Wish Upon a Star (4 page)

She spotted me then leaned over to her friends and whispered. All of them laughed at whatever she said. I could feel their eyes boring into me as they took in my ripped jeans, blue t-shirt and lack of makeup. I looked around the room to see if there was anyone on the committee who wasn’t one of Selena’s minions. No such luck. I was solo against an epic 10 levels higher with several
adds. Because I took over as leader of the decorations, I couldn’t use stealth to avoid them.

“Uh, hi everyone.
Thank you for coming to the emergency decorations committee meeting. Mr. Brewster asked me to take the lead on finishing the plan. We only have a week left, but it looks like everything done to date is amazing.”

Selena stood up. “As most of you know, I suggested a different theme. I think now is the time to discuss changing the decorations. We have plenty of time to make better designs.”

My jaw dropped to the floor. What was she doing? As I gazed around the room, I could see the shock on other faces as well.

“But, we worked really hard on the decorations we have,” said Marcy. Her naturally tanned skin paled as Selena shot her the evil eye.

“That doesn’t mean we can’t incorporate some of them into a better theme,” Selena responded.

“Didn’t the student body vote on the Wish
Upon a Star theme?” I asked.

She turned her ire towards me.
“And? Who cares? I bet half the people didn’t even pay attention to which bubble they were filling in.”

“We’re a week out from the dance. I can’t see how we’d have time to make new decorations. I looked around and
there’s only a few things left to make. You all are probably more familiar with the plans than I am.” I pulled out the drawings and lists from my binder and placed them on a table where everyone could see. “According to this list, we need…”

Selena swiped her hand across the table and brushed the papers to the floor. “Like I said, we’re changing the plans. I found the perfect dress and it fits the new theme better.”

“What is your idea?” I tried to not get angry.

“Underwater Paradise,” she answered me, and then she turned towards her friends. “It is so gorgeous!
It’s form fitting then flares out towards the bottom. It is a light green with a metallic sheen and changes colors depending on which way you look at it. I’ll look like a mermaid!” She squealed a little and clapped quietly while bouncing.

Holding my hand to my forehead, I stepped forward. “Let me get this straight. You want us to completely do a whole room and concept in one week just so the theme matches your dress?”

“Do you have a problem with that?”

As she tried to stare me down, I realized she was serious. She didn’t see a problem with her request. Unfortunately for her, I did. It was too much. She already had my guy. I couldn’t bear the thought of spending five hours each night for the next of the week painting clams, oysters and fish for a dance I wouldn’t be attending.

She must have thought she cowed me. She turned around and pulled out a sketch of how she thought the gym should be decorated.

“Yes.” I said.

She turned around. “Yes, what?”

“Yes, I have a problem with that.” I stood up straight so I could look down on her.

“Look, you’re coming in on this at the last minute. We’ve been putting in the work. It’s not your call.”

I looked at the other girls sitting in the room. It was hard to read everyone’s faces. The
ir blank expressions revealed nothing. They might have been supporting me or her. Who knew? I did know I was asked to take over and I was not starting from scratch with one week left.

“It
is
my call. Or should we ask Mr. Brewster? He might have something to say about starting over just to match your dress.” I put a little drama into the last part so she’d know I didn’t care if her dress matched anything or not.

For a moment, a look of uncertainty passed over her face. Could it be not all the teachers in the school were in her pocket?

“We do it my way, or I’m gone and everyone will go with me,” Selena threatened.

“I’m not starting over,” I walked over to the plans she had swept onto the floor. I picked them up and dusted them off. I slapped them on the table over the drawing Selena brought. I was riding so high I didn’t consider that she was serious.

She walked up to me slowly. She stopped well within my personal bubble. I pulled my shoulders back to show I wasn’t afraid of her. She looked down at the drawing and sneered. She reached underneath and pulled out her sketch. “Fine. I’m gone.” She looked around the room. “If any of you want to keep your invitations to my after party, you’ll walk out the door with me.” She turned on her heel, and then stormed to the door.

A few of her more loyal minions jumped up immediately. As they walked past me, they flipped their hair and made an annoying, high-pitched humph sound. I looked at the remaining people. They all were in various stages of packing up. Some were faster than others. I felt my stomach drop like a rock.

I watched everyone file past me. Marcy was the last. She paused for a moment. “Wish Upon a Star was my idea. Thank you for not changing it.”

“You can’t help me finish?” I almost pleaded with her.

She shook her head. “I need to stay on the cheer team for my college applications. She would make sure I was kicked off.” She shrugged before heading to the door.

I watched her leave. I could see Selena on the other side of the tiny window in the door. She was staring at me with a triumphant smile on her face. I received her message loud and clear. I was alone. She was and always would be in charge.

I looked down at the drawing on the desk. My first thought was to text Dierdre. I pulled out my phone and started to press buttons. I stopped before I hit send. I almost forgot about our fight. I stared at my phone and tried to think of someone else I could ask to help me. Loneliness is looking at your phone and realizing you have no one to text.

I glanced at the door to make sure Selena was gone. I plopped down in a seat. I wrapped my arms around my head and cried. 

***

The day of the dance arrived too quickly. As I dragged the last of the decorations to the gym after school, I looked around and had no clue how I would finish on time. I could picture myself placing the last cut out as the first couples wandered in. Well, I could picture only being half done as everyone started trickling in and trying to finish around the happy couples. I drew parallels between myself and Cinderella.

After a big sigh, I grabbed a roll of twinkle lights and a roll of tape. At one wall, I fumbled with them to get them taped in the right place. I wanted a zigzag pattern across the wall. I finished fifteen minutes later. When I stepped back, I realized how uneven they were. It wouldn’t do. I grabbed one end of the sting of lights and yanked. The tape gave way in sequence and the string fell to the floor. Fighting back tears, I grabbed part of the string of lights and stared at them. Would anyone really blame me if I gave up? It wasn’t my project to start with, I was doing the whole thing alone, I didn’t have any friends and I didn’t have a date to the stupid dance anyways. I could walk away. I could even leave town. I could travel to the wilds of Montana or something. Anything to escape my misery.

With dejection, I knew I couldn’t. I slowly placed the first tape on the wall again, suspending part of the light string. I reached to place the next piece.

“A little bit higher,” a voice said from behind me.

I spun around and saw Dierdre standing behind me. She was studying the wall, hand on hip.

“Hi,” I lowered my arms slowly. What was she doing there?

“Hey. Seriously, you need to put the next piece higher or it will be crooked.”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m helping you
not
make the lights look like they were placed by a squirrel on speed.”

She looked at me. I couldn’t help it. I started laughing. She joined me. My laughs turned to tears. She walked towards me with her hands out. I ran to my friend and threw my arms around her. I clung to Dierdre, my sanity preserver for the last eleven years.

“What are you really doing here?”

“I heard the decorating committee bailed on you. I figured you could use help.”

“Thank you. You have saved me.”

“And what are we? Chopped liver?” I heard from behind me.

I spun around. Lacy, Greg, Jamie, Deonte and Eric walked across the floor to me. I spun back around and wiped my eyes. I felt like such a baby.

Eric clapped his hands together and rubbed them.  “Okay boss, what do we do first?”

I bit my tongue before saying anything stupid or mean. I could almost see the olive branch of peace in his hands. I decided maybe he would be alright –as long as he didn’t pull my hair.

I pulled out my sketchbook and showed everyone the plan for the gym. I had the boys started hanging streamers and decorations from a grid of wires the janitor had hung for me. Jamie and Lacy worked on setting up tables and chairs for refreshments. Dierdre and I worked on the lights.
Me taping and her directing.

When we finished the wall, I turned around to check the progress of the gym. It was still chaotic, but I could see my vision coming together. That’s when I spotted him. David was helping with chairs and tables. My chest threatened to explode. He was such a good guy. I ached for him to want me like he wanted Selena.

Dierdre nudged me. “You could go talk to him, you know.”

“Naw.
We need to focus on decorations.”

I couldn’t avoid him. I caught myself staring at his back in admiration as he helped everyone. He laughed with Greg while taping stars. While hanging reflective balls with Jaime, he did some bad impressions. I wouldn’t have been able to find a better guy if I spent my life looking. I alternated between wanting to wrap my arms around him in a hug and wanting to wrap my hands around his neck and strangle him. How could he not see how evil Selena was? How could he not see how perfect we would be together?

An hour later, I placed the last touch by the entrance. I looked around and saw everyone cleaning up the last bits of debris from setting up. Well, everyone except for David. He had slipped out sometime during the process. I figured he had to go get ready for his hot date. Selena would not have accepted anything short of perfection.

“Okay chicas, time to go get ready!” Dierdre called. We all wandered to the middle of the gym to appreciate our hard work.

“How can I ever thank you enough for helping after I was such a jerk?”

“Don’t do it again,” Jamie said.

“Bow down and worship us,” Dierdre added.

“Just give me a hug,” Lacy said.

I happily obliged Lacy. Jamie and Dierdre wrapped their arms around us as well.

“Hate to break up the love-fest, but if you want a ride home, we gotta go now.” Deonte said. He looked at his watch.

“Are you coming to Dierdre’s to get ready? Jamie asked.

I shook my head. “No. I don’t even have a dress.”

“You have to go to the dance!” Lacy cried. “Look around. You have to enjoy this amazing work with the full affect.”

“I wasn’t planning on going. I don’t have everything I need.”

“Baloney,” Dierdre said. “Remember the blue formal your sister wore to prom? Wear that.”

“I don’t know…” I knew exactly which dress she meant. I loved the shimmery dress from afar since I was 12. It was a possibility.

“Do it,” Dierdre commanded.

I laughed. “Okay. I’ll consider it. In the mean time, you guys get going.”

Hand in hand, each of the best people in the world I knew left to get ready for a night of memories.

***

My sister, Mary, sat on the couch studying when I walked in. She glanced at the clock then stated, “You’re late.”

“I had some stuff to do at school. Did I miss dinner?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

I looked at her with confusion.

“Dierdre called me.”

“Oh,” I shouldn’t have been surprised.

“Let’s go,” Mary grabbed my hand and marched upstairs. She pushed me into the bathroom with the command to shower –completely ignoring my protests.

I shrugged. I did need a shower from doing all the set up work. After a nice, hot cleansing, I toweled off. I wondered what mom was cooking for dinner. I hoped it was something tasty, not the health food she liked to foist on us.

Mary knocked. “Move it, Jen. We have stuff to do.”

I hesitantly opened the door. She thrust underwear, a bra and a slip at me and closed the door again.

“Mary! Wha-What are you doing?”

“I’m helping you get ready for the dance.”

“I don’t know if I’m going.”

“You are.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s my choice.”

“Look, sis. You did all the decorations. You have to at least see them. If you’re miserable, you can always come home.”

She had a point. I could make a quick appearance, say hi to my friends then disappear again.