News Flash (9 page)

“Brooke, please let me borrow the blue dress.”

My fifteen-year-old sister stared back at me, her arms crossed over her chest. “Why should I? You never let me borrow anything of yours.”

“You can have anything in my closet if you give me the blue dress for tonight.”

She still didn't look convinced. I let out an exasperated shriek just as my mom walked through the door with a stack of freshly folded laundry.

“Allison, really, I'd like to have my hearing intact for a few more years, please. Now what's the problem, girls?” My mom set the stack of shirts down on the end of Brooke's bed. She sat down next to it, her hands on her knees, waiting. Our mother had enough patience to watch a glacier melt.

“I need Brooke's blue dress for a dance tonight. It's the only thing in the whole house that vaguely resembles a prom dress.” I flung my hand out in a frustrated gesture.

My mom raised her eyebrow. “Prom dress? You didn't say anything about going to the prom. Don't they usually hold that in May?”

Brooke stomped her foot. “I knew she was lying. Besides she never lets me borrow anything, so why should I?”

“It's the Farmingham Academy's prom. And I have to go. It's mandatory for that special events class that I'm taking. Please, just let me borrow the dress. I already said you can take anything you want from my closet.” I clenched my hands at my sides.

“Brookie, just let your sister wear the dress tonight. It's for school.” Our mom stood and left the room without another glance. That meant the decision was final. I'd get the dress.

“Fine,” Brooke snapped. She snatched the frothy, floaty light blue dress off its hanger and shoved it into my hands. “But I'm taking your pink sweater for school on Monday.”

“Okay, whatever,” I replied, scooting out of her room as fast as I could. I didn't want her to change her mind, especially if I let it slip that I didn't like my pink sweater that much.

I took the dress into the bathroom that I shared with my other sister, Lauren. Brooke was lucky enough to have her own now that our oldest sister, Jenna, had moved out. I hung the dress on the back of the door, and examined it. It wasn't the sort of thing I would normally have picked out for myself. Light blue with a deep V-neck in the front, and braided spaghetti straps. Rhinestones covered the bodice, but instead of looking tacky, it was beautiful.

After a quick shower, I blew my hair dry, and then pulled my blond curls back into a simple half up do with a few braids to secure it in place. When I slipped the dress over my head, I didn't recognize the girl staring back at me. I looked softer, more romantic. Hopefully Rory would love it. As I spritzed on a tiny amount of perfume, I found myself wondering how Jake would like this look on me. I knew that I still cared about his opinion, but why did it fill me with this feeling that twisted my stomach into knots of anxiety?

“You look beautiful.” My mom clicked another picture with her phone. I knew they'd all end up on whatever social media website she was into that week.

“Do you think I look Fifth Avenue?” I tried to catch a glimpse of myself in the front window.

“Fifth Avenue?” I caught the glance my dad gave my mom.

I blew out an exasperated breath. I always forgot that my parents did not speak old fogey even though they were getting on in years. “You know, like, elegant?”

“You look very…Fifth Avenue, honey,” my mom said as she took another picture.

I began to pace, glancing at my phone every few seconds. My parents watched me, and even as I continued the erratic behavior, I couldn't make myself stop. Just knowing that Rory would be picking me up in a few minutes was making me jumpy. I hadn't told them much about him, just that we worked together at the station. Given my mom's response, I think she assumed that he was another intern.

The knock at the door startled me, and I jumped. I told myself to stay calm as I went to answer the door. It was just Jake. My body sagged in relief as I opened the door. “Hey, you are early. Rory isn't here yet. Why don't we wait on the porch?” After a quick goodbye to my parents, I grabbed my purse and Jake's hand before dragging him out onto the porch.

“You look, wow,” Jake said as he settled onto the porch swing.

“Thanks, you clean up nice too.” I took in his dark gray suit with a light blue tie. “We kind of match.”

He glanced down at his tie, and gave a strangled sounding chuckle. “I guess we do.”

The silence that followed was awkward, but familiar somehow. Jake and I had gone through a weird period in our friendship before. Right at the beginning of eighth grade, as we both went through puberty, but we had come through that phase better friends than ever before. I knew I needed to ask him about the new weirdness between us, but not tonight. I just wanted to get through the evening unscathed. As if spending time with Mary Beth wasn't bad enough, she had sent us all texts informing us that we needed to take notes and video. Apparently despite being a really small school, Farmingham Academy threw really elaborate proms.

A dark blue SUV pulled up in front of the house, and Rory stepped out. When he saw me on the front porch, he waved. “Come on,” I said, “there's Rory now. Let's go. We're picking Mary Beth up on the way, right?”

Jake nodded in a vague way, and I wondered if he'd even heard me. His gaze stayed solidly on Rory as we walked down the stairs, his hand on the small of my back. The gesture would have felt possessive from anyone else. And from the way Rory looked at us—his eyes narrowed, his mouth drawn down in a frown—I knew that's how it must seem to him.

“Hey Rory,” I said as I stood on tiptoe to kiss him quickly on the cheek. “This is my very best friend, Jake.” The introductions done, I watched with barely concealed amusement as the two guys stared each other down. Jake stuck out his hand first, and after a few grunts the two shook hands.

“You look really nice,” Rory murmured in my ear as he pulled me close. The warmth of his breath on my neck made me shiver with delight and anticipation. Hanging out at his apartment had been nice, but being together in public made me feel a lot less weird about sneaking around with him at work.

“So do you,” I replied, though I couldn't help but notice how hard Rory's suit tried to be hipster. The pants were just the tiniest bit too short, and his bright yellow and black argyle socks showed above his shiny brown oxford shoes.

I climbed into the passenger side, with Jake shutting the door before folding himself into the back seat. When I protested that he'd have more room up front, he'd laughed and said, “I don't trust you to sit back here with Mary Beth without you killing her or maiming her at the very least.”

He had a point.

When we pulled up in front of Mary Beth's house, Rory let out a low whistle, and it was all I could do to keep my jaw from dropping. The house was more of a mansion, and sat well back from the road surrounded by trees. Estate might have been a better description of the land. When I squinted through the gathering twilight I could see horses off to one side of the house. No wonder the girl acted the way she did, not only did she think she was entitled, in her life she
was
actually entitled.

“I'll just run up and get her,” Jake broke the silence.

“So,” Rory began as Jake slammed his door shut, “you and Jake are just friends aren't you?”

I laughed. “Seriously? Don't be so cliché. Yes, Jake and I are just friends. I mean, I've known the guy since we were little kids.”

“He just seems, I don't know, really protective of you. If looks could kill…” Rory left off with a shrug. He tapped the steering wheel out of tune. This new moodiness didn't suit him.

“Look, if you're going to be like this all night, just drop us off and leave.”

Rory's eyes widened as he turned to look at me. “Sorry. No, I want to go. I want to hang out with you tonight. It'll be fun, right?”

“Sure.” I settled back into my seat feeling sulky. Being with a guy like Rory was naturally different than being with a high school boy, and I knew I was out of my depth. We sat in silence, though, until the back door opened, startling both of us.

Mary Beth climbed into the car, glanced at me with such a look of disdain that I actually shivered. Then she caught sight of Rory, and her expression changed. The corners of her mouth lifted, and she held out her hand. “I'm Mary Beth Johnson, and you are?”

Rory shot me an amused look before taking Mary Beth's hand. “Rory. I'm Allison's date.”

“Oh,” Mary Beth said as she scooted over so that Jake could get in the car too.

I caught Jake's eye, and he gave me a one shoulder shrug that I couldn't interpret.

When we walked into the Grand Ballroom at the convention center downtown, I was immediately struck by the music pulsating through the space. If pressed I would have described it as tiki music, but only because tiki torches were lit all around the perimeter of the space.

Mary Beth nodded, clearly impressed. “I wonder how they got permission to have that much open fire in this space.”

“What's their theme?” I asked. I knew it had to be something tropical, but I couldn't put my finger on exactly what it was, and as Mary Beth had drilled into my head, if I couldn't tell when I walked in then it wasn't a good theme.

“I think it must be Hawaiian Nights, but I'll have to look at their program to be sure. Strike one for this theme. Remember that.” Mary Beth pulled out her phone, and snapped a picture.

“I kind of like it,” Jake said, just loud enough for me to hear.

I wondered what he liked about it, but before I could ask, Mary Beth pulled him away into the crowd. Mr. Carson was already there, standing by the punch bowl. I wondered if we needed to check in with him or not. Rory wrapped an arm around my waist, distracting me from any practical thoughts.

“This is kind of trippy,” he whispered. “I didn't even go to my own prom when I was in high school.”

“Why not?”

He shrugged against my back as he wrapped his arms more snuggly around my waist. “No good reason, I guess. Just no one to go with.”

“That's kind of sad. Well, try to enjoy this one.” I patted his hand.

Kids started to arrive in droves, and I felt awkward and strange not knowing anyone. I still wasn't exactly sure how Mr. Carson had gotten us invited, though I had a strange feeling that Mary Beth had had something to do with it. Rory and I moved toward the refreshment table. When I saw the spread of appetizers and cookies, I realized that there wouldn't be a dinner. I pulled out my phone and took a picture of the table.

“What are you doing?” Rory asked.

“You heard Mary Beth in the car, we have to document everything.” Rory laughed as I clicked three more pictures. “Stop laughing. This is for a grade, and I need that class to graduate.”

I had no idea where to go next, but as long as I had my phone out, I felt like I was documenting things, reporting. I could do that. News was news, and I would look at it as presenting said news to my class. Surrounded by students I didn't know made it a lot easier to blend in to anonymity. I grabbed Rory's arm, tugged him through the thickening crowd, and found the photographer area.

“Wow, people actually spend money on this?” Rory surveyed the scene before us with barely concealed contempt.

The photographer was set up in a corner of the ballroom with a layout that was supposed to look like the beach. A tiki hut with a straw roof was part of the props. My favorite part was the giant faux moon suspended from the ceiling. I understood what they were going for but the effect was tacky. I took some pictures, and then the photographer noticed us.

“Ready for your close up?” He held up his camera, and gestured to the set before him.

If I squinted really hard the set almost looked pretty, so I just shrugged before glancing up at Rory. Behind his glasses, his eyes were shiny with excitement. He had said that he'd missed his prom, so I supposed this was his chance to make up the experience.

Sure enough, Rory grabbed my hand, and tugged me in front of the photographer. I squirmed a little at the thought of having my picture taken in this ridiculous dress. I knew it was pretty, but since it was Brooke's, I didn't feel like myself at all. To have that immortalized didn't sound like the best plan, but Rory was so excited.

“Where do you want us?” he called to the photographer, who proceeded to point out the various marks on the floor where we could choose to stand.

Because the dance had just begun, there wasn't a line for the photographer, and Rory had the chance to mull over the perfect location. Finally he decided that hunching down behind the tiki hut so that it looked like we were inside of the tiny structure. Annoyance bit at my heels as I followed him across the uneven flooring that was supposed to look like sand. Clearly Rory had not considered how hard this endeavor would be in my flowy dress and heels.

Once we were jammed down behind the cardboard cut-out, our arms resting on the faux bar, the photographer began snapping pictures so quickly that I never knew where to look or when to smile. I was sure the pictures would be awful, but whenever I glanced at Rory, the grin on his face made it clear to me that he was having a great time.

When we stumbled away, I nearly crashed right into Jake and Mary Beth. As he steadied me, Mary Beth shot daggers at me, her eyes narrowed to tiny slits. “So that looks like fun,” Jake commented, tipping his head toward the photographer. I could hear the barely concealed mocking in his voice, and it made me want to punch him in the arm.

“It was. Aren't you two going to check it out?” I angled my next comment directly at Mary Beth. “It seems like you guys would want to see every aspect of this prom in action?”

Mary Beth's eyes widened, and then she grabbed Jake's hand before he could say anything else. She stalked toward the unsuspecting photographer as Jake glowered at us. Rory put his arm around my waist and drew me back toward the refreshment table. Just once I glanced back at Jake and Mary Beth, and I could have sworn that I felt his eyes, but I dismissed that idea. Besides even if he was still glaring in my direction, it served him right for making fun of me.