The Exchange

Bonus 2: Hail to the Queen

One of the best parts of English class with both Arti and Blaine was that I was the only one who ever did the reading, and they had to be nice to me if they wanted a summary of Pride and Prejudice each morning before class began.

"So who wants to know what happened in the assigned reading?" I asked as I took my seat.

Arti laughed. "Did Elizabeth and Darcy finally hook up? I'm tired of waiting for it to happen."

"No, no. Everyone knows that happens at the very end. Wait, right?" Blaine said.

"I don't know. If you want me to tell you, it's not going to be out of the kindness of my heart," I said.

Blaine sighed. "What do you want this time? I really think I should be exempt from this system. I told you that you're pretty yesterday, and that was just because I felt like it."

"That was yesterday. Today I want you—"

The morning announcements cut me off before I could figure out just what the hell I wanted from both of them. "Good morning, Madison High. This is a friendly reminder that the prom is next Friday, and your ballots have been counted for nominations for prom king and queen."

I rolled my eyes. How dare they interrupt me for worthless bullshit?

"Starting with the gentlemen, your nominees are Blaine Jacobs—"

Blaine? My Blaine? Who the fuck voted for him besides Arti and me?

"Oh, look. Mr. Class President's gonna be the prom king. How adorable," I said.

"Amanda, you realize that—" Blaine began.

Arti cut him off with a laugh. "Blaine, honey, it's okay. We're not gonna beat you up in the parking lot after school just because you're about to win a popularity contest that has absolutely no bearing on the real world."

Eleanor shushed us from across the room. Bitch.

With no one else talking, my only option was to listen to the rest of the announcements. "And for the ladies, the nominations are Inez Garcia, Amanda Jayne—"

My eyes widened. Oh hell no.

I wasn't even planning on going to prom, I didn't have a dress, and the thought of it all made me sick to my stomach. Madison High was a shithole, and I was not a part of it.

Arti laughed even harder. "Oh my god, Amanda. Oh my fucking god."

Blaine laughed too. "You didn't see that one coming? You're dating me, for God's sake."

"We can't do this, Blaine. I don't want to be prom queen. How embarrassing is that?" I said.

"And please remember, nominees, that there will be no campaigning for yourself or slandering your opponents. Yes, this is specifically for you, Miss Jayne," the lady on the announcements said.

I smiled. At least my reputation wasn't completely in shambles.

"It's not embarrassing. It just means that we're the coolest people in the school, and everyone knows it. I mean, you got suspended for punching a kid in the face, which is pretty badass," he said.

I bit my cheek. "Allegedly punching a kid in the face. And this has to be some sort of joke. No one pays attention to us, probably because we might kill them if they try to get too close."

"Think about it. Don't you like crowns and shiny things and being in charge of a bunch of people you don't like?" Blaine said.

Eleanor shushed us again.