Just As I Am

Twelve

Junior prom was fast approaching. I couldn't wait! I saw a paper pinned to the notice board which contained the list of nominees for prom king and queen. The only name I saw under the nominees was Melissa. It figured. I took a pen from my school bag and wrote my name down. It was worth a shot.

I started planning my campaign for prom queen. I didn't tell Dad about it because I knew he wouldn't care less. I made posters and tried to convince people to vote for me. I got a job as a waitress in one of the fast-food restaurants. It's not that I wouldn't get money from Dad if I asked for it. I needed money to buy a dress and poster colours, paper, felt-pens, crayons, etc. that I needed to make the posters. If I asked Dad for money to buy a dress, he would tell me that I already had a lot of dresses. He wouldn't understand me.

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"Melissa! Come look at this quickly!" Lindsey cried out.

Melissa walked to where Lindsey was sitting.

"Look!" Lindsey said, pointing at the computer screen.

Melissa looked and to her horror, Karen had 500 votes so far and she had 300 votes.

"We have to do something"., Melissa said.

Lindsey agreed and they spent the next few minutes formulating a plan to somehow convince Karen to step out of the race for prom queen.

I sat on the benches at the parking lot, staring into space. I was waiting for the bus and it felt like forever. I saw Melissa and her clique making their way towards me. What do they want now?

"Hey, Karen", Melissa said.

"Just go straight to the point", I said without greeting Melissa.

Melissa showed me a picture on her phone of me working at the fast-food restaurant.

"What does that have to do with anything?" I asked.

"No one would want to vote for a prom queen who works. I'll post this on social media and everyone will see it. I suggest that you step out of the race for prom queen if you don't want that to happen".

"Nice try, Melissa but that isn't going to happen".

"Queens don't work".

"Well, this queen works. I'll see you later. Bye, Melissa", I said, heading towards the school bus.

Over the next few weeks leading to prom, Melissa and her clique played pranks on me to get me to step out of the race for prom queen. Most of them were silly. They messed up the things in my locker and my backpack as well. One time, they also gave me wrong fashion advice and I went to school wearing the silliest , most ridiculous and most absurd outfit which I won't describe. I became the laughing stock at school soon after that. I didn't let them get the best of me. Mum always advised me to just follow my heart. I knew she would be proud of me.

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"Shh!" Nicole said.

Melissa, Nicole, Lindsey and Andy were standing at the front porch of Karen's house. Her car was parked outside and the outside lights were on but the inside lights were off.. It seemed that everyone was fast asleep.

"Just hurry up and do it", Melissa ordered.

In a couple of minutes, Andy was done and they left as quietly as they had entered.

I was running late. Fortunately, my car had been repaired so I didn't need to take the bus. I jumped in my car and started the engine but nothing happened. The car didn't move. I tried again. After a number of tries, I called Dad to help me with the car.

He also started the engine but nothing happened. After a couple of tries, he lifted the hood of the car.

"The engine has been taken out", Dad told me.

"What?!" I cried, moving towards Dad.

I looked and it was true. The engine had been removed. It couldn't have disappeared. I knew who did it. Knowing I would have to take the bus, I reluctantly took my backpack from my car and made my way towards the bus stop.

I was so angry. I knew I would be late but I couldn't allow that to happen. The nominees for prom queen and king were supposed to give a speech on the reason they should be elected prom queen or king in front of all the students and teachers. If you were late, you wouldn't be given a second chance to give your speech. I finally arrived at the school but I was late. After school, I walked up to Melissa and her clique.

"Okay, Melissa. I've removed my name from the list of nominees for prom queen. You can stop with all this nonsense now", I said.

"I'm glad you've finally realised that you can never compete with someone like me", Melissa said.

I rolled my eyes and left. I couldn't believe that I had let Melissa get the best of me but I couldn't stand it any longer. It was just too much for me.

I wasn't as excited as I was before for prom night. Ethan was my date, of course. I looked at myself in the mirror. I wore a purple, sleeveless ankle-length gown. It was accessorized with a matching purple necklace, a black clutch and a pair of black high heels. I pulled a jacket over my outfit. I also wore some make-up.

Ethan finally arrived to pick me up. After saying goodbye to Dad, we finally left. Prom was a bit boring for me. Ethan and I danced a few times. I could tell that he wanted tonight to be romantic but I was not in the mood for all this. I just wish he could understand me. Melissa was elected prom queen, of course. I kept to myself the whole time.

After prom, we had dinner at a fancy restaurant. When we were done with that, Ethan told me that he had a surprise for me. His hand covered my eyes as he led me up a flight of stairs. When we finally arrived at our destination, Ethan removed his hands from my eyes.I found myself in a small room with a bed and a table in the corner. Ethan started removing his trousers. I knew I had to stop him.

"What in the world are you doing?" I asked, even though I knew full well what he was doing.

"You promised, Karen. Everyone does it on prom night", Ethan replied.

"I'm not everyone. You're not everyone. We're not everyone. I don't think I'm ready for this".

"Karen, come on. We've talked about this. What are you afraid of?"

"Well, I'm afraid of getting STDs, becoming pregnant and dropping out of school", I said, ticking off my fingers as I talked.

"None of that's going to happen", Ethan said, moving closer to me.

I pushed him away.

"Ethan, I'm sorry but not tonight. Not now. Maybe some other time".

"Fine! I'm leaving but this shows that you don't want this relationship anymore".

"No, Ethan. I didn't mean it like that.... I said but he didn't hear me out. He left.

I felt so confused! I couldn't lose Ethan. He was the only one I could talk to. I was afraid that if I gave in to his demands, I would lose him and if I didn't, I would also lose him. All this was so confusing and complicated.