Perfectly Imperfect 1

62- Happy Birthday, Kiddo!

KAYLA:

"Not Amy, Not Amy, Not Amy," I chanted under my breath, all the while keeping my gaze fixed on Cal. Its bad enough that if Amy wins, her head would probably burst all over the ballroom, but I was more concerned about the Prom Queen- King dance that would follow afterwards... the slow, romantic Prom Queen- King dance.

I shivered all of a sudden, already imagining Amy's model thin body pressed up against Cal's muscular legs, the sultry look she would give Cal, the oh-so-accidental brush of skin-on-skin...

I shook my head, clearing my thoughts away. On the stage, the emcee was dramatically opening the envelop that contained the Prom Queen's name. Everybody awaited with bated breath, the air thick with anxiety. The prom queen candidates had suddenly stood very still, and I could see that underneath the smiles, their faces were taught; strained.

"Not Amy. Not Amy."

The emcee reached out for the piece of paper in the envelop, a sly grin on his face. I felt my hands go clammy and I quickly wiped it on my shirt, certain that everybody else was too transfixed at the stage to throw me a dirty look.

The card stating the prom queen's name was already in the emcee's hands now. Casting another grin at the audience, the emcee flipped the card over...

And suddenly the grin slid off his face. He stared at the card, suddenly pale, his eyes big.

The air was silent.

"Announce it already!" someone from the crowd shouted.

The emcee suddenly jumped, as if he had forgot that he was on stage.

"I'm sorry, there must have been a mistake," he stammered, all trace of joviality gone from his voice. "There is no prom queen this year."

"What?!"

"What are you playing at man?"

"Just read the damn name!"

The crowd started to shout angrily. It wasn't only the crowd that was displeased, though. The candidates on stage were beginning to mumble irritatedly, and Cal looked weary, sharing a look with the Prom King candidates.

Suddenly, though, Amy snapped. She marched over to the emcee and grabbed the card from his limp hands, her lips pinched. Glancing down at the card, for a second, Amy seemed as shocked as the emcee but she recovered quickly. Giving the crowd- who had suddenly grown quiet- a dangerous smile, she took a deep breath whilst her eyes sifted through the masses of people in front of her. Finally landing on somebody.

Me.

"The Warwick High Back-To-School Dance Prom Queen is..."

Amy winked at me dangerously.

"Sean Edward Thomas."

---

The whole hall grew silent. Someone gave a nervous laugh, but it quickly died. I, on the other hand, felt suddenly light-headed. Sean Edward Thomas? Sean... as in, my brother, Sean?

"Could we get the spotlight, please? Wait, on the other hand... make it two spot lights."

All of a sudden, I felt myself being casted in a bright light.

"Here's Sean's sister, dear little Kayla... And... there's Sean. Over there by the fountain."

Numbly, I turned my head to the direction where Amy was pointing, as did the whole hall.

Sean stared back at us, pale and trembling with shock. But that was nothing, nothing compared to what he was doing. Sean had his arm around Ben's waist, and Ben's other arm was still curled up on Sean's neck.