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IT was the night Coraline had been waiting for since the start of the year. An evening almost as important as prom, but tonight was only the beginning. She had on her new purple dress, her makeup was just the way she wanted it, and she even had her mom curl her hair. However, her hair nowadays hardly held a ringlet, so it decided to hang in loose waves. As she slipped on a pair of ankle boots and a jacket, she turned around in the mirror.
Tonight is your night, she told herself. Make it worth it.
When Michael showed up on her doorstep in an all black suit and red eyeshadow in the corners of his eyes, Francesca's own eyes almost rolled to the back of her head. Even Miriam came with him, despite not enjoying the idea of Michael going to a public school dance. The two guardians took dozens of pictures of their kids together, but made sure to stand as far apart as possible. Michael and Coraline, on the other hand, stayed as close as they could.
Michael had leaned down to her ear as Francesca took one last photo. "You look really pretty," he whispered, straightening his back. "This ball would be nothing without Coraline Rose Avery."
Coraline bit her lip and allowed him to lead her to Miriam's car. Francesca really didn't want the "Satanist Mama" (as she called her) driving her daughter to the most public school setting to date, but she really didn't have the strength to argue with Coraline anymore. Nevertheless, as she watched Michael hold the door open of his guardian's Subaru Leone for Coraline, Francesca felt a spike of worry. Something was wrong. Something was going to go very wrong. She could just feel it.
But she said nothing. Francesca saw her daughter wave from the window as the car drove away.
"There's so many people here," Michael muttered as Miriam pulled into the high school parking lot. He sat in the backseat with Coraline, holding her hand tightly as she leaned her weight on him.
Coraline sent a smile his way. "That's how school dances work. You're prepared. No one is gonna say anything."
Michael's lips curled as ideas began to brew in his head, ideas he'd never speak of out loud. Miriam came to a screeching stop near the entrance, turning around to look between Michael and Coraline. "I'll meet you two back here at ten o'clock, okay? Ten o'clock sharp. And then, we'll go home and pretend this never happened."
"Miriam," Michael called through gritted teeth, "we get it."
"Okay, okay," she sighed, eyes darting to Coraline for a second longer. "Be safe."
Michael nodded, opening his door. "Always am."
Coraline waited as Michael came around on the other side and opened her door. As she sat there in complete silence with Miriam, the older woman's dark lips pursed, and she pointed a stern finger at her. The moment Michael opened her door caused Coraline to jump. She composed herself though, whispering to Miriam, "Thank you for the ride," before leaving with Michael.
