Amber was relived when the carriages finally pulled up in front of the hotel. This put her in a position of power which was what she needed right now. Surprisingly, Jamal was still steady enough to help her down from the carriage, which she appreciated. Maybe she could still salvage the night if she could keep Jamal away from Jerome. She fought the urge to pull Jamal ahead to group with Penny and Tracy.
"Ohh, Penny, this is gorgeous," Tracy told her as they entered the ballroom. The room had been decorated with flowers and gilt Romanesque columns. The dance floor was in the middle of the room, surrounded by the tables. The cloths were white satin, candles sparkled in the center of each table. At the very front of the dance floor was a makeshift stage where Corny stood at the turntables.
Corny eagerly raised a hand to his council members. He had been looking for them all night, and it was NOT because, as he had told himself a million times, that he was looking for Amber.
Then there she was, as she stood a moment at the entrance with Jamal. Her black dress clung to her in all the right places, her hair arranged in soft waves, looking almost the right age for him to – date. Across the room, Amber's eyes locked with Cornys. Even from across the room, she could see what was in his eyes, and she liked it.
Corny forced himself to get back to the music. He could not let his guard down, as he had just now. One of the other chaperones handed him a note. "Will all of the council members please report to the photographer for a group picture," he announced.
The photographer took two shots of the council, then he saw a couple of waves in his direction.. Corny put his hand up to refuse. He had to watch the music.
"Mr. Collins, go on, the kids want you," Mrs. Skinner, one of the chaperones said.
"I never could say no to you, ma'am," Corny said as he obediently went to join them. Mrs. Skinner had been one of his favorite teachers when he attended that school.
The girls were all positioned with one hand on their dates shoulders. The only place for Corny was in the middle between Amber and Tracy.
"Ladies, put an arm around his shoulders," the photographer instructed. Corny didn't even feel Tracy's touch. Ambers burned right through his jacket.
"Say cheese" the photographer instructed.
"I really need a drink," Corny thought.
Speaking of which, one of these kids smelled like a bar. Corny looked carefully at the group surrounding him. It had to have been someone near him. Link looked pretty clear eyed. Seaweed too. Then his gaze fell on Jamal …."Let's get you a glass of punch," Corny suggested steering the young man to the refreshment table. "Shoot, I got some better stuff then that man," Jamal offered, flashing what looked like a bottle of gin. At that point the music stopped. "Stay here," Corny said.
Reluctantly, Corny ran back up to the stage and his post. He popped on an Elvis tune, and searched the crowd again for Jamal. He always had his suspicions that Jerome was trouble, and Jamal was his sidekick. No doubt Jerome was behind this.
While Corny was running back to the stage, Jerome had dragged Jamal out into the hallway.
"Shoot man, this dance is sooo boring. Sasha, and I were gonna ditch and really have some fun. Go get Amber."
'Where are we going?" Amber asked, coming up behind them
"Let's go have some real fun baby," Jamal told her, putting his arm around her shoulders.
"To go drink? Forget it. I'm staying here," Amber asserted herself.
Tracy tore herself away from Link reluctantly once the song had finished. "I'm going to go to the Ladies," she excused herself. "Come on, Penny," Tracy dragged her friend away from Seaweed. The two girls scurried out of the ballroom and into the lobby. As they headed toward the bathroom, they heard a scuffle behind them.
"No Jamal, I'm staying here," Amber shrieked as she struggled to break Jamal's grip on her wrist.
"She's staying here, Jamal," Tracy asserted, coming up behind Amber.
"Let her go," Penny demanded.
Jamal looked at the two girls flanking Amber and let go of her wrist. "Shoot, she's boring anyway. Let's go Jerome, Sasha." With that, the trio left the hotel.
Amber stamped her foot in frustration. She was supposed to ditch him, not the other way around. Of course, he had succeeded in taking her with him … she turned to Penny and Tracy. "Thanks," she said simply.
"I'm glad we could help, let's go back and have some fun," Tracy suggested.
"You guys go. I think I'm going to call my mom," Amber said.
"No, this is prom. Come on back in and hang out with us. You can dance a few with Seaweed," Penny offered as they dragged her back in the direction of the ballroom.
Suddenly, coming out of the darkened entrance was Corny. "Is everything okay ladies?" he asked.
"We'll see you inside," Tracy giggled, dragging Penny behind her, leaving Amber and Corny alone.
"Are you okay?" Corny asked.
Amber nodded. "I just got dumped," she admitted looking at the ground.
"Ouch."
"It was supposed to be the other way," Amber muttered.
Corny put an arm around her shoulders, leading her toward the ballroom. "I have an idea. Why don't you keep me company at the record table?"
"I don't know."
"Come on, it'll be fun," Corny coaxed as his hand found hers.
"Sure," she agreed.
Amber's heart was pounding, but whether it was from the heat of battle, or the heat of Corny's hand on hers, she couldn't tell.
"Do you think the girls are okay," Seaweed asked Link as they sat at the table waiting.
"Nah, probably just fixing their hair or something," Link said. "Besides they're announcing royalty in a little while. They won't miss that for anything in the world.
"You said it. Penny's been waiting for that all night. Hey cracker, best of luck to you and your lady all right," Seaweed said, his hand extended across the table for a handshake.
"Same to you and your lady," Link said as they shook hands.
"Hey guys, did we miss anything?" Penny asked breathlessly as she and Tracy sat down next to their guys.
"Just a lot of good dancing. Let's go Trace," he winked at her as he whisked her out onto the floor.