Fan Fiction |
by Jenny Tran
At lunch time, the school was buzzing with news about the Senior Prom. Everyone was excited about it except for Kathy. She sat at the lunch table eating her lunch when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Her instinct told her to swing her elbow defensively. Neil caught it inches from his face, she let out a sigh of relief “Wooh girl, what’s with you?”
“Just making sure no one’s trying to push me off the bench.” She joked.
He quickly sat down next to her “Did someone do that before? Because damn, I’ll beat him up, tell me who it is…What is wrong with these people?!!!” he punched his fists into the palm of his hand as if ready for a rumble.
Kathy frowned at him “You just want someone to beat up don’t you?” he nodded like an overly hyper puppy “Sorry to burst your bubble but, no, no one pushed me off the bench before. I wouldn’t be surprised if they did.”
“Well, YOU better tell me if and when they do it.” Neil scolded her like a father to a daughter.
“Yes, papa.” She laughed and turned to him. She noticed he was checking out one of the cheerleaders. “Okay.” She placed her sandwich on the boxed container that it came in. “Who’s the girl and do you want me to talk to her for you?” she knew he was a shy guy and she normally had to do most of the talking when he wanted to ask a girl out. Too bad for him, each time it happened, the girl eventually dumped him because he was too quiet during dates.
He looked at her strangely “No one.” He concealed.
“Oh please, the last time you dazed off, you confessed that you had a crush for over a month. Why don’t you just save it and don’t waste my time. I’m a very busy woman.” Kathy concluded. She read him like a book.
Neil blushed over “Well, there is this girl…Kelly…” he pointed to a girl in a cheerleading uniform. She was even more adorable than the last girl.
Kathy sighed “Honey, I hate to break it to you, but she’s already taken. She’s dating the captain of the Baseball team.”
“How do you know all this?” he asked incredulously.
She shrugged “Maybe because I’m the editor of the yearbook staff. I know every gossip and seen every picture that’s going to be published in this year’s book.”
He brushed off her sarcasm as usual as he leaned in “Really? Do you know her last name?”
She let out a frustrated grunt and grabbed his head in her hands “Boy, listen to me! She won’t notice you if you sit here and hide behind my big butt all day. Go and talk to her if you want to know her name.”
His faced was squeezed together as he struggled to speak “I’m sy…”
“What?” Kathy asked, his words were incoherent.
He yanked his face away from her chubby fingers “I said…I’m shy.” He whispered while his eyes darted back and forth like a madman who just committed a crime.
“Well, I’m sick of being your messenger.” She said haughtily. “Do your own dirty work.”
“I will.” He said firmly but refused to budge from his seat. Kathy turned to him with wide eyes and he looked at her in horror “You don’t expect me to do it now do you?”
She rolled her eyes “So much for doing it on your own.”
“Hey!” he sat up quickly “Maybe I can ask her to Prom?”
Kathy laughed pitifully at him “Oh, my poor friend. You are such a sad little soul. It’s a week before prom, she would already have a date, most likely her… boyfriend.” She pointed out.
He nodded, but still in denial “I guess I’ll see her there. Maybe I’ll ask her to dance.”
“You’re hopeless. But let me know how it goes.” She said sarcastically.
“You’re not going?” he asked in shock. “But…what am I going to do without you?”
Kathy smiled “You can dance with your imaginary girlfriend, Kelly.” He gave her an exasperated look and she sighed “Look, I don’t have a date, I’m not going to have fun because I’ll be wearing a dress all night long. People will be making fun of the whale in the black dress…and IF I was gonna go, the dress would be in that color only. Now, give me a good reason why I should even bother to come?”
“Because you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.” Neil said matter of factly.
Kathy gasped as she covered her mouth “You’re right. All these years of working on my popularity has to pay off. I’ve worked too hard on my reputation to give up now. My life will end if I don’t go to the Prom!” she ended it with a dramatic tone. She laughed when he glared at her “Oh perk up! I’m not going and there is nothing you can say to convince me otherwise.”
He let out a short sigh as he turned to her earnestly, Neil reached down for her hand as he clasped it between his. She could feel the heat rising to her face, it was strange, she’s never blushed when he put his arms around her or touched her hand. But this time it was different. Maybe because of the way he looked at her….yes that must be it. She convinced herself the reason for her beating heart was no other than a tiny itty bitty crush. “I need your moral support…you’re my best friend. We’ve been everywhere together, I can’t miss this Prom and I know deep down somewhere in your chubby little heart, you feel the same way too.”
She smiled and felt herself giving in until he started smiling and then began to laugh hysterically at her reaction “You dork!” she hit him across the arm. “That’s not funny.” She pouted angrily.
Neil eventually controlled his laughter as he put his arms around her shoulders playfully “Oh come on. You have a sense of humor don’t you? You should have seen the look on your face.” She stuck her tongue out at him. “Hey, here’s a good reason. I already bought the tickets. So if you want me to waste my hard earned money on somebody else, just tell me.”
Kathy turned to him slowly and surely he was waving in her face the two pairs of tickets “I guess as long as it’s free…”
“That’s a good girl.” He patted her head like a puppy. “I’ll pick you up at 6pm this Saturday. Do you need help finding a dress?”
She laughed “No mother. I’ll just go in a paper bag.”
****************
The Prom night came quick when Kathy was sitting at home totally forgetting about the night. She sat in her room munching on chips while watching television. Her smile soon turned to annoyance when the phone disturbed her tv show. “Hello?” she answered with frustration.
“Are you on your PMS?” Neil asked teasingly.
“Oh it’s you…” she joked and sat up “What do you want?”
“To know if you’re ready? I’ll be over in an hour.” He said.
“OH CRAP!!” she practically fell off her bed “What is today?”
Neil laughed “Don’t tell me you forgot.”
Kathy began pacing her room as she pulled out the covered black dress she found at a discount store from her closet “Forgot? I was going to call you to go out for buffet dinner.”
“It’s okay…you have plenty of time. Just take a quick shower and change. Don’t rush okay?” he soothed.
But it was too late, she was already panicking. She was going to ask her mom to help her with the makeup but forgot to mention that Prom was that Saturday. Her mom went out with her friends to play mahjong. “Oh shut up!” she yelled into the phone making him laugh “You know I’m already a mess.”
“Do you need help? I’ll be over in two seconds.” He offered.
“No! No, I’ll figure it out on my own.” She said trying to calm herself. “I’ll see you in a bit.” Without waiting for him to say goodbye, she hung up her phone and raced into the bathroom. Her long hair was going to be a pain to fix. She took a short shower and began blow drying her hair while slipping on the black dress. By the time she was done, it looked like a fuzzball. She combed it down and used her mom’s curling iron to twist her hair in large ringlets. She quickly pulled it back in a tight ponytail and tied it up with a black rubber band. Her curls flowed down her back and she nodded in approval. She used her mother’s make up using everything from blush to mascara. She’s seen her mother do it a hundred times but never attempted to make herself up. She remembered her mom giving her advice, less is more. So she used everything leisurely.
By the time she was done, Neil was already by the door knocking on it. “Kathy?!!” he yelled while banging on the door.
She skipped down the stairs and opened the door completely out of breath “I…I’m…ready….” Her chest heaved up and down.
He frowned “Did you forget to breath?” he was half joking but half worried knowing that she had asthma.
“Yeah…” she closed up the door and stepped outside while adjusting her dress with her black purse in her hands. “Come on.”
Neil laughed as he pulled her back before she stepped off the porch “Wait a minute speedy. Let me see you.” He looked at her up and down. “You clean up well.” He nodded in approval.
She was lost in her own daze, he looked absolutely gorgeous wearing his tux. It fit him well and it seemed to make him look even taller than he really was. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”
His ego taking over quickly as he directed the compliment back to him “Really? I thought it made me look too thin…” he grabbed the collar part of his coat and spun in circles posing for her “It looks good though huh?”
Kathy rolled her eyes “Yeah…whatever, Mr. Hotshot. Let’s go.”
He laughed as he followed her to the car he borrowed his father’s black Lincoln. They arrived at the prom with almost everyone already there. He opened the door and helped her out, he took her hand and linked it through his as they walked into the large rented mansion together. “Isn’t this great?” he sighed in awe when they were inside. The place was humongous with an open glass ceiling where you could see the clear sky with stars twinkling in the distance.
“Beautiful.” She sighed. She was giddy when she pointed to the rounded fireplace “Look, there’s a fireplace.”
He smiled, knowing she had a thing for fireplaces “You want to get a closer look?”
Kathy smiled in return, he knew it was a yes. They sat down closer and eventually, Kathy was leaning on the circular stone that separated the person from the fire that was burning softly. “Don’t stand too close or she’ll cook like a roast pork.”
Her smile faded but she refused to turn around because it would only ruin her moment. Instead Neil turned angrily but he didn’t have a chance to do anything because she placed her hand on his arm “Don’t Neil. Just let it go.”
“Get the hell out of my face.” Neil said through gritted teeth.
“Oooh…do you want an alone moment with your FAT girlfriend?” it was the same guy that teased her a month before at the playground. His name was Charles, but they called him Big Chuck. She learned to dodge him in the hallways and never to look at him in the eye.
“Shut up.” He said threateningly. Neil turned to Kathy “Just one punch.” He was practically begging.
“No!” she cried. She knew he would regret it, afterall it was their prom. She definitely didn’t want to remember it like that. She let out a long sigh and took his hand “Come on.” She led him out to the balcony with eyes staring at them strangely. Outside, she turned to him “Neil, I will make you take me home right now if you don’t control your temper. What’s the matter with you? You never had an anger problem.”
He lowered his head in shame “It just makes my blood boil when he makes fun of you and I can’t do anything to stop it. I know kids are cruel but how could you stand it for so long? I sure can’t.”
Kathy’s eyes softened and guilt took over hard, she knew he got angry because he wanted to protect her. But at the same time she felt bad for being the cause of his temper, he use to be so calm. “Too bad it can’t do anything for your shyness.” She joked aside from the tension. He let out a sigh and she knew it was no joking matter. Kathy put up her hands in defense “Okay…I know it’s not funny. You just want to help me right?” he nodded with a grim smile “If I stood up to him, would you stop getting angry?”
Neil seemed to be putting much thought into it. He wasn’t sure if he thought it was a good idea for her to face the captain of the football team. “Well…yeah…” he said hesitantly.
She put up a hand to silence him “Say no more.” She marched inside and tapped Big Chuck on the shoulder. He turned around and gave her a surprised look “Why do you make fun of me?” she asked calmly.
“Why are you so fat?” he quipped causing a ripple of laughter rise behind him where a bunch of guys stood listening.
“Why are you so stupid?” she answered just as quick making his face fall.
“Get out of my face. You’re not welcomed here.” He said angrily.
Kathy crossed her arms with Neil behind her ready to throw a punch if they dared touch her “As I recalled, this is not your home. It’s the Prom, everyone with a ticket can enter. Isn’t it a little early to be dreaming poor boy?”
This time a few other people sitting around began to laugh. Neil stifled a laugh, glad that Kathy has finally taken a step further to the horrible teasing. Big Chuck was finally flustered as he used the only thing he knew how to use, force “I have no problems hitting a girl.” He pulled back his hand and was ready to punch her.
Kathy’s first reaction was to cover herself but she didn’t need to with Neil behind her as he caught the guy’s hand quickly. With his free hand he threw a punch at his face. The crowd began to erupt with stir as a few people began to chant “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
“And I have no problem hitting your crappy face!” Neil cried over the chant. Kathy quickly pulled him aside.
“Neil, you promised!” she cried angrily.
He looked at her incredulously “He tried to hit you.”
Kathy closed her eyes to calm herself “I know…but you didn’t have to hit him. You stopped him, isn’t that enough?”
“No.” he said stubbornly crossing his arm. He knew they would be kicked out of the prom when the chaperons found out he was in a fight. He took her arm gently “Come on, this place sucks. Let’s go somewhere else.”
She pushed aside her anger and nodded “Fine.”