How to Stay Afloat

~35: Where She Decides to Ask Him to Prom~

Mrs. Williams looked absolutely gutted. "I'm so sorry darling." She nudged my chin with her finger affectionately. Her expression grew concerned. "You're still just a baby. Who takes care of you?"

I swallowed, suddenly feeling overwhelmed.

"I share an apartment with a couple of other kids in a similar situation," I told her.

"Where is your apartment?"

I could feel my heart drop at her question.

"You have nothing to be scared of," I told myself

I sat up a little straighter before answering. "My apartment is located at the end of Sycamore Lane."

I waited for the sting of rejection. I waited for the disgust to envelope her features. I expected the same reaction I had gotten when Archer's parents had realized where I'd come from. I waited for her to act the same way Mr. Hastings had when he'd seen me inside his home hanging out with his son. I waited for pity and judgment. For her disapproval of my friendship with her daughter.

Only . . . it never came.

I watched Mrs. Williams's expression turn thoughtful and then her entire face brightened. "Oh! Our old housekeeper used to live down at Sycamore Lane! We used to go there every year when she invited us to her son's birthday. They moved a couple of years ago but we used to have the best time with her lovely friends and family." She turned to Caroline. "You remember Caroline? You used to have the most adorable crush on her son Rafael, if I remember correctly. You gifted him a charm bracelet for his thirteenth birthday and you cried in your room for a week when you found out he'd given it to the girl he fancied."

Caroline groaned in embarrassment. "Wow, thanks for that mortifying reminder mom."

Mrs. Williams laughed again. She kissed the top of Caroline's head before getting up to leave. "You girls make yourselves at home. I need to head out." She gave us a friendly wave. "Call me if you need anything."

Caroline jumped off the bed with the grace only a seasoned cheerleader could possess. She made her way to the upper level of the room towards the home cinema. "We're watching '10 Things I Hate about You'!" She announced.

Peyton and I cheered as we raced to join her.

As the starting credits rolled in I snuggled between my two giggling friends.

I was reminded of the stark contrast between Caroline's mother and Archer's father, the different treatment I'd gotten from two equally privileged people with the same social standing. I also couldn't help but compare how different they seemed in terms of how content they were in life.

It got me thinking,

Maybe people who made others feel like they were worth less for having less were just trying to make themselves feel better because despite having everything they could possibly want, they still felt hollow inside

~~**~~

"Ugh! That poem in the end always leaves me weeping!" Peyton sniffled as she wiped her eyes.

We watched Patrick and Kat kiss passionately on screen as the end credits rolled by.

"I would honestly kill to look anything like Julie Stiles!" I groaned as I leaned back on the semi-circle leather couch.

Caroline sighed dreamily as she lay down beside me. "Did you guys see how fucking hot Heath looked in that tux he wore to prom?" She flipped over and rested her chin in her palm. "Speaking of prom . . ." She wiggled her eyebrows at us questioningly.

Peyton giggled. I smiled as she told Caroline what she'd already told me before, "Andrew asked me last week. He took me to the Indian restaurant we'd had our first date in and asked me there."

Caroline squealed in excitement and then her expression turned mischievous. "You're never going to guess who asked me."

Peyton and I both gave each other excited looks before turning our undivided attention back to Caroline. Her eyes shone with delight. "I was asked to Prom by Colton Miller!"

My eyes nearly popped out of my sockets in shock. I hadn't seen that coming. My lips split into a shit-eating grin."Oh my God! I'm so ecstatic for you!" I grabbed her arm in excitement. "Colton is a great guy. Plus you're both gorgeous and Captains of your respective teams. You guys are the perfect match!"

"I was as surprised as you when it happened and the best part was how he asked me!" Caroline laughed. "He came to one of our cheer practices after school and performed an entire routine he'd rehearsed with my teammates which ended with them holding pieces of cardboard with letters that spelled out P-R-O-M-?"

This time the three of us squealed together like absolute lunatics. Once our giggles had subsided the girls turned to me.

"What about you?" Caroline asked me.

"Has Archer asked you yet?" Peyton added in.

I bit my lip and smiled. "He's so busy with his new job and studying for his AP Mechanical Physics final." Peyton and Caroline's excited expression seemed to deflate at my words but I continued, "Archer barely has time to sleep these days I doubt he's even thinking about prom right now."

I found my lips curling into a mischievous smile as excitement pooled inside the pit of my stomach. "Which is why I plan on asking him to Prom."