Day of Prom

PATRICIA'S POV

This is it. Senior prom. Never, in a million years, would I ever have believed I would make it to senior prom without being attacked by some Egyptian monster. Never did I believe I would go to senior prom. But Madame is gone. Eddie is safe. I'm going to prom with him. We're graduating, going to college together.

Everything is perfect.

The rest of the girls in the house are dragging me to shop for prom dresses at this high-class, expensive, girly, store called "Le magasin de robe," which according to Cassidy means "the dress shop." Real creative, marketing directors.

With my reputation, I'd never admit this to any of the girls for fear of endless squealing, but I have been looking forward to purchasing a dress for quite some time. This might be the last time I get to experience the simplicity and romantic high-school events. I want this night to be perfect for Eddie and me.

"Ooh, Patricia," Joy coos. "What do you think about this one for me?" She holds up a royal purple dress with silver gemstones embroidered along the waistline. It is floor length and would hug her petite figure perfectly.

"Try it on," I suggest. "I think it would look nice on you."

Joy grins excitedly and scampers to the dressing room. Meanwhile, Amber is scouring through every rack of dresses imaginable, her arms carrying an amount of dresses that should weigh two or more Ambers…

"Patricia," KT begins, interrupting my thoughts of the dance with Eddie. "Are you going to pick something out?"

"Oh, right," I say. "You wouldn't have happened to find something for me, would you?"

KT laughs and takes my arm, guiding me to a rack of dresses in the corner, invisible from where I was previously sitting.

I regret my choice of seating place. I wish I had seen this.

Again, I'd never admit it out loud, but KT has just showed me my own personal heaven. I catch a glimpse of a black dress out of the corner of my eye and stroll to it. It's floor length, and would definitely hug my figure. It is strapless, the top covered in dull silver sparkles. The skirt half reaches the floor and, as I try it on, clings perfectly to my legs. I glance at my reflection in the mirror. A weak smile crosses my face; this is the dress.

I manage to admire the dress a few minutes longer until a loud rapping sounds against my dressing room door.

"Patricia! Open up! KT says you found a dress!" Joy's incessant knocking is filling me with irritation, so I relent, opening up the door to reveal my attire.

"Oh my God…"

"What?" I ask nervously.

"Patricia, that's… that's beautiful! I think I might cry." Joy dramatizes fake tears and sniffles.

"Shut up," I snap, but a smile traces my lips. She links arms with me as we show off our dress to the other girls.

After a few moments in admiration of all our dresses, we change back into our normal clothes and stand in line to pay for our dresses. I can tell all of the girls are filled with elation, entirely jittery. I am too, though I would never show it.

That evening, Cassidy, Joy, and Esmay have already left our room to greet their dates. I'm left by myself to change and primp for Eddie. I'm happier doing this alone; more girls meant more makeup and accessories.

As I finish clipping the last pin into my hair, a knocking occurs thrice on my door.

"Hey, Yacker, you ready?" A muffled voice calls from behind the door.

I smile, straightening my posture. Slowly, I turn the doorknob. This is the last time I shall do so for a reason of such importance until I make my way to the graduation ceremony two weeks from today.

I open the door to reveal a bright, shining Eddie, his mouth a gaping hole. He stares at me, his eyes glassy and his face filled with ecstasy.

"You…look…" he says breathily, unable to complete his sentence.

"I know… er, I mean, thanks," I stammer, wanting to slap myself. "I mean… I know what you were going to… oh God."

Eddie laughs, extending his elbow to me. I grasp my fingers to it as he escorts me downstairs. He hardly takes his eyes off of me for a second that I have to slowly guide him as we descend to keep him from tripping.

A chorus of 'wow's and 'oh my's emanate from the crowd of couples standing in the foyer. I try to push away a smile, but I relent to my urge. It's ok to smile sometimes, I realize. Especially after all I've been through this year.

The chatter dies down as Trudy enters the room, tears of joy streaming down her face.

"Oh, you all look so grown up!" she cries. It brings back memories of prom in freshman year, the year before Eddie came. I never would've expected to graduate high school with a boyfriend, much less fall head over heels for him. I remember telling Joy and Mara that if I ever got like this over a boy, they had permission to slap me. I pray for the life of me they do not remember my request. But if slapping me meant that I was finally in love with a boy, then slap me silly until I am as bruised as a banana.

Trudy arranges us into a line with our partners and takes pictures, then individual pictures of each couple. It's a bit irritating and delaying, but we relent; this is Trudy's last opportunity. After all we've been through with her, we would never pass up her final photo-op.

"Go on now!" Trudy exclaims after she's taken enough pictures. "I don't want to keep you from your prom all night!"

I glance at Eddie with a smile, and he grins back. He kisses my cheek as we follow the other Anubis couples out of the foyer and into the warm June night.

The moon shines brightly, and the air is the perfect mixture of breeze and warmth. It tickles my nose yet warms me inside and out. Eddie's hand is intertwined with mine, illuminated by the light of the moon.

"You look beautiful," Eddie whispers delicately. "I know you interpreted what I said earlier, but I needed to say it. I needed to hear myself say it."

Understanding it is one thing, but hearing him call me beautiful is an entirely different feeling.

The rest of the walk to the dance is silent except for the light chatter amongst the other couples and the crickets chirping in the nearby woods. We do not speak to the other couples, or, truly, we do not speak at all. We are basking in the beauty of the night and the anticipation of our night together.

Then, the silence is broken. We enter the bustling, booming crowd of people dancing, talking, singing, laughing, having fun.

"C'mon," Eddie says immediately. "I'm not hesitating like we did at the Christmas dance. We're goin' to dance, and we're going to have fun. Yeah, yeah, you don't dance. Tonight, you do!"
He yanks my hand, pulling me towards the dance floor. I laugh as he spins me under his arm and roll with laughter and embarrassment as he tries out his 'moves.'

"You know you like it," he jokes, shimmy-ing his way over to me. I am in utter hysterics, laughing my head off.

After God knows how long, Amber interrupts our dancing, an enormous smile on her lips.

"Have you guys voted for prom king and queen yet?" she asks excitedly and energetically.

"Oh, no, we haven't!" I say, taking Eddie by the hand over to the ballot box before Amber cuts in front of us.

"No need," she says.

"Why did you ask? Wait, what?" Eddie asks in a state of confusion.

Amber grins, expelling her words with such extreme force that I'm surprised I don't get blown over.

"Please, everyone at Anubis has already voted for you two! I know I saw some Hathor and Isis residents vote for you two too. You guys are the power couple, the talk of the school!"

I smile at Eddie, and we both chuckle. Never did we see that coming.

Amber smiles at us before being whisked away to the dance floor by Beck, leaving Eddie and me to continue to dance.

A few minutes into our new round of dancing, a slower song begins to play. Eddie wraps his hands around my waist, and I throw my arms around his neck. Over Eddie's shoulder, KT flashes me a thumbs-up, then continues to dance with Fabian.

"You are beautiful, Yack- Patricia," Eddie says, correcting himself. "I think it's time I use your real name."

"Don't, Weasel," I say. "Everyone calls me Patricia. Only you call me Yacker. It's a special thing between you and me."

He smiles. "Yacker."

"Weasel."

"Goth-pixie."

"Slimeball."

"I love you."
"I love you too."

Eddie leans forward planting a firm kiss on my lips. I remove my hands from his neck and place them on his cheeks, pulling him closer to me. I am intent on staying like this forever, never letting go of this moment.

"OK, everyone!" A perky student representative announces from up onstage. "It's time to announce the prom king and queen!"

I begrudgingly tear away from Eddie, resting my head on his shoulder. He grips my hand tightly.

The rep, who I've been informed is named Blaire, is handed a shimmering gold envelope. For dramatic tension, she begins to open it ever so slowly, until a kid from the audience yells at her to "Open it already!"

"OK! Ok," Blaire consoles. She rips open the envelope.

"The 2013 prom king is…"

Everyone begins to chatter, the suspense growing unbearable.

"Eddie Miller!"

A spotlight shines on a red-faced Eddie. Being the person he is, he embraces the idea, smirking and strutting through the crowd onto the stage. He sits in his throne with his cheap plastic crown, winking at me through glistening eyes.

"And the prom queen is… drumroll please…" Blaire says. The crowd raps on their legs and nearby walls and tables.

Blaire grins enormously as she glances at the gold paper, a fateful name emblazoned across it.

"Patricia Williamson!"

Heads turn to face my direction whilst a blaring spotlight shines on my person. I'm stunned by the deafening silence that is my beating heart. It is pounding out of my chest, escaping my body in fear. One thought repeats over and over in my mind.

I am prom queen.

I cautiously, slowly walk to the stage to meet Eddie. He senses how nervous I am, and grape my hand, pulling me up to the stage.

"Congrats, Queen Yacker," Eddie whispers into my ear.

"C'mon, royals," Blaire urges. "Dance!"

Music begins to play softly, and Eddie takes me by the waist to center stage. Our foreheads meet, and I glance at the crowd. All of my friends are gazing up at us in admiration. For the first time in my life, I feel like… a princess.

"You look beautiful," Eddie whispers to me. "Like royalty. Appropriate, I guess."

I lean forwards, kissing him deeply. The crowd erupts into applause, and memories of freshman year flood back to me. Memories of Nina and Fabian being elected prom king and queen, memories of how I felt, standing in the crowd. I was one of a crowd, not one of a kind. I would stand there, looking up at them in awe, wondering if I would ever be that happy with someone. Now, here I am, the queen of my senior prom, with a stunning, stellar boyfriend. I am the girl I always coveted. The girl I always wanted to be.

I feel like a princess.

I am a princess.