the Secret Life of Damien Carmichael

26. the Great Spring Gala (part I)

February passed like a dream.

After all the anxiety of so many people suddenly knowing Damien's secret writing had worn off, he found himself suddenly an overnight celebrity in his school because of it. Suddenly, everyone knew who he was, and more and more students were coming up to him, in the halls, in the Dining Hall, during class, all to tell him how much they adored his work, or otherwise to ask for his signature. More than a few of them, by their own admission, had never even heard of fanfic before, and the vast majority of his new fans were girls, with the rare notable exceptions. Then there was the even more rare, yet still surprising amount of teachers who had pulled him aside after class to speak with him about his writing. He had suspected his English teacher who commended him on his impeccable use of language and theme, and even his art teacher who had always been a touch free-spirited. It seemed that no one was immune to the thrills of seeing Adam and Claudius go at it in a myriad of different ways.

To Damien's dismay, however, with the joys of fame, came the inevitable crash of hate from a few, blessedly anonymous prats who apparently didn't enjoy a bit of fun.

The most surprising of all of his newfound fans had come in early March when just after class, Mrs. Craft had pulled him aside quite unexpectedly and asked to speak with him.

Damien swallowed, wondering what he possibly could have done wrong. Mrs. Craft had never asked to see him after class, and the thought of it now made him unbelievably anxious. Carrie and Oliver had attempted to stay behind, before Mrs. Craft had glared them into submission and the two had left the classroom, letting the door close behind them.

Once everyone had left, Mrs. Craft turned towards Damien. "You know, I recognized myself in one of your stories," she said. Whatever Damien had been expecting, that had not been it. "I never realized you students saw me as such a tyrant," she sighed, turning towards the whiteboard, quietly erasing their work from the day. "I suppose I haven't always been the nicest to any of you." Damien frowned, though he didn't dare say a word. "You know, I actually found your work almost a year ago. Of course, I didn't know it was you. But-- I found myself drawn to these stories. Mr. Craft was sick you see, he has been for a few years now, and something about your stories gave me hope somehow. I felt love again, I felt passion and promise and entertainment. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like I disliked you in some way. And I also wanted to say thank you. Because your stories really touched me when I desperately needed them most."

Damien smiled despite himself, whatever else he could say about Mrs. Craft, her response to his writing had truly been incredibly touching. He had always hoped his work would help people the way it had for her and knowing that even someone like Mrs. Craft could be so helped by his words made him feel almost euphoric. "I'm glad to hear it," he said, and with that, he left her classroom feeling more surprised than he had in a very long time.

Carrie and Oliver were stood outside the classroom, both waiting for him. "What happened?" Carrie asked first, as Damien made his way down the hall. He smirked a little to himself, quite certain they wouldn't believe it if he told them.

"She just said I need to do better on my pop quizzes," he lied. In the end, it wasn't really his story to tell, and whatever else he and Mrs. Craft had been through, he decided he would not betray her trust in that way. She had confided something personal with him. Carrie and Oliver shared a look, clearly disbelieving Oliver merely shrugged. 

The rest of March passed rather quickly, and before he knew it, spring break had arrived and with it, the promise of the Great Spring Gala.

It was an annual Carmichael tradition, which unlike the Winter Ball, was not traded between the Five. Though the other families had offered on more than one occasion to take it over for a year. Mrs. Carmichael wouldn't hear of it. She was nothing if not proud, particularly when it came to her party planning skills and she wasn't about to give up a party if she didn't have to.