Full Bloom

Dance For Your Life

It was actually a chilly morning that day. I still had my doubts, even though I was dressed and ready to go, and Oliver was next to me with his boombox as we walked through the halls. When we got upstairs and out to the courtyard, there were a few groups of people gathered.

I saw Chantelle and her group, then swallowed hard. Yes, I was a champion hip hop dancer, but I really didn't want to go up against Chantelle. I'd seen her and the dance troupe at all our rallies. She was so talented.

I looked left and right. More and more people were flowing into the courtyard, along with some of the hall monitors. I saw Ashley, one of my fellow nominees. As the school's star singer and actress, I knew she had a bit of a dance background, too.

"Oh look, and there's Alexa," Karen said behind me. "They brought their own stereo, too."

I saw Alexa and her large group of friends near one of the potted plants. Music started to play from somewhere in the background. I poured the remaining sugar from the sour candies I was eating into my mouth. I couldn't have caffeine, but nothing was stopping my sugar intake. I was legitimately buzzed.

"And there's Megan," Oliver said, just as her and her own posse, including her brother, came out the door.

"That's everyone," Nassi said, holding one of my big promotional posters in her hands.

"I can't believe this is really happening. It's so lame, when you really think about it," I said.

Well, lame or not, someone turned the music up. Chantelle was walking out to the center of the courtyard with her group. She pointed at me and the other four nominees, then waved us all to come forward.

"You ladies dancing or what?" she said.

The music picked up. Her and her friends started doing a choreographed dance which involved a lot of booty shaking and getting down low, which resulted in a lot of cheers. I looked around and saw a few kids with their video cameras out.

Their group finished their song, and then they walked off. Chatelle stood proudly with her friends from the dance troupe. The music stopped.

"Wow, is that it? None of you guys are gonna follow up? I guess we know who the real queen is!" Chantelle said.

Wow. Talk about cocky. She wasn't even in the top two last time.

I looked around. No one else was going.

"Hell no! I'm up, bitches!" I said.

The sugar was coursing through my veins. I stepped out into the middle of the courtyard. Just like we practiced, I ripped off my jacket, tossed it to the side, and revealed my National Champion sash. I took it off and held it up for everyone to see. Jaws were hitting the floor. When I looked at Chantelle, her arms dropped to her sides.

"Let's go!" I said, pointing at Oliver.

Nassi climbed on top of one of the picnic tables with my poster. Karen went out behind me to follow along. Oliver put in the cassette and turned the stereo all the way up. I could feel the beat of the song in my chest. I missed this feeling.

"Baby, I wanna feel you move..."

It felt like back when I was on stage in full auditoriums. No one else was there. It was just me and the song. I wasn't a little girl abandoned by her teen mother, an outcast who didn't have a "normal" family like everyone else. I was a star.

I did my whole routine from start to finish, minus the back tuck, of course. I missed dancing so much. I wished the song could just keep going and I could dance forever, even though my back hurt and my feet were swollen.

I walked back to my friends. There were some cheers, but the courtyard was mostly silent. Not quite the standing ovation I got like when I was at Nationals. I took my Prom Queen sash and crown out of my backpack, then put them on.

"See, Alexa! I brought my sash and my crown, just like you told me!" I said, shouting at her across the courtyard.

She stood there, stone-faced. Chantelle and her friends were smiling and clapping. After that, nobody else wanted to dance. A few random friends of the other contestants were out there being goofballs, doing the running man and the worm, but I think it was safe to say that I nailed it, hopefully.

The first bell rang, and I went to my locker. Someone nudged me while I was there. I turned around, it was Chantelle.

"I gotta hand it to you, Jen. I had no idea you could dance," she said. "I know you're pregnant and everything, but you know, if you ever wanna join the dance troupe..."

"Aww. Thanks Chantelle...but after the baby's born I gotta do homeschool next year."

"Oh...alright. Well hey, ya did good out there. Seems like those other three didn't even have the guts."

"Yeah. I know," I said, chuckling with her. "Well, I'll see you around."

"Yeah. May the best girl win. Fair and square this time," she said, walking away before I could respond.

Wow. Just when I thought people couldn't be any more fake!

I got to homeroom, my teacher passed out the slips, and we all voted. The guy next to me told me I was a great dancer. I was stunned. Nobody ever talked to me in homeroom, even before I was pregnant. We handed the slips back in after the morning announcements, and that was it. Now, it was a waiting game.

Eight period. Math. We only had thirty minutes left of the day. The lights were off and I was dealing with a major sugar crash. I was drifting off to sleep when I heard a loud "attention all juniors!"

Everyone's heads snapped up from their desks. Mr. Katz stopped working on his equation.

"We have the results of the Prom Queen reelection," said Mr. Jaxson over the intercom. I held my breath. "After a very careful recount, the results are the same. Jennifer Everston is still your Prom Queen. Thank you. Have a great weekend everybody."

I jumped up from my seat, screaming and shouting.

"Ha! Eat shit, bitches!" I said.

The whole class looked at me like I was nuts. Mr. Katz looked like he was about to kill me. I instantly covered my hands with my mouth.

"Oops, sorry!" I said, sitting back down, red from embarrassment.

"Jennifer, hallway. Now," Mr. Katz said.

"Ooooo," said the rest of the class.

I sulked my way out into the hallway with Mr. Katz right behind me. He shut the door behind him. I noticed a red slip in his hand. Great. What an end to my day. I just won Prom Queen for the second time, and now I'm getting detention.

I locked eyes with Mr. Katz. He smiled and put the red slip in his pocket.

"Normally, I'd tell you kids to watch your language and you'd be getting in trouble," he said. "But if I was you, I'd be saying the same thing. Congrats, Jeniffer. Let's just pretend I gave you detention, okay?"

I smiled and nodded. We went back into the classroom. I felt so victorious. I was really Prom Queen, fair and square.