I step into my closet and stare at the dress. It's beautiful on the hanger. It would be such a shame to disturb it. I finger the black material. It's so soft, just like I imagine Gavin's hair to be. He's probably on his way to the concert now, wearing a black tee and jeans.
Next to him I would look out of place.
I pull the dress off the hanger and slowly slide it on.
"Need any help?" Kelly calls from my desk.
"I can't get this last bit zipped up." I step out of the closet.
She rushes over to help. "Wow, you look amazing."
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"Thanks." I blush.
She picks up her makeup bag. "You ready?"
"Do I have to answer?"
We both laugh. She manages to rush me out the door with only a quick "See you at the Marriott" to Mom.
The white Hummer limo is waiting out front. It's gorgeous, like an untouched pearl. I've ridden in a few limos before with Mom and Rob, but they've never sparkled as much as this one. Right now the winner is being picked up in a matching limo. He's allowed to bring a couple of buddies along for the ride, too. I wonder what they'll do while Moon Guy is at the prom. They'll probably raid the snack bar and mini fridge, then have the driver cruise around Ocean Drive. Are we expected to go home in separate limos? I don't even want to think about that now.
I wish I had begged management to allow Audrey and Doug to ride with us to the prom, but they were afraid that having anyone else ride with me might compromise my cover.
They don't know that Audrey has known about the contest from day one.
The first thing I do when I get in the Hummer is make sure the window goes up and down, in case I have to vomit.
"This is way cool, huh?" Kelly checks out the stock in the mini fridge.
"Yeah, I wish I could enjoy it."
"Hey, maybe this will help your nerves." She pulls out a bottle and inspects the label.
"Sparkling Grape Juice. I should've known they wouldn't give you the real stuff. Want some?"
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"No, thanks. I don't think I could stomach anything right now."
"Okay, then." She swaps it for a bottled water and takes a sip. "Maybe on the way home."
"If I make it that far, I can have more than sparkling juice."
"Well, don't worry. I'm yours for the whole night. So whatever you need, I'm here."
"Thanks." I loosen the strap on my sandal. "Does this limo double as a hearse? Hope you don't mind riding home with a dead body."
Kelly laughs. "Oh, you're so dramatic."
Hmm, just wait and see.
We motor along the highway at an even pace. Drivers and passengers stare at the limo.
We're neck and neck with a blue Volvo. The man and woman both look over, then start chatting. I know what they're thinking: Who's seated behind those dark windows? I imagine the husband saying, "Maybe it's Madonna or Beyoncé." Then the wife says, "No, honey, it's prom season. It's probably a bunch of high school kids."
They would never guess that it's just me Tere Adams, aka Sweet T, and my makeup artist, Pop-Tart. But what they really don't know is the part that's inside me, the part that can't believe I made it all the way to the prom. Technically I have not made it to the prom yet; we're still five miles away. But if you had asked me six months ago if I was going, I wouldn't have even hesitated to say no. I didn't think it was in the cards for me.
For starters, I
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didn't have any date prospects, and even if I did find someone, my mom's expectations were so high that I'd never make her happy. I had planned to rent a bunch of old horror movies instead, like Carrie and The Slumber Party Massacre, and watch them until the sun came up.
We pull onto Rock Hill Road, and my stomach lurches with every bump. We're a couple of minutes from the Marriott, a couple of minutes from my fate being sealed.
"Someone's got to fix all these potholes," I say to Kelly.
"Yes, where is the commitment to making the city streets better? Didn't the mayor make some speech like that?"
"You mean the time he went on TV in the horrible pink suit preaching about making everyone happy?"
"Something like that." She pops the lid on ajar of peanuts. "There it is!" She points to the huge red Marriott sign like I can't see it.
I am not a coward; I will face the music, I keep telling myself as we wait in line to be dropped off. Of course, I'm a little bummed that I gave up the opportunity to see Gavin, but I know if it's meant to be, it'll happen. Just not now.
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chapter TWENTY-FIVE
All is fine until we pull up to the hotel entrance. The driver gets out of the limo and opens my door. I feel like I'm fused to the leather seats; my legs are weighted down and my arms are made of lead. This is it. Once I step out of this car, there's no going back.
That's when I see Audrey and Doug walking up the steps toward the lobby, trailing behind the rest of their crew. It's reassuring to see Audrey in her beautiful peach dress.
She catches my eye, unloops her arm from Doug's, and rushes over to me.
"You look awesome," she gushes.
"So do you."
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"How was the Hummer?" She runs her hand over the body of the car.
"Great, but it would've been better if you had ridden in it, too."
"Tell me about it; there were twelve of us crammed into a limo half this size."
"Hey, at least you got to travel with the band," I say.
"Ha." She laughs. "I'm glad you haven't lost your sense of humor."
The car behind us beeps. I turn around to make sure it's not the matching Hummer limo.
Nope. Just a two-seater Porsche.
Audrey leans down into the limo, so she's face-to-face with me. "Let me help you out."
"I don't know . . if . . if . . this is such a good idea," I stammer.
"You can do it." She helps pull me to my feet. "You're ready."
Kelly's still seated next to me but is on her cell. She tells the person to hold. "I'll be right behind you, Tere. It'll be great. I'm just firming up some plans."
I walk with Audrey up the lobby steps. Our classmates are filing in and out. Some people I recognize from over the years; others I've never seen before. The one thing they all have in common is their huge smiles. I have to put mine on, too. It's just hard when you don't know what you're up against.
I wonder if Mom and Rob are here already. I don't see them by the entrance. Maybe they're at the bar, filling up.
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I enter the lobby, and that's when it hits me. This is real. I'm at the prom. Many would argue that this is the most important event in their lives so far. The place is magical with its marble floors and winding wrought-iron staircase. A ginormous chandelier hangs from the ceiling like icicles dripping from an evergreen tree in a Christmas greeting card.
I spot a camera as Audrey and I hit the first stair. Ralph, the cameraman, signals for me to come over. He's standing with Craig, the station's roving reporter. I look around for Kelly, but she's nowhere in sight.
"Audrey, will you come with me?" I ask.
"Absolutely." She looks at Doug, who tells her he'll catch up with some of the band members. She clutches my hand and we waltz over to Ralph, who leads us to an outside patio.
"Just want to touch base with you." Ralph sets the camera down on a glass table. "We're still keeping the unveiling under wraps, so we're not interviewing you until after the winner is announced."
I glance around to see if Moon Guy is hiding in the shadows. All I spot is a huge potted plant. "What do I have to say?" I gulp.
"Don't worry; it'll be quick. We'll introduce you. Then you can say something about being Sweet T. About the winning song. About how it feels to have your secret identity revealed." Carlos dangles the cordless mike in front of me.
Ugh, the big reveal. I have to keep reminding myself that everyone 270
likes Sweet T. That even if they're shocked to see me
, Tere, up on the stage, that hopefully they'll get past it. That by the time Monday rolls around and we're back at school, they'll be used to the fact that I'm just another Ridgeland student that just happens to be one of the SLAM DJs. That it will be no big deal.
Audrey clutches my clammy hand. "So what is she supposed to do now?"
Carlos glances at his watch. "You've got about twenty minutes until they close the doors."
"Enough time for me to disappear." I let out a strained laugh. Nobody laughs with me.
"Kidding," I say.
"Okay." Carlos shakes his head. "Jason's already inside. When it's time, he'll say a few words. Then he'll open a sealed envelope and announce the winner onstage. After that we'll call you up and introduce you. Then the winner will perform his song."
"Any hints on what the guy looks like?" Audrey asks.
"Nope," Carlos says, popping the P in "nope." "Cindy has everything under lock and key.
She's around here somewhere, but you won't get a word out of her."
"No way," Ralph agrees. "That lady's tight."
Only Carlos laughs this time.
"Let's do one last mirror check." Audrey pulls my hand and leads me away.
"Watch the time," Carlos yells after me.
"If you need to go find Doug, I don't mind," I tell Audrey.
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"Don't worry, I'll stay with you until you're called up. This is so exciting." She squeezes my hand.
"Yeah, right," I try to add a bit of pep to my voice but end up sounding like a squeaky dog toy.
There's a couple outside the bathroom leaning against the wall. The guy has his arm linked around the girl's waist. She looks up at him and asks, "Do you think Sweet T could go to our school?"
"Doubt it, Jane. I think we would've found out already." The guy laughs.
I hyperventilate. Should I turn back now? Run the other way?
"Yeah, you're right, and there would've been cameras here and bodyguards, too.
Besides, there's no one that looks like a DJ at our school," Jane says.
What does a DJ look like? I peer down at my dress. Maybe I should've worn something more elegant or perhaps more rock star-ish? Should I whip out a pair of sunglasses onstage or sport a diamond-studded tiara?
Audrey opens the bathroom door and pushes me inside. As if she's reading my mind, she whispers, "It's too late to turn back now."
I head straight to the mirror to make sure everything is still in place. Audrey hits the stall. I know if I go in one, I'm not coming out until the night is over.
I lean in close to make sure that no unidentified objects have made their way to my face.
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The bathroom door swings open and I hear someone yell, "Oh, look, Lesbo's here."
Just my luck. I'm in no mood for Stacy's games. She's wearing a tight lime-colored dress that hugs her in the right places. Her hair is piled high like a snow cone. But somehow she pulls the whole thing off. I sneer at her, hoping she'll go away. She doesn't take my hints. Instead, she marches up to the sink next to me, even though there are three other empty ones. She smells like alcohol.
She interrupts the flow of water with her hand so that the water sprays the front of my dress. "Whoops." She cackles.
"What's your problem?" I reach for a paper towel.
She looks me up and down. "Girl, I'm not the one with the problem."
"Could've fooled me." I dab at the front of my dress.
"You've had an attitude since the first time I talked to you." She snaps her gum.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I've never done anything to you."
Audrey steps out of the stall. "Leave Tere alone."
"I knew you had a girlfriend."
Audrey puts her arm around me. "And so?"
The bathroom door flings open again and three cheerleaders stumble in. One girl is propped up by two others. She doesn't look good.
"You're such bitches, lesbos," Stacy says and flies out of there.
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If the cheerleaders weren't gathered around a toilet bowl, they probably would've thought Stacy was talking to them. "Chicken," Audrey calls after her.
"Why did you say that? Now she'll come back with her posse."
"Forget about that idiot. She's too drunk to remember." Audrey holds open the door for me.
"I'm surprised she was allowed out of the house," I say.
Audrey laughs. "Why, because she's such a threat to society?"
"No, because I heard her talking a couple of times and her dad sounds pretty strict."
"Maybe he doesn't want his little princess to turn into a slut."
"Too late." I point to a hotel phone booth in the corner, where we see the back of a person in a lime dress making out with what looks like Frank.
"Gross. I've had enough." Audrey tugs on my arm. "Come on, you're about to meet the man of your dreams."
"Yeah, right." I follow her up the stairs. "Don't be surprised when they call up Sweet T
and I point to you."
"You better not." Audrey elbows me. "Unless he's drop dead gorgeous. Oops, don't tell Doug I said that."
"But let me guess--if he's drop-dead ugly, he's all mine."
"That's what friends are for." She laughs. "Now come on, let's have some fun." She pulls me toward Doug, who's standing by the entrance to the ballroom.
I hear a PJ Squid tune playing even before I enter the room.
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It's called "Alone in a Crowd." Why did Jason pick such a sad song? I hope this is not the theme song of my night. I can't run and hide now--the cameras would only follow me into the bathroom and they're not capturing a stall confession.
Kelly's standing by the door with a clipboard, trying to look inconspicuous. No one would mistake her for a teacher or a parent chaperone.
"Thought you'd left," I whisper.
She tosses her hair. "And miss the finale--no way!"
"Are you coming inside?" I ask.
"Yes, as soon as everyone's here, I'm going to rush and change into something a bit more formal. This is the prom, after all."
"Great, then you can take my place."
"I wouldn't dare." She checks something off with her pen. "Then I hope you'll be able to make my funeral, too." My face is deadpan.
She clasps my hand. "Whatever happens, you'll never forget this night."
That's what I'm afraid of. But I think of my mom who was dying to go to her prom and couldn't. Of the thousands of girls who live for this one night. And Audrey is right--I am ready.
I hear a girl near the door scream, "I think SLAM is at our school! I just saw a cameraman walk by."
Her friend gasps, "No way, where? I don't see anything."
Let's get this over with. I step forward into the ballroom. One foot after the other onto the red-and-black speckled carpet. The
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decorating committee really did a good job. I know Mom's probably bummed that she didn't get to help, but at least I didn't protest when she signed up as a chaperone. Our theme is Wish Upon a Star. Cheesy, I know, but it's still cute. There are stars everywhere--hanging from the ceiling, adorning the tables as centerpieces, and even the punch bowls are shaped like stars. The colors are gold and silver, so everything gleams.
Audrey shrieks when she hears a disco tune, and I shoo her and Doug off to dance. I want to take in the rush of prom night before I'm called onstage. Who knows what'll happen to me after that? Hopefully it'll be nothing worse than selective amnesia. There are already a lot of couples on the dance floor with their hands all over each other, sweating up a storm. I'm sure Gavin's all sweaty by now, too, but that's probably from stage diving into the mosh pit or rocking out to an old Speed Bump track.
I look toward the stage where Jason's fiddling with the mike. I'm glad Rob arranged for him to be the DJ. It's good to know that he has my back in case people flip out when they find out who I am. Also, he knows what we want to hear and is not going to throw on any s
leeper tunes like some of the older DJs might.
After this filler disco song is over, my time will be up. There are a few girls from my sociology class giggling in the corner, and half the track team is filling up their cups with soda and punch. I scan the room for Mom, for Stacy, for anyone that I know--good or bad. Where is Kayla? I could sure use her sunny attitude right about now.
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The last beat thuds, and it's a done deal. Sweet T, unveil yourself to the masses. Throw yourself to the wolves. I'm dizzy. I can't see straight. I have to pee really bad.
"Welcome to the Ridgeland High Wish Upon a Star, one-of-a-kind prom," blasts Rachel Wheeler, our senior class president. "This is a very special night for many reasons . ."
Oh, please stop the torture now. I can only take so much. I cross and uncross my legs. I scan the partygoers again, this time looking for any sign of my soon-to-be date. I don't know what I'm looking for because a guy in a full armor suit would be really easy to spot.
Rachel finally takes a breath and hands the mike over to Jason. "Good evening, senior class." He lets out a long hoot and everyone hoots back. "As Rachel said, this prom is special for many reasons, but tonight we have something truly unique going on. I'm not just any DJ." He holds up a SLAM tee and tosses it into the crowd. "I'm Jason Stevens, your Love Shack host from 92.7 The SLAM."
People yelp for more T-shirts and he tosses a bunch out. My neck tenses and I shift my weight from one foot to the other. How long is he going to draw this out? Doesn't he know that I'm freaking out over here? He goes on to explain the whole contest, while I try to forget my full bladder and blurred vision.
A couple of girls near me whisper about how cool this contest experience is, and I see a guy with spiky hair whip out a small video camera and aim it toward the stage. Geez, we're not playing
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here. This is the real thing. In a matter of minutes, along with the rest of the senior class, I'm going to meet Moon Guy. And they're going to meet Sweet T.
I'm scared. Scared about going up onstage and facing everyone as Tere Adams. Scared that Moon Guy won't like me. Scared that I'll mess the prom up for everyone. And really scared that over eight hundred eyes are staring at me.
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