Mission: Homecoming was in full throttle, with students dancing and soaking up the lively party atmosphere. And despite the fact that Miren wasn't even sort of ready, she knew that the time to act was now.
The homecoming designers were true to the spy theme; the mess hall had been transformed into a secret lair, with gray lighting and golden streamers lining a few tables next to the window. Toward the refreshment table were the James Bond-like cutouts as promised, though most of the male students gravitated toward the Bond girls. There was a metallic photo booth in the corner where some girls could be seen doing the signature gun pose from Charlie's Angels.
Miren sighed as she silently observed the party landscape. If she wanted to enjoy herself, this would be the time. The coronation wouldn't be for another half-hour. And after that, she would have to carry out the final plan. Sure, it would be easier than the midnight heist at Rosemunde, but there was also more at stake. If she got caught, she had a live audience of seven hundred to see her crash and burn.
So why not dance a little? Even if most of the students were either dry humping or literally hopping up and down to a catchy Rihanna tune. Yet, somehow the nun chaperones seemed more lax than usual. Maybe someone spiked the punch.
"We won the football match," Jeno said, approaching her from behind. He took a moment to watch the party with her. He frowned, though it was hard to see in the flashing lights. "This is stupid."
Miren exhaled. "Glad I'm not the only one who thinks so." Her voice was just above a yell. It was hard to hear here, and if she weren't so anxious for later tonight, the idea of getting premature hearing-loss would have nerved her. But that didn't explain why Jeno was here. With her.
"Go dance. Have fun. I'm fine observing," she said, crossing her arms over her suit. She didn't know how guys dealt with wearing these things. Especially in poorly ventilated dance halls. Turning toward Jeno, she noticed he had removed his jacket.
He stood his ground. "Why don't you?"
Miren scoffed. It wasn't that she didn't want to have a good time. She just didn't know how. In the corner of her eye, she could see Wallace and Chara dancing in a group with Chester, Henry and a couple of Rosemunde girls. And although she knew that they wouldn't oppose her if she decided to join them, it just didn't feel appropriate.
She was a girl disguised as a boy. So honestly, the cutouts were the only pleasing dance partners. "I will when you go."
"If you don't remember, I used to be quite the observer," Jeno said. "It feels natural to just watch."
So they watched together, like awkward kids picked last for kickball. Miren sighed again, growing bored of the whole thing. "I'm going to the dorm. I'll come back in time for the crowning." Although she usually avoided social events to prevent being blind-sided by Penelope, she was realizing she actually had no taste in them.
Jeno shook his head. "You know very well that if I can't leave, you can't either."
"Jeno! Get over here!" Levi motioned his arm wildly for him to come over. With him were Karsha, Adam, and Theodora. Jeno clenched his jaw, but followed.
"You too Miles!" Miren suppressed a groan. Why are people so inclusive all of a sudden? They weren't two months ago. And when it came to dancing, she preferred to be ignored. But she played follow the leader and descended further into the dance floor. It was hotterâmore crowdedâhere.
The song changed and there was an enthusiastic roar within the audience. Jumping in the air, most of the crowd began moving to pre-rehearsed groove. Karsha nudged Miren in the shoulder to move along as Theodora held Jeno's hands, leading him in the iconic boogie.
Dances, Miren thought, moving to the blaring beat. When will the torture stop?
**
But it had only started. It hadn't even been an hour and Artemis was already having an awful time. That is, if awful equaled guilty. Most of the Rosemunde Royals were congregated in the front of the stage, by the DJ. The crowd was the densest here, which also meant she couldn't escape.
"Having fun?" Soren yelled, his enthusiasm masking over Artemis 's somber spirits. She nodded, dancing along with the music. She wasn't much of a dancer, but she figured that if she refused to move, Soren would continue to question her. And if he questioned her, she might say something she shouldn't. She flipped over her shoulder to see Jemma and Klondike moving a little too passionately with each other. Artemis inhaled, hoping she could soak up their carefree exuberance.
The music wasn't successful at stunting her thoughts, even though the Katy Perry remix was flashy and distracting. It would be the death of herâcaring too much, being affected by too much.
She tried getting lost in the music. But the thought only reminded her that Miren was lost. They still hadn't found herâdespite the fact Wallace told them she would be making an appearance later tonight. She shook her head, trying to make sense of these thoughts. Part of her wondered why Miren was coming to the dance. It wasn't that she didn't want her here, but rather it just didn't seem like something Miren would be interested in. Or maybe it was. Artemis was realizing she didn't entirely know who Miren was.
A feeling of dread hit Artemis. For so long she had focused on just finding her. But what if Miren didn't care about her efforts? What if, after everything, she wanted nothing to do with her?
She bit her lip. Maybe it was better to be oblivious like the other students. She could just not give a fuck and dance the night away. Life could be that easy.
Naturally, it wasn't.
**
Parker's eyes trailed to the dance floor, where he saw some students nonchalantly staring at him and Penelope. He rolled his eyes, feeling his popularity becoming more of a curse. And it had been, for months now. He turned to Penelope who was doing everything in her power to turn him on. Dancing seductively, whispering all the things she was going to do to him...after they won, of course.
He was trapped by the girl who had everything. He scratched his head, thinking of ways to make the night more bearable. But that was virtually impossible. So instead, he thought about why he put up with the girl in the first place.
The past was done and over with, yet he was haunted by it everyday. Her. The DJ made a call out to the lovers in the room and played a slow song. Penelope clinged against him, nestling her head in the crook of his neck. Wrapping her arms over his shoulders. Dabbing kisses on his neck.
Parker closed his eyes, letting his mind scatter. "I'm sorry about what happened to Miren," Penelope said, taking him off guard. "I'm sorry about everything that's come between us."
He held onto her, staring out into the dance hall. He wanted to feel something; he didn't want to give her the cold shoulder, but didn't she deserve it?
Three years, he had put up with her. But he had convinced himself he wasn't putting up with anything. He loved herâwithout a question. But maybe those feelings weren't even romantic. Maybe she was just familiar and his only option, so his mind fooled him into thinking so.
Parker shook his head as the realization struck him hard. He wasn't blind. But he was sick of acting like it. He loosened his hold on her, tilting her head to face him.
"Penelope, I want to breakâ"
"Ahem." Headmaster Edsel gave a fake cough into the microphone after assuming center stage. He nodded at the DJ before turning to the pooled student body. A usual look of genuine amusement could be found in his eyes. "I hope everyone's been enjoying the dance so far." The crowd erupted in wild cheering. The headmaster lowered his hand for the group to contain themselves. His smile intensified. "Glad to hear it. Anyway, you know what time it is. Homecoming Court, get up here."
The crowd split into zigzags to allow the chosen ones to grace the stage. After a few minutes, most of the candidates had made their way front and center. The headmistress, toward the left of the stage, shuffled the Rosemunde girls in order. Taking in the Rinzen nominees in a huddle, Headmaster Edsel pressed his lips into a firm line as he scanned through the males.
"Now boys," he began, as if he were a coach and this was a pep talk before a football game, "one of you will be a winner. And the rest of youâwhether you thought you cared about the whole thing or notâmight feel really, really shitty. But there's nothing you can do about it. So suck it up, smile, and enjoy the night." He patted a random nominee's shoulder.
There was a collective eye roll within the group. They were boys. Not flowers. And being on stage, an open target to all of their peer, Â was hard enough without their headmaster poking fun at them.
With the not so inspiring pep-talk out of the way, the Rinzen boys lined up. Miren faced straight ahead with Chara, who had her fingers crossed.
"Alright, you've stared at them all long enough," Headmaster Edsel said. "Time to declare your King. Could have Miles, our homecoming coordinator, to the stage to announce them?"
Miren only blinked as her friend playfully pushed her forward. "Go!"
The girl in disguise sucked in a breath before slowly marching toward the stage. She tried not to look too hard at the nominees, but it was sort of difficult. They all looked exceptional, like GAP models on a prom catalogue. And it didn't help that she could feel them staring at her. Especially Parker.
The headmaster handed her an envelope with a nod. "If you would do the honors?" She smiled, but it was forced at best.
"No problem." There was a drum roll, and she ripped open the golden letter. "Your 2016 Homecoming King is...Parker Harisson." The audience exploded in cheering before she could get out his last name.
With a slight fist pump in the air, Parker walked up stage. Each step granted him round of applause. The charismatic boy offered them a few waves as she crowned and sashed him. He hugged her before she could reject the gesture. "Thanks, buddy!"
Her body was tingling as he released, and she tried not to smile too hard. But he was more dazzling than usual. His green eyes were as radiant as his bronze skin, his triumphant grin. "S-sure thing." She finally got out. A hand pulled her lightly out of the spotlight like the deer in headlights she was.
"You're drooling." Miren stupidly looked down, before narrowing her eyes at Jeno. But she was grateful that he snapped her out of the dumb teen-girl trance she was in.
"Thanks."
"Anytime."
"Sorry you lost," she then said, before turning toward Wallace, who was further down the line of nominees.
"I'm sure even you know high school titles mean nothing." He shrugged. "But thanks for your sympathy." His amber eyes, which looked like all shades of autumn, were warm against hers. "I appreciate it."
A small smile found its way on her lips as she turned toward the stage. She found Headmistress Castro and Karsha, who was holding a coronation crown and sashes. "The Riz kids are up. This should be interesting."
Dr. Castro took over the microphone and smiled at the student body. It surprisingly didn't turn them to stone. "Hello and welcome students," the older woman began, "now that we have selected part of your royal family, it's time to conclude the coronation. If our nominees would step forward..."
They did. And in the stage light it was easy to see that they cared far more about the results than the Rinzen boys. Their bright smiles hid thingsâArtemis 's guilt, Theodora and Jemma's general nervousness, Penelope's ruthless ambition. She gave off a vibe of absolute confidence in herself, in the results.
"You sure Penelope didn't go back and stuff the ballot?" Miren whispered to Jeno. He shook his head.
"Theodora said the final tally was this afternoon. Besides, look at the self-satisfied look on her face. To her, stuffing the ballot would probably be more shameful than losing."
Miren nodded as she soaked in his words. If Penelope rigged the ballot that would mean she wasn't popular. And popularity is the elixir that keeps her alive and nasty, right?
The headmistress handed Karsha an envelope. She took it hastily, waving the thing in the air as if it were the golden ticket to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. And it was essentially. It was the key to immortalized high school recognition. Who wouldn't want that?
The crowd began to grow restless as she began to list off the sponsors and volunteers for the event. Miren balanced her weight back and fourth between on her heels. Even she was getting anxious.
"And finally, for your Homecoming Queen..." The headmaster began, along with the drum roll. The smile on Penelope's face had intensified. After all, her boyfriendâher running mateâwas just chosen. This had to be in the bag.
"...Artemis El-Amin!"
But it wasn't. Artemis should have been exploding with joy. Or at least been excited. The twitch on the corner of her lip turned into a strained smile, and she could not calm the wild expression in her eyes as she stepped forward. Feeling the spotlightâthe students' eyesâburn against every part of her, Artemis let Karsha place a crown on her head, as she attempted to be numb to all of this. But when she took her position next to Parker, she knew it wasn't possible.
"And that concludes your 2016 Homecoming Coronation!" Headmaster Edsel announced, as the students began to cheer again. "If we could have the royal court for a few photos in the back, that would be appreciated. Again, congratulations to all of you. Let the dance resume!"
However, it was only the beginning.
Author's Note: Remember to submit questions for the Q&A. Also, first constructive comment gets a dedication. :)