No More Pretending

Sam threw the mask on the ground, showing that she wasn't ashamed of who she was. Everyone gasped the moment they saw who it was. Diner Girl? David wondered. Yes! Way to go, Sam! Ryan thought with a grin. The only ones who didn't notice that it was Sam were Gabriella and Brianna who were completely infatuated with Austin. However, by the time they came close to the front, they realized that it was time for them to meet Fiona in front of the building. With groans of annoyance, the two girls once again pushed through the crowd and headed outside. Shelby's mouth fell open.

"Are you serious? Diner Girl? You left me for her?" she asked with a condescending laugh.

"My name is Sam, Shelby and it's about time you started treating me with a little more respect," Sam countered. "You know, to be honest, I don't know why you act this way towards me."

"Because you're a nobody, Diner Girl. That's why. People like you don't belong in the same world as Austin and me," she replied haughtily. Sam returned the glare.

"Alright Shelby, that's enough," Austin interjected. "Sam has more place in my world then you ever will," he continued, stepping forward.

"Excuse me?" she asked. How dare he say that I don't belong in his world? Of course I belong with him! she thought. "Everyone can see that don't love her and you're just using her to make me jealous. She's just a rebound girl," she continued. Austin's eyes flashed.

"Shelby, that's out of line! You don't know anything about me! I think it's time for you to leave," he said angrily.

"Yeah? Are you going to make me, Austin?" Shelby asked with a scoff. Austin looked down at his watch. He groaned as he realized that it was time to take Sam back to the diner before Fiona got there. Besides, his parents had taught him better than this. His mom would chew him out if he got into a fight, and he could just imagine what his dad would say.

"You know, I would, except you're not worth it," he answered. "We'll just leave. Come on, Sam," he said, taking her by the hand. She looked at him in confusion. "It's time to get you back to work," he explained softly. She nodded. I can't believe it. This night went by too soon, she thought. "By the way, thank you so much for helping me deal with the piece of garbage," he continued in a louder voice. Sam smiled and they both laughed.

"Ooooh! Burn!" Ryan exclaimed with his own laugh.

"Thank you for standing up for me. You don't know how much it means to me," Sam said. With that, they walked away.

"Come back here! You think you can walk away from me! I'm Shelby Cummings! Austin, you belong with me, not that little dork!" They just ignored her and continued out the door. Hearing the commotion, Mrs. Wells made her way through the crowd to investigate.

"What's going on?" she demanded. No one answered. Someone stepped forward but didn't say anything as she crossed her arms and tapped her foot repeatedly "Well, I guess it can wait for another time," she decided. "It's almost midnight and time to announce our homecoming prince and princess," she stated. Everyone looked at each other expectantly and Shelby straightened her stance and preened. At least the night was somewhat salvageable. "And I'm proud to announce that our homecoming prince and princess are Prince Charming and Cinderella!" Shelby's mouth dropped in shock as the rest of the students cheered with approval. YES! Carter, Ryan, and Astrid thought. No one deserves it more, Astrid thought to herself.

"Well, where are they?" Mrs. Wells asked.

"Unfortunately Mrs. Wells, Prince Charming had to take Cinderella home before she turned into a pumpkin at midnight," Carter stated.

"Oh, dear. Well, that's no good," Mrs. Well responded.

"Hey, no sweat. We can tell 'em later, Mrs. W.," Astrid assured. Shelby pushed her way through them.

"But-but-Mrs. Wells, they're not even here, so the votes can't count, and I'm much prettier than Cinderella, and look at my costume, it goes perfectly with Karen and Mandy's outfits. We're Chester's Angels," she said, grabbing the principal's arm.

"First of all Shelby, that's Charlie's Angels," the woman corrected, yanking free of the girl's grasp.

"Secondly, put a cork in it." With that, she walked away, leaving the girl watching in flabbergasted shock.

"I think the grapes are a wee bit sour," Carter muttered to Astrid, who laughed in agreement.

"Hey, Carter, seeing that your ride has left already, would you want to take a drive with me for awhile?" she asked with a smile. Please say yes, she thought. Carter returned the smile and nodded.

"I would like that very much," he replied as he placed his arm around her, and they walked down the path. "See ya, Ryan. Thanks for all your help," he stated.
"No problem, Bro. Have a good time," the other boy replied. Just as they walked away, David appeared next to Ryan.

"Hey Ryan, what's going on out here? And why the heck did Austin just leave with Diner Girl?" Ryan looked at him, not quite sure what to say. And people think I'm dumb, he thought to himself. Meanwhile, Shelby had finally walked back to Karen and Mandy.

"Are you okay?" Karen asked. Shelby shook her head.

"I can't believe Austin would ruin your whole night like that," Mandy added.

"I know. It's like he's completely changed," Shelby said. I've gotta think of a plan that will make him hate her as much as I do, she thought. While all of this was going on, Sam and Austin had just reached his car. He unlocked the car, and then opened the passenger door to let her in. He then got into the driver's seat, turned on the ignition, and started to leave. Then, he hit the brakes.

"Oh, we forgot to wait for Carter," he realized. Sam looked behind them and smiled.

"I think he found another ride so it's okay," she replied with a giggle. He turned to see their friend with Astrid. Way to go, Carter, he thought to himself.

"Okay, he'll have to give us details tomorrow," he stated with a grin as they pulled out of the parking lot.

"Definitely," she agreed. He continued out of the parking lot and went to make a right turn. From out of nowhere, Fiona's car nearly slammed in to them. Both drivers hit the brakes and ended up side-by-side. The twins saw that it was Austin and Sam.

"Sam?" they both queried in surprise. Austin motioned for her to get down and Sam ducked before Fiona could see her.

"Mom, she's in the car with Austin," Brianna whined. Fiona looked over at Austin to see no one in the passengers' seat.

"Hey, how we doing ladies? Sorry about the close call," he exclaimed, hoping that they couldn't hear his heart beating furiously. After a few moments of silence, he drove away like nothing happened.

"Mom, she was there, I swear," Gabriella stated.

"Don't be ridiculous. She's working right now. She'd never disobey me," Fiona reminded her daughter.

"She was there, though," they both insisted as Fiona continued down the road.

"Shut your cat face!" she demanded in exasperation.