When Perfect Meets Crazy

12 - Pull up a chair, Lucifer, take notes from a pro

I liked school. How could I not? I had the best grades in my year. Teachers loved me. I never got in trouble and although I was freakishly smart, I sat at the top of the social pyramid. I was an all-rounder like my mom wanted.

There was little to not like.

On days like today, however, I found myself nursing a strong dislike for the establishment that forced me to know the walking headache that was Claire Evans.

Royal pain in the ass did not come close to embodying her.

Under normal circumstances, I could tolerate her. I had learned to. Our friendship circles overlapped enough to ensure that and unlike most people, I knew she wasn't all hearts-and-flowers like she pretended to be. Confronting her would've been dirty and ugly. She would've painted herself as the helpless victim while I would come off as the wicked stepsister who didn't want her at the ball.

At the end of the day, it was just easier to do the right thing; pretend to put our grievances behind me.

"I'm just saying, we should totally..." she flashed a wide all encompassing smile that had me immediately tuning her out.

My gaze wandered around the coffee shop and I found myself wondering just how I got stuck in prom committee.

Ah... yes, the awards.

I sighed.

Claire Anne High had a tradition of hosting an award ceremony before prom. It was supposed to take the edge off. The stress. The expectations. The finality.

Like most schools, we give the normal yearbook awards but unlike most schools, Claire Anne High makes a big deal out of it. The fact that there was a semi-formal ceremony dedicated to handing out fancy trophies to the title holders said it all.

It was all in good fun though.

The problem was almost every year, the prom committee would create a new award for someone who had been outstanding in remarkable way that just didn't fit into any of the pre-established categories. Last year, we had only one new category; Best Supporting Actress. She was pretty and funny with shiny voluminous hair that everyone envied. Claire claimed it was thanks to her Iranian heritage. She also happened to be best friends with the girl who got Most Admirable. She was just the approachable kind of person who you also knew to never mess with.

Like an eccentric aunt with the scathing tongue of a hardened sailor.

Personally, I really liked her. It also helped that she couldn't stand Claire.

This year unfortunately, I qualified for the unknown category. The nicknames they thought I didn't know of alone made it very clear; Have-it-all Avy, The Fixer, Madam President, Romanoff.

Claire already bagged Most Admirable which meant I was the only one left. There was no one to distract them with. Every other person fit into a category in ways that I didn't. That was why I signed up to be part of the committee. So I could shut down any talk of honouring me, nip it in the proverbial bud because my mom was definitely not going to approve of an award for something entirely non-academically oriented.

Being at the top of the social pyramid was fine but being awarded for it was definitely unacceptable.

"...so really, that's why we shouldn't have a band," she concluded, sitting back like she just delivered an all-important lecture.

Cue one of my infamous eye rolls.

Choosing a band over a DJ did not, by any stretch of imagination, warrant this emergency meeting nor her five-minute monologue.