#GirlsShitToo

Prom, Part 2

Soon, it was the announcement of prom royalty. Runsberger began preparing to make the announcement, setting the two crowns atop the podium. The king's crown was robust and masculine, silver appendages protruding from every inch of its circular base like icicles. The queen's crown was more subtle and feminine, its circular base thin, with only a half arch on its front encrusted with fake silver diamonds. The king's crown obviously slayed in comparison to the queen's. No surprise there.

Before he spoke into the microphone, Runsberger looked around at all of us, and I could see disgust in his eyes, probably because he saw so many boys in dresses. Then he said, "It is time for the moment you have all been waiting for. Are you ready to learn who this year's prom royalty are?"

Most of the onlookers shouted, with Runsberger's squad of bros outdoing everyone, pumping their fists and screaming "hoo, hoo, hoo" like a pack of dogs. I wondered if Dennis was in that crowd, or if Adree's shocking #GirlsHitToo moment had made him slink into a corner somewhere.

"Let's get to it then." He waited for the howling to die down, before starting, "This year's prom king is," and then he paused dramatically, pretending to be surprised when he finally said, "Chad Anderson!"

"Big surprise," I said as Chad made his way up to the podium, each of his friends hitting him on the back as he passed, with the exception of Dennis, who didn't seem to be amongst them.

As soon as Runsberger had coronated Chad and given him the manliest handshake ever, he went on: "This year's prom queen is... Adree Richards!"

Adree must have been surprised when she finally realized Valerie's name hadn't been spoken, because she stood there, mouth hanging open like a yawning caveman's.

"Adree, smile and wave!" I whispered. "You're a queen now!" I smacked her bottom lightly to give her a push forward, and her mouth closed and quickly turned to smile at me. Then she made her way up to the podium, and Runsberger greeted her with an unfriendly smile, probably because she'd gotten the Los Angeles Times to put him in a bad light again.

I looked behind me for Valerie and found her right away. I'd been half expecting her to be smaring, watching someone else wear the crown that so many of us knew was meant for her, but she wasn't. She was smiling, genuinely and warmly, like she had been in that picture of her and Adree from eighth grade. She saw me looking and came to stand next to me.

"Can I say something?" Chad asked Runsberger, and the sound came through the microphone clearly, and I turned back to him.

"Certainly, Chad. We'd love to hear what you have to say." Of course you would, I thought; after all, Chad was one of his bros.

"Okay. Yeah. Hey everyone!" Chad waved, waiting for our attentiveness. "I can't believe it's almost the end of my time here at Crystal Shore High School. All of my seniors, I'm gonna miss you!"

Chad's bros screamed out, and he shushed them, clearing his throat to speak some more. "Okay. It seems like the F-word has been a pretty big theme here at CSHS. You know, feminism. I used to think feminism was pretty stupid. I used to say things like...women have equal rights already, so why does it need to exist? You want women to be engineers? Women are engineers already. But now I see how much deeper all this stuff goes." Here, he started to look like he got really nervous, but he pressed onward. "Like, how there aren't that many women engineers because girls aren't encouraged to be engineers, or because there is so much sexual harassment in those fields that they are discouraged from getting or maintaining a job..."

"No way did he come up with this speech," I said out loud.

"You're right," Valerie whispered from next to me. "Ms. Brooks helped him. But it was all part of his plan."