Copyright Notice-
All rights reserved. Copyright Joshua Mumphrey 2013. No part of this book may be reproduced without permission in writing from the publisher. All right’s reside with the author.
Dedication-
"To God first and foremost, for allowing me the opportunity to share my stories with many, and secondly, to my musician friend, J.K.––for being an inspiration in this book of love and lyrics, all because of the music in his soul and a song always on his heart. May you play your way through life beautifully without missing a single note, and most importantly, don’t forget to dance."
PROLOGUE:
“Bridget’s Perspective”
All eyes are on her, on them.
I feel sick to my stomach every time I see her with him. Do they even have a conscience after what they’ve done to me?
I helped her become who she is now, and this is how she repays me, by taking my crown?!?!
The room grows silent and the lights dim. Multicolored balloons bounce across the freshly waxed oak floors of the gym. They begin to dance.
It’s as if no one else is in the room, but them. His hands are tight around her waist and her arms are draped over his broad shoulders. Their foreheads are touching. Their eyes are closed. They are caught up in the moment I suppose; I can feel the electricity between them, the affection, the intimacy; "sparks are flying"––as that chart-topping, hopeless romantic, pop-county singer would say. I think her names is Taylor Swift or something.
They sway back and forth to A Thousand Years by Christina Perri. A disco ball rotating above is casting beautiful rays of light on everything and everyone.
The crowd is parted like the red sea, boy’s looking on in admiration and girls smiling with their hands over their hearts, whispering things like, “It’s about time” or “I’m so happy for them, they deserve each other…” But what about me? What do I deserve? Surely not this, right? Not the robbing of my dignity and the demise of my self-worth…
I’m blonde not blind. I’ve seen the way he looks at her and the way she looks back at him. It all had been going on long before tonight.
I put so much effort into being here, into going to prom. I splurged ridiculously on this red dress. I spent so many hours in the bathroom mirror perfecting my fancy up-do, and weeks of starving myself to stay unbelievably thin, but now, none of that matters. All the years of hard work and preparation for this moment is wasted; everything I’ve done up until now is in vein.
She doesn’t deserve to be Prom Queen. I do. She doesn’t know what it takes. The girl on the dance floor in front of me doesn’t know about the sacrifices all future Prom Queens make in order to secure their title.
The beautiful, sparkling crown she wears pinned in her dark hair, was supposed to be mine. She even took my man from me; the Prom King.
She’s stunning tonight, that I must admit. Her skin is flawless. Her curls are long and flowing, but inside she’s traitorous. She’s not to be trusted. That girl down there in front of this stage betrayed me.
I gave her a chance despite the warning from my inner voice. I should have listened to it, but I guess it’s a little too late for that now.
She was a nobody until I showed her who she could be. I made her over, replacing those hideous black, plastic frames with color contacts. I forbid her to ever wear those granny skirts again and demanded that she always straighten her hair before school every morning if she wanted to sit with the Preps. I showed her what it was like to be popular, to be on top of the world, how to have everyone in school wanting to be her friend. I told her my secrets, things I wouldn’t tell anyone, but she turned on me and now, I’ve lost everything.
The girl opens her eyes. They glance over in my direction. Her head lay resting against his chest, where mine belongs. She meets my gaze. All the blood drains from her face. She knows. She knows what she did to me.
Your going to pay for this… I glare at the girl with evil intentions burning behind my baby-blues. Just wait and see. You both will. My piercing eyes say more than my lips ever could.
You don’t cross a girl like me and expect to get away with it. I won’t forget this; I won’t let this go. I’m going to find a way to make them pay, to make them suffer the way I’m suffering now.
The girl turns away. She retreats into his strong arms. It disgusts me. I wish she were dead. I wish that she would never see the light of day again.
Tears began to stream down my cheeks. My mascara is starting to run. My heart is pounding so hard that the sound of it seems to fill not just this room, but the world.
How dare he, how dare she do this to me? I shake my head is disbelief.
My body stiffens with my arms at my side. My hands clinch into fists as my blood begins to boil.
Perspiration dampens my hairline as I try as best I can to control the unspeakable anger from exploding.
I HATE HER. I HATE HER. I HATE HER!!! I scream fiercely inside my head.
She pulls away slightly from him. Maybe she heard me somehow…
He gazes into her eyes appearing a bit confused. He seems as if he’s wondering what’s wrong.
He whispers something to her, something I can’t hear. She stares back at him blankly, as if something in her perfect world is falling apart.
Her expression hardens into a frown. Her face twitches and her eyes squint. She brings her hand to her head. She presses two fingers to the sides of her temple. She looks to me like she's suddenly developing a migraine.
She places another hand at the other side of her temple. She takes a step back, and then another before she stumbles.
The boy stares at her unsure of what to do. I can hear her now. I can hear the girl mumbling something in the quiet.
“I don’t feel right… I can’t see!” Her speech slurs as she panics. “Something’s happening to me.”
The boy is now frozen in fear; his feet chained to the solid oak and his mind wondering off some place else. His mouth is slightly open as the crowd begins to talk amongst themselves.
“What do you think is going on?” A boy in a wheelchair questions Kimberly, one of the cheerleaders in my squad. Another, (a band geek) whispers loudly in front of me, “I think something’s gone terribly wrong; she looks really bad.”
The girl gains her balance for a second, but then stumbles again. She falls into his arms.
He’s back in reality now, holding her motionless body. She’s not responding to his calls, his frantic yells.
“Help me, help her!” He screams to somebody, anybody to come to the girls rescue. “She doesn’t seem to be breathing…”
I take my time to get where they are. I glide down the steps of the stage and weave my way slowly through the crowd.
There she is, the girl who did me in. She’s just lying there, peacefully on the cold gym floor. He’s on his knees awaiting instructions from one of the chaperons.
He looks up at me with tear-filled eyes, so pitiful and pathetic.
“What do I do?!?!” His voice pierces the dead silence as if with a knife. “You know how to help her, you're studying advanced, university-level med aren’t you?”
I glance back at the crowd surrounding us.
“So now you need me,” a hard sigh escapes my red, glossy lips, “it's funny how things end up working out, isn't it?”
I meet his gaze again. I glare down at him in disappointment. I'm hurt.
“What you do, always comes back to you.” I turn my back to him and to her. The girl’s body is nearly lifeless on the floor. She’s as still as stone. “You only have yourself to hold responsible. Maybe you’ll think twice about the next person you choose to give your heart to, especially if it already belongs to someone else.”
I walk away gracefully without giving the girl a second thought towards the exit. I hate that something like this had to happen, I really do. Beyond my anger, my bitterness I do feel sorry for them both, but I just can't get involved. What's done is done.
All eyes are on me now. I can hear them whispering as I leave.
It isn't my fault that the girl has taken ill and it isn't my responsibility to be her doctor. Regardless what others will say and choose to believe, I know they got exactly what they deserved…