Page 10 of Ice Palace Prince
Chapter 5 - Sean
~Black Friday~
Iopened the closet, rifled through it until I found what I was looking for, and cringed. I’d bought the sparkly blue suit as a joke the first year we’d held the Winter Village, but the crowd had loved it, and immediately promoted me from emcee of opening ceremonies to being the ‘prince’ of the Ice Palace.
Elaine, of course, had run with it. Before I’d even heard about the new designation she’d bought me a colorful crown from one of the toy vendors and plopped it on my head, cementing my fate.
The crown had been upgraded by the following year to something a bit more dignified than plastic and glitter, but the suit had remained, due to popular demand. Now it was my signature outfit for opening night.
I was glad that I was mostly the same size I’d been back then. I’d had to have the jacket let out at one point, but hadn’t had to try to find a replacement.
For as much as I hated it though, the suit had one redeeming feature: it showed off my ass spectacularly.
Maybe Lowell would notice.
I shook my head. I couldn’t think that way. It would only lead to disappointment when he showed up with the inevitable partner.
I sighed and stepped out of the comfortable loungewear I’d been lazing about in. It was time to get ready for the opening ceremonies.
I hopped about in my underwear for a moment, trying to pump myself up. “Come on Sean. You can do this. It’s just like cheerleading. Go out there, put on a show and get the crowd excited.”
The memory of one of Jessica’s locker-room speeches came to mind, and I shuddered. She’d been so overbearing that I’d nearly quit the cheer team. It was only the promise of a college scholarship that had kept me there by my senior year.
Staying had been worth it, but barely. It had taken me until I was on the university team before I realized how badly Jessica had gaslit me, and I still didn’t know why.
Of course she’d been pretty open in her interest, but never wanted to listen when I told her I preferred men. Instead she’d insisted that she was the better option, that no man would want to be with me when I was so busy all the time between cheer and debate.
Then she’d even tried to force me off the debate team by attempting to schedule extra practice during their meeting times. Luckily our coach had had enough of her bullshit by then and had banned her from scheduling emergency practices after one particularly bad incident.
Still, part of me always wondered if she was right. I’d watched all my friends go on first dates and heard them gush about first kisses. But Jessica was the only alpha who’d asked me out until I got to college, and even then it seemed that they were more interested in sex than me.
Well… there had been Brett, but he’d changed his mind by the next day then spent the next month avoiding me. I’d heard rumors of some accident that left him pretty bruised, but I’d been so happy about having been asked out that I wouldn’t have let that get to me.
I blew out a breath and shook my head. I didn’t know why I’d been thinking about high school again. Maybe it was because our ten year reunion was in the spring, or perhaps it was because I’d seen Lowell so much over the past few months, but I needed to stop.
I looked in the mirror and adjusted my tie. I had work to do.
∞∞∞
I was grateful for the heat of the stage lights as I strolled across to the microphone. Even if it was a mild night, it was still November and we were outdoors.
My suit glittered as I moved, and the crown stayed perched atop my head thanks to some hair pins and Elaine’s handiwork.
I cleared my throat out of range of the mic and pasted on a smile.
“Good evening Valle Granja!” I declared to a rousing cheer. “Who’s ready for the holiday season?”
Another cheer rose from the crowd.
“Let’s hear it again!” I said, holding the mic out over the people.
The people nearest the stage whooped and hollered, which had the intended effect of getting everybody more excited.
I grinned and pulled the mic back. “We’ve got a jam packed month of events for you,” I started. “All our vendors are here this evening for the lighting of the tree, and will be here again for the lighting of the menorah in a few days.
In addition, we also invite you to stop by the interfaith building to learn more about how to celebrate Yule, Kwanzaa, and to speak with representatives from the array of faiths found in our amazing city.”
I paused for another cheer. “Our schedule is posted around the village, and on the official website. We’ve got concerts, performances from our indigenous community, presentations from Valle Granja students, informational panels, and more.”
