My 1st Prom

Date: 30/6, Thurs (part 3)

  Eva tugs on his jacket sleeve, 'Don't be silly, you don't want to be associated with HER, you'll end up losing your friends. What makes you think she's civilised?' Her voice is an air of self-importance. Nick opens his mouth in surprise, finally -finally- understanding why I've been actively ignoring him for the past nine months. 'What are you waiting for?' Eva drags him off before he gets to say anything other than 'Try not to jump off a cliff, ok?' It's nice to know he cares... despite him not telling why he frowned back then.

'An in-crowd boy frowned at you?' Apple asks. I puff my cheeks, 'Nothing important than how out of line Eva is.' 'Ummmmm... he didn't squirt Eva's hand sanitizers,' XYZ mentions, 'Nick's friendly to us. And Celestia acts like she doesn't care about him but actually does.' 'Guys?' She asks when we don't respond. 'I guess,' I mumble, barely recovering from multiple heartstopping shocks today, 'you're not supposed to say that type of stuff!' She turns to Apple, who's deep in thought. Thank God my oldest friend spaced out. XYZ pinches her cheek. 'Ow!' Apple frowns. 'If I hadn't known you, I would've thought you were asleep with your eyes open.' XYZ probes, 'What's on your mind?' Apple gestures with her hands, 'About the way Nick acts around Celestia.'

My denial is instantaneous, 'That probability is lower than aliens landing on the moon.' My heart is pumping so fast at the mention of him it can generate electricity for the entire city. 'We could ask him ourselves. "Hey Nick, are you lovestruck or what?" ' XYZ suggests. 'What?' I think I might be blushing, 'No!' 'Celestia's right,' Apple relaxes her frowning muscles, 'he can't really be infatuated with HER, can he?' I vigorously shake my head, swallowing her insult-slash-compliment. 'Playing hard to get works,' XYZ chatters, 'unless your guy is dense.' 'Right,' I have to leave before pondering if I was acting hard to get, 'see you guys around!'

The stylish black and gold posters all over school are downright attractive. No one will notice if one of them is gone. 'Celestia, are you going to the Mocktail?' XYZ's voice asks. 'No,' Turning, I see her alone before winking discreetly. Apple must've left as soon as I've gone. She mimes zipping her mouth shut, ' You'll miss out on the last celebration in school, not to mention the best one.' 'It's no fun when they avoid me there, like how they did today. IF I go, I mean.' I add quickly in case anyone's listening. 'In theory, an EYE MASK can possibly help.' XYZ matches my emphasis, shoving an item wrapped with newspaper to me, 'Unwrap it alone.' 'Eye mask?' I lip sync slowly, unable to believe her. XYZ reverts back to her original tone, 'Gyan got a white one for you.' No way. I can go undercover! 'Awesome. Can you tell him I said thanks-and hi?' I carefully slip it in my bag. XYZ looks around to double check if any teachers are around. Seeing no confiscators in sight, she whips out her phone, 'Text him yourself.' I two-finger type -and send- a short message. A white text bubble appears below the one I sent instantly: Great, enjoy the Mocktail!

I return her phone, 'Thank you. Honestly, I-' 'No worries, I've got your back.' XYZ picks lint off her shorts, 'The next time negative things happen to you, turn them into fuel.' 'If it's that easy,' I tap the side of my head, 'I would've done it ages ago.' 'You could, Celestia!' She firmly insists, 'People will see you in a whole new light one day. They'll fall over themselves fighting to clean your locker for you.' Her voice is so confident I shut my eyes in case I turn into a sobbing wreck, not having the heart to tell her that my locker is constantly empty, like hotel cupboards. School has been a far cry from being my 2nd home ever since I've been removed from the so-called "secret" class WhatsApp group, the one without CTs. (Got re added -by Apple- on the same day. Then kicked out again.) And I'll never know what hurts more: S1G2 people pushing me down or a friend believing in me.

'Bottoms up,' XYZ slides me a soft drink can across the booth table, ring pulled. I glance at her lemonade, 'Thanks for paying.' I must've looked as miserable -besides numb- as I feel because she took me out for a drink. She clinks her drink against mine before sipping, 'I thought you'd need wine at first-to forget today, so I won't mention oh-so-dashing Nick Swanspin. ' 'Gee thanks. I'd need vodka. And a friend to get high with,' I avoid the elephant in the room, 'will you transfer?' 'I'mma stay until I finish Secondary 6,' she gulps her beverage, 'you?' 'Same,' I lift the can to my lips, 'my brother studies here, too.' I rest an arm on my lap while we drink, 'Will you go to prom?' 'Yeah,' she says. I'm too exhausted to talk after a storm of emotions ran me down. Perhaps XYZ's out of words to provide comfort. She drinks and I chug. I've never had another girl friend looking out for me, besides Apple. 'Tell me about it, Celestia.'

'I threw up numerous breakfasts from stomachaches before coming to school,' I begin, pushing my tiredness aside, 'and struggled to get out of bed for some time. Sometimes...I worry I'll fall apart beyond repair.' 'That's terrible,' XYZ's empathy is so contagious I'm only one dangerous shred away from bawling. But I don't need pity. Shaking my can, I listen to the good liquid sloshing inside, 'A rule in our handbooks prohibits us from missing school for more than 10 days in total. You know that, right?' My voice is suddenly muffled, 'I used up my entire quota before November.' I feel XYZ's fingers wrap around mine under the table. 'And then I get the hang of numbing certain emotions. It's awesome you face the music without a single complaint,' I keep on talking, 'how do you deal with S1G2 getting away with stuff?' I take several large mouthfuls, wondering if I can get high without alcohol.

'Eh.... I'm kicked out of the class group chat,' she evades my question. 'You don't need to help me,' she hastily adds as I'm about to suggest a solution, 'I'm never-' She notices her voice has gotten thick, 'It's their loss.' Seems like she's convincing herself it's no big deal. I give the advice I'd never follow, 'If-if you can't tolerate the thing, go ahead and tell Ms. Windy-' She cut me off gently, 'Not if you'll be the scapegoat. You know you -or I- will get blamed by our dear old S1G2, don't you think? Ratting them out is not a good option.' I remind myself not to nod at the hard truth.

'Hey,' XYZ's hand is still wrapped around mine in a comforting way, 'you're surviving on your own. We'll be fine.' I squeeze her hand, 'Reusing those negative stuff thrown at me seems impossible.' She gives me an understanding look. 'But we'll do it,' I swiftly add. 'We're doing it, Celestia.' She squeezes me back, 'Showing up to school in one piece...that's the A-plus insult to give.' I put my can down on the table, never more glad for a friend who completely gets me, 'Like "in your face"?' 'As in "nice try, guess who's stronger",' she taps the table, 'whatcha think?'

I grab her drink and gulp some lemonade. 'Hey! That's mine!' She snatches it from me and sips from my drink. To find my can empty. 'Celestia!' She lets out a half-hearted sigh, 'I should've seen THIS coming.' I boop her nose, 'C'mon! Loosen up a bit.' 'You won't waste the eye mask,' XYZ burps, 'Riiiiiiight?' I playfully wrinkle my nose, 'Oh I won't.'

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If you guys have read up to this point, I gotta say thank you for the support. It's really cool to know there are people out there who like my first ever short story. (SQUEEEEEEEEE!) 

⊂二二二（＾ω＾）二⊃

Moving on from the mushy stuff, do you wanna help Celestia feel less sad by clicking the star button ?