window above the main control panel overlooked the gym, which overlooked the football field, where we’d all had so many good memories.
But when I leaned up against the glass to look out, I was struck by one specific memory, the kind of memory I was least expecting.
I’d spent the bulk of first semester freshman year working on my final project for Media 101, a documentary on the town of Charleston. I remember being surprised to find myself so into it — maybe all those hours cutting footage in the A/V room were an excuse to be away from Mom and her sugar daddy du jour. But in the end, I remember being really proud of it. I was watching the final cut after school one day in the alcove when Justin Balmer barged in unannounced.
I’d had the soundproof headphones on, so I didn’t hear anything until he tapped me on the shoulder. I’d spun around so fast I knocked them off.
“Whoops,” he sounded surprised. “I was looking for Amber. Sorry.”
Amber Lochlan was a cool older girl in my media class, who went on to be that year’s Palmetto Princess. She had the same short dark hair as I did, so maybe we could have passed for each other from behind. But I liked to think my hair was not as susceptible to humidity as Amber’s.
I shrugged at J.B. “Haven’t seen her.”
“Hey, wait a minute,” he said, pointing his finger at me. “I know you.”
I froze, trying to shake my head that no, he didn’t. I wasn’t anyone he knew.
A smile spread across his lips. “You’re the new girl who keeps avoiding me. Which makes you my next target.”
“You should save yourself the trouble,” I said, fumbling to pull my headset back on. “It’s not going to happen.”
“Ouch. . so harsh.” He leaned forward, almost grazing my lips with his. “I swear we knew each other in another life. You should give me another chance.”
My body tingled at his touch, but my mind recoiled at his nerve. After a few panting breaths, I forced myself to push him away.
“Never,” I spit, not letting myself make the mistake of tacking on the word
J.B. squinted at me then, and I hung there, terrified, after vowing how many times that I would never let myself feel trapped by a guy again.
And then what I remember most was the way his expression changed in that moment. The color drained from his face, and the side of his mouth started quivering. His eyes widened, like he was afraid, but then just as quickly, they narrowed into slits. He said nothing, just barged back out the attic door with awkward lurching steps that I’d chalked up to too much testosterone.
Now, three years later, alone in the attic again, I shivered. I’d been too consumed by my own fear that day to see what was behind his hasty exit. J.B. must have needed his meds, even back then. He must have been swallowing down those Trileptal as soon as he was out of eyeshot, while I struggled in my own way to compose myself over the control panel.
I yanked open the file cabinet. I
This was no time for sentimental flip-flopping. I couldn’t think about the opening shot of the two of us walking arm in arm on Capers Beach. I swapped the CDs, slipped the original in my backpack, and headed for the door.
The bell for second period was about to ring, and I could still make it into my English class without incident. Tumbling back out into the brightness of the hallway, I turned the corner and nearly had a heart attack when I ran smack into Kate.
“What are you doing here?” I blurted.
“It’s called a hall pass.” She waved the laminated card in my face. “What’s your excuse?” Her eyes narrowed at me. “Why so on edge, Princess?”
There was a new iciness in her voice that I didn’t like the sound of. Had she seen me come out of the A/V room?
“Love your Jessamine.” I changed the subject swiftly, tugging on a particularly garish purple bell attached to her flower. “Did Baxter get it for you?”
“Mmm. . more or less,” she stuttered. “He was able to call in the order absentee. I went to pick it up from the Duke last night—” She broke off, then looked up at me coolly. “You know what, I don’t need to justify this to you. You’ve made it more than clear what you think of him.”
I looked at the pride with which she wore that kitschy Jessamine and sighed. Mike and I had enough on our hands, what with taking the throne
“Kate,” I cooed, cupping her cheek, “can’t you see, all I want is for you to be happy? And. . if a long-distance rehab relationship spells happiness for you. . well, who am I to judge?” I smiled, squeezing her shoulder in good- bye. “See you tomorrow night.”
“May I present,” Jenny read from her prompt into the microphone in front of the whole student body, “the Prince and Princess of Palmetto — Mike King and Natalie Hargrove!”
It was three hours later, and I was made-up and poured into my long plum-colored gown, standing hand in hand with Mike behind the curtain separating us from our subjects. Both of us wore our glittering crowns. I could feel the energy of the whole school on the other side of the curtain. When it rose, the crowd would roar, and Mike would escort me down the stage for our private waltz, the kick-off dance of the party. I couldn’t wait to get out there.
I knew my Jessamine sat in a glass cage under a spotlight on the stage so the rest of the school could come up and admire it more closely. I also knew that in a video projector at the back of the room, the very surprising DVD lay waiting for its premiere.
“You ready, baby?” Mike squeezed my hand.
“I’ve been ready for so long,” I said.
A drum roll rose up from the orchestra pit, and the glittering purple curtain rose up in front of us. Mike and I blinked into the bright lights shining down on us. I held my breath. The gym was packed with everyone we knew, transformed into the best-looking versions of themselves. Thick drapes of pearls covered the ceiling, giving the whole place the feel of an opalescent tent. The music for the classic Palmetto waltz began, and Mike turned to me and grinned.
“May I have this dance?” he asked.
We’d gone over the routine a hundred times before — in Mike’s bedroom, in the halls at school, under the bleachers as foreplay. But when we started dancing, I realized that we hadn’t practiced once since everything happened with J.B. For a moment, both of us seemed to remember this at the same time, and we looked at each other a little bit terrified. But then, amazingly, the steps came right back to us both, as naturally as if we’d been rehearsing around the clock all week. The lights were so bright I couldn’t see anyone in the crowd, but I could imagine all of their faces, upturned and smiling at our first dance.
“Let’s hear it for the royal couple,” Jenny emceed when the song came to a close. The applause was loud and passionate. “Now, I invite you all to come out to the dance floor and
Mike swung me around in one final lift and dipped me back for a kiss.
“Drinks?” he said.
“Drinks.”
We scooted to the back of the room where the massive bowls of virgin lunch-lady-made punch were being customarily spiked by Rex Freeman’s team of JV proteges.
“This is quite an operation, Rex,” I laughed.
He shrugged. His flushed face was as red as his hair. “I can’t do all the work myself,” he said. “How about two royally strong ones for the Prince and Princess?” he called to his workers.
