Now, the idea, when I got home later that evening, was to settle that "not the love of my life" business once and for all, right?
That wasn't going to happen. And I'm gonna throw you right into the deep end so you can really feel what my life was going to be like. If I let it be. We'll get into that later on. How I felt about that and what I planned to do about it.
But anyway, I didn't even see my wife that evening. They'd run off with her, the girls and Joie. I mean, you would've thought it was some kinda of goddamned royal wedding the way they were carrying on.
I headed straight for the girls' house, because I figured that was where everybody would be hanging out, getting ready for the big day. And dinner thing we were having that night before, to gather all the crews and committees together one last time so they could hit the ground running.
See, the "thank you" get together I'd wanted had become more like a meeting. And that was fine with me, too. Because the more I heard about all the work they'd already done, and how excited everyone was to see all that work being done, the more I wanted them to have free rein.
What I didn't expect was for all of Joie's crazy queens to be rushing around the house like the end of the world was coming. They were everywhere. Even cooking in the kitchen, but everybody was sort of flitting in and out of there with paper plates, too busy to sit down and eat properly. Busy with what, I wasn't sure.
I got the usual, "Oh, hey, Bae," with the air, cheek and lip kisses as they flew by. Baby Doll and Miss Mochachocalata--yeah, like the song--handed me a plate and a big red plastic tumbler thing full of some sort of wine as they passed by.
And Baby turned and smooched at me one last time on her way to wherever. She was one of the rookies. Just getting her look down. Rough around the edges, but she had the face and the walk for it. And she was always reminding me that we were almost the same age. Just in case.
So I was just taking a sip of the wine when Joie came flying in she'd been launched from a catapult or something, snatched the tumbler and the plate away from me, and said, "Suit! Now! So I can get back over there!"
"Where's my--"
"My house. Your things are here. Let's go!"
I followed her into the sun room in back where she'd decided all the men's stuff should be. It looked like Fashion Week in there. With the wardrobe racks and stuff against one wall and all the squirrels running around, sewing, ironing, arguing.
She started looking through all these big garment bags and babbling, "I told them to put yours out where I could--dammit! I don't have time for this!"
I said, "Well, I'm not staying at the thing all that long, so we could always do this later on."
She finally grabbed the garment bag she'd been looking for and said, "No, we want you to rest. Kendall's going to stay with me, so she can rest."
"Wait, when--"
"You have to be up early!"
"I do? Since when?"
Juke Boxx rushed in looking all frazzled, "Can he talk to KVOA?"
Joie rolled her eyes and said, "God, these damned TV people! Tell them to wait a minute!"
I sputtered out, "Do I have--" but then Joie yanked on the zipper on the garment bag like she was mad at it and said, "Put them in the den, honey! That goes for all of 'em! Press: den."
I said, "All of 'em?"
"Oh, there's people from all over the goddamned planet out there, hiding in bushes, sitting in trees."
"I didn't see--"
"Did you come through the alley?" she asked, examining each piece of the suit as she removed them from the bag.
"Yeah, I did, but I came right over here, though."
"Well, they're out front. With a bunch of nosey neighbors."
She held out my suit jacket--the super fly one I'd approved--and I slipped it on. And it looked fine to me, but of course...
"Hold those arms out again, Bae," she ordered.
And then she eyeballed the sleeves like she was looking for fingerprints. Yanked on the ends.
I said, "They're fine."
But I could feel her blood pressure rising as she fussed with those sleeves, hissing about the exact measurements she'd given whoever we'd gotten the suit from.
So, in a slightly firmer voice, I said, "Joie, they're fine."
And she glared and said, "Well, shall we just play Russian Roulette with the entire wardrobe and see what happens?"
"C'mon, I don't need a whole wardrobe, do I? I mean, it's just a coupla concerts. And then this for the prom later. Don't stress yourself out, okay?"
Juke reappeared looking even more frazzled, and Joie threw her hands skyward and said, "Go! Just go! I'll choose something. Go!"
I gave her a hug which she pretended to "resist" for a second. And then she smiled into my eyes and said, "I hate you."
But when I gave her a little kiss, she twinkled at me and said, "Sometimes..." and let me run off behind Juke.
Who clapped her pudgy, long nailed hands together said, "This so exciting," before sort of shoving me into a den full of reporters and cameramen.
I don't even remember what I said. I don't remember any of the press stuff. They were all over the place for the next couple of days, Nia and Yoshi's networks paying off, shouting questions or just my name sometimes. And sometimes I answered, sometimes I didn't have time, sometimes I didn't even notice--you have to be careful about that. It's when you don't notice that they catch shit you don't want them to.
That night, they asked me about DeGrazia closing, mostly. How I felt, why I'd decided to make it such a huge event. The clinics and whatnot, they asked about, too. I remember that part because I repeated the location of the social services lot and how to get to it. I wanted to make sure they got that right, no matter what else they said.
They were the ones who told me a bunch of politicians and other local movers and shakers would be coming by. I hadn't heard about that. But I guess the social services and all had appealed to some of them.
And also, they could use DeGrazia as an example of the shoddy state of the local school system or something like that. How all the school closings and whatnot were failing our kids. That kinda stuff. The stuff they always say and then don't do anything about after they win.
Speaking of which, apparently one thing I said was, "Nobody gave a damn about DeGrazia until today. But we're gonna make sure everybody remembers us for sure. Goin' out in style."
Because that wound up being the hot quote for all the newspapers and newscasts and whatnot. Even the international ones. The headlines were stuff like, "DeGrazia High's Last Stand: Goin' Out In Style" and "A High School's Last Hurrah: DeGrazia Goes Out In Style."
Taught me a lesson about sound bites, you know? You give 'em one good quote, something from the heart, they all jump on it. You'll see the same clip, read the same quote for days.
Seems kind of lazy, but I think it's just easier than searching through all the talk-talk, looking for something to use. They've got deadlines. Editors barking at them and stuff.
I mean, I used to think of reporters as being all noble and high minded, but in the end, they're just people. Working people. Looking for shortcuts and loopholes.
Nia reminds me of all that a lot. To speak to the person behind the title. The real human being beneath the big name. She says I'm a natural at it, that I home in on that human being better than most people do.
I don't know if that's true, but I know that when you do that, the whole interaction goes up a level. They're almost kind of relieved and grateful, when you do that. So it's more meaningful, whatever goes down.
If it's a reporter, they handle your words with more care than they normally would. If it's someone famous, they remember you and seek you out sometimes, wanting to talk to you like that again.
Celebrities, a lot of them, are starving for something real. I finally found my groove, when I caught on to that. I didn't like the whole celebrity scene, but when we had to wade out into it, reaching out to people that way was kind of cool. Made it worth my time, seeing those sincere smiles. We made lots of friends from that. Real ones. That was a pleasant surprise.
So, anyway, after I'd met the press, I went back and let Joie put me in a black boatneck, black bomber jacket and jeans and headed over to the dinner which was being held in our school cafeteria, now that it'd been taken over by the committee and crews.
I think it was to get all the out of town peeps who hadn't been there all week into the right mindset. To remind them this was about a real school and real kids.
I was fascinated by how people regressed as they stood in that lunch line. You could almost tell which ones had been popular and had a guaranteed seat out there, with all kinda friends, and which ones had been snubbed and had to sort of squeeze in with the dweebs and hope nobody messed with them. So for sure, they got the message.
Great footage for Yoshi and Halley, too. They were shooting for HBO and some other stuff. They'd be like a couple of space aliens with big camera heads for the next few days. Big lenses instead of eyes.
The food was 'way too good for a cafeteria. In fact, we'd paid all these food trucks to feed the prom staff and company crews in the cafeteria throughout the whole event. You needed a lavalier to get in and to be served.
Almost forgot about that. They gave us color coded lavaliers that told you what "level" you were cleared for. We got them from this big, biker looking guy named Zeke as soon as we came in. Zeke was THE security dude for the whole shebang.
He'd be sitting in some kind of special van with all these cameras in it and whatnot, watching the crowds, gates, lots, everything, with his bald eagle eyes. No kidding, he had that stern brow and predator stare that eagles have. But he was actually a gentle giant.
Smiled, slapped me on the back, said, "God save the king," as he handed me a green "All Access" pass with my name on it. That color was very rare. Even Kendall and the fam didn't have those. They put all of ours all in a big manila envelope with "Overlord" written on it in big, black, block letters. That cracked me up.
So basically, everyone who was going to be working the show the next day was there to hear the schedule and get a final pep talk, via the big screen up over the exit doors, from Tasty. Who was on her way in from London or something. A lot of people were flying in from all over the world. Truly amazing.
I headed for the table with all the high school committee people. And to keep me from heading over to all the principals and security guys, Wyatt pulled out a chair for me right quick. Bless her.
That Kevin guy, the VP, watched all that like he always does. I saluted him, when I noticed. He nodded back, looking all nervous and fidgety. Poor guy.
And as I sat down, her eyes glittered at me.
And she said, "I cannot believe this is happening."
"Scary, right?"
"Overwhelming. But, God it's lovely to see everyone so excited. The parents so proud."
I got some tokidoki love from Dylan, then. Familiar little arms around my neck.
I looked back and said, "Are we havin' fun yet?"
"Oh, we are havin' a blast!"
Wyatt held up a little cell phone--okay, actually a big, clunky looking cell phone--to her and said, "Just the woman I wanted to see. Explain."
"What is it?" I asked.
And when Dylan took the "Push to Talk" phone and said, "Allow me," it was the beginning of a serious "rocket science" moment. The thing could do everything but procreate. And you could probably program it to do that, too.
"There's an entire communications team that wired us all for sound a few days ago," Wyatt said. "It's been fun watching all these people walking around, talking to themselves."
"Oh, the Bluetooth things," Dylan said. "The kids have been teasing them about that. Whenever they see a crew guy, they'll press a finger in one ear and go, 'Copy that,' or something."
I could see them doing that. Loving it but making fun of it at the same time.
And as I thought about it, looked around that big Grand Central Station of a room full of happy, nervous people, I said, "This is it. Wow."
And then Wyatt said, "Yes. It's all happening, thanks to you."
"Not just me."
She shook her head. With this little smirk, too. Being all sassy.
And I said, "I'm serious. You guys handled all the logistics."
"Once there were logistics to be handled. No one wanted us, Colton. Think back."
"And now everyone does," Dylan said. "I've been on TV twice."
"Look out world," I said.
She laughed and said, "They're parked all around campus. Outside the fences. I think only a few have clearance to be inside tomorrow. Yellow cards, I think."
I looked at hers and said, "What's blue for?"
"I can go backstage but not, like, all over where the crew goes. Where all the equipment is and all that."
"Ah, but you have the green card," Wyatt teased me.
And then right on cue, Halley walked up, peeked around the side of the camera on her shoulder, and said, "I, for one, salute our teenage Overlord."
And bowed.
So then Wyatt bowed, from her seat. And Dylan gave me the full curtsey.
And I said, "Save me some of whatever you're all on, okay? I'm gonna need it."
"Me, too," Halley said. And then to me, she said, "We're getting people to talk about their favorite memories on camera. Did they tell you about that?"
"That should be interesting," I said.
She laughed and said, "It has been. Your turn now."
I didn't argue, I just followed her to the teacher's cafeteria where they had a little group of kids and a few alumni waiting to sit in front of one of those school photo backdrops--for laughs--and talk about their fondest memories of the place.
I felt like I didn't have any. I'd been in and out of touch with the place. I wasn't a real DeGrazian. The other people, especially the older ones, had been true blue. Done the whole four years or more.
And what I liked was that they were all kind of colors. From the original cultures that had been here all along--salt of the very earth we were standing on. Folks you wouldn't meet in some chi-chi coffee shop or café. The ones who shopped at Food City where you couldn't get a Starbucks or a green smoothie and the produce wasn't all flawless and "photo ready."
I especially got a kick out of all the big old, beer bellied Mexican guys with long braids, who remembered the real dangerous days, when you had be affiliated in some way. The ones with the tear tattoos and all. Still wearing the plaid flannel shirt over the white wife beater.
Standing next to their women. Who'd sported those stiff, Super Chola Hold, bangs standing straight up in the air in their senior photos. And an "I'll cut a bitch" scowl instead of a smile.
Some of that stuff's better off gone. But a lot of it needs to be remembered. So kids don't forget that this country never loved them. Never will. They need to know how the gang thing started. About the Zoot Suit riots in California and all.
The gang thing didn't turn in on itself and start eating its young until later. You have to remember that part, too. Even if it's evil and painful.
And DeGrazia was a place where all that history still walked the halls. Got spray painted into murals. In that line, waiting to talk, were people who didn't speak English and a lot who didn't speak Spanish anymore.
And Indians who spoke a lot of languages. I'm talkin' non-verbal, all kinds. That they learned as everybody encroached on their little villages and finally swallowed them all up.
And Black people who'd also been here a good long while. From families that came out to pick cotton. And families that came out to figure out how to be something other than slaves.
Alongside the grandsons of white farmers. Ranchers. This one guy told about him and his siblings being the only white kids for a long time, 'way back when the old part of DeGrazia was first built. His father had a small ranch right up against the rez border line and he would not give it up as the developers moved in.
"They asked 'im if he was sure he wanted his kids goin' to a school where they might get shot by some gang banger," he said. "Tryin' to use us to scare 'im into sellin'. And my Dad said 'You don't seem scared to drive onto a ranch where you might get shot by a angry sum bitch who's told you 'No' a thousand times. So I guess we're all pretty damned brave, huh?'"
There were all kinds of stories. Mine was lame next to those ones.
So I just said that by shutting down that school, "...we're gonna be missing something important from then on. But the story's not over. You look at all these people here--story's not nearly over..."
And I guess that was cool, because Halley gave me a little "thumbs up" and a nod. And Yoshi smiled from behind her.
So I felt like I was starting to figure out how to surf it, you know? The money, the fame, all that. How to catch a wave and ride, when something big that needed doing came my way. Or a big idea--some dream someone had.
That weekend, it'd be just a prom a whole bunch of kids wouldn't have had. The next, it could be a movie someone had always wanted to make.
I really wanted to go lay next to my wife and tell her about that. Talk her through my thoughts, the I loved to do, nights. When the world quieted down. And Gracie Ellen was wriggling around.
She was awake at night. Like a cat. I think us being so quiet made her nervous.
But she would calm down if I spoke to her. Touched whatever little lump I saw on Kendall's belly. I liked that. Thinking that my voice and touch soothed her already. Even before she got here.
I was such a lucky kid. Wyatt looked at me a couple of times like she was reading my mind, just as I was thinking that. And gave me the nicest smile, as if to agree with me.
But I left early, as I'd promised, after I'd visited all the tables and thanked everybody for everything. Went to my house through the alley--Hollis let me off a block back, so I could do that--and just chilled a while. Had some beer, read my messages and drifted off.
Missing my girl, but I could feel it was okay. I could feel she had figured out a plan that I shouldn't mess with. A way to do it all without getting too tired and tangled up in all the crazy.
Above all, I wanted her safe, healthy and happy. And I knew all my mothers and her father and Kelly and whoever else she was with would be waiting on her hand and foot. She'd sent me these, "You don't have to answer," texts, telling me some of the cute things people had done and said.
All I kept texting back was, "I miss you," and "I wish I was there." Yeah. Needy. I know. But she likes it. Likes being the only person I'm always so thirsty for. I like that, too.
So when they shot me out of the cannon the next morning--after Nia, ringing and ringing and ringing--I sat up, smiled, and said, "Let's do it!" Mostly because I knew I'd be seeing her soon.
But man...well, okay, here's a visual for you. Just to give you a tiny taste of what a massive operation this thing was.
As Hollis, Brian, Nia and I were driving through just these huge crowds of people, people who didn't have anything to do with DeGrazia, but who'd come to see the stars arrive and all that, this squad of choppers from the Army base flew over us in "V" formation. And stopped.
Yes. I'm serious. Big ones, lined up all perfect. Loud as hell.
It was Tasty and all the acts who would appear that day. They'd arranged to land right on the football field in front of all the kids and parents and whatnot at noon. You could've heard that crowd in China, they went so crazy.
And then all the flash pots and flames and fireworks went off--Brian said, "Dude, what the hell?"
But he was laughing. His whole body was laughing.
And he put a hand on my shoulder and shook me, and said, "Ho-ly fuck!"
I didn't say anything. I couldn't say anything. This was beyond my wildest dreams--anyone's wildest dreams. At least in that neighborhood.
They'd roped off a whole portable bleacher thing for me and mine, off in a spot away from the other seats. But I didn't get to stay there long.
Some kinda crew guy with a headset on came to drag me backstage, where Tasty and the bands were. She was lookin' all wild and wonderful. In jeans, scary, strappy stilettos and a matching top that was just little strips of leather strategically placed so you saw a whole lot of skin. I was afraid to touch her, let alone hug her. Scared that a nip might slip.
But she grabbed me up, grinned and said, "Did we do good?"
I gave her a little, "I can't even."
And she gave me the happiest smile and said, "This is my school. You know what I'm sayin'? Same kinda school, same kinda kids."
"So you're feelin' it, huh?"
"Oh, I know these children. We were in detention together, son. They didn't even let me go to the damned prom, I'd been suspended so many times."
"Well, you're here with us now," I said.
"And I am going to dance my ass off! C'mon, out there with me, son! Let's get this party started!"
All I remember is the roar as Tasty went bouncing out there yelling, "Yo, wuzzup DEEEE GRAZIAAAAAAAAA!"
And then the whole world rose up to greet us. Stomping and screaming and waving all kinds of banners, tee shirts, flags, posters. I could not believe the pandemonium. The people outside the gates were going crazy, too.
Ane when she mic'd me, I told them, "Never forget we all did this together, guys! Let's show 'em what we're workin' with, okay? This day's for you!"
And then, the friggin' Time came on. I mean, mad ass Morris Day and the boys, givin' us some "Jungle Love," just like they did it in Purple Rain with Prince.
So the whole crowd got up and did all the video moves with them. And most of them never sat down again for the next five hours.
Cause what she'd done, Tasty and all the people who'd put that thing together, was sandwich old acts between new acts. So you'd have two throwbacks and then some new band that the younger kids could not believe they were seeing in their football field.
You could hear the people outside campus yell real loud when those names were announced. Security had to grab some people down off the fences and stuff, to keep them from making kamikaze dives out of desperation.
From backstage I could see some of the street stuff really well. And Brian kept tapping me on the shoulder to show me some crazy ass trying to climb up on a lamp post or something.
When they hauled one guy down from a power pole, he said, "I can't believe these people!"
"Yeah, well, it's once in a lifetime, man," I told him.
He said, "For him it was about to be, for sure." And then he smiled at me and said, "How does that even feel?"
"If we make it through the day without going full DeGrazia, I'll feel great."
"Doesn't matter, man. Doesn't matter what happens. This is the stuff of legend right here."
I laughed. And then watched Indio and a couple of his guys glide into position. Very smooth, the way they just sidled up to some guy, one of their own "tribe," and "calmed him down," so to speak, just by standing next to his baked butt for a minute.
And once the guy realized he was surrounded, all one of Indio's guys did was nod to get him to follow him out. Without a word. And then Indio brought up a radio--they had their own radios--and said something into it. Impressive as hell.
Preston's people were mostly nearer the stage, I noticed. I wasn't sure if they'd gotten together on that or what, but their job seemed to be keeping people from pressing in on it, or pushing each other. And also keeping them away from the gates to the backstage area, where a whole lot of kids were trying to sneak in.
They even warned a bunch of white boys who came up all cocky like they thought they were going to get a bro' pass. They shoved a few of them back when they looked like they were trying to rush the stage or push past the backstage security people. And the real cops and security were pretty chill with that.
On our way back to the bleachers, Yoli literally jumped me. Leapt up on my back and gave me a big smack on the cheek. A little high. But mostly just really, really happy for us.
So since the Gap Band was doing "Early in the Morning," you know we had to dance to that, right? And you know the stupid cameras had to catch us dancing to it, too. Cut into the shots of the band to show her and me out there tearing up the astro turf.
It was like a list of all the Old School you hear at parties around that way. Even the slow jams. All the older folks got out and swayed like they were back and their own proms, when Brian McKnight and Shai and all those guys started crooning.
Oh, and Color Me Badd, I mean when they busted out with "I Adore, Mi Amor," it got ridiculous. Women just started grabbing whatever guy they could get hold of to dance to that one more time. That was soul food to that community.
They'd found a few Norteño and other bands, too, for the ones who were really down with the culture. That "Los Tigres del Norte" oompah band stuff that just tickled me so much. And some mad hot cumbia, all that kind of stuff. I stepped along with Yoli to some of that, too. Since she'd taught me how, back when.
There was even some crazy country line dancing, no less. Boot scootin' and two steppin'. Seeing the white parents get out there like they were at one of the local country bars did my heart good. Seeing Tasty out there with them blew some minds, too, when they played that "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" song. Woman even knew the words.
I hit the EDM extravaganza in the auditorium for just a few minutes. Chose the right minutes, too. They were crankin' it, getting into the "mosh pit" part to get all the metal heads and whatnot going bat shit.
Which was the whole idea. Keeping the hot heads in an enclosed area with the sound turned up to "God DAMN."
I mean, I double dog DARE anyone to get through this shit with their sanity intact:
Normally, at a show like that, you'd have little peaceful pixie people dressed up in all kinds of fantasy get up. But we knew all the white kids who didn't want to do the Stanky Leg or let that Tootsie Roll would head for the auditorium.
And I swear to God, by the time the lasers and smoke and shit kicked in, I felt like one of those people who goes into seizures from flickering lights. This was 'way past overkill. But they were loving it. Spronging up and down like they were on pogo sticks. Grinning their heads off.
I was happy they were loving it so much, but dang. I mean, I was seriously worried we'd have some actual physical damage in the aftermath. Not just in the ear drums but maybe even hairline fractures, the way my bones buzzed on the drops.
So I eased my way out after a quick, auto-tuned, "Hey, what's happenin' party people?"
And that's when I saw some slightly scary shit go down in the parking lot. Only, it all was over so fast that to this day, I'm not sure what I saw.
But I remember seeing some white kids sort of mobbing up, walking along one of the fences, obviously looking for a weak spot. But some of Preston's guys were following them on the inside, step for step, yelling back at all the bullshit they were slinging through the fence.
All this, "Whose side are you on," shit, you know? That "traitor" stuff.
And then Preston's guys met up with some of Indio's guys and they all sort of blended together to follow the outside mob. Which is when the outside mob started climbing up all at once, trying to dive over in one big bunch.
But while security flung open the nearest gates, the blended bouncers caught and carried their asses back out again so fast I don't think anybody ever knew it happened but me and the few other non-participants who saw it from the parking lot.
One of 'em was Ryder. Who came right to me, giving me one of his goofy smiles.
And said, "You see Justice out there, yellin' his ass off?"
"That's some of his boys, I think."
"Oh, he's been walkin' the fence all day. With a bull horn," he said. "Yellin' like one of those holy rollers, right? Just nonstop crazy talk."
"What the hell for?"
"Oh, he thinks this is White Power in action, man."
I shook my head and said, "Yeah, that part I know about."
"You're his boy," he said. Teasing, but it was true and he apparently knew it. "And there's cameras and shit, so this is the place to be, right?"
"I guess. You been in there bouncin' around?"
"I been everywhere!" he said, grinning his silly ass off. "This is the dopest thing ever, man. I'll be tellin' my great-grandkids about this day. You pulled it off, dude!"
"It's not over yet, man. Don't jinx it."
"Trust me," he said. "Anybody does anything stupid today, there'll be thousands of people all over 'em in seconds. There's women crying in the bathroom, they're so proud."
"Are you serious?"
"C'mon, think about it, right? They've been, like, the black sheep o' the district for decades. And then finally, just when they're totally down and out, game over, this happens! With the whole world watching. I mean, damn, dude."
I gave him a slap on the back and said, "Stay up, okay? No more o' that bullshit you were doin'. You hear me?"
"Nah, except legal stuff," he said. "They're gonna build one of those boutique dispensaries, my mom and dad. I'm definitely down with that."
"Well, me, too. You know how to find me, right? Got some card carrying customers for you, man."
"I seen that cool building on TV and shit. You're fuckin' insane, dude. I swear."
"Way to be, though, innit?"
"Damned straight, fool!"
We laughed. And hugged. And then I loped on off and got swept up by a little tsunami of fine lookin' girls trying to beat the rush and to get home and start dressing for prom night.
"It's that time, already?" I asked one of them. Desiree. One of the committee kids, she was.
Looked like a Seventeen cover, Desiree. But could cuss like a truck driver, that girl, if you pissed her off.
She winked and said, "Yeah, you, too. Wifey's waitin'."
"Probably."
"For sure, she is. You better get a move on, son."
I got a cell buzz that we all heard. That crazy PTT cell was hella powerful. So I bid the ladies farewell and checked to see what was up.
"Hey, you car's here, kid," Brian said. "They want you to go on home and change right quick. There's some kind of photo shoot or something they wanna be back here for, before the prom starts."
"You're joking."
"Nope. Go over there to the loading dock. Hollis just pulled in. He's been tryin'a get you."
"I'm on it," I said. Figuring that damned EDM music had even overpowered that cell phone.
I had to take some of my old shortcuts across campus, which sort of made me smile. I hadn't wound my way through all those buildings that way for a long time. I saw all the little nooks and crannies we'd ducked into to smoke or get busy in. So crazy, the shit we did sometimes. And the fact that the girls would even do that.
It was hormones and boredom and just the excitement of doing something like that. Feeling wild and free instead of locked down, at least for a few minutes.
What I remember most is the hope in their eyes. We weren't anything like in love. We didn't even hardly know each other in some cases. It was just a sudden hookup after a glance and a smile in passing, pretty much. But they said the way I touched them was different. I never got a full explanation of that, but I figured it was about my girls at home. What I'd learned.
Surprised them that we didn't have to "do it," to get where we both wanted to go. Most of them weren't anything like virgins, but in a way, they were. They'd never really enjoyed it before. You could tell.
Tell you one more thing, you please a few, every girl in town hears about it. I was forever getting messages from girls telling me where to meet them. A lot of them wanting to be initiated, so to speak. By someone who knew what he was doing.
Them, I'd make dates with, though. So we could do it right. You don't want their first time to be up against some wall or under a staircase or something.
Made me laugh a little, thinking about that stuff. The shit we do, man. In school. When it feels like you're in limbo, somewhere between childhood and this nebulous "adult" world that seems light years away.
Anyway, as I was getting closer to the dock, I could hear that bull horn Ryder told me about. So I paused, trying to hear what Justice was bleating out there.
It was a mad rant. Something like:
"The invasion will be quelled! The righteous will be restored! White America is awakening! Victory is nigh!"
And then he sent into this totally bonkers scenario, talking about how "we: would:
"...descend upon the mongrels from the sky! Just the way your impure idols descended upon that field today! But guns blazing! Oh, you're laughing? Are you laughing? Okay! Keep on laughing, then! We've infiltrated your Army! We've infiltrated your police force! And our ally will provide the wealth we need! Yes, our ally! You dumb fucks! Bread and circuses! Bread and circuses! Gobble it up! Go ahead! Shake your groove thing! For tomorrow, the show is over!"
Now, the scariest thing about that rant--aside from the fact that I knew I was that "ally" he was bragging about--was how friggin' happy he sounded. You know how you can tell when someone's smiling even if you're talking on the phone? I could hear the grin in his voice. He was gloating, this guy.
Totally immersed in some insane action movie in his head. AryanMan, leaning out of the lead chopper like the Rock or something, descending down into the stadium, mowing down the "mongrels" on the field.
I was kind of sorry we'd given him that image to dream on. All those choppers, gliding down. Some of the guests were going to be taken to the after party in them. So he'd see them take off again later. And have another psychotic episode, no doubt. Watching his "ally" take to the sky.
I tried to put it out of my mind as we drove past the carnival. It was full of little giddy children. And the social service vans and tables were busy. That made me feel good.
So did all the food booths and stuff that I hadn't had a chance to get to. The smell of tacos and fry bread and whatnot--loved it. They were making cotton candy animals and things, too. I loved watching the girls run up to each other to show off whatever crazy character they'd bought.
That last little child-like moment, before they shimmied into--and, later, for their boyfriends, out of--those prom dresses. I mean, let's be real. That's the big moment, really. Back seat, after.
And at home, with Joie and her squad swarming over me like bees, I finally got back to the moment at hand. And I have to tell you, I looked like a million bucks by the time they were done. They were not playing around.
They didn't even talk to me. Just to each other. With Joie sort of barking orders and walking around and around me, checking every stitch. Every stroke of the comb.
When she leaned in real close to watch Lola P. Looza thread pluck my eyebrows, I couldn't help sort of cracking up. I mean her eyes were about an inch away from mine. And so intense.
But then she poked my nose and said, "You will thank me, later! Now, Mama's gotta go--girls! You've got twenty minutes! No stragglers!"
Didn't know what all that meant, but Hollis came in and got me. And all the queens ran to watch me get into the limo. A lot of them had watched me grow up, too. So this was their night as much as Joie's. A lot of tears and quavery voices.
I wasn't into it like that. Probably because so many other things had been happening lately. For some kids, it was this big rite of passage and the whole family got into like mine had because it meant they were "almost" grown.
I had always been grown. And then I'd been given all that crazy money and stuff. So my big thrill was just seeing them so thrilled. Things had gone well, even with crazy man out there screaming about the Aryan Apocalypse or whatever. Indio and Preston had worked out a pretty dope arrangement. Nobody'd started shooting or even swinging or anything.
That was a definite "win" at my school.
So I called Brian and asked, "So where's this photo shoot?"
"Little Theater. He'll pull up right in front so we don't spoil the big prom 'reveal.'"
"You guys are so weird. We're just about there, then. Can you see us yet?"
There was a little pause, and then he said, "Gotcha! We're here."
And I saw one set of double doors open and there he was, all dressed already somehow. Freaked me out a little bit. I mean, where'd that suit come from, right?
But as soon as Hollis swung around so my door was facing those doors, I leapt out and trotted over.
And as we walked into the lobby, he smiled and said, "Right this way..."
And opened a side door, a regular kind of door with a knob and all, that opened into this little hallway that led backstage or something. I'd never been in there before, so I had no clue.
It was kind of claustrophobic, so I was going to turn around and go back when...
DUDE.
My Kendall just came wafting around a corner at the other end. The top layer of her dress fanning out like angel wings behind her.
Swear to God, I hope the last thing I remember before I die is the way she looked, the way she looked at me, that day. I mean it.
She was wearing this amazing white dress, what they call "empire waisted," I think. The top of it was kind of low cut and embroidered with loops of gold thread and crystals and beads, and the rest of the dress just cascaded down all smooth and silky to the floor just so.
I think they told me it was silk chiffon or something. Whatever it was, it fanned out whenever she moved at all. And you really couldn't see her belly because of how it was cut. Just a little bit, when she turned sideways, maybe. But mostly, you couldn't see Gracie Ellen at all. It made her look very sleek and slender, that dress.
And they'd put those copper curls up in a "messy bun" but left a lot of wispy tendrils down around her face. God, you just don't know. None of those SAT words Wyatt taught us could even begin to tell you how sweet she looked.
My expression must've told her, though. Because she got a little teary and bit her lip and said, "Okay, I'm nervous enough as it is in these heels..."
I was a mess. I managed to say, "God, you look..." and then my voice broke and I didn't even try to finish that thought.
She didn't care. She could see.
So she came gliding toward me with that dress billowing--I was scared to move. Afraid that if I touched her she'd vanish and it'd be a dream, you know?
But when she got to me, she was so real, that smooth skin shining like a perfect pearl, that I almost couldn't stand it.
And then she held out both hands and said, "You're going to have to help me with this."
"With what?"
"Just give me your hands."
I would've done damned near anything she asked me.
So I gave her my hands. And she sank slowly and carefully down on one knee, looked up at me and said, "So, Colton James..."
My jaw dropped. And when she smiled, I said, "Oh, my God..."
So then she laughed and said, "Just let me do this."
But I said, "Oh, my God..." again.
And she squared her shoulders and said, "Will you marry me again?"
The silly girl actually looked nervous for a second. As if I might turn her down or something, I'm not kidding.
So I sank down right in front of her, looked into those eyes, and said, "Come here, woman," and hauled her into my arms.
And she said, "Is that 'Yes?'"
"That's hell yes," I told her.
And bedlam broke out. Cause everyone on campus had heard the whole thing go down.