A/N: Ah, prom night. Just so you'll know, I never attended my prom (and no, I'm not bitter about it). I also know what you're probably thinking: "How can someone who never attended their prom possibly know what it was like?" Well, to quote Brandy in Cinderella, maybe I have more imagination than you think. I also attended a "Mock Crash" at my local fairgrounds a couple of days before the prom my junior year. And for the record, I did not have the same experience as Mary Anne.

CHAPTER 9: May—Jason

It was a couple of days before the prom. The juniors and seniors were excused from all morning classes, but we'd be back in time for fifth period, and have our afternoon classes. Oh, I should also mention that I didn't go to the prom last year because I didn't have a date, but this year, Kristy would be going with me.

The reason why we were excused from our morning classes is because we were going to stage/witness a "Mock Crash", which is a sort of demonstration of what can happen if kids drink and drive on prom night, as staged by the Stamford chapter of CarTeens and the SHS chapter of SADD. Kristy once told me about that one summer when the BSC members had taken that first-aid course, and Mary Anne had gotten to apply what she'd learned when Tim Hsu nearly drowned in the Kormans' pool. Some of them had gotten to participate in something like that at the Firefighter's Fair. I'm told that Dawn not only volunteered, but also roped Mary Anne into volunteering as well. Mary Anne told me that it was one of the most humiliating experiences of her life, especially when Jamie Newton saw how she looked with the fake blood and a lot of other crap on her.

Anyway, we arrived at the fairgrounds for the demonstration. Of all of us, the only ones from the SHS chapter of SADD that were involved with it were Kristy, Stacey, and me. There would be three members from the Stamford chapter of CarTeens. Stacey would be lying on the hood of one of the cars, pretending to be dead, and Kristy and I would be behind the wheel of both cars.

When we got there, we found Mr. Simon, the Driver's Ed teacher, waiting for us. "Well, we're all set," I told him.

"Good," he said. "You kids know what to do?"

We nodded, then took our places, and before too long, the demonstration got underway.

You want to know the exciting parts of the demonstration? It was having the firefighters, cops, paramedics, flight personnel, and coroner there. I was in the helicopter, and Kristy and the other two guys were in the ambulances. Stacey and the other girl were supposedly zipped into the body bags, and I hoped they were all right with it. When they returned, the body bags were unzipped, and Stacey and the other girl were helped out of them, then we took a bow. Even though we were re-enacting such a gruesome scenario, the other kids seemed to enjoy it, and I hoped they got the message.

I was also looking forward to prom night.

"That was the scariest thing I've ever seen!" Abby said as we went back to school on the bus. Apparently, seeing the demonstration brought back memories of when her dad—who was a childhood friend of Steve's—was killed.

"You know, Abby, if it's really bothering you that much, seeing Dr. Reese might help," Mary Anne suggested. I'm told that Dr. Reese is a therapist here in town, and she helped Mary Anne get through the time that Amelia Freeman was killed.

"You're right," Abby agreed. "Maybe I will."

I hoped Abby would be able to get past her fears.

Two nights later, I was dressed up in my tux. Well, technically, it was the top half of a tux—the shirt, vest, bowtie, and jacket—with a red and black plaid kilt. I made sure to choose those colors, because I've been told that the chances of them clashing with whatever color dress Kristy chose were slim to none.

"Well, I see you're ready for the prom," Mum observed.

"Got the corsage?" Steve asked.

"Aye," I answered, holding up the plastic container with the lilac and white corsage arrangement. "Well, see you later."

"Have fun," Bebe said.

"I will," I said, and walked out the door.

When I got to Kristy's house, I rang the doorbell, which was answered by Watson. "Hi, Jason," he said. "Come on in."

When I came into the house, Emily was standing next to the staircase in her pink Hannah Montana nightgown with a big smile on her face. "You look so cute, Jason!" she gushed. To my surprise, she didn't ask why I was wearing a skirt.

"Thanks, kiddo," I smiled warmly, patting her head.

"I'll get Kristy," Elizabeth said, and she led Emily back up the stairs.

While she was gone, I sat down on the sofa to wait. I'm just glad I know Watson well enough, and he's not going to lecture me about my driving, my alcohol consumption—which I'd never dream of doing, and being careful around Kristy, if you know what I mean. It reminded me of the time I saw the Rescue 911 segmenton YouTube where this young couple goes to the prom, dances to "Don't Take The Girl" by Tim McGraw, then the girl gets deathly sick, is rushed to the ER, and it's discovered that she'd had an allergic reaction to shrimp she'd had at dinner before the prom. (I also read in the comments section for that video that she never married the guy who'd saved her, which really floored me, because I would have, if I were her.) The only people I know of who are allergic to shellfish are Abby, and Steve's two youngest siblings, Paula and Pat, who are twins. They were born when Steve was a freshman in high school.

Anyway, in the segment, the mother said that her husband likes to talk to the date first, tell them all the stuff I mentioned, and finish by saying, "...and if you touch her, I'll kill you." See why I'm glad Watson's not that way?

"So, what's the plan?" Watson asked as he took a gumdrop from the candy dish and offered it to me.

"Well, we're going straight to the school after dinner at Shoney's, and we'll be home when you say we need to be," I answered. "And don't worry, I have no intention of drinking tonight." Just the smell of alcohol makes me nauseous. In addition to that, when Pete Black and I were hanging out recently, he gave me a sip of the beer he'd had, and it was the nastiest-tasting thing I'd ever had. I'm just glad Mum didn't catch us, because not only would she have tanned our hides, but she also would've called Pete's folks.

"Good deal," Watson said as he put the candy dish back on the coffee table.

Just then, Elizabeth and Kristy came downstairs. Aha! There is a God! I thought as I stood up. For once, Kristy was wearing a dress. It was pale yellow with short sleeves.

"Here you go," I said, slipping the corsage onto her wrist. "You look nice."

"Thanks," she answered. "So do you."

"Where'd you get the dress?"

"This was actually my bridesmaid dress from Mom and Watson's wedding," she explained. "I've grown a little since then, but Nannie was able to fix it for me."

"Well, shall we do a quick picture before you leave?" Watson asked.

"Sure," Kristy said. The two of us posed next to the fireplace, and Watson took several pictures. Now that I think about it, he must have used the whole roll.

After he was done, I said, "Well, we should be going now."

"All right," Watson said. "Just be sure to be home by 11:00."

"We will," Kristy said as we walked out the door, got in my truck, and headed to the school.

When we arrived, we saw what the gym looked like: pink, black, and white streamers hanging from the ceiling, the same color confetti was strewn all over the floor, and balloons of the same colors were tied to the basketball hoops. We also saw the band setting up, although I'm pretty sure they were hating whoever booked them.

Shortly after that, and the band had done their sound-check, they started playing "Come Sail Away" by Styx, which happens to be one of my favorite songs. And thankfully, it wasn't the South Park version.

"Want to dance?" I asked Kristy.

"Sure," she answered. We headed to the dance floor, and danced until the song ended.

After we got punch and cookies, we were soon joined by Mary Anne and Logan. "Having a good time?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah," Mary Anne answered. "Logan and I came last year, and this year, it's even better."

I smiled as I finished my punch and cookies, stuffed the napkin into the empty cup, and threw it away.

Later that evening, Mr. D'Amato stepped up to the microphone. "Okay, everybody, it's the moment you've all been waiting for: the crowning the prom king and queen," he announced. "As you may or may not know, we looked over the ballots very thoroughly, and I'll tell you, it was a very close race this year. You know, that reminds me of my senior year..."

"GET ON WITH IT!" everybody shouted impatiently. No disrespect to Mr. D'Amato, but the way he rambles on and doesn't get to the point drives us nuts.

"Sorry. Okay, this year, our prom king is Jason Everett, and our prom queen is Kristin Thomas."

Kristy and I grabbed hands and ran up on stage, where crowns were placed on our heads. We just couldn't believe it. I'm just glad nobody dumped pig's blood on Kristy. Even though she lacks telekinetic powers, she still would've found some way to kick their asses.

"There will now be a special dance for the king and queen," Mr. D'Amato announced as we walked down the platform and took our places in the middle of the dance floor.

The song that happened to be playing was "Open Arms" by Journey. As we danced, I couldn't believe how lucky we were to be crowned the king and queen. And the best part about the whole thing? Not only did I not have a jealous ex-girlfriend to deal with, but no one was tempted to pull the mooning prank from Grease.