RESURRECTED by Morgan Rice Page B

respond, for him to ask her to the dance? That was all she needed. Then it would have been too late for Vivian—there was nothing she could have said or done. Now, anything could happen.
    God, she hated her. More than anything. She literally stole Blake out from under her, with a second left to go.
    And even worse, as luck would have it, Scarlet knew that Blake and Vivian had their next class together. Another stroke of bad luck. If they had just separated after that, if Blake had been in Scarlet’s class, then she would have at least had had a chance to set things right. But now Vivian had a full 40 minutes to convince him. Who knew what they were talking about; who knew what she was saying about her. Scarlet felt sure that she wasn’t wasting any time, that somehow she would convince Blake to ask her to the dance. Would he?
    The thought burned Scarlet up inside. She kept replaying in her head all the details of her and Blake’s date together. At various points in the movie their elbows and arms had touched, and he hadn’t backed away. Neither had she. She felt that he wanted to be closer; but she also felt that he was really nervous. So was she. She wondered once again if she messed up by introducing him to her family as her “boyfriend.” Maybe she should have just introduced him as “her friend.” But that seemed so awkward and childish, like she was in third grade. Plus, she hadn’t wanted them to look at and treat him like any other friend. She had felt a need to draw a line, to be a bit independent, especially from her dad, who could be super protective.

    She wished that she hadn’t been put in that position to begin with, hadn’t been surprised and had to introduce him to everyone. But at the same time, she’d loved having Blake there, and he had seemed like a perfect fit with her family. It had felt so natural.
    What would she do if Blake didn’t ask her to the dance? And worse: what if he took Vivian?
    Scarlet would be so embarrassed in front of all her friends, who just moments before were announcing to the world that they were dating.
    “Darryl asked Jasmin to the dance,” Maria whispered from the seat beside her. “Can you believe it? That leaves only me and you without dates.”
    Maria must have been reading her mind. Talk of the dance made her stomach drop. The pressure was on, and it was building. Soon, everyone would have a date. Everyone but her.
    “So,” Maria whispered. “You’re leaving me in suspense. Did he ask you?” Scarlet blinked back at her, for a moment wondering what she was talking about. And then she realized. Blake. She wanted to know if Blake had asked her to the dance.
    Scarlet shrugged.
    “Um…not really. I mean, he started to, but then Vivian showed up.”
    “No!” Maria said, eyes opening in disbelief. “What happened?”
    “Scarlet and Maria stop speaking right now!” snapped the teacher.
    It was another teacher that Scarlet dreaded—her biology teacher. She couldn’t think of any subject more boring, and this teacher was a close second in meanness to her math teacher.
    But this time, Scarlet welcomed the rebuke. It gave her a chance to regroup, to not have to answer any more questions. She turned and stared out the window, and zoned out all the way until the bell rang.
    Scarlet shuffled quickly out the room, Maria by her side, and the two made their way towards the cafeteria, for lunch. As the halls filled with students, surging towards lunch, the energy increased in the air, and the noise got louder. Scarlet started to get nervous as they approached. Blake would be there. He always was. Would he come up to her? Would he ignore her? Would he be sitting with Vivian?
    Worse, had Vivian already asked him to the dance? Scarlet didn’t think so. As much as Vivian wanted to go with him, it would also be awkward for her to ask. That wouldn’t put her in the best light—and it might even backfire.
    Scarlet realized this might be her last chance. She had to