Popularity Contest

4

    At the beginning of each school year, where you sit in the lunchroom is crucial. After a few weeks, those spots get locked in, theoretically, and that's where you're stuck for the rest of the year.
    As sophomores, we have a better choice than we did last year. Freshmen get the seats right up front near the teachers table, sophomores get the middle and juniors are closest to the food. The seniors get to go off campus, a privilege that somehow has yet to be taken for granted.
    We've been sitting at a table in the middle on the end, next to the doors that lead outside. It's nice to not be so crowded and boxed in. This will most likely be where we sit all year.
    Kam and Eva are busy discussing some show they've been bingeing while Frankie and I shamelessly stuff our faces.
    "Hey Quinn," a voice says, getting my attention. I look up and see Wyatt standing at the end of our table. "You coming to the match tonight?"
    Somewhere in my no-sports-knowledge brain, I register that he means wrestling. He's asking me if I'm coming to the wrestling match tonight.
    "No-," I start to say but I'm cut off.
    "Yes," Eva says, "we're all going."
    Kam and Frankie look at her confused and I would too if I could get my eyes to look away from Wyatt's.
    "Good, I'm up a weight class and I'm really excited. Starts at 7."
    I rack my brain for the right words. Congratulations? Good luck? But I don't have time to say anything.
    Wyatt salutes me, just me, then walks away and out of the cafeteria. I notice more than a few eyes look my way.
    "Holy shit," Eva says, every syllable it's own word.
    "Not this again," I say, looking back at her. "We're not going."
    "Like hell we're not," Frankie says, surprisingly. "I don't get many chances so you're not throwing yours away."
    I shake my head. "I'm sure he's asking everyone if they're going. He just wants a good turn out."
    "Have you ever seen him in the cafeteria before?" Eva asks.
    I shake my head.
    "Did you see him talk to anyone else on his way out?" Frankie asks.
    I shake my head.
    "He asked you, specifically. He wants you there," Kam says.
    "Well, we're going dress shopping," I say.
    "Your mom gets home at 5:00, we can be back by 6:30," Eva argues.
    "You know you're not getting out of this," Frankie says, leaning across the table.
    I roll my eyes and cross my arms. I stifle the butterflies as best as I can but can't keep myself from smiling.

    We're all standing on the front lawn when my mom pulls in the driveway.
    "This is scary," she says, rolling down the window. "What's the rush."
    "There's a wrestling match tonight, Mrs B," Eva chimes. "We'd like to be back before 7:00, if that's possible."
    We all climb in the car.
    "Wrestling, huh? Since when do you girls care about wrestling?" Mom asks.
    "Since Wyatt invited Quinn to come watch," Frankie says.
    I turn around from the front seat and glance at her where she sits in the middle of the back seat. "So much for secrets."
    Frankie shrugs. "Your mom's cool."
    "Ah, the boy. That's his name, Wyatt?" She asks.
I nod.
    "You already told her?" Frankie yells, sitting up. "You can't be mad at me."
    I wave my hand toward the back seat. "It's nothing. He's up a weight section and just wants people to watch him."
    "Weight class," Kam corrects me from the backseat. Knowing her and her brain, she spent the rest of the school day learning everything she can about wrestling so she knows what's going on later.
    "So not true," Eva says. "He asked you. By name, even though the rest of us were sitting there."
    "How did he know my name?" I ask.
    "Probably heard Mr Park say it or someone in the band," Eva explains.
    I guess that could be true. Though I'm not called on a lot by Mr Park because, not to toot my own clarinet, I don't really need correcting.
    We make it to the mall without talking anymore about Wyatt. We go straight to Fashion Wonder which is a little boutique that only sells formal dresses. We all walk to a different section and meet back at the dressing rooms, arms full. We go in separate rooms and come out at the same time.
    "Don't like it," Eva says, pointing at Frankie. "It's ok," she says, pointing at me. "What about me?" She asks Kam.
    "It's cute," Kam says, in a way that you can tell she's just trying to be nice.
    We all huff and go back into our rooms. I put on a dress that I wouldn't normally try. It's deep red satin, strapless and hangs just below the middle of my thighs.
    I walk out, nervous, looking down and hear Eva gasp.
    "That's the one, Q," she says.
    I glance at Frankie and her eyebrows are raised in a good way, Kam is smiling and my mom looks like she's going to say something motherly like it's too short or it needs straps but she just shakes her head and smiles.
    "Ok," I say, anxious to change back into my clothes.
    Frankie and Eva agree to try one more. I come out of the dressing room in my jeans and t-shirt and see Eva in a gold, shimmery, form fitting dress with spaghetti straps and the smile on her face tells me everything I need to know.
    Frankie on the other hand still looks uncomfortable. I go over to her, putting my back to everyone else.
    "Do you want to wear pants?" I ask, no hint of a joke in my voice.
    Frankie laughs anyway.
    "I'm serious, Frankie. It shouldn't be that big of a deal if you don't want to wear a dress."
    "Yeah, maybe in progressive schools," she retorts. "Not here. I'll be fine."
    The whole time she talks, she pulls at the hem of the dress and then pulls up the top, a vicious cycle that will never end.
    "Well, I'm going to wear pants," I tell her, crossing my arms.
    "No you're not," Frankie says. "Please. Maybe for Winter Formal or Spring Fling but not now. Not at the beginning of the year."
    I look into her eyes and I see that she's scared. An emotion we don't often see from Frankie. She keeps a hard exterior under those bouncy curls. We know about her sexuality, so does her family but, like me before this whole Wyatt situation, no one else really knows who she even is. The few girls she's hooked up with have been from different schools. She's not ready for everyone to see her, in all of the ways.
I nod in defeat, not wanting to make her more uncomfortable.
    "I'm getting this one," Frankie announces before disappearing back into the dressing room. She picks a really pretty royal blue dress that's shorter in the front and longer in the back with a halter top.
    "Me too," Eva says but we all already knew that.
    Once everyone was back in the clothes we came in, we paid for everything and walked fast to the food court. We needed food before the match anyway and it was only 6:00.
    We all order at Saladworks and find a table before shoving food into our mouths.
    "I don't know the Heimlich maneuver," Mom says as a way of telling us to slow down before we choke and die.
    We just giggle and keep eating.
    Before I know it, our dresses are securely in the trunk and we're on our way back to the school. Eva hands me a tube of lip gloss from the backseat and I roll my eyes, reluctantly swiping some across my lips.
    "Call me when it's over and I'll pick you girls up and drop you and your dresses at home," Mom says, pulling into the parking lot.
    I wasn't nervous until this very second. Which is stupid, I'm sure there will be a lot of people here and Wyatt won't even notice me.