Where There's Light | ✔

60. Tonight (2)

"One more question, Jade," the girl insisted.

I stopped, forcing Nolan to as well. It would've been rude not to. Besides, she was also a voter. Being nice to her could have its benefits. "Yes?"

"There's a rumor that you offered to sleep with Deshaun if he told everyone he lied about you cheating on him. Is there any truth to that?" Her hazel eyes lit up as she waited for me to reveal something juicy for her article.

I took back my previous statement. Nolan had the right idea. Instead of answering her insane question, I was the one dragging Nolan to the line to get inside the dance.

"Why can't people leave that alone already?" I groaned.

"Hey," he said, rubbing his hands up and my arms. "Only a couple more weeks with these idiots. Then it's bangers and mash with the Queen," he said, an easy grin on his face.

His optimism was infectious and I smiled back. "Ah, yes. The Queen will totally clear her day to have a meal with two American tourists."

The line moved quickly. When we handed in our tickets we were also asked to vote for king and queen. We cast votes for ourselves. I hoped those weren't the only votes we got.

* * *

The inside of ballroom wasn't at all what I expected. The prom committees' budget was large and the grizzly bear ice sculpture at the center of the refreshment table proved that.

Apparently, no amount of money could make up for them not a having a coherent theme. The room was decorated in the school colors. Red and white was everywhere—table clothes, flower arrangements, balloons. But that was the only thing tying the room together. Other than that, it was a weird mix of school pride and tropical island. Palm trees were in every corner and there was a light giving the illusion of fish swimming across the walls. I guess it was true that some people lost their sense of style when they came into money.

Where' they lacked in theme, they made up for in food and entertainment.

"Didn't he win a Grammy last year?" Nolan asked, pointing to the guy in the corner taking selfies with girls who were ignoring their dates.

"Yes, he did," I muttered, starstruck. I didn't even like the guys music, but when would I ever be in the presence of a Grammy winner again?

"Should I be jealous?"

I coughed, tearing my eyes away from the popstar. "What? No. Let's get some punch," I said, taking his hand and walking to the refreshment table.

It wasn't like in the movies with a punch bowl and cookies. There were buckets of canned soda and mini bottles of water sitting in buckets of ice and any kind of snack you could think of across a long table.

Nolan and I munched on chips as we watched the room slowly fill with more and more students. Bee and Gia finally made it inside and four of us posed for official prom photos in front of a backdrop that had starfish on it.

When the Grammy winner took the stage, it looked more like a concert than a prom. After some pouting I got Nolan to join me on the dance floor.

"I don't know if you noticed at our first prom," he said as I pulled into the crowd. "But I can't dance."

I turned to him. "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you."

"I'm serious," he insisted. "My lack of dance skills might cause us to lose voters."

"You danced just fine that night," I pointed out.

"Well, swaying back and forth is the only move I know."