Super Awkward (29 page)

We threw our heads back and strutted through the doors and into the hall. Hello, world, we're here! And yes, my left ankle did just give way slightly, but let's all pretend that didn't happen.

The room looked way bigger without the usual school stuff in there. Music was blaring out and everyone was clumped round the edges in their own groups. Credit to Luke, the giant frame looked
amazing.
And he'd managed to make a whole new set of signs. People were already posing with them, writing massive messages as my camera clicked away. At the far end of the hall, the pictures were being projected on to the wall and they looked awesome. Although I didn't know how I felt seeing Lou's nostril the size of a balloon. Oh well.

I scanned round the room checking out who was already here, carefully not making eye contact with the cluster of teachers at the back of the room. Is cluster the right word? Maybe ‘a dullness of teachers' would be better? Standing in the middle of the dullness, next to a couple of the other sixth-form supervisors, but still sticking out like a sexy sore thumb, was Zac. If my brain could talk, it would say ‘swoon'. Major swoon. Zac in a suit was too good for this party. For any party. Except maybe a ‘top ten most fit and amazing people in the world' party. And I'd never be invited to that, so I'd never know. He put his hand up and gave me a little wave.

If someone had told me back in Black Bay that this would be where we'd end up, I would have thought they were mad. But they would have then pointed out that I was a one-shoe-d arrow-wearing weirdo, so who was I to judge?

The
sixth-form girls next to Zac were all over-laughing at his jokes. Maybe they found international cinema as hilarious as he did? They looked so much more at ease with him than I ever did, battling to get his attention, probably talking about college, and things like changing gear and crosswords and whatever else you do when you're seventeen. But I didn't feel jealous. Because now Zac was my back-having-prom-getting-into-hot-friend instead. Which felt way better than having him as a date because he thought I was someone I wasn't.

I waved back. The girls shot me evils. I shot them smiles.

Tegan grabbed my hand and pulled me outside to the school garden.

Seconds later Mikey appeared with his best mate, Jay. “Fashionably late, I see.” Mikey was wearing a suit two sizes too big – a classic case of dad-borrowing. He couldn't take his eyes off Tegan. “Wow, you look
incredible
.”

He was so obvious! I kicked my toe into his shoe, yelping as my flesh made direct contact with his heel. Yet another reason to only ever wear trainers.

“Err, yeah, you ALL look incredible.
Standard
.”

Tegan put her hand up to her ear as she honed in
on
the music, completely missing what Mikey said. His face went all sad like a balloon that's a week old.

“Can you guys hear that? It's Tay-Tay! Who's with me?” She didn't stick around for an answer, and ran off towards the music and laughter in the hall, waving us to follow. Rachel and I chased after her, wobbling as our heels got stuck in the grass, the boys acting as our human stabilizers.

After over an hour of dancing like no one was watching (which unfortunately they were as I pioneered both the ‘shaving the beard' arm move and ‘grooming the disobedient pug' skank), the DJ announced there was only ten minutes till he'd be crowning prom prince and princess. As the girls rushed to touch up their make-up, and the guys rushed to get to the back of the room to pretend they didn't care, the queue for the frame disappeared. Seeing our chance, we charged over, and squeezed ourselves in for one massive picture.

“Coming throooough!” Mikey squodged himself into the middle of us, held up a sign on which he'd scrawled ‘Prom Crew 4 Eva', and pulled his best duck face. Tegan and I did peace signs, and Rachel blew a kiss at the camera. From across the room Zac smiled over at us.

“
Cheeeeese!” we yelled, hugging and happy to be together. Our image popped up on the wall. We looked so huge, so smiley. Mikey pointed up. “Finally frame-ous.”

We collapsed into laughs as the moody upper-sixth photographer asked us to politely get out of the way.

A hand tapped me on the shoulder.

“Looking good, guys!” I span round in time for Zac to wink at me. “Although not enough bird poo for my liking.”

The others laughed, getting the reference, seeing as they'd heard about it in such detail they'd practically been there. Zac stepped to the side so he could talk to me away from the group.

“So, Bells, I don't know if I told you, but I'm off next week. So once term's done, I'm outta here.”

I figured that would be the case but it was still gross hearing it.

“That sucks. It's been kind of ace having you here.” I corrected myself. “Also like totally awful in places, but mainly ace.”

He laughed in agreement.

“Couldn't have put it better myself. It's definitely been . . . memorable.”

“
Thanks for all your help, anyway. Especially the getting-to-prom tip off.”

Zac nodded over to his dad.

“It's him you should be thanking. Don't let him know, but I think he was secretly trying to help all along.”

I nose-snorted. Always good to leave Zac with some hot mental images AND noises.

“Erm, this IS your dad we're talking about?”

“Yes, the very same one who sweet-talked his latest student into letting you all come. I heard it getting heated in our lounge.”

What on earth was he talking about? Zac clocked my confusion.

“Mrs Hitchman?! Did you not know he teaches her and her husband still-life drawing? I reckon that's the only reason she said yes to you coming!”

So
that's
why I'd kept on spotting them together. Why she'd helped Mr Lutas get Zac here so quickly. Well, wasn't Mr Lutas a dark horse? And the kind of dark horse that wasn't actually having an illicit affair with our headmistress after all. If horses even had affairs.

Mr Lutas stared over at us, like he knew we were talking about him. Zac turned his back on his dad and
gestured
for me to get in the photo frame with him. He really had gone renegade now he only had five term days left. But as we stepped in to pose, I spotted Luke in a dark corner. Watching.

But I wasn't going to let him ruin my night. He'd done more than enough ruining already this term. I checked with Zac, and as the photographer snapped away, I made a heart shape with my hands at the camera for old time's sake.

As the picture got projected up, I continued to ignore Luke's ever-growing scowl. That's what happens when a player gets played.

Zac nudged me in the ribs – I tensed any muscle I knew how to move. His dad was striding over.

Mr Lutas nodded up at the photo.

“I can't believe you'd do that.”

Uh-oh. My heart-shaped cringey-ness didn't seem as funny four-metres high. I wished both the real me and the giant photo me would disappear.

“I would have hoped you, Zacharrry, of all people, could have got that composition a
little
better?” Oh ha-di-ha. “Although Miss Fisher, one word of advice. . .”

Oh goodness, what now? Please don't let it be about sculpting cheese.

“
Choose your holiday rrromances more wisely. You can meet some
verrry
strange people in caravan parks.”

Mr Lutas winked at me the way Zac had done minutes earlier, and laughed. SO HE KNEW?!

“Did you really think I was born yesterrrday, Ms Fisher? Give me some credit!” He was loving how much I WAS NOT DEALING WITH THIS. “And while you're at it, you should give a serious amount of credit to that young man too.”

Mr Lutas nodded his head across the room, and with a big smile for both Zac and me, he walked away. He'd nodded at Mikey. Who was in an impromptu dance-off with Jay as they tried, and failed, to recreate an entire Justin Bieber routine (Mikey looked more like my mum trying to do yoga when she's pulled a muscle in her back). I turned back to Zac, but as I did, Luke barged through us both, knocking me sideways as he rushed to speak to the photographer. He was obviously still mad at me for the signs, although I was surprised that he didn't give Zac a bit more respect. But I didn't want to waste any more time on him than I already had done.

“I can't actually deal with your dad knowing about us, so can we pretend he never said that, and can you explain about the Mikey thing instead?”

Zac
looked sheepish. “M-bee.”

I prodded him with the sharp end of one of the signs.

“We've seen what happens when we're not straight with each other.” I prodded him a bit harder. “Spill!”

“Oiii! OK.” He searched for the words. “I guess Dad just meant that, hypothetically, if say he'd maybe got a text from the caretaker saying he was going to close the school up, but hypothetically he knew that someone needed to get back in to work on something, he might, you know, tell his son. And his son, in this scenario, might mention it to someone he might have bumped into that evening. Someone who might have wanted to help, and might have, say, hidden from said caretaker, and stayed overnight to finish the job?”

Oh. My. Endangered. COD.

Was Zac telling me that, hypothetically, the person who was currently dancing like an injured puppet had been the one to finish up Tegan's signs? That unhypothetically Mikey had spent a whole night behind a sewing machine to get Tegan to prom? This was so big. SEW big.

Zac laughed. He looked relieved to have let that cat out of the bag. Although goodness knows who puts cats in bags.

“
Close your mouth, goldfish. I thought you might have figured it out?” I wasn't going to admit that I was so far away from figuring it out, I'd concluded it was actually a fictional spectre.

“Well he
was
yawning all day. But I do that most days and I don't have a super-hero sewing alter ego.”

Zac looked happy for the subject to move on.

“Talking of alter egos, Velvet Badger have got a gig in July. In Birmingham. I wondered if you and the others wanted to come?”

Nostril flare struck again. I would LOVE that. And I loved that after all that had happened, Zac was up for being proper friends, even after term finished. But as I went to try and regain control of my face, and tell him we were one big ‘yes', loud laughs broke out over the music. Please don't let Mikey be attempting a headspin again – last time he'd broken his own nose with his knee.

Along with the rest of the room, Zac and I turned to see what was happening. It deffo wasn't Mikey, as people had stopped dancing and were looking up at the projections. The picture had no people in – just one big hand-written sign. I read what was written on it.

I instantly wished I hadn't.

They were words I'd seen before.

WOULD
YOU GET A FAKE PERIOD FOR TWO YEARS

RATHER THAN 'FESS UP? THAT'S WHAT MY FRIEND

R DID AFTER SHE YELLED ‘CAN I BORROW A TOWEL?'

My dress felt like it had morphed into a straight jacket, stopping any breath going in. I frantically scanned the room for the others. PLEASE don't let them have noticed. But Tegan and Rachel were shoulder-to-shoulder, staring up at the screen.

A new photo popped up. And it was another sign. Just as big.

MY FRIEND TEE USED TO GET SO HYPED

PLAYING HIDE AND SEEK THAT WHENEVER

SHE HID, SHE WEED HERSELF.

The room began to spin. What was happening?! Why were my secrets on the wall?! Why wouldn't everyone stop laughing?!

Another one came up.

WANT TO MAKE MJ BLUB? JUST ASK HIM

WHAT HAPPENS AT THE END OF HARRY POTTER.

**SHAME HE CAN'T GET A LOVE POTION FOR

HIS REAL-LIFE HERMIONE – TEE.**

Had
the music stopped or had my ears sealed over with horror? The whole prom was now staring at the projections. Except Tegan, who was storming over, looking like her world was falling apart. Which was exactly how I felt. I'd never told ANYONE these secrets. Anyone but
PSSSST
. So why were they now on my school wall?! Who was doing this?! And how could I stop anyone figuring out they were about me and my friends?!

Very slowly, Tegan spoke.

“Was. This. YOU?”

I didn't know what to say.

“Bella. Was this you?”

I felt so guilty I wanted to be sick on the spot. But that wouldn't help me blend in and stop people realizing this was something to do with me, and figuring out who these stupid secrets were about.

“No. I mean . . . maybe?”

Rachel pushed her way through the hysterical crowd.

“Can
someone
tell me what's going on?”

Tegan pointed at me.

“Ask her.”

EVER WONDERED WHY ONLY ONE OF OUR

TEACHERRRS
GETS TO TAKE HIS STUDENTS ON

FORRREIGN TRIPS? COULD IT HAVE ANYTHING

TO DO WITH HIM PAYING EXTRA CURRICULARRR

VISITS TO A PERSON WHO HELPS HIM GET AHEAD?

(AKA OUR HEAD MISTRESS)

A bang came from the corner of the room as a furious Mrs Hitchman stormed out of the door, chased by a stern-looking Mr Lutas. Zac followed. As did a wave of sniggers. If there's one thing people love more than a student scandal, it's a teacher one.

HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT THE FITTEST SIXTH

FORMER IN THE WORLD IS EX-ZAC-TLY THAT?

WHEN YOU FIND OUT HIS DAD IS THE WEIRDEST

TEACHERRR AND STILL WANT TO SNOG HIS

FACE OFF AGAIN. THEN PUT HIS FACE BACK ON,