Prom Queen of Disaster by Joseph James Hunt

while we get back to our dance!”
    “ Woo! ” we roared in support. Ava rarely showed her smarts, but when she did, she really showed them.
    They left as swiftly as they came. We were in our short skirts and cheer tops, of course, we weren’t smuggling any bags of cocaine. But if spiking punch bowls at school dances were an issue, you’d have to think, what else was being hidden.
    “Okay team,” Char shouted as we rounded ourselves up. “The competition is in three weeks. I know, it doesn’t seem far away, but that’s around twenty-four days. It’s after Thanksgiving, so we’ll need to curb carb loaded dinners. And then a few nights later we have a basketball game to cheer for, so we cannot slack.”
    Mr. June butted in. “But the main goal is fun.”
    “And win,” Char added. “Always go for the win. We’re a team.”
    “Most importantly, the fun.” Mr. June laughed. “Char is your cheer captain, of course, she wants the win. I’d hope you all want to win.”
    We had practice scheduled in for most days after school, and when we didn’t, I was signed up for extra studio time to figure out a concept for my senior pieces. The better the pieces, the higher chance of being showcased in an actual gallery and receiving a scholarship.
    I waited in the bleachers for Dylan after practice had finished. He came over, covered in sweat and craned his head toward mine for a kiss, I pulled away and held a hand up. “Didn’t you shower?” I asked.
    “I knew you were waiting for me,” he said, stealing a kiss.
    Not having a car meant I had to count on friends, and my loving boyfriend to get to and from school. I would count on my mom but she drove Maddie, and if she drove me as well, it meant I would always be late, or she’d drop me off disgustingly early, and I was a fan of neither option.
    “Date night on Saturday?” he asked on the drive back to my house. “We both have practice during the day, but in the evening we could go to the drive-in theater.” He pulled up.
    “I’d like that,” I said, kissing him.
    “Good, I’ve bought tickets,” he said. “I think it’s Carrie.”
    “Old one, or Chloe Grace-Moretz one?”
    He shrugged. “I think everyone’s going,” he said.
    So, it wasn’t date night, it was an outing with friends. “It’ll still be nice,” I said.
    I kissed him again. “See you, tomorrow.”
     
     
     

Chapter Ten
     
    It was the 1976 CARRIE, with Sissy Spacek. I made sure to look it up; it wasn’t half as scary as the new one. Having spent the past couple of days attempting to sketch something resembling the talent I believed I had, especially after so many years being told my art was good—perhaps it was refrigerator art. Either way, I was ready to relax.
    “Mom,” I called from my room. She stood in my doorway as I shimmied into a skirt. “How does this look?”
    She walked in behind me, looking at my reflection in the mirror. “Perfect, as always, sweetie.” I brushed my hand down to straighten the creases. “Is this for the drive-in movie theater they’ve just reopened?”
    “Yeah,” I said.
    “Your dad and I would go there when we were dating,” she said. “In fact, we’d go there with your friend, Kaleb’s parents. We were so close.”
    “So you knew his family really well?” I asked, turning to her.
    “I guess.”
    “What about now?”
    “Well, we sometimes bump into the older brothers, their faces are quite familiar, not so sure if they know me, but I always wave out of politeness. They own some club, bar, whatchamacallit, out on the freeway.”
    I knew that too well. I smiled. “Mom,” I said, taking a deep breath. “I think Kaleb spiked the punch.”
    “Oh?” she said, her eyebrows knit tight together. “I had an update from your school; they don’t know who’s responsible.”
    “I haven’t told them,” I blurted. “I don’t want to get him in trouble, he’s new at the school.”
    “Zo, honey.” She wrapped her arms around me and