Deception

by Stacy Claflin

  "What would you like to drink?" the waiter asked me.

  "I...uh...I'll have what he's having." I looked at Cliff. My face burned though I doubted anyone could tell through all of the makeup.

  I wanted to bang my head against the table. And to think that Brooke had been so sure that we would hit it off so well. After tonight, he would probably find any excuse to avoid me while he was staying with Brooke's family.

  When the waiter had walked away and everyone else started talking to each other, Cliff smiled at me and said, "Brooke told me how beautiful you are but you are even more stunning than can be described with words."

  "Well, I don't usually look like this. In fact, I usually blend in so much that people don't take note of me." I wanted to smack myself. Why had I admitted that to him? He probably had girls crawling all over him at all times.

  "I would have taken note of you," he said. "You are stunning and it's something that mort...most people are too selfish to see. People just don't understand true beauty. They can't see beyond what those fashion magazines tell them is attractive."

  "That's true," I said. "If you don't look like you just stepped out of one of those magazines, people aren't interested in you at all."

  "I think it's admirable that you haven't gotten sucked into all of that. It appears to me that you're very confident in who you are as a person. That is a trait to be truly treasured," he said with a smile.

  "Admirable? I haven't heard that one before. Your cousin is into fashion and all of that and you trusted her opinion of me."

  "My cousin? Oh right, Brooke. She loves fashion and making people look beautiful, but she isn't shallow. She sees people and she is able to bring out their best," he said looking directly at me. "Even when they don't see it for themselves."

  I wondered how it was that he seemed so familiar to me. I had never seen him before, yet I felt that he was the answer that I had been searching for. He hadn't even been taken aback when I said that I had missed him. How could I have missed him? I didn't even know that he existed, until Brooke suggested that we go on this date.

  The waiter was back with the drinks and was ready to take our order. I sighed, as I hadn't even looked at the menu and had never been to this fancy restaurant before.

  Cliff leaned close to me, "Don't worry, I'll order for you. I know a dish that you will love!"

  "Have you been here before?" I asked.

  "I'm familiar with French food," he said. "Will you let me order for you?"

  I smiled, "Sure." I was probably a lot better off letting him choose than taking my chances guessing from the unfamiliar names on the menu. I'd never been to a restaurant before that didn't even offer a description of the food on the menu.

  As everyone was ordering their food, I started looking at Cliff's majestic features again and felt my heart speed up. I had never met a guy who held any visual interest for me, and I was completely overwhelmed with the pull that I felt toward Cliff.

  After everyone had ordered their food, Cliff said, "Maybe we should talk to the others at the table. We don't want people to think that we're snobs."

  I laughed. "I've never cared what people think of me but sure, we can talk to the others."

  He winked at me and turned to talk to two of the guys sitting next to him. I turned toward the girls, who hadn't noticed me paying attention to them yet.

  "I had no idea she was so beautiful," Emma whispered.

  "I knew she was pretty beneath all the boring clothes," Amanda said. "But I had no idea that she was freaking gorgeous!"

  "Do you think she'll want to stay friends with us?" Emma asked.

  "I doubt that she's going to suddenly start hanging out with Natalie and her friends," Amanda replied. "She isn't going to drop her brains just because she's hot now. She may just not like the attention and just keep wearing her boring clothes and no makeup."

  "Or she could start raiding Natalie's closet and hanging out with those guys," Emma said. "Tanner really wants her to join the track team. This could be the beginning of a new life for Lexi."

  "Why are you suddenly so insecure?" Amanda asked.

  "Come on, Amanda! The three of us have been BFFs since middle school and this could change everything."

  "She is still Alexis," Amanda insisted. "She's not going to become superficial and rude."

  "You guys look beautiful!" I said loudly. "Why didn't you ever tell me that it's so much fun to dress up?"

  Emma rolled her eyes, "You know how many times we told you! You've always refused to get dressed up!"

  "You should have tried harder!" I joked. "You guys look stunning! I really never knew that it could be this much fun."

  "Did you know that everyone at the table has been talking about you two?" Amanda asked me.

  "Really?" I asked. "What are they saying?"

  "What do you think?" Emma asked. "Everyone is in shock at how you look. Not to mention how hot Cliff is."

  "Seriously, Alexis, do you realize how sexy he is?" Amanda asked, fanning herself. "He's hotter than the guys in the magazines. I don't blame you for staring at him the whole time."

  "But you look every bit his equal," Emma added. I thought that I detected some jealousy in her tone.

  "Everyone at the table is talking about us like that?" I asked in disbelief. There were seven couples at our table. I couldn't believe that we were the topic of conversation for all those people.

  "Get used to it," Amanda said. "Just wait until we get to the dance, because everyone there will be saying the same things. You always try to blend in and tonight is going to be the exact opposite. You two are going to be the biggest topic of discussion."

  "We'll see," I said, hoping that there wouldn't be too much attention on me.

  "You will see," Emma said, again sounding jealous.

  I was glad when the meal arrived, because it gave me a chance to spend some more time looking at Cliff. I couldn't believe how much I was drawn to him; it was so unlike me. But then again, he was so unlike any other guy that I had ever met.

  When I took the first bite, I thought I was in heaven. Not only did it taste phenomenal, but it was very familiar. It was as if I had eaten it many times before, but I had never even heard of it.

  As we were leaving the restaurant to get back into the limo, I was actually starting to look forward to the attention that Brooke and Amanda insisted I was going to receive at the dance. My heart felt like a cluster of fluttering butterflies. This was going to be the best night of my life.

  I blushed when Cliff took my hand to help me into the limo, and I kept my attention on him for the entire ride to the school dance.

  We let the other couples get out of the limo before us. They had all run through the gym doors before we were even out of the car.

  "What a nice night," I commented. "It's so quiet out here."

  "It's nice, but you are much lovelier," he said, smiling.

  I blushed and was glad that it was just dark enough that he probably didn't see it.

  "What was that?" he asked, looking serious all of a sudden.

  "What?" I asked, but before I could say another word I heard it too. "Oh no," I sighed.

  "You know what it is?" he asked me.

  "Yes. Let's head inside quickly," I replied. I knew that sound anywhere. It was the crows headed our way.

  "I see them," he said. "Brooke told me that you were having issues with crows chasing you."

  "I was hoping that they would stay away tonight," I said. "Let's just go in before we have to worry about them."

  "If you don't mind, I would like to see them," he said.

  I groaned quietly. "They're just ugly loud crows."

  He wrapped an arm around my shoulder and said, "It will only take a minute, and I want to see these crows for myself."

  We looked at the sky for a moment until those nasty crows started flying overhead. Other kids around us began complaining about the crows and started heading inside. They were smart.

  The flock was no
w circling overhead, and the wind from their flapping was causing Cliff's hair to move around. My hair would not have budged in a hurricane with all of the styling products that Brooke had used.

  One by one, the crows looked down and began screeching at me. I knew they were cawing at me and not Cliff. I desperately wanted to go inside and get away from them.

  Cliff took his arm from my shoulder and raised both hands high into the air, saying very loudly, "Go! Be gone!"

  Suddenly, all of the birds stopped their shrieking and in the blink of an eye, they flew away in the direction from which they came.

  I stepped back and stared at him. "How did you do that? Why did they obey you?" I couldn't believe it.

  "I have a way with animals," he said. "Let's go in and see how the gym has been decorated."

  I hadn't thought of the gym being anything other than a gym, and was suddenly curious to see what it looked like. I vaguely recalled hearing talk around school about an elaborate decorating plan.

  Cliff took my hand and we walked into the gym. I was amazed at what I saw. It was no longer the ultra-bright gym where Natalie played volleyball. It was an undersea wonderland. The walls were decorated to look like water, bubbles and sea life. All kinds of glittery decorations hung from above.

  It felt very magical and I felt as if I had indeed entered a new world.

  "Very nice," Cliff said. "It's amazing what high schoolers can accomplish when they set their minds to it!"

  "That's for sure," I said. "My Honors Club would have a lot more members if they put this much effort into their grades!"

  "Alexis Ferguson!" came a voice from my right. "Is that really you?"

  I turned to see Sydney, who was Natalie's loud and annoying best friend. I faked a smile and said, "Sydney, how nice to see you! Meet my date, Cliff."

  "Oh my gosh, Alexis!" Sydney shrieked. "You look gorgeous! Now I believe that you're Natalie's sister. Why have you dressed so horribly all these years? Nice job with your date--what a hottie!" she said, winking at Cliff.

  I repressed my urge to slap her and I heard something shatter behind us.

  "What was that?" Sydney exclaimed. "I think a light bulb just burst! I hope we don't have a replay of that one volleyball practice!"

  "I see my friends over by the food table," I told Sydney. "Cliff and I are going to go join them. See you around!" I grabbed Cliff's hand and nearly dragged him away. "Sorry about that. She's my sister's annoying and low-IQ friend."

  Cliff laughed. "Don't worry. I didn't think that she was associated with you!"

  As we made our way to the food table, which was only half way across the gym, we were stopped on three separate occasions by people who could not believe that it was me. We were stopped by someone who had to meet Cliff because she had never seen someone so gorgeous outside of the movies before.

  "Maybe people will leave us alone if we just start dancing," he suggested.

  I gulped. I knew that we were going to a dance but I hadn't thought about the actual dancing part of it. I had no rhythm had no idea how to dance.

  "I should warn you that I don't know how to dance," I said.

  "I have no doubt that once you warm up, you will be a fine dancer," he told me.

  "Don't hold your breath!"

  "You are amazing and I know you've been surprising yourself all evening," he said. "This will be no different. You just have to let go of being reserved and have fun. That's what it's all about."

  "I'll try," I said.

  We walked to the dance floor, and at first I was as stiff as a board. I started focusing on the music and then I got lost in Cliff's eyes. Everything around me melted away and before I knew it, I was dancing and having fun.

  "What did I tell you?" he asked, smiling. "You are a natural!"

  I smiled back at him, "It's easy to dance with you!" I felt that I could do anything when I looked into his eyes. I couldn't get over the feeling that I was where I belonged at last.

  After a while, I started to feel tired. I had no idea that dancing was so much work! I was having a great time, but I was also getting a workout!

  "Let's get something to drink," I suggested.

  "That's a wonderful idea!" he said. As soon as we stopped dancing, I noticed that a lot of people were watching us and it startled me. I was definitely not used to being the center of any kind of attention.

  Again, it took us a long time to reach our destination because so many people stopped us to talk. It seemed that no one could believe how great I looked and everyone wanted to know who my handsome date was.

  At the drink table, Amanda and Emma ambushed me and pulled me off to the side.

  "Everyone is talking about you!" Emma exclaimed. "Everyone!"

  "I told you!" Amanda said. "Seriously, they are talking about you more than any of the royalty court! I wonder what this will do you for your social status," Amanda said.

  "I wonder what this will do for our social status!" Emma said, laughing. "Best friends of the newest popular girl."

  Amanda rolled her eyes. "Emma, really!"

  "I heard people say that they were going to vote for you and Cliff for homecoming king and queen," Emma told me.

  "You did?" Amanda asked. "I didn't hear anyone say that."

  "That's because you were too busy dancing with your date," Emma said. "Chase and I hate dancing, so we are able to talk to everyone and get all the dirt."

  "Of course you did."

  "As interesting as all of this is," I said. "We won't make king and queen because I'm not a senior and he doesn't even go here."

  "You could be Princess of the Junior Class!" Emma said with a smirk.

  "You do realize that Hailey Adams would hate us all forever," Amanda pointed out.

  I wondered how it was possible for my two best friends to be so aware of all of this social stuff, while I was completely clueless.

  "I hadn't thought of that," Emma said. "Hailey is downright evil when people get in the way of what she wants. We'll have to come up with a plan before we end up in a dumpster--or worse!"

  "Emma, could you be any more dramatic?" I asked.

  "Didn't you hear what she did to that freshman the first week of school who took her parking spot?"

  Cliff appeared by my side and said, "I have no doubt that Alexis here can handle anything that comes her way." He turned to me, "Would you like to dance again?"

  "I would love to," I said, taking his hand. "I'll talk to you guys later!"

  We danced the night away and I knew that I was going to be very sore the next day. At least it would give me a good excuse to lay low and catch up on my studies. Just when I thought that I couldn't dance another moment longer, the music stopped and someone announced that the tickets had been counted and the royalty winners were about to be announced.

  "My sister will be crowned Sophomore Class Princess," I told Cliff.

  "From the sounds of it you could be crowned for the Junior Class," he said, winking at me.

  "Doubtful," I told him. "Aside from tonight, I'm a nobody at school. I don't get sucked into the popularity games at all. I spend my time preparing for college."

  "I'm glad that you don't concern yourself with what others think," he said. "That's an important trait for a good leader to have."

  "Leader?" I asked. "I'm not looking to be a leader unless someday I become a judge. I'm much more interested in being a CSI or even an attorney. I love the idea of bringing the bad guys down."

  "You really will make a great leader."

  Was he deaf? I wasn't looking to be a leader.

  They were beginning to make the royalty announcements, so we turned our attention to that. First, they announced the freshmen royalty.

  When they announced the Sophomore royalty, I was not surprised to hear my sister's name, but I clapped really loud for her anyway. I knew that she had worked hard to earn the votes.

  "We have an interesting turn of events for the Junior Class royalty," the announcer said. "There has been a tie fo
r princess. I'm told that this has never happened before! There's only one tiara so we'll have to figure out a way to break the tie, what do you say?"

  The crowd started yelling and cheering. I laughed to myself because it was hard for me to believe that people could get this worked up over something so silly.

  He called Hailey Adams, which came as no surprise because she was the expected winner.

  "Now for the other winner! Alexis Ferguson, come on up!" shouted the announcer as the crowd went wild again.

  "Go on up," Cliff whispered to me. It was at that moment that I realized the announcer had said my name. I knew that I had been receiving attention all night, but I really did not believe that my name had been called! I didn't want to go on stage and my feet seemed glued to the floor.

  "Come on up, Alexis!" shouted the announcer again.

  Cliff put his arm through mine and walked me to the stage. He helped me up the first step and then I was on my own to walk the rest of the way. I slowly walked up the stairs and to the middle of the stage, next to the announcer and a very irritated Hailey. The lights were insanely bright and everyone was screaming like crazy. It didn't feel real at all.

  The announcer did a double take when he saw me and said to the crowd, "I think we have a winner here! But it's not up to me, it's up to you guys! You're the students here! Let's applaud and scream to choose the winner."

  "I don't know who you think you are, Alexis," Hailey hissed at me. "I have worked my whole life for this. I have been Princess every year and next year I am going to be Homecoming Queen!"

  "Believe me," I hissed back. "None of this was my idea. If everyone would have left me alone, I'd be in my room doing homework right now."

  "You'd better hope that you don't win," she warned me.

  "Be sure to yell and clap as loud as you can for the Princess of your choice!" the announcer told the crowd.

  "You're nothing," Hailey whispered in my ear. "You do not deserve this at all and I can't believe that I'm even sharing this stage with you!"

  "You definitely live up to your reputation," I muttered, loud enough for her to hear.

  "You better watch your back because when you least expect it, I'm going to get you!"