After the Shooting

Chapter 18

                                    Prom Night

      "Alright, smile!" Mom exclaims.
      She then takes the picture of Ethan and I. Ethan's smiling but I'm struggling to. I'm too nervous about this whole Scarlett situation.
      "Ugh, that came out terrible. Smile, Naomi!" Mom demands.
       I attempt to give a smile.
      "Is that good enough?" I ask when the pictures taken.
      "All good! Be safe, guys and I love you!" Mom exclaims.
       We get into Ethan's car. None of our parents could afford a limo like the other kids. Ethan's dad doesn't even know he's at the prom tonight. Let alone with me. If he knew Ethan was at prom with me, it'd be end game.
      In school, I'm a little on edge. I look for Scarlett or Lucy but it doesn't look like either of them are here. Kayleigh said she wasn't coming and Minda isn't either. It's pretty much Ethan and I and some other couples who we aren't friends with.
      "Naomi?" Ethan asks, snapping me back to reality.
      "Huh?" I ask.
      "You okay? You seem a little on edge." He says.
      "Oh, yeah, I'm fine." I respond.
      Ethan gives me this weird look like he doesn't believe me. I mean, I don't blame him. I'm an awful liar. I wouldn't believe me either.
      "Okay,' he says,' I'm going to go get us some punch."
      Almost as soon as he leaves, I hear a familiar voice shout my name.
      "Naomi!" She exclaims.
      I turn around, rolling my eyes. The first thing I see is Lucy. As usual, her long blonde hair is curled. She wears a beautiful smokey eye, perfect winged liner, and just good makeup in general, actually. A tight, red, suede dress fits on her thin figure. She wears big black heels, making her taller than me.
"Wow,' she gasps,' you look great tonight!"
"Why are you talking to me exactly?" I ask.
"Look, I'm sorry for being such a bitch to you recently. But I'm going to be honest, I only do it when Scarlett's around. I actually like you a lot. Scarlett's just my best friend and I don't want her to feel like I'm betraying her, you know?" She says.
"Speaking of Scarlett, is she here?" I ask.
She shakes her head.
"Where is she?" I ask.
"She decided to stay home." Says Lucy.
"So, why are you talking to me exactly?" I ask.
"Look, I really like what you've been doing recently with this whole gun control thing. I feel like you're such a good influence on everyone. So, I was wondering, would you be interested in speaking tonight? You know, before we crown the prom king and queen?" She asks.
"You can't make that decision." I scoff.
"Yes, I can. I'm the head of the planning committee. So,' she states,' what do you say?"
"Yeah." I agree.
Soon after, Ethan comes back with our drinks. When he sees Lucy, his smile soon fades.
     "Is there a problem?" Ethan asks.
     "No, actually,' I defend Lucy,' everything's going great."
Although I'm grateful that she gave me this experience, that's a lie. Everything's not okay.
"Alright, you two, I'll just be leaving you guys alone for now." Smiles Lucy.
She then goes off by the DJ booth. The cha-cha slide plays all of a sudden. And I thought this was a prom. Ethan grabs my hand and starts running.
"Ethan!" I exclaim.
He turns to face me.
"Yeah?"
"What are you doing?" I chuckle.
"It's the cha-cha slide. I mean,' he yells over the loud music,' who wouldn't dance to this song?"
"Um, me?!" I counteract.
"C'mon, it'll be fun!" He assures me.
I let him take my hand and we run onto the dance floor. There were a few slow songs after that. Ethan and I dance along to them too. Honestly, I don't know what I was so afraid of. This is turning out to be one of the best nights of my life. After multiple slow songs, I'm winded and need to sit down. I'm even sweaty. You'd be surprised by how intense of a dancer Ethan is. I guess you could say he took my breath away.
"I can't believe you didn't want to dance at first." He recalls.
"Me neither! I didn't even know you could dance." I smile.
"Well, that's not the only surprise I have up my sleeve for tonight." Ethan smirks.
"What do you mean?" I ask.
He's about to answer me when the music stops. We face our attention to the front of the gym. Lucy grabs the microphone and smiles.
      "HELLO WASHINGTON HEIGHTS HIGH SCHOOL AND WELCOME TO YOUR PROM!" Lucy shouts at the top of her lungs.
      The room cheers and gets even louder. Ethan and I cheer too. I look at him and smile.
      "IF YOU'RE HAVING A GOOD TIME TONIGHT, LET ME HEAR YOU SCREAM!" Lucy shouts.
      Again, the whole gym screams. Ethan and I join them again.
      "Alright, alright, I know that tonight is supposed to be a night of fun and romance but we can't not talk about the recent events in this country. Now, I won't know what to say without messing up my words so I've asked a dear friend of mine to come up and talk to all of us tonight. She needs no introduction but everyone welcome Washington Height's own Naomi Parker." Smiles Lucy.
      Naomi Parker? That's me! Crap, I totally forgot Lucy wanted me to speak tonight! Now I get cold feet? That's great. But I can't not do this. My fellow classmates cheer me on as I make my way to the front of the gym.
     "Some of you may know me by who I am: Naomi Parker. Others of you may only know me as the girl who yelled at everyone during the memorial." I start.
     The whole room chuckles. Lucy is with everyone else on her phone. When she catches me looking at her, she gives me a big thumbs up.
     "But I just want to talk to all of you about the Washington Heights shooting that happened a few weeks ago. That was one of the most traumatizing moments of our lives, and I'm pretty sure I speak for everyone when I say that. Anyway, I didn't interrupt the memorial because I'm crazy. Well, not entirely, anyway." I smile.
      Again, the room chuckles. Some people bring out their phones to record my speech.
      "I interrupted that memorial because I knew we had to show respect and honor the victims taken from us. Our own classmates, our friends, even family for some us, were taken. And you know, some people go only to laugh which is disrespectful. It drove me insane. But I deeply appreciated the hard work the student council did to bring that otherwise wonderful ceremony altogether. That's another thing I want to mention. We are young so people will always tell us we can't do anything. But if we can't do anything, what was that fantastic ceremony?" I shout.
     The room fills with applause and agreement.
     "Look, we can do anything we put our minds to. We are smart and wise and we have so much in store. We are the future and if we want to see a change, we have to make it. We can make it. We will make it. If you believe in something, go out there and shout it from the rooftops. And if you want to change things, change them. Even if you have to talk to your leaders, do it! Don't be afraid! That's my message for our governors and state officials. We're coming for you. You won't know when and neither do we, but just be prepared. I know we are." I say.
      The room fills with more applause. I decide to thank the audience and leave.
"That was awesome,' Ethan tells me,' and that's also why I need to tell you something."
He sounds serious.
"Is everything okay?" I ask.
He leads me outside with the warm spring night air.
"What is it?" I ask.
"I'm scared right now but I need to say this. Naomi,' he starts,' I don't know if you noticed but I have a big crush on you. I've had a crush on you for the longest time. I think you're really cool, and smart, and pretty. Um, look, I'm awkward but would you please do me the favor of being my girlfriend?"
"I've liked you for a long time too and honestly,' I reply,' I think you're pretty adorable."
"So is that a yes or-shut up and kiss me." I smile.
We then kiss each other, never wanting to let go.
Finally, the moment I've dreamed of for so long finally happened.
"I'm taking that as a yes." Ethan blushes.
I giggle. That's when I get a text on my phone.
"Who's it from?" Ethan asks, peering over my shoulder.
       Kayleigh Duncan: Naomi, you need to get to your house now! And quick!
What if this is it? What if this is the bad thing that I thought would happen?
"Ethan,' I stutter,' I need to go!"
"What? Why? Is everything okay?" He asks.
"I don't know! J-just drive! Please!" I beg.
Ethan and I race into his car and drive off. When we get to my house, my heart stops. My house is engulfed in flames. A fire truck stands by, attempting to stop the flames. Cop cars are next to it. Our neighbors surround our house, looking at it. Law enforcement tells them to get back calmly but they don't listen. Ethan steps out of his car to comfort me.
     "Can you please go, Ethan?" I whimper. 
     "Okay but call me when it gets better." He kisses my forehead.
     I don't think it ever will get better.
     "Are you Naomi Parker?" A police officer comes up to me.
     I nod my head.
     "Do you know who did this?" I whimper.
     "Not yet but we're on the case. I'm just going to ask you a few questions to help us figure it out." Says the officer.
     He asks me do I know anyone who would have a motive to do this or injure my family and questions like that. I answer honestly and say Scarlett.