~* Spirit Week *~ “Come on, Brit. I’m not the enemy here and you know it.” “… I guess.” I sat down where Stacey had been sitting moments before, looking her right in the eye. “Who are you really angry with?” “I… don’t know,” she finally admitted softly. “Did Coach Wilson tell you why she chose you as co-captain instead of Allison or Maria, or any one of the other girls?” “I thought it was because I was better than everyone else, except Chelsea, but she’s like, Little Miss Perfect at everything anyway.” She rolled her eyes and turned away from me slightly.

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Author's Note:
It occured to me that I should put a big warning at the top of this. This is a LONG chapter! I had so much to cover, but I couldn't find a good place to split it in half without leaving an unfinished (in a very bad way) feeling, so I left it intact. This is nearly twice the length of my normal chapters though, even longer than 'No PDAs' from Book One, so consider thyself warned ;-)

~Zoe
Official(? *grin*) Q of S

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With Homecoming week upon us, the four of us decided to plan out each day as a group theme. Since I had been elected as the Sophomore Maid anyway, and since the four of us were practically inseparable, we figured we may as well have some fun with it and try to earn some bonus spirit points for our grade, and with Monday being Hawaiian Lei Day, we already had a sizable leg up on the competition.

I mentioned before how Margie and Kelly helped me plan out what I’d wear this week. Admittedly I’d grown a quite a bit since Girl Scout camp in terms of ‘maturing’ and catching up on my classmates. Coupled with the magical device that is a strapless push-up bra, I found myself now able to wear a similar styled dress as the others; luckily the school relaxed dress codes during Spirit Week!

Jennifer planned to wear the strapless dresses they wore to the luau, and Margie fitted Allison and myself for new ones: Allison’s in gold, and mine in a lush, dark purple with similar flower-design. Of course, Josh’s mom was only too happy to provide us with real flowers for our leis, too. Score!

“Oh wow, you guys look great!” Chelsea exclaimed as we entered the school lobby. “You even braided your hair the same way!” she added, noticing our French braids. “Hey, let me know if you’re doing anything else like this the rest of the week!”

Jennifer giggled. “Sure thing, Chels; we’re going for bonus spirit points for doing this stuff as a group, so you are more than welcome to join in the fun.”

Nicole gave me a squeeze and grinned, slipping off for a moment to talk to a few of her other friends. I had never actually met anyone in her ‘goth’ crowd to date, but they never gave me any problems either, so I just smiled and squeezed her hand, turning back after she’d walked away and retrieving a pair of invitations that I passed to Chelsea.

“The party’s not exactly invite-only, as there’s no way we can keep something as huge as this a secret for a whole week, but still…”

“Aw, thanks Robin!” She practically squealed, hugging me. “Maria told me about it after practice. I’m not the biggest fan of you-know-who, but I wouldn’t miss Nikki’s birthday for anything.”

Nicole had no sooner rejoined us when Allison poked Jennifer’s side lightly to get her attention. “Hey, Jen, I just had a crazy idea. Y’know how at camp you gave hula lessons? Well…”

Jennifer laughed, “Ally, you are a genius! You guys still remember the basics right?” She set her backpack down and proceeded to perform a few of the more basic dance moves, with Allison and I joining in the fun a moment later. Nicole just shook her head and watched. “Nice. Now if you just mix up a little like this, Robin your Kenpo will actually help you pick this up pretty easily. It’s all in the hips!”

I hadn’t noticed, but a crowd had begun to form in a circle around us. Principal Rochelle and a handful of teachers came out of the nearby school office to watch the impromptu performance as well. I couldn’t help blushing as we finished, to thunderous applause echoing through the hall; a couple of bright flashes in rapid succession as we finished caught my attention. I looked over just in time for a third, from a mousy dark-haired girl in a cute fake lei and black t-shirt. She nervously approached us.

“Sorry… You guys don’t mind if I use this do you? It’s for the yearbook.” She seemed incredibly nervous for some reason, so I offered her a warm smile.

“Hey, not at all!”

She laughed as she sprinted off again, calling back over her shoulder, “Thanks guys!”

“That was amazing!” Chelsea exclaimed, clapping her hands together excitedly. “You said you gave lessons at camp. Could you maybe teach me that too?”

Several ‘Me too!’ and ‘Yeah, please?!’ followed. Jennifer giggled, smiling brightly. “Absolutely! That’s what we had in mind actually. Meet us outside the lunchroom at lunch today. Maybe we can talk Coach Wilson into letting us teach hula for our P.E. credit today too.”

I noticed both Stacey and Brittany off to the side whispering amongst themselves. I had a bad feeling about that, but resolved not to worry about it. If they wanted to get in on the fun, they were more than welcome. For now we gathered our things and headed to our first class, and for the first time in awhile, I found myself actually feeling good about the giggles and whispers that followed in our wake. I never wanted to be the queen of the school, but sometimes the best rulers are the reluctant ones, right?

By lunchtime, I’d finally had enough of the Terrible Two whispering about me. We were right in the middle of our promised lessons when I noticed them pointing at me and laughing.

“Hang back a second, Jen. I’ll be right back.” I nodded toward the two with a mischievous smile. Jennifer covered her mouth and giggled, and Allison put her hand on Nicole’s shoulder to keep my loving girlfriend from stopping me from what I was about to do.

“Excuse me, ladies. I can’t help noticing you’ve been staring at me and laughing at every opportunity today.”

Stacey sneered, “And?”

I smiled warmly as I offered my hand. “And, I was wondering if you’d like to join us. Look, we’re all sophomores, and we’re trying to earn spirit points. The seniors have Victoria Esquire for Heaven’s sakes. We need all the help we can get, so are you two going to sit over here and gossip about me, or are you going to get off your butts and have a little fun, just this once?”

Brittany and Stacey stared at each other for a long moment. Stacey finally sighed, standing. Brittany scowled at her, but Stacey took my hand and gave it a light squeeze, looking back. “It’s over Brit. I’m sorry, but I’m tired of being the school villain. If you want to keep this petty crap up that’s your bag, but I want to learn to hula.”

She nervously walked away, joining Jennifer, Allison and Nicole. Meanwhile Brittany continued to stare at me.

“Come on, Brit. I’m not the enemy here and you know it.”

“… I guess.”

I sat down where Stacey had been sitting moments before, looking her right in the eye. “Who are you really angry with?”

“I… don’t know,” she finally admitted softly.

“Did Coach Wilson tell you why she chose you as co-captain instead of Allison or Maria, or any one of the other girls?”

“I thought it was because I was better than everyone else, except Chelsea, but she’s like, Little Miss Perfect at everything anyway.” She rolled her eyes and turned away from me slightly.

I shook my head, offering her a smile. “She confided in me that she’s been giving you such a hard time because she wanted to see if you’d buckle under the pressure, but you didn’t. You rode it out, even with everyone thinking you set your ex-boyfriend up to take a fall, and even with her constantly on your case, up until the end of tryouts. It’s because your teammates believed in you, even if you don’t believe in yourself.”

I could see a stray tear creeping down the side of her face, following the contours of her cheek. I had wondered if those big crocodile tears the other day were real, for how easily she returned to her old ways, but this time something seemed different. This time she acted genuinely uncomfortable, evidenced as she quickly covered it up with her hand. “What… is with you? You sound like a Disney movie, all ‘Believe in yourself and you can do anything!’. Life’s not that simple.”

“No, it’s not that simple, but being angry at everyone doesn’t hurt anyone but yourself. I told you the other day how hard my life’s been, but I still have friends who love me because I don’t constantly backbite and push them away. I’m offering to be your friend too. How many times in your life have you honestly had people willing to say that?”

After another moment or two, she finally nodded. “… You’re serious aren’t you?”

“As a heart attack. Now come on, let’s have some fun.”

“Sure, you say that, but your little friends over there won’t be so accepting,” she spoke with more unease in her voice, more terror than I’d ever heard. I stood, taking her hand and pulling her to her feet.

“Let me tell you about a girl I met at camp named Natalie…”

It actually took the four of us, amongst our randomly being distracted giggling over camp memories, to actually explain not only about Natalie, but about the camp luau and why we seemed so at-ease with our little impromptu Spirit point earning. I mean, even some of the seniors got in on the act with a little coercion on our part.

We had even more planned for Wednesday though. While Wacky Hat and Tie Tuesday was more or less a wash for interesting or unique ideas, Camouflage Wednesday would be something extra-special! Following school Tuesday afternoon we decided to meet at the gym, since Jennifer and Chelsea both had cheer practice. Of course, Allison, Nicole, Jennifer and I already knew what we were going to do, but with Chelsea and Maria getting involved now too, we needed to let them in on our surprise for the next day.

“This is so cool!” Maria giggled, after we had explained the plan.

“What’s so cool?” Stacey poked her head down next to Jennifer, causing me to squeal in surprise, perhaps more at whom had suddenly become so friendly more than her sudden appearance itself.

“Jeeze, don’t sneak up on me!” I laughed, adding, “We’re going to hold marching drills with a real Iraqi soldier as our ‘drill instructor’ either before school or at lunch, depending on when he can make it. He just came back on leave for a few days, but he’s still offering us an hour of his time anyway.”

“Oh cool! If you need another ‘soldier’ I’ll help too,” she added rather cheerfully. I admit it surprised me. I’d become so used to her iciness. I wondered if Brittany had put her up to it all along? Her sister certainly seemed nice enough, in retrospect. Things were starting to make more sense now though, assuming Brittany was telling the truth about her dad the other day.

“Actually that’d be awesome. I thought about asking the whole cheerleading squad and our basketball team if they wanted to get involved, but with the mixed grades I wasn’t sure if they’d want in.”

“Sure they would!” Chelsea responded with a broad grin. “Just leave it to me. I’ll make some calls tonight, and talk to the squad after practice. Speaking of practice, it looks like everyone’s starting to arrive. C’mon Jen, we need to show these rookies how it’s done. You too Stacey!”

I have to admit, seeing Jane in the parking lot waiting for us surprised me. I had introduced her to Allison already, but she hadn’t met Nicole yet to my knowledge, nor did she know that her new step-daughter happened to also like girls. My breath caught in my throat when that little realization hit me.

“Crap…” I muttered. Allison gave me a squeeze. “What is it?”

“Um… Jane doesn’t know Nikki and I are dating yet.”

“Who’s Jane?” Nicole interrupted, shifting her gaze between the two of us bewilderedly.

“Jane is Margie’s real mom. She’s in town for the week. She kind of flipped out when she found out about me, until she actually MET me anyway. See, she had this seriously anti-LGBT roommate for years and… it kind of rubbed off on her.”

“Oh Fred,” Nicole grumbled.

“I think I agree,” I added uneasily. “May as well get this over with. Nikki, if you want to call your mom and get a ride I’ll understand.”

Nicole shook her head. “Not a chance babe. I told you I’m with you for the long haul. If that means Margie’s mom freaks out about it, then that’s her problem.”

I had to smile at her show of support. I hugged her tightly, and slowly made my way to the parking lot. Without a word, we dropped our backpacks into the open trunk of Jane’s silver, presumably rented, BMW. It took all I had in me not to lose the pepperoni and sausage pizza we’d had for lunch as I sat in the front passenger seat. So far she hadn’t said anything at least.

She started the car, paused, and glanced over her shoulder. “You must be Robin’s girlfriend, Nicole was it?”

You could have probably heard the sonic boom a block away as our jaws, in unison, fell open. She giggled. “Margie told me everything that’s happened over coffee this morning. I’m only sorry I didn’t come sooner now, or I could have helped with the alterations for your dresses for Hawaiian Day,” she offered with a smile, clearly trying to lighten the mood. She gave my hand a squeeze, and I couldn’t help smiling back at her.

“Thanks Jane. I know this is all… weird for you, but I really do appreciate your trying to see all this from my side too.”

Other than Jane stopping off for double fudge chocolate sprinkle ice cream all around, the rest of the evening passed relatively uneventfully. I couldn’t say the same for the next morning at school. We all dressed in our camo fatigues, and Nicole carried her stiletto combat boots in her backpack to wear when we weren’t doing our drills.

As we drove closer, what looked like an entire PLATOON of soldiers did push-ups and jumping jacks on the school’s front lawn. I realized as we drew closer though, that those soldiers were fellow students, being led by Chelsea. I pulled my camouflage hat into place as we stepped out of Carol’s SUV and approached.

“GENERAL ON DECK! TROOPS, PRESENT ARMS!” Chelsea barked. Everyone scrambled to their feet and stood at attention. Chelsea turned to salute me, causing me to blush brightly. I hadn’t had time to put on my face paint yet, as it was another activity we wanted to do for others in case our personal Rambo couldn’t make it this morning. I returned the salute, turning to our ‘troops’ with a proud smile.

“General Smith, we’re ready to proceed with the flag-raising ceremony, MA’AM!” She barked. I couldn’t help getting into the spirit of the event, nodding approvingly. I couldn’t believe Chelsea put all this together in one night! As Chelsea, Nicole and the others fell in line, of all people, Brittany stepped forward. After giving me a firm salute, she winked, turning back to accept the flag from Bobby Nelson, who looked every bit the soldier, complete with fake dog tags. The two carefully unfolded the red-white-and-blue, and carried it to the flag pole to raise, as a trumpet player from our marching band blared morning reveille.

With the flag at its full height, I turned back to my apparent squad and saluted. “DISMISSED!” I giggled, adding in a much more natural tone, “And if anybody’s interested in having their face painted come see Jen, Ally, Nikki or myself, or one of the organizers for this ceremony, which I want to remind everyone I had absolutely nothing to do with! Great job everyone. I wish Mr. Harris could have seen this.”

Principal Rochelle, getting into the spirit of Spirit Week himself, had worn a pair of desert camo pants with a light brown t-shirt. He patted my shoulder lightly as we dispersed to head inside. “That was quite a show, Robin. Great job.”

“Thanks Mr. Rochelle, but Chelsea organized all this. I had no idea she was going to go all out like that, but that was so much fun.”

“Oh, that reminds me, your guest’s visitor pass has been cleared.”

“Oh, thank you! I had hoped he could be here this morning, but I’m sure he’ll hear about it,” I replied, even as I nervously checked my reflection in my compact. Since we were going all out on the army theme I hadn’t worn any makeup that day, and felt just a little exposed. Nicole pulled me aside and grinned, having already gotten herself painted up.

“C’mere you. We need to make you look more like a soldier before you can start working on anyone else. The lines are huge!”

Around noon, we all hurried to finish lunch so we could get out to the school’s front lawn for the second show of the day. To our surprise, Sergeant Harris had even borrowed an army jeep from the local base for authenticity, and parked it in front of the school. He smiled proudly as the four of us approached.

“Robin, hey!”

Before responding, we all gave him a respectful salute. After he returned it, Allison and I swarmed him with a hug each. “Mr. Harris, it’s SO good to see you again!”

He laughed as he patted us both on the back. “Likewise. It was worth having my door kicked in for the amount of support you girls have given me. When I went back to Iraq I carried your bear with me to remind me. Some of the guys thought it was funny until I told them the story about the psycho. Now that stuffed bear’s kind of become our mascot.” He grinned. “Anyway, whenever you girls are ready?”

I nodded. “Ready, willing and able, SIR! The rest of our platoon should be here shortly, Sir!”

“Alright then, fall in!”

More students than just our volunteers showed up to join in the fun, as Randall taught us not only some basic parade march step, but afterward, when Jennifer commented on how I’d been taking self-defense classes since the incident, asked if I’d be willing to give an impromptu demonstration of martial arts defense versus what he called the ‘Take ‘em down fast’ approach. It was so worth getting tossed on my backside to see him smile.

Since we had practically hogged the entire school’s attention every day this week, when the seniors asked us if we’d be willing to help them with a project for Thursday, we of course leapt at the opportunity, even knowing they’d get the spirit points this time. And what an event! Thursday was Fashion Disaster day, so of course, we had our own little Fashion show right in the school’s auditorium, complete with a vote on who had the most disastrously hideous outfit.

Sadly, or amusingly, I almost won too, with my bright yellow leggings under a neon green tunic dress and polka-dot white-and-red scarf. The victor though, was unquestionably Victoria. Our homecoming queen had completely outdone herself with her mismatched shoes, torn purple pantyhose, and I’d almost have sworn she mugged a clown for the skirt and blouse, to say nothing of her poor hair. I had no idea how she’d get that mop of mess looking presentable before Friday night.

As it turned out, ‘royalty’ were allowed out of classes early on Friday so we could get ready. Imagine my surprise when Victoria grabbed me by the arm as I tried to make for the private faculty restrooms to change.

“Hold on there, princess. You’re one of us now.” She grinned. “Listen, I and everyone else in this school knows you have some sort of problem that won’t let you change for gym or whatever, but that doesn’t mean you can’t hang out with us while we do each others’ hair and makeup and shoot the breeze.”

“Well, yes, but-” I tried to argue, but Julie, the tow-headed seventh grade maid who managed to eke out just at 4’11” came up on my other side. I didn’t even know she was there yet!

“No buts, Spirit!” She practically grinned, winking at me. Victoria peeked across at the shorter girl as they led me to the auditorium.

“Spirit?”

“Yeah! Spirit was Robin’s camp name at Girl Scout camp. She’s one of the nicest Counselors in Training our camp’s had. She helped organize a big luau for the entire camp to honor a girl who killed herself last year. It was so cool.”

“Really? Please, please tell me you’re trying out for cheerleader next year?” I would have thought her joking, but for her utterly serious, almost pleading tone. I smiled wryly as I nodded.

“Yeah, I’m taking gymnastics in the spring, and probably going to cheer camp after Girl Scout camp this summer.”

“Awesome!” Victoria exclaimed, followed by a ‘Sweet!’ from Julie. I giggled a little as I wrapped them both in a hug.

“Thanks girls. For making me feel welcome. I’ve never even been considered for homecoming royalty before, so this is all totally new for me.”

“Never? Seriously?” Victoria asked, surprised. Julie chimed in a moment later.

“Hey, no big deal. It’s my first time too remember? God I’m so scared I’ll fall over or something totally stupid.”

Sasha Li, our dark-haired half-Korean Junior maid, giggled as we entered the girls’ dressing room off-stage. “I heard that! I haven’t been chosen for this since I was in eighth grade. Puberty hit me like a ton of bricks so I’ve been kind of pizza-faced the last few years.” I couldn’t believe my ears.

“Wow. What’s your secret?” Julie asked, surprised. I had to wonder too. Either she wore a lot of makeup, or her skin really was as flawless as it appeared. She grinned broadly into the mirror as she dusted her face lightly with a makeup brush. “I’ll give you the name of the prescription I use just in case you need it later. Nobody should have to go through what I went through last year.”

We all sat and talked, in various states of undress, for the better part of the two hours we were allotted. We worked on each others’ hair and makeup of course, and at one point I finally slipped off into the bathroom to step into my dress. I had just pulled it up when someone knocked.

“Robin? Can I come in?” Sasha called. I glanced back from the much smaller mirror the private bathroom held.

“Sure Sasha. I’m almost done.”

She barged in and immediately sat down, meanwhile I quietly slipped out, pulling the door closed behind me. I really did not need or desire to watch her do her business. I could understand going to the restroom in groups for safety reasons, but I wasn’t quite ready for that level of intimacy with anyone. Mercifully she didn’t say anything, or really seem to notice or care.

A few minutes later, someone knocked at the dressing room door. Mrs. Jones, the drama teacher, called from the other side. “Ten minutes to show time ladies! Your escorts are here to … well… escort you!”

“Okay girls, everyone ready?” Victoria called as she stood, stepping into her metallic gold heels. Personally I thought they looked a little tacky, but then, we all looked like a Bridesmaid fashion disaster. The things we do for tradition!

“Sasha’s in the bathroom. Oh, could you zip me up?” I turned, and Victoria giggled, grasping the offending little zipper and giving it a quick tug, then tucking it away so it wouldn’t show. “Thanks.”

With Sasha rejoining us, we all stepped out onto the stage, where our escorts, dressed in sharp contrast in street clothes under their football jerseys, had been horsing around and laughing. They all grew silent as the grave when they saw us.

A collective cheer followed as they all stood, and like perfect gentlemen each of them ascended the stairs, taking his respective lady by the hand. Bobby smiled as he looped my arm. “Robin, you look amazing!”

“Thanks. I’m so nervous. But poor Julie has to go first. I’d die if I were her.”

Julie laughed nervously as she looked back at me. “Thanks Robin, I so did not need to hear that.”

We walked together to the gym, where the assembly and pep rally had already begun. Waiting in the wings, the same photographer that approached us earlier in the week now stood ready to photograph each of us as we entered.

“And now without further delay, I give you Queen Victoria and her Homecoming Court!” Principal Rochelle announced proudly. The band struck up the slow-paced school’s Alma Mater as we began our long walk. We had practiced this part, along with the actual crowning ceremony, several times already, but seeing our actual ‘thrones’ instead of plastic chairs made it all so much more real.

I thought I saw Mom and Sensei Rogers in the stands as Bobby and I turned to face the crowd at my designated seat. Nicole, standing with her goth friends, looked like she wanted to cry. The smile on her face could’ve been seen from space, and… I think her friends were actually smiling too. I wondered though, when she changed into her Girl Scouts t-shirt. Finally as the music ended, we took our seats, and our escorts jogged across the court to take theirs.

I’d been to plenty of pep rallies before, but never really cared much for school spirit until now. I swear, by the time all the cheer squad’s dancing, gymnastics team’s performances, and Tiger mascot’s tomfoolery ended, my cheeks ached from smiling. And we still had a parade and crowning ceremony left!

The seniors won the coveted Spirit bell, though when Principal Rochelle announced the final numbers he confessed that it was the ‘closest it had been in years’. Of course, we all know the contest was rigged. This was the seniors’ last year after all, and they did work really hard. It wasn’t their fault a bunch of upstart Sophomores tried to show them up this year. Giggle.

Each of the royalty had their own convertible to ride in for the parade, and Sensei Rogers had generously offered to be my chauffer. I certainly wouldn’t complain, as I’d seen his beautiful red soft-top on quite a few occasions. If I were ever to call a car ‘sexy’, that would be the one.

“Are you nervous, Robin?” he asked with a warm smile as I approached after the pep rally. I laughed as I nodded. “Very! I’ve never been in a parade before, and I swear Alpine Springs takes its football way more seriously than they did back in Cali.”

Mom giggled. She had been smiling like a Cheshire cat all through the assembly anyway. “Small town pride. It’s no backwoods town, but they’re certainly no San Francisco. Come on dear, we’ve got to get you to the parade route!”

“Are you going to ride with us?” I asked, curious.

“Oh, no dear, I’m going to be taking pictures! We’re going to meet Ash there, though. I want to bask in one last mother-daughter moment on the drive over.” She giggled again. She giggled a lot lately, but again, I wasn’t about to complain. I smiled proudly as I hugged them both. By now Allison had come over as well, and I couldn’t resist grabbing her in a hug. I couldn’t help noticing she was wearing her camp CIT shirt too. She grinned.

“Last minute change of plans. The troop asked Nikki and me to ride with the girls in the parade as two quote, ‘Exemplary counselor trainees’.”

“They don’t know us very well, do they?” I chided, causing her to giggle. “See you on the other side Ally.”

Even as Allison rejoined her parents and her sister, Mom and I walked out to her car. I eased myself into the front passenger seat, mindful of the flowing and expensive dress, and, after pulling my seat belt across, tugged the sun visor down to check my makeup in the attached mirror. Mom, sliding her key into the ignition, glanced over at me with a broad grin.

“I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am of you, or how absolutely beautiful you are.”

“Thanks Mom.” I squeezed her hand. I could feel my cheeks burning. “You know I’ve been thinking about Sensei Rogers… I’m not saying you should do anything rash, but… Well, Jane does make wedding dresses for a living.” I gave her a sidelong glance and giggled at her reaction.

This time, HER cheeks turned several shades of red. “Robin Jane Smith!” She laughed, then paused. “Jane Smith. Sweetheart, I’ve been meaning to ask why you chose that for your middle name?”

I giggled a little as we pulled out into traffic. “It’s the name of the lady cop who took Allison’s and my statement, plus it’s sort of the feminine of ‘John’. I thought about that too when Margie introduced me to her mom. Totally weird coincidence.”

She chuckled. “Well, it is a very common name. I think it’s Hebrew for ‘God’s grace’.”

“Oh, that’s so cool. Jane Garrett really is that for me and Ally, not that Mr. Harris isn’t too though.” I smiled thoughtfully as we approached the parade staging area. Mom’s car rolled to a stop, and she reached behind the seat, producing a bouquet of purple, gold, and white roses.

“Nicole insisted on paying for these for you to carry in the parade, by the way.”

“Ohmygosh… They’re beautiful!” I squeaked, accepting the roses and hugging Mom, careful not to crush the flowers in the process. I kissed her cheek then stepped carefully out of the car, approaching Sensei Rogers’, even as Mom pulled away again. Sensei Rogers opened the door and took my hand to help me up into the car. As I took my place on top of the back seat, I giggled. “I um… made Mom blush.”

He laughed as he looked back at me. “How did you manage that?”

“I reminded her that my half-sister Margie’s real mom designs wedding dresses for a living.”

He didn’t respond to that. Not at first anyway. It wasn’t that I wanted to prod him to action anyway, though. I just wanted them both to know where I stood on the issue, if it ever came up. Just before go-time, as the parade director called it, he glanced back at me with a smile.

“I don’t know what the future holds, Robin, but I’m honored that you would come out and tell me that. Thank you.” His smile broadened. “Ready?” I nodded, shifting my weight a little. I carefully cradled Nicole’s roses in one arm, steadying myself with my other hand as we pulled in behind the white car carrying Sasha.

We made it the first quarter-mile without incident, pausing once for the marching band to stop and play. I admit I felt kind of guilty that, in all the excitement, I never got a chance to work on our class’ float. Thankfully no one seemed to mind. I continued to wave at the crowds as we drove slowly through our parade route. I thought I’d fall right off my seat though when we passed the Chug-n’-Go gas station. Rachel, Natalie, and a few other girls from camp were standing in a group, dressed in their Camp t-shirts.

Natalie shouted, “One, Two, Three!”, and on cue, the entire group exploded into a cheer of “GO SPIRIT!” I had to laugh, waving at the group as we rode past. Finally, our police escort led us to the end of our parade route, and those of us not hauling floats pulled off into the nearby parking lot. The floats meanwhile kept moving, heading no doubt for the football stadium.

I had no sooner stepped down from Sensei’s car though, when a tall bunch of blonde hair with a skinny human attached practically tackled me, wrapping me in a hug. “Spirit! You look so beautiful!” Alice squealed happily.

I laughed. “Alice?! Oh my God, what are you doing here?!”

She giggled as Natalie and Rachel came running, along with half a dozen scouts behind them. “Rachel called me!”

“Rachel! Natalie! Hey!” I grabbed them in a hug next. I knew I wore waterproof mascara for a reason, as the tears flowed freely. It was so good to see everyone again. “I can’t believe you guys all made it. But how did you know?”

“Well, Ally called and told me about you being chosen for Sophomore Maid. I called Rachel, and Rachel called Alice,” Natalie explained. “One thing led to another, and here we are.”

“Wow… You guys, this is so great. Are you coming to the game tonight?”

Rachel nodded. “We wouldn’t miss it! Tell the girls we said ‘hi’, will you?”

I laughed. “Turn around and you can tell them yourself.”

Rachel blinked, turning just in time to be blindsided by a monster hug from Nicole and Allison in their CIT shirts, and Jennifer in her cheerleading uniform. Jennifer swished her pompoms playfully at the two and laughed. “Glad you could make it!”

After much giggling and gossiping, we finally resolved to all meet back at my house. We made a point especially to invite Alice to come too. She may have been our cabin organizer and counselor, but she also helped so much to make our camp experience more memorable. For the moment though, I had to get out of those heels for a few hours!

That evening, I felt like Cinderella preparing for the ball, and I wasn’t even the Queen! Not that it mattered to my doting friends though. They all went out of their way to make certain my hair, makeup, and nails were all perfect before we all piled into our separate vehicles and drove to the football stadium.

I walked with them through the admission gate because guests of Royalty got in free. I’m not that awesome without the fake plastic tiara! We parted ways, and I made my way down to the visitors’ side of the football field.

There actually weren’t that many people from the visitors’ town there yet, not that I could blame them. Those that were here already would have to sit through our lengthy crowning ceremony before the actual game could begin. As I stood off to one side, making last-minute adjustments to my dress, two of the other team’s cheerleaders, dressed in really cute orange-and-black uniforms, approached me.

“Hi, I’m Amber and this is Katrina.” The tall brunette introduced herself and her shorter, black-haired friend, both offering a friendly smile, so I smiled back.

“Hi there. I’m Robin.”

“Nice to meet you!” Amber responded warmly. “Um, we were just wondering who made you guys’ dresses? Our homecoming’s in a couple of weeks and we’d love to get something this pretty done! We were going to ask your Queen over there, but her escort scares me.” She giggled, motioning to Victoria, and her boyfriend-slash-escort Jeff. Jeff, the star quarterback, stood at six feet five inches if he slouched. I had to laugh.

“He’s a big teddy-bear, I’m told. The dress shop is here in Alpine Springs in the little village shopping center, Tina’s Bridal. Hey, if you tell them Robin sent you they might give your school the same discount they give ours.”

Amber smiled broadly, giving me a friendly hug. “Thank you SO much! Oh, it looks like they want you,” she nodded toward the others, already lining up. I smiled warmly and waved as I turned to rush over, stepping into place next to Bobby.

“What was that about?” he asked with a chuckle.

“They wanted to know who designed our dresses. Their homecoming’s in a couple of weeks and they want to see if they can get something like ours done. It might be short notice, but there’s at least next year.”

“Hah. Fraternizing with the enemy, eh?” He paused, and grinned. “Just kidding. That’s really cool actually.”

“What’s that?” I asked, as we started slowly making our way down the 50-yard-line. Cheerleaders lined up on either side with their pompoms up, making an arch for us to walk through on the other side..

“That you’d help them out like that,” he replied, guiding me through the cheer-arch to my place on the sideline.

As we lined up, we each turned to wait for our ‘Lady’ Victoria. Principal Rochelle approached, placing the crown on her head and, after her escort ceremoniously kissed her cheek, she grinned broadly, moving to take her place on the stage that had been built specifically for us in front of the bleachers. After she took her place, we all took ours, and the game finally began.

Admittedly, I didn’t pay much attention to the actual sporting event. I was too giddy with excitement at the euphoric rush we all felt. It’s one thing to be in the spotlight at school, where I never know if someone’s going to pull something and out me, whether by accident or not, but to have the entire town seeing us as these beautiful, princess-like figures to our Queen, if only for one night, was pure magic.

The magic started to wear a little thin by the third quarter though, mostly because I desperately needed something to drink. Finally, I glanced back at Victoria and asked, “Hey, does anyone else want something to drink? I’m going to make a quick concession stand run.”

Julie whispered, “Are we allowed to do that? I’m like, so thirsty too.”

Victoria laughed, nodding. “Sure, go ahead. Oh, bring me back a diet cola if you could?” Seeing our ‘Queen’ so down to earth emboldened the others to put in drink orders too, and Julie and Sasha volunteered to come with me to help carry everything.

Everyone, both in support of the home and away team, surprisingly gave us a wide path as we approached. I couldn’t help noticing a quartet of women — two brunettes, a blonde, and a redhead, in black t-shirts bearing the artistic ‘Heedless Despair’ logo, though. I smiled warmly at them while we waited for our order to be fulfilled.

“You like Heedless Despair too?”

They looked at each other and giggled, and in a distinctly English accent, the blonde-haired woman responded, “Yes, you could say that. They’re doing a concert here next week, you know.”

I laughed as I nodded, “I know. I helped arrange it. Hey, are you guys with the set-up crew?”

More giggles followed, and the redhead responded this time. Her voice sounded so familiar, for some reason. “Er, yes, we’re with the setup crew. You must be Robin, hey?”

“Uh huh. Oh!” I suddenly realized the concession stand lady was waiting for me to take my drink, and giggled. “Sorry!” I turned back to the four and smiled warmly. “Enjoy the game!”

“You too; we’ll be in touch tomorrow about your role by the way. Oh, and congrats,” the redhead offered, nodding toward me. I giggled and thanked her. On the way back, Sasha nudged me with her shoulder, careful not to spill either of our concession goodies. “What’s that about a concert?”

“Oh, I didn’t tell you? Nikki’s birthday is this Tuesday. We got Heedless Despair to play for her Sweet Sixteen. You guys are welcome to come too! Just come find me after the game and I’ll give you the details.”

After Jeff scored the game-winning touchdown for our victory over the Bulldogs at 23-21, the royalty and their boyfriends — or in my case, girlfriend — gathered on the sidelines to wish each other goodnight. There was still the homecoming dance, but I was so tired, I just wanted to get home and soak my feet.

As Nicole and I walked toward the gate together, Mom, Margie, Allison, Kelly, and Jennifer joined us. The four women I’d met earlier stood in the parking lot talking, and as we passed, Nicole glanced over her shoulder and grinned. “Okay, I know what I want for my birthday now.” Allison and I exchanged a sly grin with each other, waiting for Nicole to continue her thought. She giggled, “I want one of those t-shirts. Those are awesome.”

I had to laugh. I also had to bite my tongue. I knew they weren’t the actual band, but come on, just knowing their road crew came to our game to unwind! How cool is that? Arriving at Mom’s car, Nicole wrapped her arms around me, resting her head on my shoulder for a moment.

“Robin, you are like, the ultimate girlfriend. I am so, so proud of you. I’d be proud of you even if we were the only people on earth, but still...” I smiled as I squeezed her close, kissing her softly. “G’night cutie,” she managed between giggles at the very public display of affection.

“Sweet dreams, vampire.” I giggled a little too, squeezing her hand one last time as she opened the door for me to sit, and closed it behind me. As she walked away to catch a ride home with Allison and Kelly, and as I waited for Mom and Margie to get in, I closed my eyes. The next thing I remembered, Mom was gently shaking me.

“Robin, sweetheart?”

“Mmmph…”

“We’re home honey,” she insisted. I yawned, easing out of my seatbelt. They had to practically carry me inside, and I left my heels at the bottom of the stairs before I stumbled up to bed. I barely had the energy to change into my pajamas, and brushing my teeth was right out.

As I collapsed into my comforter, Mister Kensington rolled from the shockwave, landing by my side. A warm, all-embracing, euphoric sleep soon followed.