"Talking"
"Thinking"
"SHOUTING/YELLING"
(Ruby's POV)
We all left the house and went our separate ways to start our day. But on my way to school, I was almost run over by a ship-shaped tour bus. Fortunately, it stopped before it could it me. The bus was being driven by Captain Gordan Lighthouse with his pet crab, Davey. He's OceanSide's resident sailor and tour guide and claimed to have encountered a kraken back in the day.
Gordon Lighthouse and Davey
The tourists were complaining about the abrupt stop as he and his crab glared at me suspiciously before grabbing his microphone.
Gordon: *to the mic* Apologies for the unplanned interruption, folks. Well, look what the tide dragged in, Davey.
Ruby: *nervously* Ahoy, Mr.-- Captain Gordon Lighthouse, sir.
Gordon: Aren't you one of them Gillmans?
Ruby: Guilty. *nervous chuckle* Just kidding. Not guilty. Totally normal.
As I try to de-escalate the situation I'm in. The tourists were looking at me suspiciously as well, which made me even more nervous.
Male tourist: Is she blue?
Ruby: I'm from Canada... eh.
I showed them my Canadian flag pin that was attached to my backpack. Thankfully, it was enough to convince them.
Male tourist: Oh... That totally makes sense.
However, Gordon wasn't fully convinced.
Gordon: I've got my eye on you, Gillman girl. And my other eye, too!
Davey gestured that he'd be doing the same as Gordon grabbed his mic and continued the tour.
Gordon: Our tour begins where 15 years ago, I swear I saw the monstrous giant kraken. And to your right, Oceanside's best saltwater taffy. Ask for the Gordon Lighthouse discount.
That was a close one. It's not as easy to hide as a human as one may think. Especially when you don't have normal skin, or normal hair, or ears, or a nose, or anything that resembles a human. It's a wonder why people haven't caught on.
Y/N: Ruby!
I then saw Y/N walking toward me and I couldn't help but smile as we hugged as soon as he got close.
Y/N: *separates from hug* So any luck with your mom letting you go to prom?
Ruby: *groans* No. I even made a whole presentation video using every resource I could use and it still wasn't enough to convince her.
Y/N: Well, can't say I'm surprised. But if it makes you feel better, I wasn't planning on going to prom anyway.
Ruby: Really, why?
Y/N: It just seems pointless to go, especially when you don't have a date to go with.
Ruby: Yeah, I see your point.
Y/N: But hey, look on the bright side. We can both, not, go to prom, together.
I couldn't help but chuckle at his little joke. He always knows how to make me feel better and has been by my side since we were kids. Out of all the people in Oceanside, Y/N is the person I trust the most. He's supportive, kind of funny, a great study buddy, and always cares about me when I'm feeling down. I want to tell him the truth about me, but the fear of what he'll think of me if he learns that I've been lying to him the whole time holds me back. I don't want to lose my closest friend. As we both walked to school, I got a video call from our other friends. There was Trevin our emo gamer friend, Margot, the dramatic but encouraging friend, and Bliss, our rather dark yet kind friend.
(From left to right) Trevin, Margot, and Bliss (Author's note: This was the best pic I could get.)
Ruby: Hey, guys.
Trevin: Yo.
Bliss: Greetings.
Margot: So, how did it go?
Bliss: Yes. I'm dying to find out.
Trevin: Same. I've been stress-gaming.
Ruby: Well, it's official. Mom won't let me go to prom. And I know it's not what we wanted, but we still have plan B, our very cool anti-prom party. And what is the most liberated food out there? Guys, I'm talking fondue.
Y/N: I'm more lenient towards pizza, to be honest.
Ruby: Like how "lenient" you were at that last pizza party.
Y/N: *offended* Hey! It wasn't my fault someone brought Hawaiian and anchovies!
I simply rolled my eyes at his little rant. For someone who loves the ocean, he has a problem with fishing on pizza.
Ruby: So guy, what do ya say?
I noticed that their expressions were a little worrisome.
Margot: Ruby, um, I'm just gonna come right out and say it. Kayla asked me to the prom.
Ruby: Oh.
Margot: And, uh, I said carpe diem. Aka, I said yes.
Ruby & Y/N: *shock* What!?
Margot: I said yes.
Ruby: No, we got that. Loud and clear. Okay, Margot has torn our hearts into a million tiny pieces, and that's fine. More fondue *towards Y/N* and pizza, for the rest of us, right, guys?
Y/N: Thank you.
Bliss: Yeah, uh, once Margot was going with Kayla, Trevin said, "Oh, well, should we just go together?" And I agreed. So Trevin and I are going to the prom together. As friends.
Trevin: *dejected* Yeah, only as friends.
Ruby: What?
Y/N: Seriously?
At this point, we were face-to-face with our friends.
Margot: Sorry guys.
Ruby: We promised to always stick together. Does squad solidarity mean nothing to you?
Margot: Well, of course it does. Which is why you should come with us. You'll be on a boat. You'll be completely safe.
Bliss: *dark tone* Unless there's a tragic accident.
Margot: Bliss, no catastrophizing.
Bliss: Sorry.
Y/N: Guys, you know her mom won't let her.
Ruby: Exactly, and that is why we made plan B. Margot, just bring Kayla to our anti-prom party. We will watch bad movies. We'll dip Swiss.
Margot: Enough with the fondue! We eat a lot of cheese.
Trevin: Wheels of it.
Margot: Think about how many events we've missed in squad solidarity because of your mom's irrational anti-ocean rule.
Ruby: I guess a few.
Margot: What? There was the field trip to the submarine museum. The school beach day.
Bliss: All-county surf contest.
Trevin: The Grunion Fun Run.
Margot: The Oceanside Festival of the Bard.
Bliss: My grandmother's beach birthday party.
Margot: Kayla's beach birthday party!
Trevin: Any birthday party but Bliss's.
Bliss: You're always welcome at the graveyard.
Y/N: *defensively* OK, we got the picture. We've missed a lot of events that involved the ocean.
Margot: Sorry, but I'm just saying, this isn't just any party. This is prom. And I really want to be a part of it. We all do.
Ruby: Yeah. No, I get it. You guys should go without me. It's one thing for my mom to ruin my life. She doesn't have to ruin yours.
Y/N: At least you'll have me by your side.
I smiled at Y/N for his support. I couldn't ask for a better friend than him.
Trevin: Well, there is another option. What if you don't tell her?
Bliss: Deception. I'm on board.
Y/N: *reluctant* I'm not sure if that's a good idea. I once did it to my mother and... well, she may seem like a kind woman, but get on her bad side, even my dad runs for the hill.
Trevin: But this isn't your mother, it's Ruby's. Come on, Do it.
Bliss: Do it.
Ruby: I want to, but if my mom finds out, uh...
However, before I could say anything else, Margot went into dramatic mode and started shaking me.
Margot: Oh, life is not a dress rehearsal! It's time for you to go big and go to prom!
Ruby: Okay. Okay, okay, okay. You're right. Okay, I'll do it. I'll go to prom.
Margot: Yes!
Ruby: And I'm gonna ask Connor.
The four of them were surprised at my boldness.
Margot: Connor? Okay, that's a... that's a big swing there. Whoo. But we are here for it. Step one, you're going to need a prom-posal. *deep breath* Blue-sky with me, people. Any ideas?
Ruby: Maybe I can ask him with something epic, like an advanced quadratic equation. And when I solve it, the answer is... prom.
I showed them the graph on my phone, feeling proud of myself. Y/N seemed impressed, however, the others looked mortified.
Margot: Ruby, my sweet, wide-eyed, dumbest smart person ever, you cannot ask Connor to prom with homework.
Ruby: But look how it graphs. It's cool.
Margot: It is not cool. A good prom-posal is art.
(3rd POV)
The scene transitioned to the school hallway where many of the students were proposing to their dates in extravagant ways.
Margot: Showmanship is the name of the game in this hormone-fueled benchmark of adolescence. A ritual that embodies the ultimate in high risk, high reward. Now, you get one shot at prom and one shot at persuading your Romeo that you are his Juliet. With stakes this high, the only option is to go big.
Principal: *over PA* Everyone, don't forget to RSVP for prom, the most important day of your lives.
Ruby then realized that prom was a bigger deal than she thought as she watched everyone prepare for the event, then looked back at her phone knowing that her idea of a prom-posal would have been a big mistake.
Ruby: I almost asked Connor to prom with homework.
Y/N: If you were to ask me, I thought it was clever. Besides, I think you're overthinking it. It's not like you're going to marry him.
Ruby: Y/N, you heard what Margot said. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I need to do this right.
Margot: We got you, Ruby. There are so many other options. Here, this is the first draft, but with this script and my favorite prop from Clown School...
Margot handed Ruby a script and tossed her unicycle.
Y/N's thoughts: Why did she have that with her?
Ruby: Mm, I don't know. Do you have something a little smaller?
Margot: *wears a clown nose* Tone down the drama, you say? I know just the thing.
She then pulls out a confetti cannon from her locker.
Ruby: What's that?
Margot: A commercial-grade DJ confetti cannon. You just ask Connor to prom, push this button, and the confetti will rain down like closing night on Broadway.
Y/N's thoughts: Why does she have that?!
Ruby: Uh, maybe I abandon this whole "ask your dream guy to prom" thing.
Just then, Conner was seen skateboarding through the hallway.
Connor
As soon as Ruby saw him, she became lovestruck and started to fantasize.
(play 0:00-0:30)
Back in reality, Ruby was hugging a random student's backpack while Connor was right in front of her trying to get her attention.
Connor: Ruby. Ruby? Hi.
Ruby: *daydreaming* Connor's here.
Connor: Uh, yeah. Connor's here.
Ruby then snapped back to reality and pushed away the student she was hugging.
Ruby: Oh! Oh. Hi. Hi, hi, hi.
You rolled his eyes and shook his head at Ruby's awkwardness before offering Connor a bro fist.
Y/N: Sup Connor.
Connor: Sup. *returns bro fist* So Ruby, we're still on for our tutoring sesh later, right?
Ruby: Oh. Oh, yeah, Connor. We are on like polygons.
Connor: All right. Team math. I'll see you later.
Ruby: You know it. Anything for my alge-bae.
Connor: Your what now?
Ruby: *back pedals* I mean bro. A-Alge-bro. Like you're my brother. You're my math brother.
Connor: Oh, ok then. See ya.
Connor then continued skateboarding down the hall, leaving you, Ruby, and the gang. You then looked at Ruby with a sly smirk.
Y/N: So, does this make me your "Alge-bro" as well?
Ruby blushed in embarrassment and responded with a punch to his arm.
Ruby: Shut up! It slipped out!
Y/N: Relax, I was just teasing, sorry. *rubbed hit arm* You know you got surprisingly good upper body strength. But seriously, you have nothing to worry about.
Ruby: You really think so?
Y/N: of course, We're in the same study group, so we both know that Connor's a good guy. The worst he could do is say no. But if you're still nervous, I'll be right behind you for support.
Ruby looked back to where Connor left and grew a bit confident, she then gained a determined look.
Ruby: Give me that confetti cannon.
Margot: Yes!
(Author's note: Please leave some feedback because I'm a little skeptical about this chapter and moving forward.)