didn’t have to turn down the music and, at the same time, there was no hotel for the seniors to sneak off into. Kind of win-win for the administration, I supposed. It also featured an outdoor deck that in good weather—like tonight—could be opened for party-goers to spill out on.
As the limo pulled in, I was grinning from ear to ear. The guys had been laughing and joking about putting up with me during AP test week. I ignored them. Pretty much how I planned to deal with them during AP test week too.
It was good practice.
Ian and Jake were out first, and then Ian held out a hand to help me. Coop and Archie followed. Music spilled through the wide open doors. Ian lifted my fingers to kiss and winked. “Dance with me later?”
“Absolutely.”
“Tonight is all about fun,” Archie said, his grin wide as he crooked his elbow to me and I threaded my arm through his. “You ready?”
We went through the doors together, and there was a picture stop just inside for the seniors. I made all the guys get in the shot with us, and then got one with each of them. They put me in different positions for the picture, and we hammed it up. I spotted Rachel right at the end and actually put my fingers to my lips and whistled. She pivoted and laughed as she sauntered over to us in a strapless painted on dark gold dress that looked fantastic. While we were holding up the other arrivals, I managed to get a snap with Rachel too.
It was pretty crowded and there were football players waving to the guys. A girl in our French class wandered over to me and Rachel, then Archie tugged me away to dance. I’d half-expected a slow dance for our first one, but nope, Archie chose “Uptown Funk.” When it segued from that to the next song, I wasn’t surprised when Coop slipped up behind me and joined us to dance.
When Rachel let Jake drag her over to us and Ian followed, there was a split-second reminder from Homecoming, but I shook it off. This was our night.
From Bruno Mars to Justin Timberlake to 50 Cent to Eminem and AC/DC and Queen, we didn’t leave the dance floor, save for once to get water and for Rachel and I to hit the bathroom together. If you thought the guys were right outside the door, you would be right. Not that I cared. When they played Cyndi Lauper, Rachel and I hit the dance floor again, then it was cool down time and more water. They cut the music for a brief announcement of some awards.
I got to whistle and clap for Jake as he got a scholarship for being in the top percentage of STEM students. Archie’s name got called, but to acknowledge that he’d donated his scholarship back to someone else on the list, and there was a lot of whistles and applause for him. Ian got an award from his coach for valuable player. Rachel got called up and out for Outstanding Achievement and Service.
It was rare to see her blush, but she did, and the guys and I were cheering her on. Merit scholarships came next, and Coop did a whoop when my name was called. Coop got one for Spirit of Community, which surprised him too. Those were all teacher nominated awards. But they were fun. We clapped and cheered as seniors were congratulated and awarded, and when it came to crowning the prom court, I had to bite back a groan.
The guys looked entirely too pleased with themselves. The princesses were named off, leaving only Rachel and I for the queen spot, and I cut a look at her and pointed at her. She snorted and flipped me off. See, she really did get me.
“But we have something a little unusual this year, and we decided that it shouldn’t be.” Ms. Fajardo had the honor of handing these out. “We had a dead tie in votes, but those votes were more than all the votes received in entirety for the guys. If you think we don’t know a coordinated effort when we see one, kids, you’d be wrong.”
I laughed and glanced over at Archie. He just kept grinning, smug and pleased. What the hell had they done? Coop and Jake wore equally smug looks, and Ian just seemed at peace.
“With that in mind, we’ve decided to honor the write-in votes and we will