed. With my fifteen-hundred tickets, I was able to buy Nora a purple tiara, me some Pokemon sunglasses, two candy necklaces, and a ring pop. And it only cost me forty bucks in tokens.

  We were the last to leave the restaurant, and the old man—Trip, as his nametag informed me, walked us out and unlocked the door for us.

  “Get her home safe now,” he said to me.

  “Yes, sir,” I answered far too seriously. Nora bit back her laughter.

  In the parking lot, she stopped in front of her truck and looked at me. “That was fun. Thanks.”

  “Strawberry shake,” I answered.

  “Strawberry shake.”

  I got in my car first and had to take a second to breathe before I pushed the ignition button. My face hurt from smiling, and the sudden silence was sobering. This was how I felt every time Nora said goodbye, like I never wanted anymore goodbyes from her, ever again.

  Nora

  Driving home from my date with Freddy felt a lot more like driving home from a date with Max. At least the two of us had had a good time. Conversation with Freddy was like being set up with the single grandson of someone your grandma plays pinochle with. We spent more time staring at the wall than we did talking to each other.

  I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. Last term when I shot the pictures for the Key Club calendar fundraiser, Freddy had been the most difficult to direct. He wasn’t mean, he was just so... uninspired? It was hard to put a finger on what was wrong with him. All I knew was that he was officially off my list of potential boyfriends.

  When I got back to the farmhouse, Nina was completely wrapped up in a Hallmark Christmas movie. She was the only person I knew who was committed enough to finish the Holiday romance lineup whether she did it by Christmas or not. If I was smart, I would have plunked down beside her and taken notes. Problem was, I was kind of over romance for the evening.

  I grabbed a Coke from the fridge and headed upstairs to zone out on reruns of Supernatural. Until I had a real boyfriend, I was content to continue investing in my long term relationship with the Winchester Brothers. They at least never bored me.

  I was three episodes and eighteen Twizzlers in when Lucy’s number lit up my phone.

  “Hello, Princess,” I answered.

  “You know I legit hate it when you call me that right?”

  “I do,” I replied. “I really do.”

  Lucy grumbled on the other end of the line. “So, the date went great then? I can expect my wedding invitation some time next week?”

  “I’d give it two. We’re still deciding on our colors.” I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

  “But, really?” asked Lucy, more gently. “How did it go with Freddy?”

  I let out an exasperated breath. “Honestly, it was awful. I tried asking him about his interests, but that was challenging, on account of he doesn’t have any.”

  “That’s rough,” said Lucy. “I knew he was gonna be a dud.”

  I picked up the stuffed alien beside me and chucked it at my wall. “If you knew that why would you suggest I go out with him?”

  I could just see Lucy’s face scrunching up into that, ‘Addy made me do it’ expression she always wore when confronted about a bad idea.

  “Forget Freddy,” she said ignoring my question. “Next on the list is my pick.”

  “Remind me who your pick is?” I asked, having a hard time remembering one yearbook photo from another. For three years I hadn’t had any interest in any of these boys and suddenly they were contenders for my ever after.

&nbs
p; “Dean Alexander.”

  I couldn’t place him by name so I grabbed my yearbook and flipped to last year’s junior section.

  “Is he new?” I asked, “because I can’t find him in the yearbook.”

  Lucy was quiet for a moment.

  “Lucy?”

  “He would be in the sophomore section of last year’s book,” she said cautiously.

  “Wait, what?” I laughed, “You’re trying to hook me up with a junior?”

  I could hear Lucy breathing a little faster on the other end of the line like she was preparing to make a big pitch.

  “Hear me out, Nora. Dean is super sweet. Simon knows him from some volunteer stuff at the animal shelter. And…”

  “And what?” I asked, noticing how she seemed to drop off before finishing her sentence.

  “And why couldn’t you have a serious relationship with a junior? You’re planning to be here next year anyway, right?” Her words were like a punch to the stomach.

  Planning to be here was a nice way to say, you have no future and are trapped in Delinki for all of eternity.

  “Just go look at his picture,” she tried.

  I didn’t want to look at his picture. I wanted to slam the phone down and cry a little, but that wasn’t going to fix anything. I’d had eighteen years to plan my exit. It wasn’t Lucy’s fault I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life.

  “He looks okay,” I sighed, staring down at page 125 of the Delinki High Yearbook.

  “He’s got dimples,” she said, a little pep returning to her voice.

  “I see that.”

  I tried to picture myself holding hands with the dark-eyed boy in the photo. He really was nice looking, and if Simon liked him, well then maybe he was a nice person too. But a junior? I mean, Max was a junior, and I’d certainly never considered dating him. Which reminded me.

  “Tonight wasn’t all bad,” I said.

  “Oh yeah?” asked Lucy. “Freddy have a secret personality we didn’t know about?”

  I laughed. “Nope. Freddy was Freddy. No layers there. But Max was there playing video games…”

  “Max was there?” asked Lucy, cutting me off before I had a chance to tell her about the owner thinking we were a couple.

  “Yeah, he was kind of a saving grace actually,” I said.

  “In what way?” asked Lucy, there was a change in her voice and though I couldn’t see her expression, I had a feeling it was accompanied by a frown.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know, we just played dumb games, and he agreed if any more of my dates went sour, I could call him, and he’d sort of bail me out.”

  “He what?” cried Lucy.

  I bit my lip. This was not the reaction I was expecting. What harm was there in Max helping out? The four of us had been friends for as long as I could remember.

  “He agreed to help,” I repeated. When Lucy didn’t immediately respond I probed her further. “Is there a reason that’s a bad idea?”

  I could hear Lucy tapping her nails on the other end of the line, like she was nervous, but that was silly. We were talking about me and Max.

  “I just think you should be careful with Max,” said Lucy. “In case…”

  “In case what?”

  “In case, I don’t know,” rushed Lucy. “Sometimes I worry he likes you more than he lets on.”

  I burst out laughing. “Max? I don’t think so! He has plenty of girls to choose from. I hardly think he’s interested in me.”

  Lucy sighed. “It would take three of Max’s usual girls to touch you with a ten-foot pole Nora. I’m not saying he definitely likes you. I’m just saying be careful.”

  I didn’t stay on the phone with Lucy much longer. We’d already rehashed everything that happened with Freddy and the way she was talking about Max made me wish I had kept quiet about our plan. I could see how someone might think Max and I liked each other. We definitely flirted, but Addy would go ape if Max dated one of her friends. We both knew better than to cross that line, I hoped anyway.

  Chapter Six

  Max

  When I dropped my lunch tray next to Nora on Monday afternoon, she was too glued to her phone hidden under the table to notice me. I knocked her with my shoulder, trying to get her attention. Then, I caught a glimpse of the colorful image on her phone and peered a little closer.

  “Is that what I think it is?” I asked. I didn’t obsessively check my phone like so many others, so it wouldn’t surprise me if I missed the lineup announcement for the new hipster-tastic music festival that just popped up outside St. Paul last spring.

  “This is a killer lineup,” she said through a smile. “We have to go.” It wasn’t really clear who she was talking to since the others at the table weren’t exactly paying attention, but I liked to think she was directing that we at me.

  Resting my chin on her shoulder, I read the names cluttered around the image. If I was at all interested in any of these bands, I might have recognized the names. As it was, I could only pick out a couple and mostly because of their one-hit wonders. She seemed to be interested though, so I feigned as much excitement as I could.

  “I’m in,” I replied, stealing a grape from her packed lunch.

  “Where are we going?” Addy chimed in, like she had a radar meant to detect any hint of chemistry between me and Nora.

  “The Ginger Roots music festival next month,” Nora answered. “Check out this lineup.” She passed her phone while everyone huddled around Addy to see.

  “Avett,” Lucy squealed, glancing at Simon with a cheesy grin.

  The more I thought about it, the more I realized this could be a golden opportunity. The six of us had gotten pretty comfortable in outings, and while Nora and I were always treated like the oddball singles, this would really work out in my favor when it came to snuggling up under a blanket or having someone to dance with.

  “It’s over spring break,” Gray added when he saw the flyer. I could tell by his expression that he wasn’t as thrilled about the music, but was probably thinking the same thing I was. Lots of opportunity for a boyfriend to get cozy with his girlfriend.

  Oh yeah...that’s my sister. Barf.

  I must have been scheming a little too obviously because the next time I looked up, I caught Lucy watching me. Not staring at me in a creepy way but just observing my behavior in a way that told me she was keen on my plans. I wondered briefly if Nora had told her about strawberry shakes and our little deal.

  Addy definitely did not know. The only proof I had of that was the fact that I was still walking on two legs because she would have certainly put me in a wheelchair if she had any idea I was subtly sabotaging her love connections. Which meant...Nora and/or Lucy were keeping it to themselves.

  “So you really want to go?” Nora asked, looking at me through her curtain of brown waves. She’d been ditching the braids lately, and even though I knew this had to do with Operation: Boyfriend, I kind of liked it. They were natural and framed her round cheeks in all the right ways.

  “Sure,” I answered. “Like I have anything better to do over Spring Break.”

  “Yeah, your life is pretty boring without me.” She winked at me.

  A moment later, a foot under the table jabbed me in the shins. “Ow!” I shrieked.

  “Sorry, that was for Nora.” Lucy was looking directly at something across the cafeteria when she laid another kick in our direction.

  “Why are you kicking me?” Nora blurted out.

  Lucy’s head was jerking in a strange sort of not-so-subtle gesture. Nora and I turned our heads in unison to see the tall boy in Wranglers stroll across the lunchroom like he had all the confidence in the world.

  Dean Alexander was in my year. He was genuinely nice and the kind of guy the girls seemed to go nuts over, but he had about as many brain cells as a Golden Retriever. He had recently gotten out of a long-term relationship that started in middle school, so the girls at Delinki High were starting to look at him like he was a walking piece of pie
.

  I looked back at Lucy to see what she was trying to tell us.

  She had her wide eyes glued on Nora’s face as a silent conversation proceeded between them.

  Oh, great.

  It was pretty clear what this was all about.

  Sneaking a glance at Nora’s face, I watched as she gave Lucy a “not bad” grin. I’d say she was mildly impressed. And even I could admit, Dean had a way with tight jeans, but once again, these ladies were picking Delinki High’s lamest bachelors.

  “You might as well let him pay for dinner,” I mumbled to Nora once Lucy directed her attention back to her boyfriend.

  “Why’s that?” she asked with a playful grin.

  “Wouldn’t be right making him do the math like that.”

  She giggled and knocked me in the arm with her elbow again. After taking a bite of her sandwich, she glanced toward me and mumbled, “Strawberry shake.”

  Nora

  Before Addy’s list of boys, I had barely noticed Dean Alexander. Now, I couldn’t seem to stop bumping into him. First thing this morning, I stopped by the office to drop off my cap and gown order, and there he was, leaning over the counter to talk to Ms. Lucas, like he was auditioning for butt-number-one in a Wrangler commercial. I smiled at him as I handed over my form, and he tipped his hat in return—such a gentleman.

  Then, after school, when I forgot my clarinet in the band room, he was there again, borrowing music stands as props for the school play. This time I said hello, and he grinned. Both of his hands were occupied by a music stand, so no hat tipping could happen.

  And finally, later that night when Dad and I were putting in an order at the feed store, low and behold, so was Dean Alexander. This time he made a bad, “We have to stop meeting like this” joke, and my dad all but chased him out of the store with a super gruff, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  Which left me wondering...was part of my undatability the fact that my dad was slightly on the terrifying side?