The Freshman

Chapter Seventeen - The Hartfeld Formal

Emily's POV

The first rays of the sun woke me the next morning, slanting through the window and falling across my face. "Ow, my eyes..." I said. I checked my phone and bolted upright as I remembered what day it was. "Oh, crap... the dance! I still have to figure out who to ask..." I trudged out to the kitchen to find a fresh pot of coffee on the counter along with a note from Zack, Tyler, and Abbie. "'Breakfast on the roof, come up and join us!' Sounds fun..."

I poured myself some coffee and headed upstairs to find Zack, Tyler, and Abbie eating cereal and looking out at the town of Hartfeld. "Good morning, little miss heartbreaker. How's the big decision going? Made any progress?" Zack asked.

"What big decision?" Tyler asked.

"Seriously, Tyler? You know I like you, but sometimes you're shockingly out of the loop," Abbie said.

"Emily has to choose someone to take to the Hartfeld Formal tonight... and she's got three hotties vying for her affections!" Zack exclaimed.

"Don't remind me. I just want to have my coffee and cereal like a normal person and not have to worry about any of this," I said.

"Sounds like you haven't made a lot of progress," Abbie said.

"Maybe we could make a pros and cons list?" Tyler asked.

"As much as I'd love to break down Emily's suitors into abstract bits of data, I don't think that approach is necessary..." Zack said.

"Actually, it sounds pretty helpful right about now..." I said.

"Don't be ridiculous. You know deep down who you want to ask to formal... you just have to let yourself realize that."

"Huh?"

"Just relax and close your eyes. Who's the first person you see?"

I closed my eyes and thought back on my memories of fall quarter.

******

"If the other guys on the football team saw me get tackled by a pretty girl, they'd never let me forget it," Chris said. "I'm Chris, by the way. Nice to meet you."

******

"You know how I said I wanted to get my courage up for something?" Kaitlyn asked. "This is what I needed courage for..."

******

"Actually..." James said. "She's my fiancee!"

******

I opened my eyes and grinned at Zack. "Well... have you figured it out yet?" Zack asked.

"I have. I finally know who I want to ask to the dance..." I said. "Chris."

"Go to him, lass. Go get your man."

"Is he even up? It's pretty early..."

"He said he was going out to run some drills or something..." Tyler said.

"Which is weird, considering football season just ended..." Zack said.

"Well, at least I know where he is. Thanks, guys!" I exclaimed.

"Our pleasure."

"There's someone I should probably talk to first, though..."

******

In Vasquez's office, I found James at his laptop, working. "Knock knock," I said.

"Emily... what are you doing here?" James asked.