“Now this is what I call a party bus!” I said, giving Michael a fist bump.
“I’m glad you like it!” He grinned, looking pleased with himself.
I was thoroughly impressed and felt like a real VIP, even though the bus wasn’t just for the two of us.
Since it would take too much time to make the numerous different stops to pick kids up from their respective homes, the plan was for us all to meet up at Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen where we’d have dinner, and then all head to prom on the party bus from there.
On the way to the restaurant, Michael popped open a bottle of cold sparkling apple cider. He filled a red plastic cup with bubbly and handed it to me, and then filled one for himself.
Michael raised his cup for a toast. “To the best night of our lives!”
I tapped my cup against his. “Cheers!”
* * *
Prom was held at the exclusive Royal Crest Country Club. People arrived by every mode of transportation imaginable: limousines, tricked-out SUVs, souped-up sports cars, tractor-trailer cabs, pickup trucks, old schools and even motorcycles.
Maybe I’m biased, but I think #TeamDeanna had the best prom entrance of the night. There were about forty of us in total, and we arrived to prom like true rock stars. Everyone outside the venue paused and stared at the colossal black bus with party lights across the top; the looks on their faces as we filed off the bus were priceless. People did double-and triple-takes, because as a whole; the so-called nerds, dorks, band geeks, slackers, freaks, loners, losers, outcasts, burnouts and theater geeks had all cleaned up extremely well, and we looked good!
I had already gotten tons of comments on my dress, and Kristen, April and Trish were all wearing different colors and variations of the same frilly party dress with a thigh-high split, which I thought was really cute.
“We look so hot, it should be illegal,” I said to my girls as we strutted our stuff down the red carpet.
“I know, right?” April giggled, and we started clowning around, taking pictures of one another with our camera phones.
Inside, the prom committee had done an awesome job on the decorations.
The theme for the prom was “An Evening in Paradise” and the colors were red, black and silver. Balloons floated underfoot, and the ballroom was showered in pink mood lighting, which made it look like an enchanted Mediterranean paradise.
Ms. Franklin, the school secretary, stood behind a decorated table by the main entrance. She was all dolled up in a navy blue sequined dress, and had on more makeup than I had ever seen her wear. She greeted us with a cheerful “Welcome to prom!” and then gave us each a ballot to cast our votes for prom royalty.
I voted for Chad for prom king, but for some unknown reason, my legs felt like noodles when I checked the box next to my own name.
After casting our votes, Michael grabbed my hand and we headed straight to the dance floor.
The campaign was over, and it was out of my hands at that point. There was nothing left to do but relax, have fun and create beautiful prom memories.
Fourteen
AUBREY GARRETT
I’d been looking forward to senior prom for years, and had envisioned that my night would be this storybook-perfect fairy-tale event, but that vision had evaporated and turned to dust by the time our stretch Hummer limousine finally made it to the Royal Crest Country Club.
Julian’s food allergies had caused his lips, tongue and head to swell to twice their normal size, and he had knots on his face the size of golf balls.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go get some medical attention?” I practically pleaded with Julian.
He smiled as best as he could, and said, “No, I should be okay in about an hour. I’ve waited so long for a date with you, nothing is going to ruin this night for me, not even allergies.”
I rolled my eyes and sighed. Great. It was just my luck that my perfect dream date and potential boyfriend looked like an alien. I shuddered just thinking about what our prom pictures were going to look like.
The atmosphere was festive from the minute we walked in the door. I was anxious to get the party started, as we all were, but the first order of business was to cast our votes for prom royalty.
While waiting in line to receive my ballot, I checked out what some of the other girls were wearing. I counted at least ten girls who were wearing the same strapless fuchsia dress with rhinestones across the bodice. In fact, it was the same dress that Kimberly was wearing, which made me feel so bad for my friend, but that’s the chance you take when you buy a dress off the rack.
Other looks ranged from Hollywood glamour to hood-rat chic. The hood-rat chic category consisted of dresses that were too short, too tight, too tacky, too revealing or a combination of all the above. Several girls were riding that fine line between sexy and trashy, wearing risqué dresses that showed all their assets.
The girl standing in line in front of me was on point, though. I admired her black mermaid-style dress so much that I tapped her on the shoulder and said, “I love your dress!”
When the girl turned around, I saw that it was Judy Reeves, minus the dental braces and the acne.
“Thanks, Aubrey,” she said with a wink. “You don’t look so bad yourself!”
I’d only seen Judy once or twice from a distance since that disastrous meltdown she’d had at her own party, but tonight she looked so amazing I almost thought that it was a completely different person. Judy’s hairstyle was trendy, her makeup was flawless and that dress she was wearing showed that Jessica Rabbit didn’t have a thing on her.
“Wait, let me get a picture of two of the prom-queen nominees,” Mia said, and snapped a picture as Judy and I stood side by side holding our voting ballots. Standing there with pen in hand, I couldn’t help but notice that Judy had checked the box next to my name and even circled “Aubrey Garrett” for emphasis.
“You’re voting for me?” I asked, incredulous.
“Sure, why not?” Judy said happily. “Maybe it’s just me, but I think it’s bad sportsmanship to vote for yourself.”
That was news to me, because that was exactly what I had done. Manny Gomez got my vote for prom king instead of Chad, but I had definitely voted for myself.
I gave Judy a warm smile and said, “Thank you,” thinking that she really wasn’t so bad after all.
* * *
My plan was to stash Julian away at a table and leave him there until his face returned to normal, but he wasn’t having it. That boy stuck to me like Velcro and barely let me out of his sight. I went out on the dance floor to party with my friends, and Julian was right there. I went to the restroom to make sure my hair and makeup were still intact, and when I came out Julian was right outside the door waiting for me.
Chad and I were at the same place at the same time, so it was inevitable that we would run into each other, and of course, Julian was right by my side when we did.
“What’s good, Elephant Man?” Chad asked Julian with a laugh.
“Not much, just chilling with your ex-girlfriend and showing her the best time she’s had in years,” Julian replied, cool as a cucumber, and looking just as lumpy as one, too.
Julian showing me the best time I’ve had in years was far from the truth, but I kept my mouth shut because Chad didn’t need to know otherwise.
I hated to admit it, but Chad looked rather spiffy in his charcoal-gray suit and black dress shirt.
It was a completely different tux from the one we had picked out for him to wear a few months ago, which was a good thing, because otherwise he and Julian would have looked like twins.
“So are you here by yourself, or did you bring a date?” I asked Chad.
“Me and a couple of the guys are hanging out, but I see you didn’t waste any time replacing me with this knockoff scrub,” Chad
said, referring to Julian.
“Hey, I’m nobody’s scrub,” Julian said, getting in Chad’s face. “And it’s not my fault that you were too stupid to recognize what a good girl you had.”
Chad’s jaw clenched the way it does when he’s ticked off. I stepped between the two of them because they had a history of getting into scuffles that quickly escalated to the point of trying to literally take each other’s heads off.
While I stood there like a referee trying to diffuse the situation, Principal Ellerbee walked onto the stage at the front of the room with a microphone in his hand.
“All right everybody, the votes are in, and it’s time for the coronation of the prom royalty. Will the nominees for king and queen please come to the stage?”
I breathed a sigh of relief and pushed Chad away from Julian, and toward the stage. It was finally time to find out if I would be presented with the crown that I had been clawing, scratching and fighting so hard for, for so long.
DEANNA PARKER
Judy Reeves had a certain glow about her that I’ve never seen before. Who knew that she actually had a killer body under all those grandma clothes she usually wore? I sure didn’t. Seeing Judy on a day-to-day basis, you’d just assume it would take one heckuva fairy godmother to make her look special, but I was blown away by her transformation.
I couldn’t put my finger on it, but there was something different about Aubrey, too. Ever since the day we’d been forced to call a truce in the principal’s office, she had seemed like a changed person. Her aura was different, and she appeared to be kinder, gentler and a lot less bitchy.
But what let me really know that things weren’t the same with Aubrey was when I walked up on stage and as soon as I got up there, she looked me over from head to toe and said, “My, don’t you look fabulous tonight!” The compliment stunned me so much, all I could do was mutter, “Likewise...”
It was a weird moment, only because I never imagined that Aubrey and I could ever be so cordial to each other, and when she grabbed my hand as the principal prepared to announce the winners, I wondered who this person really was, and what she had done with the old Aubrey Garrett.
Fifteen
AUBREY GARRETT
The night had reached its most climactic moment.
I stood between Deanna and Judy and grabbed each of their hands, because their nervousness was making me nervous, and suddenly I was the most anxious I’d ever been in my entire life.
“The race for prom queen was the closest it has ever been in Brookfield school history,” Principal Ellerbee said. “In fact it was so close that the winner won by one single vote...”
Everyone gasped in unison, and then the room got so quiet, I was sure that everyone could hear my heartbeat thumping in my chest.
“And this year’s prom queen is none other than...AUBREY GARRETT!”
Glitter confetti fell down around us like snow, and my supporters went completely wild. They were all on their feet, jumping up and down like maniacs. I was happy that my team was so thrilled that we had won, but personally I was just relieved that it was all over.
Victory was mine, but it wasn’t nearly as sweet as I’d thought it would be.
Up until the second my name was called, I had imagined that I would be overwhelmed with a sense of complete, unbridled joy. But when it actually happened, shame was the only emotion I felt.
During the campaign period, I exhibited some rather unladylike behavior, and had sunk to a level that I wasn’t proud of. I had done some sneaky, backhanded things to win a crown that probably wasn’t worth much more than a measly hundred bucks or so. Chad won prom king, so he was the one whose duty it was to coronate me with a huge glittery tiara, a scepter and a satin sash that said PROM QUEEN.
“Congratulations,” Chad said, kissing me ever-so-sweetly on the cheek. It would have been a very special moment if everything had gone the way I’d planned it, but things had gone so far left, it was hard to stand there pretending that they were right. Chad’s kiss had been just for show, and his congratulations seemed hollow and insincere.
Deanna was gracious enough to clap for me, and looked as though she was taking it all in stride, but one look at Judy’s face and I could tell that she was devastated. Her nomination may have been a joke to some, but the possibility of being crowned prom queen had meant the world to her. It was a chance for her to finally be “seen” by the kids who never took the time to notice her before, unless they were making her the butt of some mean-spirited prank or joke.
All Judy wanted was to be accepted, admired and deemed worthy of friendship. She had come alive during the campaign. The nomination had given her hope, and she took the opportunity and seized it with both hands.
“Well, Aubrey, what do you have to say?” Principal Ellerbee asked, shoving the microphone in front of me. I tried to look out over the crowd, but the overhead lights were shining so brightly, all I could see were shadows.
“Thanks to everyone who voted for me, and even those who didn’t because this whole process has been a huge learning experience for me,” I said. “I won by a single vote, but what you all don’t know is that more than likely, it was Judy’s vote for me that tipped the scale in my favor. You know, Judy really is a terrific person, and she deserves this more than I do. So, without further ado, I hereby forfeit this title and bestow it to Miss Judy Reeves!”
Judy’s mouth dropped open and tears gushed from her eyes as I bestowed her with the sash, scepter and crown.
#TeamAubrey wasn’t entirely happy with my decision. People started yelling out things like “WHAT?!” “No way!” and “This is a joke, right?”
A low chorus of boos started somewhere in the room, but someone in another section of the room started the slow clap, which eventually picked up speed. It was hard to tell if the applause was genuine or sarcastic, but it didn’t matter to me. I had done the right thing at the right moment, and that was all that mattered.
* * *
“At this time, I ask the king and queen to take to the dance floor for the royal dance,” Principal Ellerbee said.
Judy was giddy and radiant as she and Chad danced together for the king and queen dance. For the rest of the night, random people kept coming up to me commenting on what a good deed I’d done, including Chad.
“That was a great thing you did for Judy, and I am so proud of you for that,” he told me. “It looks like Aubrey Garrett is finally growing up.”
I laughed. “Yeah, I guess so, huh?”
“So does that mean you have room enough in your heart to forgive me for being a jerk these last few months?” he asked, giving me flirty, puppy-dog eyes.
I sighed and thought it over for a few seconds. “Sure, Chad, I can forgive you. I won’t forget, but we can be friends, or at least cordial whenever we see each other.”
“Friends? I was hoping we could get back to being more than that,” Chad said, looking as though he wanted to kiss me.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. What nerve! I knew that Chad would want me back sooner or later, but I had no idea it would be that soon. What did he think I was, some kind of toy that he could pick up and put down whenever the mood struck him?
The old Aubrey would have gotten ignorant and indignant, but I just said, “Yes, Chad, just friends. We’ve been tied at the hip and going back and forth with these games for too long. I’m over it, and I just want to do me for a while.”
“Oh, so you’re picking him over me?” Chad asked, turning to look at Julian, who was watching us from a respectful distance.
“No, I’m not picking Julian over you. I’m not picking anyone. For now, I want to fly solo and see how high I can soar on my own. Not as the girlfriend of Chad Campbell, or as the daughter of Steven and Jeannette Garrett. Just Aubrey...period.”
“I understand, and I respect that,
” Chad said thoughtfully. “But can I at least get one dance with you tonight?”
All night long the DJ had played salsa, house music, techno, hip-hop, a little bit of country and a little bit of rock-and-roll, but at that moment he slowed the tempo down with a John Legend ballad.
With Julian standing in the wings watching and scratching at the hives on his face, Chad and I danced our very last dance at Brookfield High.
* * *
One of the biggest lessons that came from my whole prom experience is that perfection doesn’t exist. You can aim for it and hope for it, but in the end, things are going to turn out how they were meant to turn out, so it’s best to just relax and enjoy the ride.
Prom didn’t turn out to be nearly as perfect as I had planned it, but at least I had one crazy story to tell my future kids and grandkids.
Sixteen
DEANNA PARKER
I was robbed! That was the first thing that came to mind after hearing that Aubrey had won prom queen. No one likes to lose, even if it is by one single vote. But I got over it fairly quickly, because I agreed with Aubrey’s decision. If any one of us actually deserved to win, it was Judy.
After the nominations came out, the entire school divided into two camps. It was either #TeamAubrey or #TeamDeanna. Few people even considered joining #TeamJudy, which was unfortunate because she ran her campaign with the skill and precision of a seasoned politician, but without all the trickery and negativity.
So in the end, justice is better than injustice. At least that’s what I like to think, anyway.
Another thing that made the loss easier to accept was that I went from underdog whose chances of winning were considered very slim to a true contender. I may not have won the ultimate prize, but it was still a win in my book. I had been pushed to venture outside of my comfort zone and in the process, accidentally started a movement that I hoped would continue long after I had left Brookfield High. #TeamDeanna had been heard. Our presence had been felt, and no one was going to forget anytime soon that we had managed to change the fabric of Brookfield for the better.
Prom Ever After Page 24