Prom Date Read online

  “This is no different than a vote.” He rattled his silly papers dramatically. “By the end of the week, we’ll have the majority of students signed off on this. And, hey, the people have spoken.”

  “But that’s not fair,” Bryn protested. “The majority of students don’t even go to prom.”

  “One more reason it’s becoming obsolete.”

  “That’s just your opinion.”

  Jason shook the papers in her face now. “And the opinion of close to two hundred other Northwood students. And that was just one day’s worth of signature gathering. At this rate we should have a majority by noon tomorrow.”

  “But why should the majority decide?” Bryn demanded.

  “Really?” Jason put his hand to his chest like he was appalled. “You oppose democracy now? You want to turn Northwood into a dictator state?”

  “No, of course not! I just mean that the prom is for juniors and seniors and it doesn’t make sense that everyone—”

  “All students will be juniors and seniors—eventually.”

  “It seems to me that you’re the one who’s opposing democracy, Jason.” Bryn shook her finger at him. “Otherwise, you’d allow the whole student body to vote on this.” Bryn looked at her friends, wishing for some help or support, but both of them were distracted with their phones. What was wrong with them?

  “Signing a petition is the same as a vote!” he proclaimed.

  “But it’s not a valid vote—and it’s not even fair!” Bryn slammed her palm down on the table with a loud bang.

  “All right, all right.” Mrs. Dorman stood, holding up her hands. “As much as I appreciate your enthusiasm, this meeting is not meant to be a debate. As your faculty advisor I’m suggesting you conduct yourselves in an orderly fashion. Treat this like an official meeting.”

  “How about if we begin with chairperson nominations?” Cassidy suggested.

  “But why appoint a chair if there’s not going to be a prom?” Jason asked her.

  “Because we do not know for certain that prom is being canceled,” Bryn told him in a calm but firm voice. “And until we know that for sure, it seems reasonable to proceed with chairperson nominations.”

  “I nominate Bryn Jacobs,” Emma said suddenly. And setting her cell phone aside, Emma stood up. “Bryn has shown that she’s responsible. And we know she’s experienced because of the good work she did on the Christmas ball. Bryn is the kind of girl who really cares about school traditions. Besides that, Bryn has come up with a really unique idea that could turn our prom into something that’s much more than just a formal dance.” Emma locked eyes with Bryn then sat down.

  “I second the nomination,” Cassidy declared. “Bryn is the best person to chair prom. Not only does she care about the quality of this event, but like Emma said, she’s got a plan to make it into something really great.”

  Bryn smiled at her friends. They didn’t let her down after all.

  “I nominate Jason for the chair,” one of the guys in back yelled out.

  “But he doesn’t even want prom,” Bryn pointed out.

  “I second the nomination,” another guy called out.

  Bryn did a quick head count. If this turned into guys against girls, Jason would win.

  “Are there any other nominations?” Mrs. Dorman asked.

  “I nominate Lane Granger,” Bryn said suddenly. Okay, it was a long shot, but it could work. “The reason I’m nominating Lane is because I honestly think he would be more supportive of prom than Jason.” She smiled at Lane and to her relief, he smiled back.

  “I second the nomination,” Cassidy said.

  If only this would split the guys’ vote. In that case, Bryn would win.

  “Are we ready to put this to a vote?” Mrs. Dorman asked.

  Before anyone could answer, the doors to the conference room flew open and Felicia and Devon burst into the room, followed by several more girls. Bryn wasn’t sure what was going on, but when she looked at Emma and Cass, they both held up their phones as if the answer lay there. Of course, they had texted more girls in the school, probably begging them to come to this meeting. Brilliant!

  “I think we’re almost ready to put it to a vote,” Bryn told Mrs. Dorman. But first she brought the latecomers up to speed, explaining how Jason had shown up with the intent of throwing their prom under the bus. Bryn pointed at the petition papers in his hands. “Jason feels that just because the guys have gathered a bunch of signatures, they have the authority to take prom away from us.” She looked at the girls clustered in the back of the room. “But I don’t think that’s fair. Prom is a time-honored tradition in this school. Something that we all look forward to. And, sure, there might be some outdated things in regard to prom, but let’s not toss it all aside. I happen to have some ideas that could transform prom into something truly amazing. But if Jason has his way, we’ll never have the chance.”

  “And for that reason you can all thank me.” Jason made a mock bow. “Seriously, who has time for this? Has anyone considered how many hours it takes to make the preparations for prom? Have you thought about the expense? What it costs the school too? Couldn’t that money be put to better use? Has anyone taken a good look at some of the sports uniforms lately? But that’s not all, what about what it costs us guys to take a chick to prom? I don’t know about you guys, but I can think of better ways to spend my money. For the cost of prom, I could probably buy a—”

  “Speaking of money,” Bryn cut him off, “I want to share with everyone how I think prom could change.” She reached for Emma’s poster, holding it up. “This little girl is the sister of one of our students. Her name is Sofia and she’s just eight years old. Sofia was recently diagnosed with leukemia. Her family took her for the best treatment at the best pediatric cancer center in the area, but they soon found out their insurance won’t cover it.” She paused for dramatic reasons, holding the poster high so everyone could see this sweet little girl’s big brown eyes. “The quality of Sofia’s treatment could be the difference between life and death for this little girl. Think about it. About eight years from now, where will Sofia be? Will she be right here, enthusiastically helping to plan her own prom . . . or will she be gone?”

  Bryn looked imploringly at the faces around the room. “We have the power to turn our prom into a fund-raiser. A fund-raiser that could help save this sweet little girl’s life by getting her the kind of medical treatment she needs. We have the power to help save a life.” She turned to Jason. “If that’s a bad way to spend your money—well, then you’re just not the guy I thought you were.”

  Jason looked totally off guard, just staring at the poster.

  “Look, I understand why you guys are so anti-prom,” Bryn continued gently. “It is expensive. But think about it—what if the proceeds from your tickets all went toward Sofia’s treatment expenses? Would that change your thinking at all?”

  No one said anything, but some of the guys looked slightly less smug. And when Mrs. Dorman suggested they put the chair position to a vote, Bryn won easily. Not only did all the girls vote for her, but a couple of the guys did as well. However, the disagreement did not appear to be over as Jason and several of his buddies quietly exited the conference room and the real planning meeting began. Bryn suspected by Jason’s expression that he wasn’t ready to give up yet. But for the moment, she was pleased.

  7

  By the time the prom meeting was over, Cassidy was glad she’d agreed to help out. And she felt genuinely proud of Bryn. It was amazing to think that Bryn had gotten the Hartfords to offer matching funds for whatever was raised at prom. If they could just get prom attendance up, it could end up being a significant chunk of change for the Ruez family. Cassidy had actually played with the numbers a bit, and even if it wasn’t enough by itself to keep Sofia in the best pediatric cancer center, it would make a difference. And if Bryn hadn’t made such a great argument today, prom could’ve easily gone down without a fight.

  “Once again, I have to
admit I was wrong,” Cassidy told Emma as she drove them home from school.

  “Wrong about what?”

  “Bryn. I misjudged her again. When she started putting together that plan to turn prom into a fund-raiser, I was worried it was just her way to get herself into the limelight so that she could run for prom queen. But it seems like she really invested herself today . . . like she really cares about Sofia.”

  “Yeah, I think she does.” Emma poked Cassidy in the arm. “And you were pretty great today too, Cass.”

  “Huh?”

  “Your idea to text our friends and get them into the meeting like that. Those extra votes made a difference.”

  “Yeah, and it was nice that Mrs. Dorman didn’t dismiss them for not being student council representatives.”

  “I think Mrs. Dorman secretly wanted to make sure prom happened,” Emma said.

  “Well, like Bryn pointed out, everyone is a member of the student body. Everyone should have a vote and a say about it. Besides, we could’ve appointed them to the prom committee if we’d wanted to. If they want to help.”

  “Bryn’s going to need lots of help,” Emma said as Cassidy pulled into her driveway. “I mean, if she really thinks she can get kids to dole out that much money to go to prom. I know that it would stop me from going if I had to pay my own way.”

  “Yeah, but what about Bryn’s idea that prom tickets include dinner? That saves some money,” Cassidy reminded her. “If you think about it, that makes it kind of a bargain.”

  “That’s assuming people were going out to dinner.” Emma grabbed her stuff. “Some people just do their own meals at home. You know, like we’ve done for other dances.”

  “That’s true.” Cassidy frowned. “But that’s a lot of work too. It might be kind of fun to have dinner catered by someone else.”

  Emma gave Cass a sly look. “Meaning you’re already planning on going?”

  Cassidy shrugged. “Hey, if I got asked . . . I might want to go . . . if it was the right guy anyway.”

  “You mean like Lane?” Emma teased.

  Cass frowned. “Except didn’t you notice that Lane was in Jason’s anti-prom group? And he didn’t even stick around for the meeting after Bryn won the vote.”

  “Neither did Isaac.” Emma sighed as she opened the car door. “And I honestly thought that, of all the guys, Isaac might be the first one to break the guy code and ask me to prom.”

  “Well, if things work out how Bryn hopes, maybe he will.”

  Emma climbed out and waved. “See ya.”

  As Cassidy drove away, she wondered why she suddenly cared about going to prom anyway. Really, did it matter? Oh, sure, it would be fun if Lane asked her. But she had no intention of asking him. And she didn’t want anyone in the DG to try to set her up either. Hadn’t they all agreed that this time—it was up to the boys to do the asking? Well, she didn’t know about the rest of the DG, but Cassidy was determined to stick to her guns. If Lane didn’t invite her, she was content to stay home.

  When she got home, Cassidy went online to see if her article had been uploaded onto the school’s website yet. Not only was it posted, but there were a number of comments as well. Most of them were positive and supportive, but there were a few from some of the disgruntled guys. Including, she was surprised to see, one from Lane.

  It’s nice to see the prom committee cares about helping others and I have to agree that Sofia Ruez’s leukemia treatments are a worthwhile cause. But I want to challenge the prom committee. What if you just held a plain old fund-raiser—something we could all get behind? Why do you have to attach the fund-raising to an event that most of the student body doesn’t even want to attend? What if you created a more inclusive event that invited everyone to participate? Wouldn’t you raise more money to help Sofia? Just saying.

  My Two Cents,

  Lane Granger

  Cassidy read Lane’s post a couple of times and, despite herself, she thought it made real sense. In fact, she totally agreed with him. At the same time, she realized that she was on the prom committee. She was supposed to be supportive of prom. And if she told Bryn her concerns, she might be considered the enemy.

  Cassidy wrestled with this for a bit and finally decided she didn’t care if she offended Bryn. The truth was the truth and what was right was right. In this case, even if it meant sacrificing prom, she felt that Lane really was right. So she shot off a comment to the school’s blog, admitting that she agreed with Lane. Then, to avoid feeling two-faced, she sent Bryn a quick text, suggesting she check out the prom comments on the school’s website. Okay, she felt a little guilty when she hit Send. But, hey, she was just being honest . . . and true to herself. And the sooner Bryn knew it, the better it would be for everyone.

  Cassidy felt a sense of relief as she helped her mom to get dinner ready. She’d never been that enthused about being on prom committee in the first place. But she was glad to help with a fund-raiser for Sofia.

  “Is that your phone?” Mom asked as Cassidy was chopping a tomato.

  Cass paused to hear her phone beeping, and a quick check revealed that the text was from Bryn. She did not sound happy.

  What do u mean? Answer phone. Now.

  Suddenly Cass’s phone was jingling. Of course, it was Bryn. “Hey, Bryn.” Cassidy made an apologetic smile to her mom, stepping into the laundry room. “What’s up?” she asked innocently.

  “That’s what I want to know. I feel like I just got stabbed in the back. By a friend too.”

  “Sorry, but when I read Lane’s—”

  “You’re on prom committee,” Bryn said sharply. “We’re supposed to be on the same team. I was counting on you, Cass. What about Sofia?”

  “I’m still on board for a fund-raiser, but—”

  “You betrayed us when you wrote that comment on the school’s blog, Cass. Everything we worked for today—you just blew it all off. And you were there, you saw how hard we worked to gain what little ground we got. I can’t believe you’re undermining prom like this.”

  “Am I not allowed to have my own opinion?” Cassidy demanded.

  “Of course. As long as you agree with me.”

  Cass laughed. “Yeah . . . right.”

  “So you don’t want to help Sofia?”

  “You know I do. But I think Lane is right. I think we can help her more if we hold an event that everyone in the school can come to—something they’ll all want to attend.”

  “That’s your opinion, Cass. That doesn’t mean it will happen.”

  “Why not? We’ve had successful fund-raisers before. Why not with this? We could come up with something to sell tickets for. Maybe a concert or—”

  “Even if you came up with another idea, do you honestly believe you could charge as much as we could do with prom tickets? Everyone expects prom to be expensive. That’s the guys’ biggest gripe. Remember?”

  “Yeah, and their gripe is getting more legit, Bryn. We just voted to raise the price of tickets. Remember?”

  “Yeah, but we’re offering them dinner too. Remember? And I already found some possible sponsors to donate food items too.”

  Cassidy frowned at the washing machine. How did she get involved in this in the first place? Arguing over a prom she really didn’t care if she attended? Really?

  “I was so proud of you today, Cass. The way you texted the other girls—that was so brilliant. Getting everyone into the meeting to hold off Jason. I felt like I could really count on you.”

  “You can count on me. But not to be your puppet. I do have my own opinions, Bryn. And the whole idea of prom has always felt kind of exclusive to me. Remember when we were freshmen and sophomores—didn’t you feel a little left out when you overheard everyone talking about prom like they were going off to some secret society? You see all the posters and stuff, but you know you’re not allowed to go. I mean, really, that was one reason we agreed to start the DG last fall. To ensure we didn’t miss out on stuff like this.”

  “Exactly.
Isn’t that what we’re doing?”

  “But I feel bad for other people. What if they still feel like we did? Left out, sitting on the sidelines.”

  “They just have to wait until they’re older. And besides, sometimes the younger girls get asked. Remember when Ashley Marsh—”

  “Hey, I’ve got an idea,” Cass said suddenly. “Something that might make everyone happy.”

  “What?” Bryn’s voice sounded flat.

  “We said we wanted prom to be different this year, right?”

  “Yeah. And a fund-raiser is different.”

  “But what if we opened prom up to everyone?”

  “Everyone?”

  “Yeah. All the classes would be welcome.”

  “Oh . . . I don’t know . . .”

  “We want to make lots of money for Sofia, don’t we?” Cassidy remembered the numbers she’d been playing with this afternoon. “If it was open to everyone, we’d probably make a lot more money. Besides that, it might be good for school spirit. Everyone behind the same thing. And it would give the guys—especially guys like Lane—one less thing to argue about.”

  “Hmm . . . maybe.”

  “So think about it, okay?” Cass went back to the kitchen. “I gotta go help my mom with dinner, but just think about it, Bryn. It could be pretty cool. An all-inclusive prom.”

  Bryn agreed to consider this suggestion and, feeling a bit more hopeful, Cassidy hung up. Really, what did they have to lose by opening up the prom to everyone?

  8

  Although Devon chose not to be on the prom committee, she was still strongly in support of having prom. And whenever she heard classmates arguing over it, which was happening more and more, she freely stepped in. Devon had no problem expressing her rather loud opinions.

  “Prom is a time-honored tradition,” she hotly told a couple of guys in her fitness training class. “If you get rid of prom, what’s next on your hit list? Graduation ceremonies? And what about sports? Want to get rid of football games and lacrosse matches? And what about band concerts and school plays? You want to nix those too? Maybe you should just strip everything extra out of school. Just like in the good old days,” she was quoting Grandma Betty now. “Stick to reading, writing, and arithmetic.” She rolled her eyes as she got onto the stair stepper.