The Sea Taketh (Alex Singer)

by Teresa Rae

  “Because it’s a nonissue,” he says, kissing me before heading to the stage for his crown.

  Vanessa beats him to the stage. She arrogantly accepts her crown and a bouquet of flowers while waving with a constipated smile on her face. Christian’s face is stoic as the student body president stands on his tiptoes to put the crown on his head.

  “The Homecoming King is Jackson Powers,” Principal Irons continues.

  Jackson struts to the stage, proud as a peacock. He smirks as he passes Christian, arrogantly accepting his crown.

  “And for our Homecoming Queen, I am proud to present our very own cover girl, Alex Singer!”

  The principal smiles as I walk up the stairs to the stage.

  The crowd cheers, “Al-ex! Al-ex! Al-ex!”

  I can feel my face turn red from embarrassment as I am crowned and given my flowers. Cameras flash, lighting up the gym. I put a fake smile on my face, holding tightly to my flowers to keep my hands from shaking. There are just too many people watching.

  “Our Homecoming Court will now dance the traditional waltz,” Principal Irons says.

  I cringe when I hear this. I don’t know how to waltz, and I definitely don’t want to waltz with Jackson. However, I can quickly tell that he doesn’t feel the same way about me. He takes my hand and wraps it around his arm as he leads me from the stage onto the dance floor. I frantically glance at Christian. His eyes are on me while Vanessa pulls him down the stairs.

  The crowd moves to create a space for the four of us to dance. Jackson holds me too close as he leads me around the gym. It is embarrassing and uncomfortable.

  “Congratulations, Alex,” he says. “There isn’t any question that you deserve to be Homecoming Queen.”

  “I don’t think Vanessa agrees with you,” I say, trying to waltz with him. I know the dance is being recorded by practically everyone and don’t want to look stupid for eternity.

  “Don’t mind her,” he says dismissively before clearing his throat. “I would like to invite you to a celebration party at my estate. My parents have organized live entertainment and food.”

  “Jackson, you know I’m dating Christian,” I say, still trying to smile for the cameras.

  “Just go on a date with me, and I’ll show you that you’re with the wrong guy,” he replies.

  “Why are you wasting your time on me when the school is filled with girls who want to date you?” I say, looking around.

  “You and I are destiny. I’m the Homecoming King and you are my queen.”

  Why is it guys think they get decide what my destiny is? I drop my hands from his shoulders. “You and I really aren’t suited for each…”

  I’m silenced as Jackson forcefully kisses me. I pull away and wiggle out of his arms. Furious, I slap him across the face.

  “Jackson Powers, you are a pig!” I shout.

  Theory #7 is upgraded to Fact # 9 – Jackson is a meddling jerk!

  Proof – He kissed me in front of everyone to try to get me to date him!

  I turn to leave. He grabs my arm. His grip is vice-like and hurts.

  “I just want a chance!” he retorts, his eyes pleading with me.

  Refusing to speak to him, I painfully pull away my arm.

  He grabs a hold of my dress to stop me from leaving. The ancient cloth can’t take the strain. Antique lace and beads scatter across the gym floor as my dress is torn down the front. I look down to find the bodice completely gone. I’m standing in front of the entire school in my transparent, lace bra. I immediately cross my arms over my chest, horrified.

  “Alex, I…” Jackson stutters as he stares at me.

  Christian is immediately at my side, protectively placing himself between me and Jackson. Saying nothing, Christian covers me with his tuxedo jacket. Then, he punches Jackson in the face.

  Cameras frenzy, and I’m blinded by the flashes. Being completely mortified, I only have one thought. RUN! I am grateful for Peggy’s half slip and Christian’s tuxedo jacket as the remnants of my dress are strewn across the gym floor. Holding tightly onto the jacket, I sprint out the side door and into the night.

  I’m not thinking clearly as I run. I’m beyond humiliated, crying as my legs carry me away from the school. The cold night stings my face and legs. I ignore it as I continue to run in the dark. It isn’t until I came to a familiar rock that I realize where I am. I quickly move the rock and crawl into my empty cache, sealing the entrance behind me.

  In the safety of my sanctuary, I curl into a ball, and cry myself hoarse.

  I don’t know how long I’ve laid there when I hear voices in the wind outside. The voices come very close. I realize that they are yelling my name. Not wanting to be found, I remain motionless and silent in my emotionally numb state. The voices become fainter and fainter before eventually silencing.

  I begin to shiver, but I don’t bother to try to warm myself. I feel so violated that I am physically paralyzed. I am so completely private about my life that I feel utterly exposed.

  A shuffling noise sounds by the cave’s entrance.

  “She should be here, but she’s not.” I can barely hear Christian’s voice through the cave walls.

  “Maybe it fell off?” Henrik suggests.

  “No, it doesn’t make sense. It’s here, but not here.”

  My mind doesn’t have time to make sense of what he’s talking about before I hear the rock being moved from the entrance. A slight breeze enters my cave, making me tremble harder.

  “Sea cave, yes, a sea cave,” Marjory’s easily recognizable cackle is heard. “Smart, smart beauty!”

  “Alexandra?” Christian whispers in the dark.

  I start crying at the sound of my name. Muffled sobs break my silence.

  “We’ve found her! Call Thomas and let him know we’re on our way!” Christian orders in the dark.

  A few moments later, I find myself wrapped in his warm arms. “You’re freezing,” he says. “We have to get you home.”

  I am passed through the tunnel to Sven and Henrik. Once outside, I’m returned to Christian’s arms.

  “We’ve been so worried!” he says as he carries me.

  I simply cry into his neck.

  When we come to the street, I am mortified to see cars surrounding my house, including Officer Smith’s. I don’t want to see anyone and I don’t want anyone to see me. I hide my face in Christian’s chest.

  Gramps meets us on the porch. “Where did you find her?” he asks as he quickly opens the door.

  “Sea cave,” Sven answers.

  Gramps nods in understanding as I notice the house is full of friends. They all breathe a sigh of relief as we enter.

  Christian carries me to my room and gently places me on the bed. He looks intently in my eyes, kisses my forehead, and leaves as my room fills with women. Mrs. Marsh, who is just an older version of her daughter, and Jen help me change into my flannel pajamas, Peggy brushes the sand out of my hair, and Marjory checks me for injuries before wrapping me with a heated quilt.

  “That Jackson Powers deserved what he got!” Peggy shakes her head. “Well, I never! Ripping off a girl’s dress!”

  “You should have seen the Pedersens,” Jen laughs. “I’ve never seen such a brawl. Jackson’s friends jumped in and got the snot beat out of them.”

  “I just hope the boys don’t get in trouble,” Mrs. Marsh says. “Dr. Powers wants to press charges.”

  “What?” I finally speak.

  “Yes, he wants to charge Christian for assault and have the boys deported.”

  “Good luck on that!” Jen shakes her head. “There’s like a hundred videos of Jackson assaulting Alex first.”

  “He claims it was completely an accident, and Jackson’s cliff link got caught on the dress, ripping it,” Mrs. Marsh explains.

  I swallow my fear and embarrassment for a moment. I jump out of bed and run out the room.

  “Officer Smith,” I say as I hurry down the hallway, determined to make things right. “I want to
give my statement.”

  “Alex, you’ve had a hard night.” Gramps puts an arm protectively around me. “I’ll drive you down to the station in the morning.”

  “No, I want to give the statement right now,” I say.

  Officer Smith nods and pulls a pen out of his pocket. “I’ve seen a recording of the dance, but because of the music in the background, I don’t know what you and Jackson were talking about.”

  “He was asking me out on a date, and I was rejecting him. I have rejected him several times in the past month, and he won’t take no for an answer. Those are his words, not mine. When I turned him down, he kissed me. I slapped him and tried to walk away. He grabbed my arm to stop me. You can see the bruises he left,” I lift my sleeve and show him black marks around my arm. Gramps’ arm tightens around me when he sees the bruises. Christian averts his eyes with a fierce look on his face.

  “When I pulled my arm away,” I continue. “He grabbed my dress to stop me. That’s when the dress tore and Christian punched him. Jackson Powers has been harassing me all year. Anyone who watches the video of the dance can see that he’s the one who assaulted me, and Christian was just trying to stop him.”

  “Do you want to press charges against him?” the officer asks.

  “That depends on whether charges are pressed against the Pedersens,” I respond, not knowing what to do.

  “Press the charges,” Sven says with a scowl on his face. “It might help protect other girls from him in the future.”

  “I don’t want you guys to get arrested,” I say.

  “We won’t,” Henrik says, matter-of-factly.

  “Actually, I’m under orders to put you three in jail until all this is sorted out,” Officer Smith informs them.

  “Jason, is Jackson Powers in jail?” Gramps asks.

  “Well, no…”

  “You have Alex’s statement and you’ve seen the video. How is it that you will arrest the Pedersens and not Jackson? Is it because he’s rich?”

  “Tom, you know that his father plays golf with the county prosecutor.” Officer Smith sighs.

  “Thomas, there’s nothing to worry about,” Henrik says. “We’ve already called our lawyer. He will meet us at the station.”

  “It’s not fair!” Jen snaps from the hallway. “Jackson caused this whole mess and it’s the good guys that get thrown in jail.”

  “They’re not going to throw us in jail,” Sven says.

  “Actually, you will be spending the night behind bars,” the police officer says.

  “No, we won’t,” Henrik says. “We have diplomatic immunity. Our lawyer is coming to simply ensure Alexandra is adequately protected, and Jackson is properly punished.”

  His cell phone beeps, and he looks at it.

  “He’s already there waiting for us. Shall we, Officer Smith? I would like to see Jackson Powers behind bars before morning.”

  “Enjoy your evening, Jason,” Gramps says with a smug smile as the officer goes out the door.

  Christian takes my hand and kisses it before following his cousins into the night, leaving me with a mind full of emotions and worries.

  Fact #10 – There is more to the Pedersens than meets the eye.

  Proof – Diplomatic Immunity?

  7

  Nightmares

  The following week is absolutely terrible. Although they were cleared of all charges, the Pedersens are suspended from school for the week, along with all parties involved in the brawl, including Jackson. Footage of the dance makes it onto the internet and receives thousands and thousands of hits before the week is over. It is humiliating to have my bra flashed to the world, but, thankfully, it was dark and the video footage is poor. Still, the video brings a huge backlash against Jackson and boosts my fame. I was already receiving more fan mail than I could handle, but now I’m getting piles every day. The very worst part of the week is the ridicule at school. Although the teachers, administrators, and majority of the students are supportive of me, Vanessa and her cronies made it their mission to make my life miserable: they put up photos of me in my bra throughout the halls, hang a gigantic bra from the flagpole, and start a rumor that I planned the whole thing for attention.

  I’ve never so grateful for Jen in my life. She drives me to and from school, tells off Vanessa at every turn, and keeps me updated on the Pedersens. Because they’re suspended, they went on vacation. I hope Christian is having a better time than I am, I think, coldly. I resent him for not telling me about the diplomatic immunity and leaving when I need him.

  I am doing some homework on Sunday, when Gramps opens the door.

  “Christian is here to see you,” he says.

  “Tell him to go away because I’m grounded,” I don’t even look up from my book.

  “Alex, don’t be rude.”

  “He hasn’t bothered to call or see me in over a week, and I’m being rude?”

  “I’ve invited him to stay for a slice of apple pie.”

  “Enjoy your pie.” I refuse to join them.

  Gramps walks away, shaking his head.

  * * *

  Monday morning, I leave before the Pedersens are supposed to pick me up. I take the scenic route around the village to school. I am about halfway there when their green convertible catches up to me.

  “Good morning, Alexandra,” Christian says, smiling.

  “Go sit on a sea urchin, Christian!” I don’t bother to look at him.

  Sven and Henrik howl with laughter.

  “Thomas was worried that you left to school on foot,” says Christian.

  I turn into a wooded area, leaving the car behind.

  “Alexandra,” Christian jogs to catch up to me.

  “I can take a hint,” I say, not looking at him. “You were pretty clear that you didn’t want anything to do with me when you didn’t tell me about the diplomatic immunity and then left on your little vacation. You didn’t even bother to call me for a week!”

  “I told you that my father is a civil servant, and I had to go home because my parents wanted to celebrate my birthday with me,” he explains.

  “Another thing you didn’t tell me. I hope you had a nice time. I’ve got to get going if I’m going to be on time for school.”

  “Alexandra, I didn’t want to go.”

  “I get it. I’m an embarrassment as a girlfriend.”

  “What are you talking about?” He blocks my way.

  “You know.”I walk around him. “I’m sure you’ll find someone whose image isn’t tarnished.”

  “Alexandra, how could you possibly believe that?” Christian’s eyes are filled with incredulity.

  “You haven’t given me reason to believe anything else!” I retort before resuming my walk to school.

  Jackson and his friends also return to school. I’m surprised to see they look terrible, even after a week’s worth of healing. They are covered in bruises and cuts. Jackson glowers at me as I walk past. Both of his eyes are circled with yellow bruises, and his nose is slightly swollen. Christian must have broken his nose when he punched him. The Pedersens definitely won the fight. Only time will tell if it’s enough to convince Jackson to keep his distance.

  It ends up being a lonely day. Jen and Sven have started hanging out nonstop, and because I don’t want anything to do with Christian, I keep my distance. I skip lunch to hide in the library. I’m not there long when I hear footsteps behind me.

  “Christian really wants to talk to you.” Jen finds me behind a bookshelf.

  “That’s nice.” I pick up a stack of books.

  “They really did get called home for the week.”

  “And they don’t have phones in Denmark?” I say.

  “I knew you were grounded,” Christian’s voice causes us to turn around. “I called Thomas every evening to check on you.”

  “He never said a word.” I pick up more books, angry at the both of them.

  “Alexandra, I am really sorry that I wasn’t here when you needed me. I wanted to sta
y but didn’t have the choice. Believe me when I say it would have been much more enjoyable celebrating my birthday with you rather than my family.”

  Jen disappears to give us some privacy.

  “It doesn’t matter. I let my guard down and was humiliated in front of the entire student body. Then to add insult to injury, you proved me right.” I say, putting the books on the return cart. My blood is boiling. I don’t trust easily, and reprimand myself for having been duped by him.

  “In what way?” he asks.

  I turn and look at him. “I was an idiot to think that you were any different from the other jerks in this school. Jen might be impressed with the way you and your cousins fought at the dance, but I’m not. I’m more impressed with Kyle and Dan. They come early to school, skip their lunch period, and leave late to tear these off the walls!”

  I angrily pull a paper out of my backpack and thrust it in his hands. On it is a picture of me with my dress ripped away, my bra exposed. A look of utter humiliation shows on my face. Under my photo is the caption, The True Alex Exposed!

  He immediately crumples it into a ball.

  “Backlash like this is expected with your fame,” he says it like it’s obvious.

  My blood pressure rises at his dismissal of my feelings. I glare at him. “That’s easy for you to say! It’s not you who’s being ridiculed! I can’t believe I was so stupid to fall for your act! You pretended to like me so you could brag to your friends back home that you’ve dated me! Unfortunately I’m not such a hot girlfriend anymore!”

  I hold up an enormous stack of flyers. On each one of them is a terrible photo of me.

  “Here are a few souvenirs for you!” I heave the enormous stack into his arms before zipping up my backpack. “I should have never have dated you! I should have listened to the nagging in my brain that told me to run as far away from you as possible!”

  “Alexandra, I am truly sorry about everything that’s happened. I feel somewhat responsible because you voiced concerns about going to the dance. You must believe me when I say that I never dreamed that Jackson would do what he did!” Christian says, covering the stack of Veronica’s anti-Alex propaganda with his jacket.