I promised my story!!!:

Alan Rasmussen was schizophrenic. At least, he might as well have been. That’s what his girlfriend Zoë had said. That was a year ago. Now, instead of Santa Barbara, he lived in Kentucky. Dumb, plain Kentucky. Dumb military. True, they had a bigger house. True, he had a small job at the Everton’s, gardening and mowing the lawn and stuff. But he had to start again. No beachside parties. No stargazing on the roof with Zoë as she named all the constellations. No hearing drunk hippie songs at night.

Everything was suburbs here. No clubs. No high rise buildings. How was he supposed to like this place?

It was the first day of school. Stella Danishka Turner was standing in front of the mirror, combing her long, dark hair. Her mom called her into the kitchen.

“Hello dear. Do you have everything you need?” she asked groggily. She still had curlers in her hair and was holding a cup of extra strong coffee. Her fluffy Hello Kitty slippers pushed a saggy box out of the way.

“Yeah, but have you seen my eye shadow palette?” Stella asked.

“It’s in my office.”

“Office” was not an appropriate word for the section of the house that was walled off with an old shower curtain. The “desk” was a big cardboard box with the words “Leila’s High school Photos” scrawled across it. Papers were strewn across the room, even sticking onto the peeling blue paint. Stella found her eye shadow crammed between a book called “41 Ways to Raise a Child” and a red 5 pound weight. She hurried back to her room.

She selected a dark blue shade for her eyes that matched her homemade beaded headband. She took a final look in the mirror.

“Stella!” Her mom honked the horn.

So the humiliation begins, she thought.

III

Dani Smithens had decided something. Collin Hopps was probably the most annoying human being that ever existed. The whole way to school he asked, “Are we there yet? Now are we?”

Finally, they reached the elementary school. Dani was relieved as Collin unstuck his nose from the car window and got out. Immediately, her relief was replaced with a jittery feeling in her stomach as she remembered it was her first day of high school.

Well, at least I know some people, she thought. She listed off the names of the people she knew. Lillie Carmen, Joshua Ellis, the Fredsen triplets….

She was so focused on what she was doing that she didn’t notice that they had pulled up to the street in front of Theodore High.

“Dani? We’re here.”

“Oh. Sorry. Thanks, Mrs. Hopps.”

Dani got out and swung her backpack over her shoulder. She felt so lost in the sea of students that pushed against her on all sides.

A voice blared over the intercom.

“Freshmen, go to the auditorium for orientation!”

Dani followed the rush of students into the hall of the school. She was looking for someone she knew when she bumped into someone.

She found herself looking at the chest of someone wearing the school colors, white and turquoise, on a football jersey. She followed the chest to a neck, and the neck to a head. It belonged to a tall and lanky football player muttering an apology.

Dani smiled and said, “Oh, it’s fine. It was kind of my fault, anyway.”

His face lit up with a diamond-enhanced smile as he made eye contact with her. “Hey, you’re kinda pretty.” Dani was always grateful to have dark skin to hide her blush when someone said something embarrassing to her, but this time, she swear she turned red in the face.

“Thanks, I guess. Um, could you show me where the auditorium is?”

The boy looked thoughtful. “…yeah. I think so.”

He led her through the crowd to gray double doors with a sign above them that said “AUDITORIUM.”

She thanked him and pushed one of the doors open. Inside, teachers and parent aides ushered children into their seats. One of them, wearing a name tag that said “Hello, My Name Is: Mrs. Clark,” led Dani to a seat between a boy who smelled like day old spaghetti and a girl was nibbling on mini Oreos from a bag. Dani settled into her seat. This was going to be a LOOONG day.

Xavier Austins was relieved when the high school orientation was over. He had a kink in his neck from looking up at the stage. He stood up and looked around. He was assigned to be in a tour group led by a girl named Chelsea. She had a giant smile that stretched from ear to ear.

The first thing they did was get school pictures. Xavier was still blinking the flash of the cameras out of his eyes when the group reached the computer lab. Since he didn’t want to listen to the ancient lady bent over a broken computer explain the rules in her monotone voice, he decided to try and make some friends.

He looked at the girl next to him. She was doodling on a scrap of paper.

“Hey, that’s pretty good,” he said. She flushed and covered it up, looking at him.

“Wait—Xavier Austins? From Miss Kaliny’s class?” she asked.

“Yeah… uh, how do you know that?”

“Remember Stella Turner? That’s me.”

Xavier could hardly believe his ears. This was Stella, from third grade? Stella? She was the one with squinty eyes, enlarged by thick glasses, who was so short and skinny? Dang, she was probably taller then him now. And no glasses? When did that happen?

“Uhhh…”

“Yeah. Big change, huh?” Stella snickered.

Xavier realized he probably looked stupid with his mouth hanging open and closed it with a snap.

As they toured the rest of the school, Xavier found himself staring at Stella. Now, she had thick dark brown hair, and huge, full lips. Not at all how he remembered her.

Alan already hated this school.

It was lunchtime, and the guide, Petunia, had dropped them off at the cafeteria. He poked at his food with a bent fork. He smashed his potatoes into the tray, thinking about what his life would have been if he stayed in California. He and Zoë would have been accepted as a couple. He would still have his friends Kyle and Ron. True, he and Kyle Skyped on Fridays, but it wasn’t the same.

He sighed and swept his lunch tray off the table and dumped its contents into the trash.

The intercom squeaked. It finally started working. “Tanner Ramirez, Jake Hamilton, and Alan Rasmussen, please come to the office.”

Alan walked out of the lunchroom. He asked an aide where the office was.

As he reached the office, he saw his mom at one of the desks, talking to someone.

“Hi mom.” His mother turned around.

“Alan! Hello, dear. Am I interrupting anything? I just thought you might want to come have lunch with me at the hamburger place on the corner?”

Alan almost said no, but he saw a determined look in his mom’s face he knew too well. “Sure, mom.”

“Okay. Let’s go.”

When they got in the car, his mom said, “Alan. I have something to tell you.”

“Is dad okay? Did something happen in Iraq?”

“No, no. Chad’s fine.”

“Then what?”

“How do I put this. Um, I was wondering if you, I dunno, wanted to move in with Grandma Theresa and Grandpa Jim. In California?”

Alan was silent. “I’ll have to think about it,” he whispered.

“Okay, dear. Let’s go get some hamburgers, ‘kay?”

Dani LOVED this school!

The boy who ran into her that morning, Randy, had called her over to sit with him during lunch. She sat by him and the rest of the football team. They were hilarious!

Now she was sitting at her desk, after school, filling out disclosures from her teachers that she met after lunch. Dang, some of them were freakin’ long.

She heard the door slam. “Dad? Is that you?”

“Yes, honey. How was school?” Her dad pounded up the stairs and appeared at her bedroom door.

“It was fun. How was your day?”

“Tough. Mr. Harmon got another migraine, so I was in charge, dang it,” he replied. Her father was a psychologist. And he hated it.

“Sorry Dad. What’s for dinner?”

“Pasta, if that sounds good to you.”

“Perfect.”

Her dad left the room. Dani looked up to see a picture of her family. Her brother, Keenan, and her mom’s faces haunted her with memories of when her family was happy.

Before the car crash. Before Keenan ran away.

But those things weren’t something she could fix. Dani and her dad were happy enough.

VII

Alan sat on the leather couch, clicking through the channels. News, cartoons, soap operas. As he surfed, he thought about his mom’s offer. Moving back? Too good to be true. He remembered the day he told Zoë that he was moving. Her blow-up at his every word. The parting in tears and anger. How she sent him hate mail for a week, cussing every other word. Even Kyle and Ron where growing distant. Geez, Ron hadn’t e-mailed him or called him in months. And, the last time he Skyped Kyle, he had been sitting on his bed kissing some girl. His excuse? He forgot.

He was not moving back. Sure, he had to start again. But what was the point of going back to friends-cum-enemies? School already started there too. He would have to wait and tell his mom at dinner.

The next morning, Alan rolled out of bed at 6:52. Damage, he thought. Only half an hour until school started. He dressed and ran down the stairs into the kitchen. He grabbed a Coke and his skateboard.

“Mom, I’m leaving!”

“Okay! Don’t forget your disclosures!”

Alan swiped the neat stack of papers off the counter.

He arrived at school just as the tardy bell rung.

His English teacher, Ms. Tamlin, smiled in a pinched way. She was in her late twenties-early thirties with red hair that she wore in a bun that pulled her eyebrows back, giving her a permanent quizzical expression.

“Alan Rasmussen. Tardy. Sit in that seat… No, no, that one there. Yes. Okay, class, these are your permanent seats for this term,” Ms. Tamlin said. The whole class groaned. Alan rubbed his temples. He had the worst seat, right front and center.

“Oh, no. That will not work. Alan, please trade seats with Elisha, in the back corner.”

Elisha reluctantly moved to the front, waving to the blond girl he had been flirting with, and Alan rushed to the back. He was sandwiched between the depressed looking girl with blond hair and an African American girl who was tapping her pencil on the desk.

“Hi.” Alan forced himself to smile.

The blond girl turned away from him, but the other one smiled and held out her hand for him to shake. “Hi, I’m Dani. What’s your name?”

“Alan, but all my friends call me… well, they don’t.” Dani laughed. Alan started laughing too.

“Ms. Smithens, is there something you would like to share with the class?” Ms. Tamlin asked.

Dani bit her lip, obviously trying to hold back laughter. “No ma’am.”

Maybe this school isn’t so bad after all, Alan thought.

VIII

Stella liked Mr. Moore, she decided. He was her beginning ballroom teacher, and was very funny, and not too strict.

“Okay. Does anyone know the cha-cha?”

Stella’s hand immediately went up.

“All right, Ms…” he looked at his list. “Turner. Will you please come join me on the stage?”

“Okay, Mr. Moore.” She wove her way through the crowd of people on the bleachers. In her heels she stood a full head taller then the teacher.

“Rachelle, track four. Go,” Mr. Moore said, addressing the senior TA.

Stella rested her hand on Mr. Moore’s shoulder. He spun her around the room, her feet barely touching the floor. She kept time in her head, listing the steps.

Suddenly, it was over. Stella’s chest was heaving. The bell rang.

“Goodbye, class. See you on Thursday!” Mr. Moore said, mopping his head off with a towel. Stella was picking up her bag when Mr. Moore started talking to her.

“Ms. Turner, I was very impressed today. May I move you to the intermediate class?”

Stella was stunned. “Okay… I guess. I mean, yes. Yes, you may.”

Mr. Moore scribbled a few notes on a notepad in tiny, cramped script. “Well, I will see you tomorrow. Same period.”

IX

Xavier sat with Stella at lunch.

He was still amazed that it really was Stella. Even her eyes were different. Instead of muddy brown, they were almost black. She was not sitting by anyone else, so he figured he could. She gave him her cookie.

“I don’t eat sugar.”

“Really?”

“Yep. No sugar.”

When Xavier got home, his little sister Olive was waiting for him. “Zavy!”

She grabbed his leg in her sticky four-year-old hands. “Hey Olive.”

“We made cookies! The kind with the frosting! And lots and lots of sprinkles!”

“That’s awesome. Um, do you know where dad is?” Xavier asked.

“He’s in the office. Office, Office, office,” Olive sang. By this time, she had let go of his leg and was on the couch playing with My Little Ponies.

Xavier picked his way through the clutter that was everywhere. Coffee mugs (although the coffee was long gone), books, socks, princess tiaras, loose change, keys, half eaten pieces of toast, and much more was on the couch and chairs and other nooks and crannies. He reached his dad’s office and pushed the door open. “Hi Xavier. What do you need?” his dad asked, not looking up from his computer.

“Have you seen my shin guards?”

“They’re in the living room. On the brown couch.”

“Thanks.” Xavier started to walk out of the room. “Oh, and will you tell mom I’m at soccer practice?”

“Sure.”

After school, Stella went to talk to Mr. Moore. “Hi Stella,” Mr. Moore said. He was sorting through some disclosures.

“Hi Mr. Moore. Um, I was just wondering if you really think I’m good enough to be in the intermediate class?” she asked.

“Well, do you know all the basic dances? Foxtrot, cha-cha, simple waltz steps, samba, and so on? Do you know the starting position? If you answered yes to all of these, yes, definitely you should be in the intermediate class.”

“Okay…” Stella was still uncertain.

Mr. Moore slapped himself on the forehead. “Darn it. Dance theory. Hmm, well… let’s see.”

“Dance theory?”

“Yes. Would it be such a pain to come everyday after school next week so I can teach you theory?” Mr. Moore asked, running a hand through his hair.

“That’s totally cool. I’ll ask my mom. Bye,” she replied.

“Okay, bye.”

Stella’s mom was sitting cross-legged on the couch eating Chinese takeout (with her ever-present cup of extra strong coffee) when Stella walked into the house. “Hello, dear. How was school?”

“Fine. I was moved into the intermediate ballroom class.”

“I knew those dance lessons your father gave you would come in handy. He loved dancing, you know.” Her mom’s eyes became glazed over, like every time she talked about Stella’s father. Stella never found out what had happened to him.

Dani walked unto the kitchen the next morning at 6:31. She was dressed, showered, and her bag was packed for school.

“Hi, Dani. Do you want some eggs and sausage?” her dad asked. He stood hunched over pans of delicious smelling food.

“Yes, please.”

Dani grabbed two striped plates out of the cabinet and took them to her dad. He heaped eggs in a miniature mountain and stacked the sausages side by side in a neat row.

“Here you go, sweetheart. Mrs. Hopps should be here soon, so gobble that down quickly!”

Dani was just on time for first period. Ms. Tamlin looked at her funny, like I’ll let it slide this time, which Dani was confused by, because she technically was on time.

Anyway, Ms. Tamlin gave them a four page assignment about their favorite celebrity that was due the following week.

Second period went a little smoother. Science was not her favorite, but it was better then listening to Ms. Tamlin’s tiring drone.

Mr. Samson let them sit wherever they wanted. She sat by a tall, long-haired girl. When she asked if she could sit by the taller girl, the girl said, “What? Oh sure.”

Dani thought that she might as well try to make some new friends, so she held out her hand to the girl. “Hi. I’m Dani. What’s your name?”

The girl took her hand and shook it. “My name’s Stella. Nice to meet you.”

Mr. Samson started talking then, so they were quiet the rest of the period. When science was over, Stella asked if Dani wanted to sit by her at lunch.

“I’d love to,” Dani answered.

XII

Alan sat down in his photography class. It was third period with Mrs. Jan. Mrs. Jan was a short Asian woman who was pregnant and probably fresh out of college.

“Hello, class. Does anyone need to borrow a camera?”

Alan raised his hand, as did three others.

“Okay. You four come and pick a camera from this table and fill out on of these red forms.”

He picked a small gold camera with a strap that slipped over his wrist. He grabbed a red paper with the words “Theodore High School Photography Program” printed across the top in thick, all caps script.

Alan returned to his seat. He hurriedly scribbled the information the form asked for in the provided spaces.

“All right. Today we will be playing a game to get to know each other. You will come up with one word that describes you, but it has to begin with the same letter as your name. Then you will share it with the rest of the class. Whoever can name everyone and their words on their first try will get ten extra credit points.”

Alan thought for a minute and came up with Awesome Alan.

Mrs. Jan stood up. “We will start alphabetically by first name.”

Alan groaned, but it turned out that he wasn’t the first one. It was Artistic Abby. Then it was him. They ended with Zany Zach. One girl, Sassy Sophie, was the one who got the candy.

The bell rang right after Mrs. Jan handed out the disclosures.

Alan walked into the lunch room and a familiar voice called out, “Alan! Come sit with us!”

Dani waved. She was sitting with a boy who had short brown hair and a girl with a name tag that said “Stella.”

“Hi.”

“Hi Alan. This is Xavier, and this is Stella. Stella, Xavier, this is Alan.”

They shook hands and Alan sat down. After a few minutes of silence, Xavier said, “Well, this is awkward.” They all started laughing.

“So,” Dani said, “Where do you live, Alan?”

“About a mile north from here. Do you know the Hillmans?” They all nodded. “I’m a couple houses over.”

“Do you live in the big blue house where the Kalanis used live?” Stella asked. She applied a new layer of Chap Stick.

“Yeah. I think so. Were they the Hawaiian family?”
“Yes. They had a son, Prexton. He was my boyfriend.” Stella looked away.

“Why did they move?”

“His parents got a big house in Washington on three acres for really cheap.”

“Oh.” Alan thought about Zoë. “I had a girlfriend in California. Zoë.”

“That’s cool.” Stella said.

“Yeah.”

“So… how about we go get an ice cream at the snack bar?” Dani said, trying to ease the tension.

“Okay,” Xavier answered.

“Are you two coming?” Dani said. Alan and Stella reluctantly stood up, shying away from each other.

“Let’s go,” Xavier said, nodding his head encouragingly.

XIII

Xavier was itching with excitement. The big soccer tournament was the next day. A few minutes ticked by, then the bell rang. He swung his backpack over his shoulder and walked into the congested hallways.

As he dodged the traffic as best as he could, Alan somehow appeared at his elbow. “Hey,” Alan said nonchalantly.

“Hey. Do you want to come play soccer with us? You probably could eat with my family, too, if you want,” Xavier offered.

“That would be cool.”

“Kay. Let’s hurry to my bus.”

They reached the bus and picked a seat halfway down the aisle. The bus ride itself was pretty boring. And the walk, which was just across the street, was also boring.

Olive was waiting for Xavier again. “Zavy! I…” She suddenly became shy as she saw Alan. She clutched Xavier’s leg as she whispered (loudly), “Is he a bad guy?”

“No, Olive. This is Alan, my friend.” Xavier smiled. “Alan, this is my little sister, Olive. She’s four.” Olive giggled.

They walked into the house. Xavier made a weird face. “Sorry it’s so messy. My mom never has time to clean up. She works full-time, and my dad works from home. But he doesn’t mind the mess, so he doesn’t clean up.”

XIV

Dani called Stella after school. “Hi Stella.”

“Hey Dani. What’s up?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to come have a sleepover at my place.”

“That would be fun. Let me see if it’s alright with my mom.”

While Dani was waiting for Stella, she sketched a picture of her cat, Mocha.

“Hi Dani. It’s fine with my mom. What time should I come over?”

“Soon. Okay, I’ve got to go. Bye.”

“Bye.”

Dani pulled out some sleeping bags from her closet, along with nail polish, candy, and hair elastics. Then she lined the nail polishes up along the edge of her dresser, according to color.

The door slammed downstairs. “Dani? It’s Dad. What do you want for dinner?”

“How about pizza? By the way, I invited a girl from school over for a sleepover. Is that alright?”

“What day of the week is it? Hmm…” Dani knew he was looking at the calendar. “Friday,” her dad said, “Yes, it’s okay.”

Stella arrived twenty minutes later. She was wearing sweats and a T-shirt, and her face was scrubbed clean of makeup. She looked completely different.

“Hey Stella,” Dani said as she bounded down the stairs. “Stella, this is my dad. Dad, this is Stella Turner.”

“Hi.” Stella shook hands with her dad.

“Okay. What types of pizza do you like, Stella?”

Stella looked thoughtful. “I guess Hawaiian’s my favorite, but I really like anything. Even mushrooms!”

Dani made a face. “Gross!” They both started laughing.

“So, Hawaiian then?” Mr. Smithens asked.

“Yeah,” Dani replied. “Let’s go to my room.”

Stella thought that Dani’s room could’ve popped out of one of those interior design magazines. The furniture was white, and the comforter was black and pink polka dots. Her walls were painted a warm pink. “I love your room.”

“Thanks. My mom designed it,” Dani replied.

“Oh. Are your parents divorced?”

“No. My mom was killed in a car crash.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay. What about your parents?”

“My mom and dad never got married. Mom was a sophomore in college when she had me. I don’t know what happened to my dad. He lived with us until I was six. Then he was just… gone.”

“Hmm…” Dani looked thoughtful.

“What’s on your mind?” Stella asked.

“Well… your mom’s single, and my dad’s single too, well…”

“What? Oh. My mom has never thought of remarrying.”

Dani sighed. “Neither has my dad. It was a nice thought, though.”

Stella smiled. She sat on a stool, like Dani had already done. “So, what are we gonna do now?”

“Um. I was thinking we could paint our nails, if you want.”

“Okay.”

They both picked out nail polish colors, and sat on the floor.

“So, what do you think of Xavier?” Stella asked.

Dani bit her lip. “He’s… well, I think he’s kinda cute. What do you think of him?”

Stella laughed. “We were in the same class in third grade. Back then, he was Zavy.”

“Really? Zavy?” Dani laughed, almost spilling the Pleasant Peach nail polish.

“Okay. What about Alan?”

“He’s okay. Too… normal.”

“So he’s normal and Xavier isn’t? Wow, Dani.”

“Well,” Dani said, “He’s not my type.”

“Mm-hm.”

“What do you think about him?”

“He’s taller then Xavier. My rule for liking someone used to be he had to be taller then me. That didn’t work out.” They both laughed this time.

Stella smoothed a wrinkle in her sweatpants with one hand, fanning her now bright red toenails dry with the other.

Dani’s dad’s voice came drifting up the stairs. “Dinner’s ready!”

The dining table was set for three, with a huge Hawaiian pizza in the middle. A green salad sat at the far end of the table with a bottle of Italian dressing.

“When we have pizza, it’s not five buck Hot-N-Ready from Little Caesar’s. It’s the real deal,” Dani said. They sat down with Dani’s dad at the head.

“Dani, will you say grace?” he asked.

“Sure thing.” Dani said grace, and Stella sat more than a little uncomfortable. When Dani was finished, her dad asked, “Stella, does your family say grace?”

“No. We don’t practice any religion.”

Dani looked surprised. “Really?”

“Yeah. My dad’s family was Mormon, but they became inactive when his stepfather died.”

“Oh.” Dani’s father pursed his lips.

“Okay, let’s eat,” Dani said cheerfully, obviously trying to prevent an argument. She pulled a huge piece of pizza off the hot pan. “Here,” she said to Stella.

“Thanks.”

XVI

Dani was glad her dad didn’t launch into one of his long lectures about religion. She and Stella were back in her room, spread out on their sleeping bags.

“So,” Dani said. “Do you want to watch a movie?”

“Sure,” Stella replied.

“Okay. I’ve got all of these ones…” She pulled open a drawer. “…and some downstairs.”

They settled on Pride and Prejudice. “I’ll go make some popcorn,” Dani said.

“I’ll come help you, I guess,” Stella said.

They walked down the stairs. Well, Stella did. Dani slid down the banister, her red plaid pajama pants flapping softly.

Soon after, the popcorn was done and they went back up to Dani’s room. As Elizabeth was about to kiss Mr. Darcy, both of the girls nodded off.

XVII

Alan woke up at noon the next day. It felt so good to sleep in. He lazily walked to the kitchen, yawning. There was a green Post-It note on the table.

Alan,

I went to Everton’s to

borrow some boxes for

the photo albums.

Love, Mom

He went to the sink and got himself a cup of water. Then he made some toast with Nutella, spreading it thicker than his mom would let him.

After eating, he rushed upstairs and got himself dressed in a The Simpson’s T-shirt. He grabbed his phone, meaning to check his messages. Instead, he saw the screen light up with Zoë’s picture. A small white message was covering her lips and chin. “Happy Birthday, Zoë!”

Alan looked at it for a second longer, and then snapped his phone closed. He didn’t need to dwell on the past.

Xavier called a couple minutes past two. Alan’s mom still wasn’t home yet.

“Hi Xavier.”

“Hey,” Xavier replied. “What’s up?”

“Nothing really.”

“Wanna come over?”

“Sure. One sec.” Alan pulled out his phone, setting the home phone down the wrong way on the cradle. He dialed his mom’s number. She picked it up on the fourth ring. “Hi mom.”

“Hello,” said a deep female voice on the other line. It was definitely not his mother’s. “I am afraid your mother has been injured in a serious accident. She is at the Hill Side Emergency Hospital. You may come see her.”

“I…” Alan was stunned. “I can’t drive.”

“Hm. A hospital social worker will be along presently to pick you up.”

Alan was shaking. He slowly picked up the home phone receiver. “Hi…”

“Hey. So can you come?” Xavier asked.

“No… something came up.”

“Okay, bye.”

“Bye.”

Alan slowly walked to the couch and laid down on it. After a few minutes, the doorbell rang. He stood up shakily, looking through the peephole in the door. A medium built woman stood on the doorstep.

Alan’s hand trembled as he grasped the doorknob. He yanked the door open before he could change his mind.

The woman turned towards him, extending her hand. “Hello, I’m Sabrina Ghelliare, but you may call me Brina. I am from the Hill Side Emergency Center, and I’m here to take you to see your mom.”

Alan shook hands with the social worker. Brina had long, curly brown hair and wore a green top with a skirt and heels.

“Okay, then. Let’s go,” she said, gesturing to the black sedan parked in the driveway. Alan stumbled to the car.

Sabrina slid into the driver’s seat, turning the already waiting key.

Alan tried to say, “What happened?” but it came out as something between a whisper and a groan.

“Just sit back. Relax. We’ll be at the hospital soon.” The rest of the ride was quiet.

Alan had never been to the emergency center before. It was a three-story brick-and-grey-stone building, with three or four ambulances parked outside.

Sabrina stopped the car and got out. “Come along,” she said, opening the passenger door. Alan stood up, shivering despite the warm weather. The hallways were a blur. They finally stopped in front of a room with the number 64A painted in big black letters on the door. Sabrina pushed it open, knocking on the frame quietly.

“Dr. Emers? The patient’s son is here.”

A doctor in blue scrubs peeked his head around the door. “Alright, Sabrina. Send him in.”

Alan slowly took a couple of shaky steps, afraid of what he might see. On the hospital bed laid his mom, her hair around her head in a perfect halo of auburn. IVs that were hooked to machinery were sprouting from her arms. An oxygen tube ran under her closed eyes and nose.

“She was hit,” Dr. Emers said.

“What?” Alan croaked.

“Hit. By a car. She was walking across the street, and a man, Ben Casper, was driving drunk, and hit her.”

“Will… will she be okay?” Alan looked at his mom, who was usually so strong and happy. He never seen her so frail.

“Yes, she’ll be fine. She has a fractured leg, a broken ankle, and we will need to reconstruct her cheekbones, but, yes, she will be fine.”

“Was the guy arrested?”

“The man who hit her? Yes. He was.”

Alan looked at his mom again. He felt his knees go weak.

He woke up in a hospital room. A nurse and Sabrina stood over him. “Do you feel alright?” Sabrina asked.

“Um, my chest hurts. Right here,” Alan said, pointing to the right side of his torso.

The nurse’s eyes grew wide. “His posttraumatic shock is causing palpitations, and probably some other health issues.” The nurse typed something in a computer to the left of Alan. “Hm.”

Alan started coughing violently. Sabrina grabbed a water bottle off a table and helped Alan drink out of it.

“These problems need to be addressed immediately,” the nurse said, picking up the phone. Alan had another coughing fit as she started talking.

As he lowered his hand from his mouth, it was covered in blood. “—yes, Dr Emers. Coughing.”

“Theresa, he’s coughing blood,” Sabrina said, concerned. The nurse, Theresa, came over to the bed.

“I’ll check his temperature.” She grabbed a strange looking contraption and stuck it in Alan’s ear. It tickled. She pulled it out. “Ninety-seven point eight.”

Sabrina wrote “Alan” in capitol letters across the top of the water bottle with a red Sharpie and set it on the short table next to the bed. Alan found the remote for the bed and sat it up. He flinched as the cord of the IV he hadn’t noticed was in his arm got tugged on. Both Theresa and Sabrina looked at his sudden movement. “Are you alright, dear?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Alan replied just as Dr. Emers walked in and sat on the stool by the bed. As he looked at Alan’s eyes, Alan got his first good look at the doctor. He was an older man, maybe fifty or sixty, with streaks of white through his near-black hair. He had laugh lines at the edges of his eyes and mouth.

As the doctor sat up, he said, “Bronchitis, definitely. Open your mouth, please.” Alan did so, and Dr. Emers shined a small light in his throat. “Yes. He will need to be here for three days, at least. He will need counseling for his shock, and maybe music therapy.”

Theresa nodded. “So what should we put him on for bronchitis?”

“The usual antibiotics. Sabrina, will you go call Mr. Turner?”

She willingly obliged. Alan sat up. “Why do I need to stay here?”

“You have some serious shock symptoms,” Dr. Emers said, standing up. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a patient to treat.”

XVIII

Two months later

Stella sat on the couch, eating some toast with a jar of raspberry jam open next to her with a spoon stuck in it. She could hear the sound of news drifting out of her mom’s room, and she knew her mom was looking for a sign of her dad.

There was a knock at the door, and Stella sighed, brushing toast crumbs off of her sweatpants.

Another knock. “Coming!” Stella reached the splintery door, turned the beat up knob, and yanked the door open.

Alan stood on the doorstep with his mom who was pale and in a wheelchair. “Hi,” Stella said, surprised.

“Hi, Stella. I’m collecting money to pay off our medical bills. You know, since both of us were in the hospital for a while.”

“Okay. On second, I’ll go get some money. She dug around in her mom’s coat to see what change she had. She came up with a total of $1.24, all in coins, plus a Post-It note. As she walked back to the door, she pulled pieces of lint off of the coins.

“Here,” she said, holding it out to Alan. “Sorry it’s not much. By the way, how are you, Mrs. Rasmussen?”

“I’m getting better,” she replied, nodding weakly.

“I’m so glad.”

“Okay, we better go now,” Alan said, wheeling his mom around and walking down the worn and cracked sidewalk.

Stella closed the door and started walking back to the couch. She fiddled with the sticky note she found in her mom’s pocket. It was deeply creased. She unfolded it carefully. In sloppy script it said:

Ben’s phone number: 341-6773

Stella almost fainted. “Dad?” she whispered, reaching for the phone. She punched in the number. After three rings, someone picked it up.

“Hello, this is Ben.”

“Hi.”

“May I ask who is speaking?”

“No… I mean, this is Stella.” Stella hated how she clammed up.

“Who?” the voice on the other line sounded confused.

“Stella. Catalina’s daughter. Your daughter.”

“Oh. Really? Um, how are you?”

“I’m okay. Mom’s okay too.”

“I’m glad.”

“Actually, we aren’t so good. We live in a tumbledown house in Kentucky with no money.”

“What? Aren’t you getting the money I’m sending you in the mail?”

“No. Mom is so sad you left. Why did you? How could you leave us in a bad situation like this? Why?”

“I… I had to. It wasn’t right.”

“Where are you?”

“I live in Utah. I work for a rehab company as a company lawyer. I’m married and I have four kids, Britain, Tanner, and the twins, Connor and Marissa.”

“What?! Married… and kids?! How could you?”

“I loved your mother very much, but we could never be together. Rachel is a much more realistic match for me.”

“Realistic?! Are you saying love has no hand in this?”

“No. The problem was my father. He had strict policy about who his sons would marry. I was young and rebellious. I wanted to show my father that I could make my own decisions. It ended in sadness and tears, and even though I loved your mom more than I could ever love Rachel, it was the right thing to do.”

“Fine!” Stella slammed down the receiver.

XIX

Dani shook a bottle of spray paint violently. The little metal bead rattled around in the cylinder. She stared at the tall wooden structure in front of her. Flat wooden planks rose eight feet into the sky, supported by two thick, square logs that were perpendicular to the wall of wood. Lashed to the top was a makeshift balcony to stand in until the professionally made one was finished.

This piece of set was for the school play, a musical version of “Much Ado About Nothing.” Dani was part of tech and the set design and engineering team. Hero, the romantic lead, was to be played by Ashton Sheffield, a pretty, curvy blonde. Beatrice was going to be played by Tarsia Boater, and her understudy was Stella.

Braden Nightingale was playing Claudio, the love struck war hero. Justin Macnellas was Benedick, Beatrice’s enemy. Leonato and Don Pedro were played by fraternal twins Thomas and Richie Dalheimer.

Dani shook herself out of her thoughts, spraying a burst of Coffee Bean Brown paint onto the awaiting wood. The bottom of the wall shined and dripped paint onto the canvas drop cloth, speckling it in full, rich drops.

Dani heard someone come up behind her. She turned around and saw Randy staring quizzically at the wood.

“Hi Randy,” Dani said with a grin.

“Hey. So what’s this?” Randy replied.

“It’s a set piece for Much Ado About Nothing.”

“Oh, cool. Yvette’s in that. She’s Margaret.”

“Who’s Yvette?” Dani asked, going back to painting.

“She’s my girlfriend. You’ve probably seen her. She’s tall and she’s blond.”

Dani didn’t mention that that description could match a third of the female school population. It was a tiring thing to explain stuff to people who honestly didn’t care.

Stella lay facedown, sobbing on her bed. The door softly closed on the other side of the room. “Honey,” her mom said, “Are you okay?”

“No!” Stella turned her back to her mom.

“Honey, I heard you. Why did you call him?”

“I thought… I thought maybe we could be a family… again.”

“Oh, honey.” Her mother sat down on the edge of the bed, stroking Stella’s hair.

Stella sat up, wiping her hand across her face. Her face was red from crying. “Haven’t you ever thought that it might work out like that?”

“Yes. I called him a year after he left us. I yelled at him, and he said he couldn’t do anything to save our family. Do you remember that night when you found me in my room, and I yelled at you because I didn’t want you to see me crying?”

Stella nodded and buried her face in her mother’s shirt, sobbing. Her mom started singing a lullaby softly. “Oh my little star, you outshine the rest. Oh my star, you can shine the best.”

Stella joined her. “Oh my little star, I wish for you each day. Oh my little star, never fade away.” They clung to each other, now both of them crying. Stella lay down on the bed and grabbed her fleecy baby blanket. Her mother tucked her in.

“Sleep well, darling.”

XXI

Xavier woke up in a good mood, although the night before had been the worst. His mother had gone into labor three weeks early and he had been left to watch Olive. After a couple hours of finger-painting, fingernail painting, and playing ponies, he finally put Olive on the tagalong bike and rode a mile to his Grandma’s to drop Olive off.

She was staying with her today, so Xavier had all the time in the world. He started off the day by making a cup of chocolate milk. Then he called his dad. “Hello, Xavier. How are you?”

“I’m fine, and I already dropped Olive off at Grandma Jen’s. How’s mom?”

“She’s doing well, considering the circumstances.”

“Is the baby okay?”

“Um, they might need to do a C-section, but yes, she’s fine.”

“Great. I’m—“

“Sorry, I gotta go, kid. Bye.” The line went dead. Xavier grabbed the Honey Nut Cheerios off the counter, pouring a generous bowl for himself. He wolfed it down.

As he looked into the living room, he saw the TV itching to be turned on. Grabbing the remote was the first step for his vegging time. Then finding Netflix on the Wii menu, piling a bowl full of caramel, microwave popcorn, M&Ms, pretzels, and assorted nuts, he had completed steps two and three. Settling on the couch, he started munching on his “Xavier Mix.”

The thirty-first episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender lit up the screen. A couple of minutes into the show, the telephone rang. Xavier paused the movie.

“Hello?”

“Hi.” It was his dad. “Your mom wanted to talk to you. Here she is.”

His mom’s voice sounded strained. “Hello, Xavier. She decided to come on her own. I want you to call Grandma Jen in three hours, okay? I love you, Xavier.” The line went dead again, but not before Xavier heard a small grunt.

XXII

Dani watched the end of the rehearsals on Saturday. It was the scene with Margaret in it. Yvette was a tall blonde with a spray-on tan who Dani had seen in the halls. Also, it was a good thing she was pretty, because she was still in Dani’s Geometry class even though she was a junior.

The scene that was being blocked was the one where Margaret gets into Hero’s clothes and kisses Borachio, played by Jaden Trelannie, in front of Don Pedro, Don John and Claudio.

Yvette called out “Line!” more than four times in the scene, awkwardly balancing on a two block in place of the balcony. Her navy blue four inch heels tipped and wobbled on the uneven surface of the block.

As Borachio leaned up to kiss Margaret, there was a clatter and Yvette fell onto the stage floor. “Ow! Oh, ow, ow! I think my ankle’s broken,” she cried.

The director, Mr. Waters, ran up on the stage, helping Yvette up. “Jaden, come help me,” Mr. Waters said. Between them, they managed to get Yvette off the stage and to the nurse’s office.

When Mr. Waters got back, he said to pack up, and they would have Margaret’s part filled on Monday.

XXIII

Alan’s mom made Alfredo noodles with chicken for dinner Saturday night. She only made that when something was happening, or she had to tell him something important. After a few minutes of silence, his mom cleared her throat. “Alan,” she said, “Dad’s coming home in December. The thirteenth.”

Alan slid his peas around his plate. “Okay. Mom, I have a question to ask you. Um, well, prom’s coming up in a couple of weeks. I was wondering if you could help me find a tux to rent.”

“Who are you going with?”

“Well, I kind of haven’t asked her yet.”

“Alan.” His mom looked him straight in the face.

“Fine. I don’t really know how to ask a girl out.”

His mom smiled, wheeling her wheelchair around the table and into the living room. She reached the half-unpacked bookcase. She dug around in the boxes that were stacked around until she found a maroon binder with papers sticking out around the edges.

Alan’s mom flipped through the pages. Her tongue stuck out barely, like always when she was thinking. She found the page she was looking for, and she wheeled back to the table.

“Here. This is your dad and I at the prom.”

Alan tilted his head so he could see the old photo. His dad was wearing an all-black tux with a black tie and shirt. His mom was smiling really big. She was dressed in a long, poofy, shimmering dark blue strapless dress with long white gloves. Their arms were linked. There was a sparkling crown on his mother’s head and a matching crown on his dad’s.

“You guys were prom king and queen?” Alan asked, disbelieving.

“No, we were just a prince and princess. It’s how we met.”

“So Dad didn’t even actually ask you?”

“Nope.”

“Then I really don’t see how this is supposed to help me.”

“Alan. Really. This is a great opportunity to learn about what your father and I were like before you were born.”

“Mom! I really, really need help.”

“Okay. Who are you going to ask?”

“Stella Turner.”

“The girl that we saw yesterday?”

“Yeah.”

“What does she like?”

“Um, I think she likes dancing.”

“What type?”

“Ballroom.”

“One second.” His mom went into the office. “Here,” she said when she got back. It was a swing CD.

“On Monday, go give this to her. Ask her then.”

Alan nodded. As he fell asleep that night, he thought about how Stella might react.

XXIV

As Dani walked in to school on Monday, she noticed posters advertising prom everywhere. Boys ask! Girls are going FAST!

She saw Randy helping Yvette to the math wing. She had a cast on her leg and was using crutches. Dani waved to them, but she doubted they saw her. She had to rush to math to be on time. She reached the door as the two minute bell rung. Mrs. Tea was collecting math papers at the front. She was an average height silver haired sixty-two.

Dani slid into a chair next to Yvette. “Are you okay?” she whispered.

“I guess. It really hurts,” Yvette replied.

“I’m sorry.”

Yvette had a confused look on her face. “What did you do?”

Yeah, she’s really lucky she’s pretty, Dani thought.

After school, Dani went straight to the parking lot to work on the sets. Since the balcony had been painted, and all it needed was the actual “balcony” part, she was assigned to arrange artificial rose bushes in big stone urns.

Mrs. Jan (who was in charge of the sets) approached Dani. “Dani, Mr. Waters was wondering if you could do Margaret’s part until we get a new actor for the part.”

“Um, sure, I guess.” She wiped her hands on her jeans and followed Mrs. Jan into the auditorium. The block was set up in the same position as yesterday. Dani unsteadily got on top of it. Someone thrust a script in her face.

“Okay, everyone, quiet on set!” Mr. Waters’ assistant called out. The auditorium quieted down.

“Let’s run scene six again,” Mr. Waters said. “Don John” crept onstage with Claudio and Don Pedro following close behind. Dani said a couple of lines as Borachio came on, gently caressing her hand as he grabbed it gently.

The spying characters spoke a few lines, then Dani leaned down to hug Borachio, then he pulled her down again, this time for a fleeting kiss. She jumped a little as their lips connected.

She “heard” rustling and sent Borachio offstage. She hurriedly got off the block. Mr. Waters motioned for her to come over to him with a slight wave.

“Miss Smithens, would you like to keep the role of Margaret?” he asked. “I was very impressed.”

“Yes, I guess. If you really want me to,” Dani replied.

“That would be great. Thank you.”

XXV

That night, Stella sat on her bed cross-legged. She was listening to the music Alan had given her while flipping through a fashion magazine. She was looking for a prom dress. She saw an empire waist halter dress that she liked, but it just wasn’t right. And there was a silver and turquoise wraparound. A light, airy raspberry colored one. A red and purple, strapless tea-length.

There were so many to choose from! Only problem was, either they weren’t right or they cost too much. As she flipped through more pages, something caught her eye. It was a strapless dress with netting around the arms. It was made out of a material that had blue, green, red and purple triangles fitted together. There was a slit running up one side of the dress. Her heart was racing. At least, until she saw the price. $219.99.

Frustrated, she threw her pillow at the wall. She wasn’t going to spend her college money on a dumb dress, even though it was tempting. Stella got off the bed went to her mom’s room.

“Mom, I need a prom dress.”

“You’re going to prom?” her mom asked.

“Yes. A guy asked me today.”

“Hm. Let me see what I have.” Her mom started rummaging in her closet. “So, what’s his name?”

“Alan.”

“Have I met him?”

“No. His mom’s the one that got in a car crash a couple months back,” Stella replied.

“Okay.” Her mom pulled out some long evening gowns. “So, here’s the one I wore to Great Aunt Maureen’s wedding,” she said. It was a long-sleeved lavender grey dress with subtle ruching along the body. Her mother laid it on the bed.

Pulling out another gown, she said, “This one I wore to the Metropolitan Opera.” The gown was orange, and covered in red beads. It was strapless with a sweetheart neckline lined in red lace.

“I wore this to prom in my senior year. My mother bought it for me.” The gown was long and flowing, and the top was lined in silk primroses.

She pulled out several others, including a plain, dark dress, a sleeveless scoop neck, and a light pink tulle covered mermaid.

Stella tried on each of them. The ones that fit the best were the lavender one and the one lined with rosettes. She eventually settled on the lavender one. It ended just above her knees.

As Stella spun around in front of the mirror, her mother searched her jewelry box for an appropriate necklace for her daughter. She walked to Stella and clasped a string of freshwater pearls around her neck. “You look beautiful.”

XXVI

The Day Before Prom

Xavier wrung his hands nervously. His mom had helped him pick out a suit for prom, and he was pretty ready. The only problem was, he hadn’t asked Dani to go with him yet. His mom had more time now that she was home with Angeline, the new baby, but apparently not enough time to give him some pointers.

It was the period before lunch. PE. As they ran laps and did pushups and learned about how to shoot three pointers, Xavier found his mind wandering. Coach Olsen barked orders at them, but Xavier hardly heard him. Finally the bell rang, and Xavier scrambled into his clothes.

At the cafeteria, he found Dani waiting for him at their usual table, but Alan and Stella weren’t there. “Hey you,” Dani said. “So are you gonna ask me to prom or what?”

“Yeah.” Xavier felt really dumb. “Do you want to go to homecoming with me?”

“Duh.” Then something unexpected happened. Dani leaned over the table and kissed him. On the lips.

XXVII

When Dani got home that day, she went straight to her room. Her lips still tingled from the “incident” earlier in the day. She picked up the dress that lay on her bed, holding it up to her body. It was yellow, with spaghetti straps and a full skirt. As she shimmied into the dress, she thought about having Stella over.

When Dani was all zipped up, she grabbed the phone and dialed Stella’s number. “Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” Stella replied. “What’s up?”

“Do you want to come over to get ready for the dance?”

“Cool. I’ll be over in a jiff.”

Dani hung up the phone. Ten minutes later Stella arrived. She was wearing a tight light purple dress with a low back.
“Cute dress,” Stella said.

“Thanks. I like yours too,” Dani replied. “So what should we start with? Hair, makeup…”

“How about makeup?”

“Great! Will you do mine?”

“Sure.” They settled in on the chairs in Dani’s room. Stella pulled some containers and packages out of her purse. Next to come was a pack of brushes.

“Okay. Close your eyes,” she said. Dani could feel the brush flitting over her eyelids. “You have great eyes,” Stella remarked.

“Thank you.” When the brush stopped, Dani felt a cold, wet something drag across the base of her eyelashes. Eyeliner, she thought.

“Open, please.” Dani flinched a little as Stella’s mascara wand came closer to her eye, but Stella said, “Don’t move,” so she didn’t after that.

After much pinching, rubbing, and touching up, Dani was finally allowed to look in the mirror. Her first thought was, Stella is a miracle worker. Her brown eyes were accented in gold eye shadow and dark eyeliner. Her lips shimmered with gloss. “Wow.”

Stella smiled. She had already started on herself. Gray eye shadow, pink lips, and a slight blush to create an illusion of glowi-ness.

When Stella was finished, Dani said, “You should leave your hair down.”

“You too.”

XXVIII

Alan fiddled with his corsage, making certain it was straight. His mom wheeled her way in. She mussed a little with his hair and tightened his light pink tie. She leaned back, inspecting her handiwork. Then she pulled him into a hug. “You look handsome.”

“Thanks. What time is it?”

“Six-oh-three.” His mother tugged his lapels a bit. “Okay, stand back so I can take a picture to send to Dad,” she said, producing a camera from the bag hanging from the handle of her wheelchair. Alan gave her a huge smile and two thumbs up. He saw the camera flash several times.

“You better head out. I saw lights in the driveway.” Alan’s mom kissed him on the forehead. He headed out to Xavier’s car, a bulky red SUV. He got in the back, sitting among crushed Cheerios, Sippy cups, and baby bottles.

After a short drive, they reached the school. Dani and Stella were waiting for them in a prearranged spot. “Shall we?” Xavier said, straightening his simple powder blue suit and handing a red rose corsage to Dani.

Alan handed the baby’s breath and pink rose corsage to Stella and she slipped it over her wrist. He looked her over. “You look good.”

She smiled. “You do too.” Dani and Xavier had already gone into the gym, and they followed. They danced to TikTok by Ke$ha then headed to the snack table. Alan grabbed all he could stuff onto his tiny plastic plate. They stood at the edge of the gym eating until the next song, Burning in the Deep by Adele. Several cheers went up, and people flooded onto the floor, like hungry piranhas to a piece of fresh meat.

Stella pulled Alan through the crowd, smiling. They started dancing in a tight circle of people. Her movements were flowing, like water. Soon, most everyone had stopped dancing to watch Alan and Stella spin around and around. Cheers, wolf whistles, and hoots traveled around the room.

The song finally ended. A voice crackled over the intercom: “Students, cast your votes for prom king and queen! The winners will be announced in fifteen minutes!”

XXIX

Dani saw Stella sat down on a folding chair on the edge of the gym, obviously flustered. Xavier was off talking to Alan and some other guys, so Dani went to talk to her. As she approached, she noticed that Randy and Yvette were talking to Stella. Yvette was wearing a knee length yellow cross top dress.

Randy stood up, offering his seat to Dani. She accepted with a smile. “Hi guys. What’s up?”

“I’m just resting because I can’t dance,” Yvette said seriously, glancing at her cast.

“Okay. What about you, Stella?” Dani asked. She looked towards Stella’s seat, now empty. “Oh well.”

Just that moment, Xavier called out, “Dani! C’mon, let’s dance!” so she left with a goodbye.

She met Xavier at the middle of the floor. Some slow song was playing, and several couples were swaying to the beat.

Dani grabbed Xavier’s hands and swayed with him until the song was interrupted by a squeak and crackle, then the vice principal, Mrs. Gimmsey, started to speak. “Students, please calm down. We are tallying the votes.” Someone came up to Mrs. Gimmsey and had a short whispered conversation with her. “Students, we are having some difficulties with the votes. It will be resolved momentarily.”

XXX

Xavier stood patiently with Dani at his side. He was dazzled by her beauty tonight. Her eyes were bigger than ever, and her dress hugged her in the right ways to make her look curvier.

Mrs. Gimmsey came back to the podium. “Now your student body president, Maria Hernandez, will announce the results,” she said.

A tall Hispanic girl walked into view. Her tiered red dress flapped as she spun towards the podium. “Hi everyone! I am pleased to announce this year’s prom royalty.” She pulled a white envelope off the surface of the podium with a flourish. She pulled out a piece of plain paper, unfolding it dramatically. “Prom king is… Braden Nightingale! Come on up, Braden!” He bounded on stage, and a smiling red haired girl put a plastic crown on his head.

“Prom queen is… Janette Potter!” The red haired girl looked shocked, then smiled and carefully put the other crown on her own head. “Congrats, guys!” Maria said with gusto.

The newly crowned king and queen were dancing to Last Kiss by Taylor Swift when the fire alarms went off all over the school. Some girls screamed, and immediately the exits were crowded with students trying to get out, with the teachers trying to keep order. In vain, might I add.

Xavier pulled Dani close to him. She said something that was incomprehensible. “What?” Xavier yelled.

“Alan and Stella are over there!” she said, louder this time. Xavier looked over some heads, and, sure enough, he saw them hiding under some tables, laughing. Stella noticed them and beckoned them over. They forced their way to Alan and Stella.

“What are you doing?” Xavier demanded.

Stella’s eyes twinkled. “Taking advantage of some mischief.”

“What?” Dani said, “You pulled the fire alarm?”

“No, and there’s no fire, anyways,” Alan replied.

“How do you know?” Xavier asked skeptically.

“We saw the football team crowd around the fire alarm,” Stella said.

XXXI

Alan’s suit was itchy. He took off his jacket and lay on the ground next to him. They waited without conversation for the last people to filter out. The alarm pierced the silence at regular intervals. Finally, Alan stood up. “We should maybe leave,” he suggested.

“Maybe,” Stella agreed. The rest of them stood up. “But before we go, let’s eat some food.”

“Okay,” Xavier agreed readily. They walked to the snack table and stuffed their pockets and purses with treats.

“Okay, let’s go. I hear sirens,” Dani said.

“Good idea.”

They slipped out the back door, closing it lightly behind them. The sidewalk was completely deserted except for a few people that were talking into cell phones worriedly. Dani called her dad, and he picked up his daughter and Xavier.

Stella slipped her hand into Alan’s hand. They started walking around the school. “So, that was fun,” Stella said.

“Yeah, it was. Do you want to go to the Winter Ball with me?”

“Sure.”

“Sweet.” They walked in silence for a few minutes. “This is kind of awkward,” Alan noticed.

“Yeah,” Stella replied.

“So, tell me about your family,” Alan said.

“My mom and dad were never married. We lived together until I was six. Then he left.”

“Oh,” Alan said, uncomfortable.

“What about yours?” Stella asked.

“My what?”

“Your family.”

“My dad is part of the army. He’s coming home in December. My mom was just in that accident, you know. I don’t have any siblings.”

There was another long pause.

“What should we do now?”

“Kiss me, you dork.”

And he did.

THE END

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