Bittersweet

Chapter 27

"Bend it more, Jessica."

Ricky puts pressure on my stomach as I bend my back more, Jacob supporting it with one hand and caressing my face with the other. We are in the dance studio again for our last practice.

"Right, that's great. From the top!" Ricky says. I stand up and and we go back to our starting position, and Wipe Your Eyes starts to play.

Jacob and I do it well, with all the twirling and trust-falling and more. The choreography has a lot of parts where have to really be close to each other. And the expression! We have to be emotional with our faces and moves. We finish the dance with my arms around Jacob's neck and his hands on my waist.

"Bravo, bravo!" Ricky shrieks. "Very good, you two. Your prom is fast approaching, isn't it? This is perfetto!"

Jacob and I share a laugh. "Right, see you again next time, Ricky. Thank you for teaching us."

Ricky proceeds to hug us. "No problem. Have fun on your night!"

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Jacob and I arrive at our house in his car. It's already getting dark.

"Thanks, Jake," I say. "I love the dance. I'm actually pretty excited for it."

"Same here," he says. "Thanks again for agreeing to dance with me. See you on prom night."

"See you," I whisper. I start to the door of my seat when Jacob startlingly pulls me in for an embrace.

We say nothing for the whole hug, and then he lets go. There's fire in his eyes when he looks at mine. Then he looks down. "Take care."

I bite my lip, then nod, unable to speak. I get out of the car and get inside my house, losing balance in the process. But I make it, though.

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Since our prom theme for this year is Masquerade Ball, I decided to find a fuchsia gown with a lot of glitter and sequins paired with a pink mask with feathers and silver high heels. Mom and I go to the mall, to the boutique where they rent and make gowns.

After seeing many of the gowns, I decide to choose a fuchsia gown-tube, with folded layers on the chest part and the lower part with a lot of glitter. The gown is flowy but not the balloon-type. Simple but elegant. We then proceed to buy the mask and shoes and accessories to complement the gown.

Everything is falling into place as the night of all nights approach. As I run my fingers through my gown, my phone rings. Amy's name shows on the caller ID.

"Have you got your gown?" she asks excitedly.

"Yep."
"It's pink, isn't it."
"Duh."
"Mine's black, Sarah's is white."
"Nice! Can I see them?"
"Yeah, during our prom."
"Ugh. Okay. Miss you both."
"We miss you too! Love you. Gotta go."

And Amy hangs up. Then it hits me that the Junior-Senior Prom is happening tomorrow, tomorrow night.
Oh gosh.

I take a deep breath and close my eyes. Am I ready?

I let out a small shriek as my phone goes tun-tun, receiving a text message.
From Hayes. It says,

See you tomorrow, Sica. You're lucky you got a handsome partner. Kidding! I got no prom date tho. Lol. But it's okay. Ok, cya. :*

Oh. It almost slipped my mind that there will be prom dates, since I won't be having one. I wonder if...

No. No. Okay. Relax, Jessica. I look at my phone again and type a reply.

See you, Hayes! :)

JS Prom, here we go.