The car came to a screeching halt as we arrived in front of the school’s gate.

“Alright boys and girls, we’re here!” he cheerfully announced as he put the car into park.

“Thank you for driving us,” Blake said as he opened the door.

“Oh, before I forget.” I reached into one of my many pockets and took out the deck. I presented it to him as he looked at it like it was a deadly disease.

“Sorry about the irony, but this was the only thing I could get in such short notice,” I said with a friendly smile as I rubbed my neck. Despite the boldness of the act, my heart was perfectly calm.

“Right, because you're a magician,” he whispered. He slowly and hesitantly grasped the deck with his hands before fully taking it away. “I appreciate it, although next time I would suggest picking something a bit more appropriate.”

“Of course,” I replied with the same smile. “Thank you, again.”

With that, I exited through the door. Everyone else did the same. Oscar handed the keys back to Blake and we walked to the gate.

“Names?” one of the students grumbled out. I guess he wasn’t particularly fond about his post.

“Zackary Zephyr, Blake Lockheart, and Jocelyn Saxe.”

“Lockheart … Saxe,” he whispered as he flipped through the pages and highlighted our names. “Zephyr. You three are good to go in.”

The two began to walk while I opened my mouth. “Frankly, I’m hurt by the-” I said before Blake began to pull me away.

“Hey! That wasn’t nice!”

“You were about to embarrass the both of us,” he deadpanned.

“Do you agree with that?” I asked as I turned to Jocelyn.

“Yes,” she answered. Her face moved slightly to hide from us.

“Your words cut so deep,” I playfully cried out. “Oh hey, there’s Leah.”

I waved to get her attention. She stopped talking to Oliver, who was setting up his trombone at one of the stations, and walked over to us.

“So how did it go?” she asked with a grin.

“Since when did they allow students to perform?

“Stop deflecting.”

“Heh,” I sounded out. “It went … good, I think?” I turned to Jocelyn and Blake for their input.

“Don’t look at me!” Blake said. Then, we all looked at the awkward Jocelyn.

“All things considered, it went well,” she said. “I thought it would’ve been way worse, especially with the stalking.”

“The what?” I asked. “He surveilled me?”

Leah snickered, but Blake shared in my concern.

“No, he just …” she began before lowering her voice. “might’ve googled you.”

“Oh, I thought it was going to be way worse,” I said as I put my hand over my pounding heart.

“Why?” Leah asked, narrowing her eyes. “What are you afraid of him finding?”

“My secret drug stash,” I deadpanned. “You need a little more faith. I have good interpersonal skills.”

“Whatever you say,” Jocelyn said, taking her turn to pick on me. “So what do we do now?”

“Music doesn’t start for another 10 minutes, so the dance floor is closed,” Leah said.

“That’s some poor planning,” Blake said. He turned around and looked through the window to a room. “Is catering ready?”

“Should be,” Leah said. She squinted her eyes and looked into the same window. “Yeah, it is. They put the plates out.”

“Good enough for me,” I said as my stomach rumbled. We walked over and I grabbed the first plates and utensils that I spotted. The chafers were filled with different kinds of pastas; chicken alfredo, spaghetti and meatballs, the list really goes on.

“Why is it always Italian food?” I asked Leah. “Why can’t we have, like paellas or something.”

“It’s cheap and easy to make,” Leah replied. “If you have a problem, take it up with the staff.”

“My my prez, I’m beginning to think that you don’t care,” I teased. As I walked down the aisle, I dropped a glutinous amount of food onto my plate. I walked to one of the tables outside with my plate of food and sat down. Before I did, I rearranged the seats, so that there were two pairs of seats next to each other.

Sitting down, I waited for the rest of them to come with me. Jocelyn sat beside me and Blake and Leah sat next to each other.

“So,” Blake began. “How’s your day going?”

“In the three hours from school to here?” Leah asked, glaring at Blake. Blake nodded. “Not fun considering I had to spend it setting up in a dress.”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Well those three hours were good for us,” I interjected, saving Blake. “Right Blake?”

“Yeah,” he said whilst nodding. “Barely any customers, so not a lot of work.”

“Customers?” Jocelyn asked. I gazed at her sudden interruption. “You work at McDonalds or something?”

“Jewelry store,” Blake corrected.

“Is that why Zack calls you Pearls?” Leah asked.

“You’re just getting that now?” I questioned as I stuffed my face with a mouthful of pasta.

“I thought it was because he wears a lot of jewelry,” Jocelyn defended.

“You know, while we’re on the subject, I think I need a better nickname for Leah.”

“Oh brother,” she groaned out, eliciting a laugh from all of us. “Please don’t.”

“What do your parents do?” I asked. “CEO?”

“Musicians,” she said.

“Yeah I would've never gotten that,” I admitted. “Huh, it’s kind of hard to come up with one for that. I’ll come back to you later.”

“How about never?” Blake jumped to her defense. His mouth shifted to a smile as his voice sounded like he was on the verge of laughter. “Otherwise I’ll tell them all the embarrassing things about you.”

“Wait, no,” I said immediately. “We can talk about this!”

“We just did, buddy,” he smugly said.

“Surely it’s not that bad, right?” Jocelyn asked.

“Two words: buzz cut.”

“Okay,” I started as I reached over the table and covered his mouth. “Relax.”

Jocelyn and Leah both laughed in amusement at the friendly banter that had just occurred. The picture horrifically flashed through my mind as I remembered the terrible decision I had made that day.

“What about you two?” I quickly asked. “I will ask yearbook for every picture until I find one where the sun shines in your face and it has to contort to get it out of your eye.” I stuffed another forkful of food into my mouth, beginning to clean the plate.

“That was …” Blake began, trying to find the right words. “Oddly specific.”

I saw Leah’s horrified expression immediately, as if that photo really existed. Jocelyn had a less extreme reaction, only a subtle twitch of the eyebrow and her smile momentarily falling. So maybe something a little bit better than that was caught by our school’s very own paparazzi.

“Moving on,” Jocelyn stated, “how are you almost done?”

“Me?” I asked with a mouthful of food.

“Do you see anyone else with an empty plate?”

“Oh, fair point,” I said before shrugging my shoulders. “All I had were eggs today.”

“The school’s eggs?” Leah asked, slowly pronouncing each word.

“That’s the one.” I gulped down the last of my meal. I reached for a nearby cup of soda and chugged it to wash my satisfying meal down. “That almost makes it worth $200.”

“You think a plate of pasta is worth $200?” Jocelyn asked.

“Almost,” I corrected. As I raised my finger for dramatics, some jazz music began to play to our right. When we looked over, we saw that the floor was now lit up in a rainbow. The main band was playing with Oliver playing a little bit to their right at his own stand.

I turned back and looked at Jocelyn with a big smile. “Shall we, m’lady?”

She looked down to her plate. With a blush, she put the rest of her food into her mouth hastily before nodding.

“And you too?” Jocelyn asked.

“Not gonna lie, I gotta piss,” Blake said. Leah rolled her eyes as he grinned, got up, and began to walk towards the bathroom.

“I’ll wait for him,” Leah grumbled with a sigh. “Off the two of you go.”

I got up and extended my arm toward her. Her face got even redder as she wrapped her arm around mine and rose up.

The grin on our faces couldn’t be bigger. We slowly walked our way towards the dance floor, me walking confidently and her hesitating with each step. It seemed like she was ready to run away at any time, and the only thing stopping her was my arm.

“So, how long has this been going on for?”

“Uh,” she stammered out. She didn’t want to admit it, but I just stayed silent. “Since freshman year.”

“Damn, that long?” I asked in shock. “I thought it was only a few months.”

She chuckled nervously. "Yeah, well, I wasn't exactly subtle about it. I mean, I did have a huge crush on you, and it's not like I was hiding it very well."

“You see, the thing is that we always brush it off. You never think, ‘This girl is into me’ with the weird looks, but just dismiss it. It’s too uncomfortable for us to entertain.”

“But now that you know,” she began. “Do you feel the same way?”

My smile lost the playful mood as the serious question came in. “I think that’s a conversation for another day.”

She frowned at the lack of a yes. The only thing that didn’t ruin everything was the lack of a no. I winced slightly. It wasn’t the best thing to say, but it was how I really felt about this whole thing. It was going a little bit too fast for my taste. A little out of control.

“Let’s enjoy the night,” I said, hoping to change the mood. In front of us was the dance floor. I removed my arm around hers and extended my hand.

Jocelyn hesitated for a bit before finally closing her eyes. When she opened them back, there was a warm smile and she grabbed my hand. As we stepped onto the dance floor, the smooth jazz began to envelope us. The rhythm of the double bass resonated beneath our feet, grounding each step.

I began to guide her through the series of moves that fit with the cadence of the music. A series of elegant spins and gentle dips. The lights above us casted a warm glow on her face. Her eyes showed her enjoyment; dancing lively around as they kept their attention on me.

“Woah!” she yelled out as I dropped her onto my arms just as the trombone disappeared. With a laugh, I pulled her back up into a twirl. “You need to trust me a little more.”

As the music began to reach more playful notes, I led Jocelyn through a series of quick spins and intricate footwork, our bodies in perfect sync with the upbeat tempo. Everything else began to get tuned out, only the music and us.

I couldn’t help but picture my nom de guerre, me in a mask, dancing with the detective’s daughter. Oh, how close I was without him knowing.

“Thank you for tonight,” she said. “I know things are moving a little fast, but even if you don’t reciprocate it, I’ll always enjoy this night.”

“Ever the romantic,” I teased. “Now this is worth $200.”

We shared a friendly smile as we continued to move. As the music began to get quieter, I led her into another drop, but this time, she fully embraced it, no longer scared.

My smile was beaming. “It appears you trust me now.”

“I guess so,” she answered with a light chuckle. I guided her into another twirl, the both of us sharing a joyous laughter. I pulled her closer to me. However, it was a bit too close.

I took a small step back to put distance, to the small dismay of Jocelyn. But it remained true to what I had said.

“S-sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”

“It’s okay,” she said softly.

My movements became less confident and strong, only moving slowly and cautiously. The mood was dampered, but we kept on moving on, slowly rebuilding the atmosphere.

Or at least, it was until I felt a tap on my back. Turning only my head, I saw a sweaty and distraught Blake.

“What’s wrong?” I asked immediately. He was breathing heavily, his eyes were sunken, and he kept on twitching. “Shouldn’t you be with madam president?”

“L-Leah’s,” he began to stammer out. “S-she’s missing.”