Chapter 10

I do not own the rights to any of the songs mentioned. They were included only because I think they have great lyrics.

"Alright students it is now time for the announcement of prom king and queen." Dr. Crabblesnitch said from the stage they brought into the gymnasium. Everyone crowded the bleachers for the moment that we were all waiting for. My palms began to get sweaty. "Okay first prom king. And your Bullworth academy prom king this year is…" He slowly opened the envelope. "Wow apparently this was a close one because we almost had a tie breaker for king. Your winner is Lefty Mancini!" Lefty stood up in his black tux with his cigarettes hanging from the breast pocket. He walked down the bleacher waving at everyone. There was a loud boo coming from the jocks and the preppies that sat around me. He walked up onto the stage and accepted the crown on his head and walked to the microphone.

"Wow well I guess thanks." He stuttered and stepped away from the microphone. I clapped for him and looked over at Parker who looked mortified. The last person he wanted me to be up there with was Lefty and I know he was praying that someone else would win queen.

"Alright girls now the moment you are waiting for." The principal spoke again trying to rip the envelope open as quickly as he could. Finally getting it open he cleared his throat. "Alright ladies. Your Bullworth academy prom queen is Sapphira Jade." I froze. Never did I actually think I would win. The cheers coming from around me was almost deafening. I stumbled to my feet and walked down the bleachers. Lefty quickly ran over and held my hand helping me down the last few steps. He walked me back to the stage. I began to shake with excitement. Looking around at everyone from where I stood were all smiling faces, except for one. Parker looked at Lefty with pure hatred and if he had the option he would have punched him in the face just for touching my hand. Dr. Crabblesnitch placed the silver crown on my head and handed me a small bouquet of flowers. I took the flowers and walked up to the microphone shaking worse because now I was about to talk in front of the entire school.

"Uh I guess thank you for everyone that voted for me. I uh never thought that me of all people would win this. But I did and I guess the one person I have to thank the most is Parker for making me see the real me." I looked up at him as he looked down at me more depressed than I had ever seen him ever. I backed away from the microphone as Dr. Crabblesnitch walked back in front of it.

"Okay now the king and queen take the floor." He said gesturing Lefty and I to the floor. He held his hand out and led me out to the middle of the floor and wrapped his arms around my waist. I placed my hands on his shoulders. We started to sway as Death Cab For Cutie's 'I Will Follow You Into The Dark' began to play.

"Sapphira I'm really glad you won. I wouldn't have wanted to dance with anyone but you." Lefty said whispering into my ear. I looked at Parker as we turned, pure rage engulfed his face.

"I'm really glad you won too. It was a shock that I actually won though. I thought Mandy would have won." He smiled at me.

"Guess the underdogs got the last laugh here." I smiled slightly as I was facing Parker again. This time he was standing, fists clenched. I felt Lefty's hands move down to my hips and pull me closer. I moved back quickly.

"What are you doing? I am with Parker. Not just boyfriend girlfriend. I mean like we are engaged and you know that."

"Sapphira why him?" I looked at him confused. "Why did you pick him instead of me? I know he has money, but he isn't a nice guy. You deserve so much more than he can give." I pushed him back farther.

"Parker gives me everything that I could ever want. He helped me be who I am today. If it wasn't for him I would not be right here right now with this crown on my head. I would be sitting in the corner by myself looking in at the winners wishing it was me. Wishing that I wasn't so stubborn that it was actually making my life miserable. I love him more than anything. And as far as why I picked him? I guess because he was there for me since my first day here. I mean you are a nice guy and you did help me out that day." I said the last part quietly trying not to think about it. "But there is just something special about him." As I looked for him again, he wasn't there. The song ended and the whole room began to clap and whistle. I pushed Lefty back and scoured the room franticly looking for Parker. He was nowhere in sight.

"Sapphira, just know that if things don't work out with you two, just know that I'll wait for you as long as I have to." Lefty said grabbing my hand. I nodded and let go walking toward the exit doors. I looked toward the pool entrance and saw a figure slumped sitting against the wall in the dark. I slowly walked over and saw it was Parker crying into his knees. I knelt down and rubbed his back.

"Do you know how hard that was to see you dancing with him like that? Do you know it took Gord, Bif, Bryce, and Derby to hold me back from going down there and killing him?"

"Do you know how easy it was to tell him that I was so in love with you and nothing would ever change that? Park, nothing is going to make me feel differently about you. I won tonight because of you. I am prom queen because of you. And do you know that tonight you are going home with the prom queen? I am going to prove to you that nothing is ever going to change how I feel about you." He looked up at me, his eyes full of tears.

"How are you going to do that? Sapphira there is nothing that you can do."

"Why are you acting like this all the sudden?" I demanded.

"You left me the night of the tournament to go out to dinner with him. You left right before the biggest match that I was taking place in, to have dinner with him. How am I supposed to feel when I see him grab your waist like that and pull you close? The guy you ditched me for, had his hands all over you in front of the entire school, and I was just supposed to sit back and ignore it." He sobbed. I had never seen him this upset. And I didn't know he felt so upset that I left.

"Why are you telling me this now? Why wasn't this brought up before?"

"Because I tried to let it go. I thought for sure Derby was going to win king. I know I can trust him because I was there and Pinky was there." I heard a set of footsteps behind me. I quickly turned to see Mandy standing there. I stood up and walked to her.

"What's up?" I asked impatiently wanting to get back to Parker. She looked behind me to see him crying. I stepped in the way. "What's up?" I asked again even more agitated. She walked up to me and hugged me.

"Congratulations. I think you look beautiful tonight. If I didn't win I wanted it to be you." I put one hand on her back and patted it once before taking my arm back down. "Sorry I just needed to say that." She said letting me go and walking back inside. I slightly smiled and walked back to Parker. I sat down on the ground next to him He quickly jumped up pulling me with him.

"No your dress will get dirty. Do you want to go in and dance with me the last song? Then we can get out of here?" He asked wiping his tears. I nodded. He led me back inside.

"Hey you two are you okay?" Gord asked the moment we reached the dance floor.

"Yea we're okay." He said wrapping my arms around his neck and putting his hands around my waist. 'Wonderful Tonight' by Eric Clapton began to play. "You know we don't have a song." He said quietly.

"I know we better decide soon we are getting married in a few months." I said glowing. He smiled back at me wiping his eyes again. "Parker regardless of what happened tonight or in October, I am still going to stand beside you and only you, no matter what." He kissed me more passionately than he ever had before. We danced and kissed until the lights came back on and we were getting kicked out.