No way was I doing this. This was the one thing I had sworn to myself not to do...and here I was, doing it. I had told my friends not to vote for me. I had told my enemies to vote for me, knowing that, by process of spiting me, they wouldn't. And yet.
The crown looked really bad with my dress. It completely clashed. I know I wasn't queen (yet), but still, I had to wear some silly little plastic tiara to show people that I was a princess. How dumb did that sound? Princess. Ha. Yeah, that's right, me, crowned. And of course the crown had to be silly and pink and white, when my dress was red and black, therefore completely clashing. Blah.
The ride up there was fine, I guess. I had really been hoping to have a date- senior prom and everything- but driving my car was fun. And awesome. I love the looks I get in that thing- "SHE has THAT car?" "Why can't I get that car?" Good stuff. Oh yeah, I have a corvette. Sleek, new, and shiny silver. I have a very rich grandma who loves me more than is probably good for me.
So I drove up to prom in my kick-a car and walked in to the dance. There were a few people dancing awkwardly in the middle of the floor, but the party hadn't officially begun yet. The 'princesses' had to arrive early to practice getting crowned. This was going to be the worst part of my night...especially since the other two princesses were my arch-enemies; Cher and Claire. They were both blond, blue-eyed, and tiny in every way. I noticed right off that they were each with about six guys. I just rolled my eyes and stood in a corner until everything we had to do and listen to was over. During that time, people had slowly trickled in the door. By the time we were finally done, the party was officially in session. There was a band playing- a bunch of college guys, it looked like- and all my friends converged on me.
"Alya! Oh my gosh, you are so gorgeous! Except for the crown...but in another hour you won't have to worry about that." They all exchanged conspiratorial glances. I rolled my eyes again and positioned myself in a corner; excellent for people-watching, and even better for going unnoticed. Or so I thought.
"Alya? Will you dance with me?"
I looked up, startled out of my poking fun at the cheerleaders, who were batting their eyes and dancing in circles around some kind of ugly guys. It was Tom, one of my best friends ever. He was in a tux- a tux!- and looked extremely handsome. I smiled.
"Sure thing!" I grabbed his hand and we walked out on the dance floor right as one song ended. The next one that came on was a slow song. I hesitated but Tom pulled me close. "It's OK to dance to a slow song every once in a while, Al." I grinned at the nickname and gave in.
We danced through the whole song, not saying anything.At the end of the song he held me a while longer before stepping back, still holding my hands. He looked me straight in the face and said, "Alya, I want to be with you. For a long time. I-"
He was interrupted by a sudden silence followed by a smattering of applause. The dean was on stage, holding a small, ominous envelope. "Students, teachers, friends. I am here to announce the prom queen!" There was another burst of applause and then a hushed, breathless silence. "Ladies and gentlemen, the prom queen is...Alya Nottoni!"
Gasps echoed around the hall. Phrases like, "Her?" "She's not even a cheerleader!" and "Did he count the votes right?" were heard around the hall before someone started clapping wildly, sending the whole room into cheers and applause. I stepped forward, completely stunned by such a chain of events.
My pink plastic tiara was replaced by a beautiful metal crown, and the homecoming king stepped forward to dance with me. I could only smile when I saw who it was- Tom.
Proms aren't so bad, after all.
