Page 75 of 10 Things I Hate About Prom
The stoplight switches from red to green, but his gaze stays locked on me instead of the road for what seems like hours.
“You okay?” I ask, my voice barely audible over the song.
“Yeah,” he replies, taking his hand off the gear shift to brush a loose lock of hair over my shoulder. “You’re just really beautiful.”
His touch against the bare skin of my shoulder is enough to make me melt, but the press of his lips on mine, quick and sweet and tasting of cherry and coconut, makes stars burst behind my closed eyes. Even in Herbert’s cramped front seat, kissing Joaquin makes me feel like we’re in the clouds.
The blare of a car horn ruins the moment.
“Let’s go already!” the man in the car behind us yells between honks.
“My bad!” Joaquin shouts out the open window before slamming on the gas. “Sorry,” he says to me once we’ve put a decent amount of distance between us and the intersection. “You’re very distracting.” He takes my hand and lifts it to his lips, pressing a kiss to my knuckles, his lips sticky from the gloss on mine.
I smile and settle back into my seat, heart pounding and feeling so, so alive.
By the time we make it to the Elmwood Hilton, prom is in full swing. The prom committee has transformed the standard hotel ballroom into an underwater oasis complete with red and gold coral, ocean-blue streamers, and a tasteful variety of fish-themed décor. I guess all that stucco moneydoesgo to good use.The dance floor is packed, our classmates gyrating to a remix of a song from the ’90s. Dated as the music is, it doesn’t seem like anyone cares. So long as they can grind on each other with minimal supervision, they’re happy.
We skip the massive line for the photo booth in favor of parting ways for a bit. Joaquin heads over to the makeshift stage at the front of the room to check in with the prom committee and assure them that their last court member has arrived in one piece, while I search for Anna. Her dress, a mermaid-style strapless gown bedazzled with sequins in a gradient pattern matching the colors of the lesbian flag, makes her easy to spot in the sea of one-tone ensembles.
“You’re here!” she squeals when I come up behind her, her breath smelling like Smirnoff Peach.
“You’rehere!” I squeal back. Even without the booze, it’s impossible not to match her energy.
We pull each other in for a hug that almost sends both of us toppling over.
“How was the A-list limo?” I ask with a raised brow.
With Tessa as her date, Anna got a hand-delivered invitation from Casey Zosnowski, co-captain of the cheerleading squad, to join their pre-prom limo—dubbed (by Casey) to bethemost exclusive ride to prom this year. Joaquin was bestowed the same honor, only to commit the high crime of turning down the offer once he realized he wouldn’t be going with Tessa like he’d originally thought.
Anna’s eyes gleam with delight. “I really wanted it to be overrated, but I can’t lie, it was sick as hell.” She grabs her hot-pinksequined clutch off the table, popping it open and whipping out a pig in a blanket. “Want one?” she asks before grabbing one for herself.
While I know I probably shouldn’t accept food that just came out of a purse, I’m powerless to the lure of free appetizers.
“Damn,” I mumble after downing the pig in a blanket in one bite. Even after sitting in Anna’s clutch for who knows how long, it still hits. Maybe Casey wasn’t overhyping their limo.
Anna nods in approval, offering me a second one while showing off some of their pre-prom photos, one of which includes Mr.Hernandez smiling brightly in between Anna and Tessa, pressing a kiss to his daughter’s head. She’s about to swipe to another when Principal Contreras steps onto the stage at the front of the ballroom. The DJ fades out the music, the lights turn up slightly, and conversations fall to a quiet hum as Contreras clears his throat directly into the mic.
“I hate to pause the party.” He holds as if he’s waiting to be booed off the stage and continues when he isn’t. “But I’m sure we’re all eager to hear who this year’s Prom King and Queen are.” He waves a gold envelope that sends the crowd into a frenzy, applause and cheers drowning out whatever he says next.
Anna and I both let out a loud whoop, clapping along with the crowd until Contreras signals for us to quiet down.
“And your Prom King is…” He pauses for dramatic effect, the DJ starting up a drum-roll sound effect. “Joaquin Romero!”
It’s not a surprise in the slightest, but I scream as loud as my lungs let me anyway. Our classmates also erupt into cries of excitement, and I bounce on my toes as best I can without tipping over, cheering until my voice cracks.
Joaquin steps onto the stage and gives his attentive audience a humble wave. When he bends down to accept the crown from Contreras, his eyes find mine in the crowd, and it feels like we’re the only two people here.
“And your Queen…” Contreras has to shout over the roar of the crowd. The interruption does the trick, getting everyone to simmer down for their next monarch.
“Is…Tessa Hernandez!”
Not a surprise either. They’re the perfect couple on paper.
The room gives Tessa the same treatment, proclamations of love and cheers ring through the hall as she accepts her tiara and a bouquet of roses with grace. She’s a textbook image of a prom queen, her hair done up in a series of intricate braids and adorned with small crystals, her purple lace gown clinging perfectly to her curves. She even has the queen wave nailed, looking as regal as the royal family as she thanks the crowd for their support. Beside me, Anna claps with enough force to make her whole body shake.
Following tradition, Joaquin offers Tessa his hand and guides her to the dance floor for the first official slow dance of the night. There are a few wolf whistles that the two of them brush off with good-natured smiles, and the jealous rage that used to consume me at the thought of them together is gone.
It’s funny, seeing the two of them illuminated by the dim light of the disco ball as they approach the center of the dance floor. They wound up together in the end, just not quite how they’d expected. Instead, they’ve defied an ages-old high school cliché—the two most popular kids in school falling for the tech crew nerds.
