The rest of the day passed with a sort of apprehensive, electric stillness, as though the entire town of Sunnycrest was holding its breath in anticipation. The teens chatted and hung out like normal, but every conversation had the long shadow of the dance looming over it, squelching their words and never leaving their minds.
It wasn't until night fell and students began arriving at the Sandman Drive-In that some of that joyous dread was finally released, when trembling hands began wrapping around trembling bodies in dance.
Considering there were only twenty-four hours of prep time, the drive-in looked thoroughly festive. Indeed, there were streamers, wagon wheels, pumpkins, and hay bales (some with bullet holes in them), but someone also had the bright idea to light up the movie screen with some old educational films about farming and harvesting that Torey's brother had found in his bottomless vault of cinematic oddities. Spotlights drifted over the ever-growing crowd of kids, and music was blasting.
“Wow, the student council did a great job!” remarked Alicia. She had done her hair up, and was wearing a tight, green, one shoulder dress that fell just a little above her knees.
“Yeah, this is awesome!” said Lindsey, holding a cup of punch. She took a small flask out of her cleavage and started making the cup of punch a little more interesting.
“Ooh! Me, me!” said Alicia, thrusting her own cup forward. Lindsey graciously tipped a splash of alcohol into it.
“H-hey, come on, you guys!” said Caitlin, eyes darting around. Her floor-length dress was deep orange, with a high neckline and lace applique. “My mom's gonna see!”
Lindsey quickly tucked it away again. “Pish posh, Cait. She won't see. Besides, sneaking in alcohol, trying to outwit the chaperones...It's a crucial part of any high school dance! I've been waiting for this night for months, and I want the full experience.”
Lawrence looked up from the computers and machinery he was hooking together. “That includes making out with your charming date, right?” he asked.
“If I had one, then it would,” she replied.
“Ouch,” said Caitlin.
“How's that coming, by the way, Lawrence?” asked Alicia brightly. “Will it be all ready by the time Melissa C. gets here?”
Lawrence looked down at the tangle of cables and wiped his forehead. “Well, this stuff wasn't exactly made to go portable, so I kind of had to get sloppy converting it for use with a mobile power source...It's a bit of a mess, but another five minutes and I'll be ready to go.”
“Awesome!” cheered Alicia.
“By all means, take your time. As long as you're doing that, you're too busy to dance with me,” said Lindsey.
Caitlin looked at her. “What about you? Do you have the distraction ready?”
The blonde frowned and unscrewed the lid of her flask again. “What does it look like?” she asked miserably. “I don't get why I have to do it. Haven't I suffered enough?”
“It's because she's already mad at you for taking her flyer spot. You're the one who'll get her really riled up,” Caitlin answered. “If me or Alicia did it, it might not bother her as much.”
“We're back!” said Kirk. He and Marcus were dressed in tuxedos, and were returning with a corn dog each.
“Oh, hey boys!” said Alicia.
“Wow, Caitlin,” said Marcus, completely entranced. “I know I already said this, but man, you look hot. Like, just so, so hot.”
“Well, uh, thanks,” said Caitlin. She smiled. “What else do you like about me? Aside from looks.”
He thought about it. “Well, I guess I'd have to say, the way you carry yourself. You carry yourself like a person who is hot.”
She sighed. “Yeah.”
Kirk was looking around with his usual earnest, golden retriever demeanor. “Hey, Lindsey! Where's your date?”
“Probably off being a cool, handsome badass somewhere!” commented Marcus.
Lawrence stood and pushed up his glasses. “Actually, I'm right here!”
They paused, staring at him for a moment, then burst out laughing. “Hah! This guy! Sense of humor on this one!” Marcus laughed, slapping the geek on the back and nearly knocking him over.
“Uh, no, actually, he is my date,” said Lindsey. They looked at her, shocked, and she affected an imperious air. “You see, Harvest was drawing near, and I noticed this poor, unfortunate boy did not yet have a date, and very likely would not get one. Taking pity on him, I decided to sacrifice my own happiness to ensure that he could make some fun Harvest memories, by giving him a date he had never even dreamt possible! The date of a lifetime!”
“Wow,” said Kirk, moved. “How noble of you!”
“Yeah, no kidding. That's a very Lady of the Harvest thing to do,” agreed Marcus.
She gave a pious smile. “Yes, I thought so. Can I be counting on your votes?”
“Where'd you guys get those corn dogs? I want one,” said Alicia.
Marcus pointed the corn dog over his shoulder. “They've got the concession stand open. All kinds of stuff!”
Alicia looked. The concession stand was lit up, and behind the counter was Maxine in her work uniform, looking miserable. For some reason, she felt a twinge of guilt.
They nicely asked Marcus and Kirk to go get three more corn dogs, and the boys obliged. Shortly after they left, Victoria walked over. She was wearing a ball gown with a white, elaborately sequined bodice, and a pink-and-white skirt with broad, beautiful ruffles. As always, her face and hair were without flaw, carefully made up and perfectly straight, respectively.
“Hey,” she said, then paused for compliments.
“VICTORIA!” exploded Alicia. “Oh my god, you look amazing!”
Lindsey and Caitlin sort of wished Alicia had enough self-control not to encourage Victoria, but now that the cat was out of the bag they had to admit it, too. “You really do,” said Caitlin.
“I know,” accepted Victoria, turning up her nose. “Of course, you all look quite nice, too. We are truly representing the squad well tonight!”
Alicia was getting her phone out. “I just have to get a picture, Victoria. You look so cute! With that dress and your perfect hair and your skin, you look just like a little doll!”
This rubbed Victoria the wrong way. “I...I do not! You must be blind, Alicia! I look like a sophisticated, adult woman!”
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Alicia snapped her picture. “Oh, you're right, you do. Of course, you do, you look all grown up,” she said in the most patronizing voice to ever be unintentional. She squeezed in and managed to get a selfie with precious little Victoria before she was forcefully shoved away.
“Ahem!” countered Victoria, clearly getting very annoyed. She looked for a way to change the subject, and found one. Composing herself, she put a hand on one hip and looked as stuck-up as she could. “So, I saw Marcus and Kirk over there by the concession stand, and I know they're with you two...” she aimed her pointer and middle finger at Alicia and Caitlin, then narrowed her eyes at Lindsey, “...but who are YOU here with, Lindsey? You DID manage to find someone, I hope?”
Lindsey scoffed and crossed her arms. “Hah! You realize this ME you're talking about, right? Of course, I found someone!”
“Oh? Is that right?” sniffed Victoria, looking around. “Then where is he?”
The taller girl hesitated. “He's, er...he's...”
All Lindsey could do was get it over with. Bracing herself for impact, she pointed at Lawrence, who gave a cheerful wave from the cables he was untangling. “He's right there.”
Victoria had no reaction. “Yes, haha, very funny. Do I look like I'm in a joking mood, Lindsey? Your ASSISTANT CAPTAIN just asked you a question.”
Alicia intervened. “Er, Victoria...she's serious. She really is here with Lawrence.”
This sank in very slowly. Victoria looked from Alicia, to Lawrence, to Lindsey, then back to Lawrence again. Then, she clutched her stomach with both hands and doubled over with laughter. “HAHAHA! OH. OH. Wow. Oh wowAHAHA!”
“At least she's taking it well,” said Caitlin.
Victoria wiped away a tear of laughter. “Oh, Lindsey. Oh, my goodness, Lindsey. This is too good. This is simply too good. You have no idea how much joy this brings me. Lindsey Ericson, going to Harvest with...” She looked up at Lawrence again, then broke into a fresh wave of guffaws, “...with this ugly dork! Oh, that is perfect. I'm dreaming, I must be. I always said you'd fuck any guy with three legs, and I guess now I have proof!”
“We are NOT fucking,” prickled Lindsey. “And you don't have the right to laugh at anyone's date, Miss 'I'm bringing a college guy, I swear.' Where is he, huh? Let's see him!”
Victoria quickly straightened. Her cheeks, red with laughter, suddenly blanched. “Er... well, uh, you can't.”
Lindsey nodded. “Mmhmm. I thought so. Only you can see him, isn't that right?”
“No! He's not imaginary!” argued Victoria. Her mind raced. “He's, uh... um, well...” Then, she thought of something. “We decided it would be best if he didn't come.”
“Is that so?” asked Caitlin. “And why would that be?”
“Well, think about it. What kind of loser college student would go to a high school dance, anyway?” asked Victoria.
“She has a point there,” Lawrence admitted. Lindsey gave him a 'shut up' look, so he did.
“To continue. Would I EVER date the kind of person who would go to a high school dance as a responsible adult man?”
“Probably not,” said Caitlin, wondering where she was going with this.
“Well, there you go. That's why he's not here. He's simply too cool, even cooler than I expected. I really landed a prized catch this time,” Victoria self-congratulated.
Lindsey pointed at her. “A likely story, but where's the proof? As far as I'm concerned, he's imaginary until proven corporeal!”
Victoria chuckled. “Oh, Lindsey. Don't you get it? Let me walk you through this, since you seem to be having trouble understanding. The fact that I am dating this guy means he is cool. Were he here, he would be a loser, which would mean I am not dating him, since I do not date losers. As you can see, this is a conundrum. A college guy who is dating me and who would also willfully come to a high school dance is a physical impossibility; he could not actually exist in the real world. Thus, if we assume that his being here would definitely prove that he does not exist, then him NOT being here must prove beyond any doubt that he does.”
There was a pause as they soaked this all in. “It's airtight,” conceded Alicia.
“No it isn't,” said Lindsey. “She's just trying to confuse us.” But even she sounded uncertain.
........
Chase's leg jiggled antsily as she sat in Alicia's living room, her eyes stalking the hands of the clock. The dramatically flared base of the wine-colored dress she wore shook with each unconscious tremor. Before Kirk picked her up, Alicia had helped Chase do her makeup, and also gave Chase and her cast some assistance getting into her dress. Now all that was left was for Torey to arrive.
With every passing minute, Chase's nervousness compounded. He was taking an awfully long time, wasn't he? He was already half an hour late! Not that Chase had learned to tell time yet, but it sure felt like he was half an hour late. She continued to watch the clock anyway, a learned behavior from her friends, appropriate for use when waiting for something good to happen.
When the doorbell finally rang, she gratefully jumped up to her feet. Being planted on the floor didn't make her legs any steadier, though—her knees were shaking violently. She realized her heart was pounding harder than it ever had in any battle.
What was wrong with her? She had never faced the unknown with anything less than complete fearlessness. This was nothing compared to fighting McBride, or Melissa C...
Suddenly, she felt herself strengthen. Melissa C. That's right, she'd be attacking tonight. Tonight wasn't just about fun, Chase also had work to do. She had to take it seriously, couldn't weaken or let her guard down, or someone could lose their life, herself being the most likely candidate.
Steady as a rock, she strode to the door and opened it.
Torey's jaw dropped when he saw her. He looked pretty dapper himself in his tux. She'd previously had a hard time picturing him in anything resembling formalwear, but it turned out he cleaned up pretty well.
“Hi, Tor!” she said. “Like tux!”
He managed to close his mouth without too much of a battle, but remembering how to speak wasn't quite so easy. “Uh...Um, yeah. The tux. Yeah, thanks,” he said. “You look...amazing. That dress is incredible. I thought you were having a hard time finding one, where'd you score one so great?”
She hadn't counted on him asking this. “Oh! Uh...” She couldn't exactly tell him that Lindsey had let her wear hers...that might make him ask why Lindsey couldn't use it. It was time to bust out another learned behavior, one of Alicia's cutesy winks. “...that a secret!”
The wink was cutesy enough to get him to drop the subject. Feeling a bit drunk on his date's beauty, he gestured toward the street. “Well then, um, shall we get going? Your ride's here.”
Chase was mystified by what she saw. A large, silver-colored limousine was parked in front of Alicia's house.
“Car is long!” she blurted excitedly. “Big long! Leash and Cait in there with dates?!”
Torey smiled fondly. “Well, no. Actually, it's just for the two of us.”
Chase could not believe such luxury was possible. Her high heels tapped on Alicia's front walk as she approached the limo, almost feeling unworthy. As they drew closer, the driver stepped out, walked around the vehicle, and opened the back door for them. “Good evening, Madam. My name is Edgar, and I shall be your driver this evening.”
She was amazed by this. “Us no drive? Us no open door?”
“That's right. All we have to do is relax and enjoy the ride,” Torey answered. “Ladies first!”
When she got in, it was her jaw's turn to drop. The limo looked even bigger on the inside. Both walls were lined with seats, and it was fully decked out with a small bar, a minifridge, state-of-the-art sound system, and a big TV with a video game console hooked up to it.
“Whoa!” she said. “Long car full with stuff!”
Torey slid in next to her, and the door closed. “Yeah, pretty cool, huh? I've never been in one of these, either. Hey, before I forget, close your eyes for a second.”
Chase did. She heard the sound of Torey moving around, felt the limo begin to drive, and then he said, “Alright, you can open them.”
She opened her eyes. In his hand was a white rose corsage.
“Oh!” she said, surprised.
“I didn't know what color your dress was, but I figured white went with pretty much anything...” he rambled. “Here, hold out your hand.”
She did, and he slid the corsage onto her wrist.
Chase did not particularly have any interest in flowers. Growing up in the woods, she knew a lot about them and could identify many of their different types, but she never really found them pretty, per se. Here and now, though, in this context, she had to admit that she found those little white roses very beautiful.
“Wow, look so nice! They best! Thank you, Tor!” she said gratefully.
For some reason, he felt embarrassed by her reaction. “Haha, really? Great. I was kinda worried you'd think it was lame or old fashioned or—”
Chase did not ask him to close his eyes before she gave him his present. His thought went unfinished as she planted a kiss on his lips.