Shrinking Violet (23 page)

I can't even get comfortable on the couch. My insides are churning, and not because Pop-Tart is late. I'm freaked because

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if she does show, it means I really have to go through with this. She'll be one more person cheering me on all the way to the finish line. One more person stopping me from ditching the prom and becoming the next face on a milk carton.

Mom peers through the peephole in the front door. "I knew we should've used Pamela."

"Mom, Kelly will be here. Trust me." I hope. I turn to the window and stare at the circular drive. It's still a couple of hours until sunset, but the moon is already in place. Maybe it's a sign. This night is all so surreal.
"Who needs the sun when you're around? You're a
natural satellite, always shining bright..."

In less than two hours I'll be meeting my Prince Charming. Okay, maybe that's going a little overboard. I only have to act like he is for the photos and the four hundred other people attending prom. After the last song, we can each ride off into our separate sunsets and never lay eyes on each other again.

A blue convertible zips into the driveway. Kelly's boyfriend is dropping her off since we'll be riding in style in the limo.

"It's about time," Mom calls to me.

"Be nice, Mother," I warn and step up to greet Kelly at the door.

I move in to give her a hug. She puts down her huge makeup bag and wraps her arms around me. "You're going to look awesome, Tere."

"Thanks," I murmur into her shoulder.

Mom's standing in the doorway. "Hi, Kelly, come in." I'm glad 259

she doesn't make any cracks about Kelly being a receptionist, not a licensed cosmetologist like Pamela.

We bolt up to my bedroom. Kelly's eager to get started. My nerves are in overdrive, so I run to the bathroom while she sets up. I splash water on my face and peer into the mirror. "You can do it," I whisper. It's only one night. In less than twelve hours it'll only be a memory. "Just don't make it a bad one, Sweet T." I stare at my reflection.

I'm sad that I won't even get to share one dance with Gavin. Even if he isn't my date, I'd like him to be a part of the experience. He doesn't know the impact he's had on me these past few months. He's helped me come out of my shell by accepting me for who I am. He never questioned why I was so shy, never expected more from me than I could handle. And I can't forget that I shared my first kiss with him, even if it only lasted a second.

Once I'm out of the bathroom, I flop down at my desk that Kelly has set up as her makeup station.

The smile on Kelly's face shrinks when she looks at me. "What's wrong?"

"It's pointless," I say and sigh.

"What?" She lays out a few eye-shadow brushes on my desk.

"Even though I love the winning song, I still wish I was going with someone else.

Someone that I know. That's all."

"Could it be the kid from your English class?" She raises her eyebrows.

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"Yes." I look down at my freshly manicured toes, painted pink with New Horizons polish.

I chose this color, hoping it'd give me good luck. I must be pretty desperate if I'm getting my fortunes off of nail polish bottles. "He's the one going to see Speed Bump tonight."

"Right, that could be a problem." Kelly dips a cotton ball into a bottle of cleanser and wipes my skin. "Exactly."

She pulls out a powder brush and stops short. "Unless . ." A huge smile overpowers her face.

"Unless what?" I perk up like she might be the sole owner of a real crystal ball.

"Oh, this is brilliant," she squeals.

"What?"

"Why don't we swing by the concert before the prom and lure Gavin out of there?" She runs the powder brush over my face. I cough.

"No, I'm serious," she continues. "We've got the limo to drive us around."

"But what if he doesn't want to leave the show?" I slide my silver bracelet up my arm as far as it will go. And what, if Gavin does come with us? How would Moon Guy feel being the third wheel? Even if he is the biggest freak on Earth, he still deserves to be my
date.

After all, he won fair and square. Just thinking about whether he's a nerd, a jock, or an underwear model is totally playing with my head. The anticipation is overwhelming. But it's

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only a three-hour event. People have survived a lot worse. I immediately think of Helen Keller. She spent most of her life in the dark. I'm only spending one night.

"After he sees you all dressed up, trust me, he'll want to leave." No one has ever had so much confidence in me. It's scary.

"I dunno." I slump my shoulders.

"Well, think about it. Now close your eyes." Kelly applies liner to my top lids. If I could keep my eyes closed for the rest of the night, I'd be fine. That way I wouldn't have to read people's expressions when they find out that I, Tere Adams, am Sweet T. I know Helen would say be happy with who you are, but the concept of self-esteem is all so new to me. I've never been the guest of honor before. I'm always one with the wallpaper.

For the next few minutes neither of us says anything. Kelly's busy designing my mask, and I'm playing twenty questions with my nerves.
Will the bathroom be close by? Can
you guarantee my stomach won't give way when I'm called onto the stage? Will I tuck my
underwear into the back of my dress by mistake? Should I take a detour to the Speed
Bump concert and kidnap Gavin?

Mom pokes her head .in the room. "How are you doing, girls?"

"Making good time," Kelly says.

I look up. Mom's dressed already. She has on a red shimmery halter that stops at her knees. "I like your dress, Mom."

"Thanks. I couldn't decide on the color. I also brought it home in white and aqua."

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"Definitely red," I say.

"Yes, it's beautiful." Kelly gives her the thumbs-up. "And Tere's going to look gorgeous.

You're quite a team."

"Great," Mom says. "Just make sure to keep it bright. She can look a little pale at times."

Wait until I puke, I'll look really pale then.

Mom peeks into Kelly's makeup bag. "Ohh, I like this one." She points to one of the blushes.

I roll my eyes. "Okay, Mom. Kelly has it all under control."

"I know. I was talking about for me." She dips the tip of her finger into the container and tries the reddish-brown color out on her hand. "This is my first prom, too, you know."

I'm so glad Rob is taking her to dinner first or I'm positive she would've ridden to the hotel in the limo with us.

Kelly tells her to pick out whatever she wants to use for herself. Mom takes advantage of that and heads to her room with a few samples.

Maybe Kelly is right. Maybe I should go to the concert, bust open the front door, and sweep Gavin into the limo--it's so movie star--like. But at the same time Gavin never asked me to the prom. For all I know he could be slamming with another girl in the mosh pit. Moon Guy is waiting for me, and any guy who can write lyrics like "The Moon Stops for You" has my vote.

"Thanks for the offer, Kelly, but I'm going to stick with the contest winner tonight," I say.

"I owe it to the station. To my listeners."

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"That's very admirable of you." She steadies my chin. "Now look up; I'm applying the liner under your eyes."

I thought she'd be more disappointed. Maybe she never expected me to say yes. But it's like Helen Keller said, "Never bend your head. Hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye." And I don't want to go back to where I came from. I need to do this. For me.

It's both terrifying and exhilarating that my secret identity is going to be revealed tonight. I'm scared that people will feel let down when they find out it's me behind the mike. But at the same time, it's thrilling to finally expose the real me. To say this is who I am; I'm not hiding anymore--take it or leave it.

When Kelly's done with my makeup, she pins up a piece of my hair with a silver clip. The rest stays down. I followed all her pre-hair instructions and washed with a special de-frizz shampoo and conditioner. My hair actually looks lively and as an added bonus, it smells like fresh mangos.

I step into my closet and stare at the dress. It's beautiful on the hanger. It would be such a shame to disturb it. I finger the black material. It's so soft, just like I imagine Gavin's hair to be. He's probably on his way to the concert now, wearing a black tee and jeans.

Next to him I would look out of place.

I pull the dress off the hanger and slowly slide it on.

"Need any help?" Kelly calls from my desk.

"I can't get this last bit zipped up." I step out of the closet.

She rushes over to help. "Wow, you look amazing."

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"Thanks." I blush.

She picks up her makeup bag. "You ready?"

"Do I have to answer?"

We both laugh. She manages to rush me out the door with only a quick "See you at the Marriott" to Mom.

The white Hummer limo is waiting out front. It's gorgeous, like an untouched pearl. I've ridden in a few limos before with Mom and Rob, but they've never sparkled as much as this one. Right now the winner is being picked up in a matching limo. He's allowed to bring a couple of buddies along for the ride, too. I wonder what they'll do while Moon Guy is at the prom. They'll probably raid the snack bar and mini fridge, then have the driver cruise around Ocean Drive. Are we expected to go home in separate limos? I don't even want to think about that now.

I wish I had begged management to allow Audrey and Doug to ride with us to the prom, but they were afraid that having anyone else ride with me might compromise my cover.

They don't know that Audrey has known about the contest from day one.

The first thing I do when I get in the Hummer is make sure the window goes up and down, in case I have to vomit.

"This is way cool, huh?" Kelly checks out the stock in the mini fridge.

"Yeah, I wish I could enjoy it."

"Hey, maybe this will help your nerves." She pulls out a bottle and inspects the label.

"Sparkling Grape Juice. I should've known they wouldn't give you the real stuff. Want some?"

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"No, thanks. I don't think I could stomach anything right now."

"Okay, then." She swaps it for a bottled water and takes a sip. "Maybe on the way home."

"If I make it that far, I can have more than sparkling juice."

"Well, don't worry. I'm yours for the whole night. So whatever you need, I'm here."

"Thanks." I loosen the strap on my sandal. "Does this limo double as a hearse? Hope you don't mind riding home with a dead body."

Kelly laughs. "Oh, you're so dramatic."

Hmm, just wait and see.

We motor along the highway at an even pace. Drivers and passengers stare at the limo.

We're neck and neck with a blue Volvo. The man and woman both look over, then start chatting. I know what they're thinking:
Who's seated behind those dark windows?
I imagine the husband saying, "Maybe it's Madonna or Beyoncé." Then the wife says, "No, honey, it's prom season. It's probably a bunch of high school kids."

They would never guess that it's just me Tere Adams, aka Sweet T, and my makeup artist, Pop-Tart. But what they really don't know is the part that's inside me, the part that can't believe I made it all the way to the prom. Technically I have not
made it
to the prom yet; we're still five miles away. But if you had asked me six months ago if I was going, I wouldn't have even hesitated to say no. I didn't think it was in the cards for me.

For starters, I

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didn't have any date prospects, and even if I did find someone, my mom's expectations were so high that I'd never make her happy. I had planned to rent a bunch of old horror movies instead, like
Carrie
and
The Slumber Party Massacre,
and watch them until the sun came up.

We pull onto Rock Hill Road, and my stomach lurches with every bump. We're a couple of minutes from the Marriott, a couple of minutes from my fate being sealed.

"Someone's got to fix all these potholes," I say to Kelly.

"Yes, where is the commitment to making the city streets better? Didn't the mayor make some speech like that?"

"You mean the time he went on TV in the horrible pink suit preaching about making everyone happy?"

"Something like that." She pops the lid on ajar of peanuts. "There it is!" She points to the huge red Marriott sign like I can't see it.

I am not a coward; I will face the music,
I keep telling myself as we wait in line to be dropped off. Of course, I'm a little bummed that I gave up the opportunity to see Gavin, but I know if it's meant to be, it'll happen. Just not now.

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All is fine until we pull up to the hotel entrance. The driver gets out of the limo and opens my door. I feel like I'm fused to the leather seats; my legs are weighted down and my arms are made of lead. This is it. Once I step out of this car, there's no going back.

That's when I see Audrey and Doug walking up the steps toward the lobby, trailing behind the rest of their crew. It's reassuring to see Audrey in her beautiful peach dress.

She catches my eye, unloops her arm from Doug's, and rushes over to me.

"You look awesome," she gushes.

"So do you."

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"How was the Hummer?" She runs her hand over the body of the car.

"Great, but it would've been better if you had ridden in it, too."

"Tell me about it; there were twelve of us crammed into a limo half this size."

"Hey, at least you got to travel with the band," I say.

"Ha." She laughs. "I'm glad you haven't lost your sense of humor."