Prom queen the life at k.., p.18
Prom Queen, The (Life at Kingston High Book #3),
p.18
Megan laughed. “Don’t hold your breath on that.”
“You have a chance,” Lishia insisted as they sat down.
“Let’s not be delusional.” Megan shook her head as she unfolded her cloth napkin. “But at least I finished the race.”
“Here’s to finishing,” Jack held up his sparkling cider in a toast.
The rest of them followed his lead. After that toast ended, Megan decided to make another. “Here’s to my good friends,” she said happily. “The one thing I learned through my silly pursuit of the crown is that nothing matters more than my friends. I would rather have you guys than a crown of real gold and diamonds—and that’s the truth.”
“Well, just in case,” Janelle warned, “I hope you have an acceptance speech planned.”
Megan rolled her eyes. “Yeah, sure, Janelle.”
Arianna and Olivia began to serve dinner, and thankfully, the conversation switched over to food and other things. Megan really just wanted to forget that before the evening was over, she would have to stand on the stage and watch Amanda be crowned. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to watch Amanda being crowned. It was simply that she wished, truly wished, she could be watching it from the dance floor with her friends. But at least it would be over tonight.
She looked around the table at her friends and smiled. She remembered how Belinda had said that prom night was her happiest high school memory. At the time, Megan had assumed it was because of winning the crown, and perhaps it was like that for Belinda. But Megan thought this moment—sharing a meal with her friends, laughing and enjoying each other—might end up being one of her happiest moments.
Finally the meal came to an end and Chelsea insisted that it was time to get to the actual prom. “We can’t have our prom queen candidate showing up late,” she said as she helped herd everyone toward the door.
Megan simply had to bite her tongue. She had no illusions about how this was going to go down. But she would play along and let her friends enjoy this. The ride in the limo was fun, rocking out to an old Beatles CD that the driver cranked up for them. But before they got there, Nicholas got very quiet and serious as he read a message on his iPhone. “Oh no,” he said. “This is bad.”
“What is it?” Chelsea asked him.
“Well, I hate to be a downer tonight . . .”
“Tell us,” Chelsea demanded.
“Yes,” Megan urged. “Please do.”
“I don’t want to spoil your big night, Megan.”
She firmly shook her head. “It is not my big night. It’s everyone’s big night. Now, please, tell us what’s wrong.”
“The text is from Pastor Raymond, and it’s about Bethany Bridgewater.”
“What happened?” Janelle asked.
“She’s been having some tests at the hospital. They thought she had a bone infection, but turns out it’s some kind of cancer,” Nicholas said solemnly.
“Oh, poor Bethany,” Lishia said.
“Oh no.” Megan felt a rush of sadness.
“Will she still be at prom?” Janelle asked. “I know she and Michael were planning on going.”
“The text says she’s still coming,” Nicholas told them. “In a wheelchair. She’s not supposed to put any weight on the leg.”
“Let’s pray for her,” Megan said suddenly. “Let’s ask God to give her a special night despite everything. And let’s ask him to heal her too.”
So right there in the limo, all eight of them bowed their heads and prayed for Bethany Bridgewater. And then they were at the prom.
“I have a good feeling about Bethany,” Lishia said as they started getting out of the limo. “Like she’s going to beat this.”
“Me too,” Megan told her. “But we’ll have to keep praying for her.” Suddenly she felt nervous as she remembered what this night was all about. Yet at the same time, she felt foolish for ever having been so obsessed with something so superficial. Especially in light of what Bethany was experiencing.
“Just relax,” Jack whispered in her ear as he helped her out of the limo.
“Is it that obvious?” she asked.
He made a concerned smile. “You seem like you’re tensing up.”
“I just want to get the whole crowning biz over with,” she said quietly. “I know Amanda’s going to win. I just want to get beyond it and spend time with you and my friends.”
“What if you do win?” He linked arms with her.
She made a tolerant smile. “That’s pretty much impossible now.”
“Everyone in the musical sounded like they were voting for you,” he told her as they went inside.
She blinked in surprise. “Seriously?”
He nodded. “You’re like the drama representative.”
“Even so, that’s a small percentage of students.” Catching a heel on something, she tightened her hold on his arm. “Still, it’s sweet.”
They settled in at a table, and soon the couples took to the dance floor. Megan thought that if she could just forget she still had to get on that stage with the other girls, she could be just fine. As more people entered the room, she kept a watch out for Bethany and Michael. It would be hard to miss a wheelchair. Finally, just as the principal was making her way to the stage, Megan saw Michael pushing Bethany into prom in a wheelchair, with several of their friends trailing happily behind them. It was a relief to see their smiles.
But now all attention was on Mrs. Morgan as she made a little speech and then called the prom queen candidates up to the stage, giving them each a short introduction. Megan knew from the last prom committee meeting that the candidates were expected to be escorted to the stage by their dates, and then the guys would line up off to one side. She’d already explained this to Jack.
“And this, ladies and gentleman”—Mrs. Morgan waved an envelope with a big gold seal on the back—“holds the final results. Are you ready to crown this year’s queen?”
Some clapping and whoops came from the onlookers. Feeling silly and conspicuous, Megan just waited, biding her time.
“This year’s prom queen is Megan Bernard.”
Megan frowned at Mrs. Morgan, certain that she’d read the card wrong. Or else Megan had heard her wrong.
“It’s you.” Hallie gave Megan a sharp nudge.
“But—”
“Go on,” Amanda told her.
“But it can’t—”
“Megan Bernard,” Mrs. Morgan said happily, “come and get your crown.”
Megan’s knees felt wobbly, and her stomach was turning upside down. Not only that, but it felt as if her shoes were glued to the stage. Like a bad dream.
“Come on, Megan.” Jack linked his arm in hers. “Let’s go get your crown.”
To her relief, he walked her over to where Mrs. Morgan was waiting with the crown. But when he tried to step away, as Mrs. Morgan secured the crown to her head, Megan held tight. She knew that without him, she would probably fall over. She was presented with a bouquet of roses.
“Okay, Megan, go ahead.” Mrs. Morgan pointed to the microphone. “Speech time.”
Megan looked at her with frightened eyes, wishing this nightmare would end.
“Your royal subjects are waiting.” Mrs. Morgan gave her a worried look.
“Just talk to your friends,” Jack whispered.
As she stepped to the mic, Megan shot up a quick “help me” prayer. “Thank you all so much,” she began slowly. “I guess you can see how shocked I am to have won this honor. I honestly didn’t think I’d win. I didn’t even prepare a speech.” She took in a fast breath. “The only reason I’m up here is because you guys believed in me.” She smiled now. “And I think the reason you believed in me is because I’m just a regular girl. Like most of you. So me winning this crown is like we all won it. Right?” Several people clapped at this.
“This prom is for everyone—to have fun and enjoy the last big event before graduation. I hope you’re all doing that. Are you?” More clapping erupted. “So I’ll keep this short. But first I want to thank my really good friends for standing by me—even when I wasn’t much fun to be around. I also want to thank God for reminding me to keep my feet on the ground. I learned a lot while campaigning for prom queen.” She paused to consider what she wanted to say.
“The most important thing I’ve learned—I think I’m actually realizing it right this moment—is that the true purpose of royalty is to care for its subjects. To put your subjects’ needs above your own.” Megan laughed. “Not that you’re really my subjects. But I think a good queen would realize that she’s really nothing more than a servant to her people. Not someone who should be waited on and treated in a special way. Because I know everyone out there is more important than I am. So why am I still talking?” She laughed. “I just hope you all have a really fantastic and memorable evening!” She held up her bouquet like a scepter. “And God bless!”
The music began to play again, and following tradition, Megan and Jack began to dance, followed by the rest of the court. But as soon as the dance ended, Megan and Jack went over to rejoin their friends, where more hugs and congratulations were shared.
“Look,” Lishia said suddenly, nodding over to the dance floor.
Megan turned to see that Michael had parked Bethany’s wheelchair on the side of the dance floor and was now lifting the petite girl up into his arms. “Oh my!” Megan watched as he carried Bethany onto the floor, holding her securely as they danced to an especially romantic song. The other girls let out little oohs and aahs as they watched. Megan removed the crown from her head.
“What are you doing?” Janelle demanded.
“This crown belongs to all of us,” Megan told them.“I want everyone to have a chance to wear it, and I think Bethany deserves it next.”
As the song ended, Megan went over and placed the crown on Bethany’s head. “We’re going to take turns wearing it.”
“But you can’t do—”
“I’m the queen, am I not?” Megan asked her.
“Yes . . . well . . .”
“And I hereby declare that we are all queens tonight! And any girl here—starting with you and my good friends—anyone who wants to wear the crown is welcome to a turn.” She gave her head a shake, relieved to be free from the weight of the crown. “Now let’s all make this a night to remember!”
A Note from the Author
Art Imitating Life
You may not realize that Bethany Bridgewater is a real girl and not a fictional character. Bethany came into my life through the Make-A-Wish Foundation in July 2012, after Bethany expressed her wish to write a book with me. Well, I’m a fast writer, but it would be impossible to write an entire book in just one day. Since I was in the final edit stages of this book, I decided to turn a real scene out of Bethany’s life into a scene in The Prom Queen. Fact meets fiction!
Bethany really did participate in show choir. She did suffer leg pains after a performance shortly before her own prom. And she was diagnosed with a form of cancer called Ewing’s sarcoma. But because she so wanted to attend prom, her doctors delayed her much-needed chemo treatment and surgery a couple of days so that she and her date could go to prom. Much like it’s written in this book, he did pick Bethany up and carry her to the dance floor, turning that prom into a night that Bethany will never forget. Thanks to excellent medical treatment and God’s miraculous mystery, Bethany is a rare positive statistic and on her way to recovery.
Because Bethany wants to be a writer, I’ll be helping her to craft a memoir about her journey through cancer. Right now we’re calling it Swallowing the Red Devil, but as with many things in life, titles change. As the memoir gets closer to publication, I’ll try to keep you updated on my website.
For more information about the Make-A-Wish Foundation, go to www.wish.org.
Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of over two hundred books, including The Jerk Magnet, The Best Friend, Never Been Kissed, Double Take, and the Diary of a Teenage Girl series. Melody recently received a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her books. She and her husband live in central Oregon. For more information about Melody, visit her website at www.melodycarlson.com.
Books by Melody Carlson
* * *
Devotions for Real Life
Double Take
Just Another Girl
Anything but Normal
Never Been Kissed
Allison O’Brian on Her Own—Volume 1
Allison O’Brian on Her Own—Volume 2
LIFE AT KINGSTON HIGH
The Jerk Magnet
The Best Friend
The Prom Queen
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Melody Carlson, Prom Queen, The (Life at Kingston High Book #3)
