Page 23 of The Prom King & The Ice Queen

Savannah

I hate working Sundays.There’s something unnatural about it.

I mean, I’m not complaining because this afternoon's birthday party is low-key, and they overstaffed us so it should be an easy day. They hired me, Callie, Willow, and Maverick, which means we’ll practically outnumber the kids.

Still…

I sigh as I push open the door to Mrs. Messner’s house, which also serves as home base for the Princess Troupe.

Callie and Willow are already there. I can hear their laughter over the classic rock station Mrs. Messner’s always playing.

“There’s our ice queen,” Mrs. Messner calls out from the back.

I grin. I love Mrs. Messner. She’s been good to me over the years. And unlike the social workers who’ve come and gone, and the well-meaning guidance counselor at school, she doesn’t do it with that pinched-lip smile that screams pity.

“Sorry I’m late,” I say as I turn the corner to the room that’s overflowing with costumes and props and trunks full of toys.

This room is like a little kid’s dream, and it’ll never not be absurd to stumble into a room occupied by Belle and Rapunzel.

They smile and wave when I walk in and Mrs. Messner tosses me the Elsa gown.

“Sorry, I had to walk,” I say.

No one bats an eye because this is hardly unusual. My parents are…well, let’s just say they aren’t. Parents, that is. Not in the traditional sense.

When he was still in the picture, my dad was a seasonal worker, which is sort of common around here. He was a mechanic at the ski resort not too far from here. Then he got in trouble for stealing from the guests at the lodge—a charge heatedly denied, and he lost that job. And then it happened again at another ski resort and soon he was traveling all over the state for winter work.

On the off seasons, he split. Like clockwork. When I was little he made it sound like he was doing it for us. Following the work so he could provide for us. I believed him because I was a kid. I didn’t know any better.

It was only when I got older that I realized he wasn’t sending us much at all to help provide. For all his talk about the rich folks up at the ski lodges who were so tight-fisted with their cash, his checks in the mail grew fewer and further apart until they stopped coming altogether.

And then at a certain point, he stopped coming too.

His seasonal work kept him elsewhere all year round.

Which was fine. Or, it would have been if mom was any good at holding down a job.

But, you see, the thing is...my mom is not what anyone would call a ‘good worker.’ Despite my dad’s hatred of the rich, he fell for a rich girl. A ski bunny, he used to teasingly call her back when they were happy.

She’d been one of the guests at the lodge, they’d fallen in love…or at least, they’d fallen in bed. And voila. Along comes Savannah.

But my mom’s family was not okay with this turn of events, and so she was cut off. So now she hates rich families too, but for a very different reason. A far more bitter reason. She still feels like she’s entitled to be wealthy but was unreasonably forced out of the club.

As my dad’s trips home became less frequent, her trips to the rehab center happened more often. When I was little, my dad had a sister who’d help out. Then she moved away, and…here I am.

Late to work. Again. We don’t live too far from Mrs. Messner’s, and on days like today when my mom reeks of booze, I’ve found it’s just best to walk and hitch a ride later.

“Where’s the party today?” I ask as I slide behind a changing screen and throw on the gown.

“The McCarthy’s,” Willow answers.

“Is your boyfriend catering?” His name is Roman, but I just can’t resist calling him her boyfriend because it makes her blush with happiness every time. I peek around the screen and sure enough, she’s blushing with that cute little grin of hers. “Yes, Roman will be there.”

Good. Hopefully Roman can give me a lift home. Or Callie, but Callie’s car is almost permanently in the shop these days.

I stick my head out again to talk to the petite brunette currently dressed as Belle. “Where’s Maverick? Isn’t he working this party?”

She shakes her head. “Not today. He had to cancel because he had a family thing come up.”

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