Friday morning, I put on the dress I got. It looks amazing. Today, all classes are canceled for the silent auction. All students have until 2:00 to make their final bids. At 2:15, we have the ceremony where the top 15 are announced.
My email dings and I take a look at it:
Hello students of UCLA, today is the big day!
We know, it's a bit strange, but we love our silent auctions. Today you will have until 2:00 pm to bid on the silent auction contestants. Please find the contestants here. If you wish to bid, you can do that here. Bidding closes at 2:00 while the ceremony to announce the winners begins at 2:15 in the theater.
This year, 318 students decided to participate. We thank them for their willingness and openness to benefit our school. Please be kind and remember the bids are strictly for dates only, this does not mean kissing, touching or any other activities are guaranteed. We do not condone any forced behaviors and anyone who does so will be dealt with strictly. Consider this your only warning. No consent, no touching. NO MEANS NO!
Your bid must outbid the previous bid. There will be separate lists for boys and girls. The contestants have uploaded pictures for your reference. Any student has the ability to bid. Have fun, good luck and happy auction day!
Sincerely,
The UCLA alumni team
Instead of getting everyone excited, I don't tell anyone that I actually signed up, not even my sister. Around 1:30, I begin to get nervous. I head out before Meghan so I don't have to walk with her. Once I finally make it to the theater, I really begin to freak out.
I make my way backstage, noticing my friends finding seats in the front row. They don't see me thankfully.
I spot Luna talking to a few girls. I walk up behind her and cover her eyes.
"Guess who?" I joke, laughing and blowing my cover.
"Cammie?!?" Luna tears my hands off her eyes.
"You're doing it?!" She squeals, hugging me.
"Ugh, don't make a big deal, I'm doing it for you," I reply in a low voice, pushing her off of me jokingly.
She hugs me again, barely able to contain herself. I laugh and make fun of how crazy she is.
Suddenly, we hear the minute warning.
"One minute until the ceremony starts." The announcer disappears and I begin to worry. I start to brush my fingers through my hair and make sure I look presentable. There's a lot of people out there!
Everyone backstage begins to line up. Luna grabs my hand and pulls me into the line.
"You look great, don't worry." She assures me, squeezing my hand. I look down at our hands and squeeze back. I'm so nervous but she's helping me feel better about this.
"I can't believe you made me do this," I mutter under my breath.
Luna just laughs it off. We are instructed to head out on stage. It's so bright I can hardly see the audience. I try to look for the girls, but I can't see anything but my sister.
My eyes search for my friends and I find them, they notice me standing next to Luna. I watch as they whisper to each other, looking at me. They wave, smile and laugh. I wonder what they are saying?
I know I look nervous. I'm messing with my dress and my hair, making sure I look alright. I look next to me and Luna is smiling wide, excited to be on stage. This is her type of thing, not mine. What am I doing? I think to myself.
They begin to list off the top 15 bids, starting from the bottom.
"The 15th largest bid is for Zack Clayton! Coming in at $150. The 14th is Ashley Hansen coming in at $275." They continue to list the bids.
"Coming in at $1,000 and 7th place is Luna Newman!"
That's my sister! I think to myself. I look over at her and she is smiling so wide. She is fully composed.
"Oh my gosh!" Luna whispers to me. She walks forward to see who she is going on a date with. They shine a spotlight on the student who won the date. She looks out to see one of her good friends, Alex Matschi. His family is well off and I'm sure they gave him money to donate to the school. She squeals and waves excitedly.
When she gets back, she squeezes my hand and laughs with me. She would go on a date with him for free, but that's the case with most of these bids. Rich families let their kids play with donation money when it's silent auction time. Some people spend ten grand or more here.
My nerves start to calm as I know I won't be bid on now. There's no one that would spend that much money on me. They continue to list off the rest of the bids and get to the first place bid. I am so relieved to be done, just one spot left and I can go home.
The announcer asks for a drumroll for the final bid.
"And the top spot coming in at a whopping $15,000 goes to... Cammie Newman!"
WHAT? I think to myself. I look over at Luna, her jaw drops. I try not to look wide-eyed and confused. I feel frozen, unsure of what to do. Luna pushes me forward.
"Go, look Cammie!" she whispers to me.
I slowly walk forward. Pulling my dress down and fixing my hair, I continue to walk at my slow pace. I'm extremely nervous but I hope you can't really tell. I walk closer to the edge of the stage to see the light shining down.
When I see who it is, I can't believe my eyes.
YOU ARE READING
Can't be Bought
RomanceCammie Newman, a junior at UCLA, volunteers to auction a date for her university's annual fundraiser. She never imagines she'd get a bid, much less one from Maddox Brown, the popular sophomore that has campus abuzz. Cammie isn't impressed with his g...
