C9 9. Two Months Later and Prom Night

Two months later:

I continued to train Santana and Mark. They were getting better. By the time Prom came around, Santanna was 6’3 and he was muscular. He was more a lean muscular though.

Two months ago, I started training Mark. Melody broke up with Jack, or actually it was he who broke up with her. I visited during

the weekends as Night, and everyone lived a peaceful life.

It was the week of prom and Clara kept pestering me on who I’d go with. During these past two months, the girls in my life

wouldn’t shut up about prom. There have also been many formal proposals to prom.

I didn’t really need to go there with anyone, so like… Yeah.

“Clara, do you have a date to prom?”

“Yes, I do. Do you?”

“Take a guess.”

“No…?”

“Wow, how could you tell?”

“Hahaha sorry. I was trying to be polite.”

The bell rang and I went to my homeroom class, also known as gym.

Melody has been looking down ever since her breakup and she stopped wearing makeup. I think this was best for her, but I hate to

see her in such a state.

Don’t misunderstand here. I’m not saying this because I like her romantically. I could never like her romantically. I’m saying this

because she took care of me for 12 years and still leaves food out for me on the weekends.

When she went through the breakup, I was there to comfort her as Night.

I decided to offer some comforting words to her because I felt so sorry for her. It was quite pitiful.

“If he doesn’t see you for who you are, then he’s not worth it. You’ll find someone eventually who is right for you. There are

many fish in the sea.”

I also caused the breakup, but she doesn’t need to know that until she graduates.

Prom was on Friday and I was training Mark and Santana after school, every day. They no longer needed my help with running

my route, so I gave them swimming exercises.

Running helps you with your breathing and leg muscles. Swimming works on everything.

We went out shopping and I had fun picking out Santana’s wardrobe. Even Sarah was surprised. He looked so much better than he

used to. That was all thanks to my fashion taste and his money. Anyways, we also got swimsuits.

We wore simple swimming shorts. Same with Mark. We went to a YMCA and used their pool. We swam laps and laps. It was easy

for me, since I am pretty much omnicapable.

I showed them how to swim a lap and how to do a flip turn. They got the gist of it. I kept stressing to not keep your eyes open

when you’re heading at the wall and when you kick off, to also keep them closed. It’s much easier.

They got it and we did swimming exercises. Mark had slimmed down. Before, he was bulky and only built muscle size. Now, he

was gaining muscle mass. Even though he looked weaker, he was a lot stronger because he was losing his fat and replacing it with

muscle.

We started swimming training this week and would continue it until I left. Hopefully they’d keep up their regimes but I didn’t

know.

After swimming for a few hours, they called it quits. We went to the locker room and changed. While in the locker room, I decided

to strike up a conversation with Santana.

“So, Santana. Do you have a date?”

“To where?”

“Prom..”

“Yes.”

“That’s it? You’re not going to tell me about her and brag about her?”

“I can if you want me to. I just didn’t know if you wanted me to cause you didn’t have one.”

“...”

“...”

Mark was listening to this with his ears perked up high.

“...So you thought I’d feel bad because I don’t have to burden myself with pleasuring someone else?”

“Tch. It’s not a burden, for your information. She’s gorgeous. She’s also tall and could be a model.”

“Oh? So someone like you could have a shot with someone like her?”

“Ha! You’re one to talk, Mr. Single For Prom.”

“Tch. It’s okay it’s okay. Not everyone has eyes that work properly, I guess.”

“She had beautiful eyes. And they work perfectly. Some of us just have the charm, others don’t.” He shot a look at me. I glared

back at him.

“Hahahahaha”

We both started laughing.

I do admit, arguing with Santana about stupid things is really fun. I think I’ve adapted to being a high school student.

Mark was left confused. We eventually left and walked 10 miles back to Mark’s house.

“Helix.”

“Hm?”

“I know this is a lot to ask of you, nut could you be Melody’s date to Prom?”

“Huh?”

“I’m probably asking too much, right? I just want her to be happy, and she has been down ever since Jack broke up with her.”

“Hmm.” I looked around and acted like I didn’t know what he was talking about or that I was related to the matter.

“Mark, this is something that should happen by itself. I could watch over her and make sure she’s not getting into trouble.”

“Why won’t you just take her? It’d be easier to watch out for her then.” He just kept persisting.

“Mark.” I now had an expressionless face, “I would rather not cause something to stir in her heart only for me to leave.”

He looked at me with wide eyes. “You’re going to leave?”

“Yes. I am a senior.”

“That’s right.”

“Anyways, I’ve got to go. I’ll watch out for your daughter and bring her home safely.”

“O-okay. See you on Friday, Helix.”

***

The next day, I woke up and went to school. Everyone was happy and the day blew away.

Same training, longer sessions, and then more sleep.

It was now Friday and Prom was in 8 hours.

There was no school today because the school staff would be preparing the prom room. The event was at a suite hotel. The actual party was on the 36th floor. This hotel was 5 star and it was owned by a friend of the principal.

I was being productive and making use of my time, aka sleeping. I heard a knock on the door, which woke me from my sleep, and

went to go answer it.

Sometimes Sarah’s friends would come over for no apparent reason and hang out or sleep over. Apparently this was one of those

times?

I opened the door. My hair was a mess, I had on joggers and a tank top.

“Who is i--”

I couldn’t even finish my sentence because the girls at the door pushed past me and went inside the house.

Sarah came out to greet them and they went inside her room.

I watched this scene take place and then shut the door and went back to sleep on the floor.

When I woke up, it was 5 hours later. The girls were doing their hair and chatting about their dates.

Santana called me into his room and told me to lock the door behind me.

I did just that.

“So?” he asked.

“So what?”

“How do I look?”

“Like Santana.”

“No, I mean, do I look good?”

“I’m straight.”

“Tsk. No use asking you then.”

Noticing he was giving up, I decided to give him a real answer. “Yeah, you look fine. Your date will be happy.”

“Thank you. I worked hard on it. Can you style my hair?”

“Style? How?”

“Just give me a comb over. I can’t get the part straight.”

“Okay.”

I put gel in my hands and combed my fingers through his hair so the gel would get off me. I then took a comb and made a part and

combed his hair to one side and left the other side alone.

“Looks good.”

“You should become a hairstylist, Helix. This job looks suited for you.”

‘If only you knew my full capabilities, Santana.’

“No thanks.”

“Then what do you want to become?”

“Nothing. I just want to travel.”

“That sounds fun. I want to be a police officer.”

“That’s cool.”

An hour passed by in the blink of an eye as I watched Santana check himself out.

We came out of his room and saw the girls scattered in the kitchen.

“Where are your clothes, Helix?” Sarah asked.

“Do I need some formal wear?”

“““““YES!!””””” All five of them shouted including Santana, who was behind me.

Ugh. I don’t want to though. Formal wear is a pain.

“Not only that, but your hair is a mess. How fast can you change?”

“10 minutes.”

“Okay, go go go!”

I nodded and got the suit I had rented. I went into the bathroom and changed into the clothes in under 3 minutes. I then grabbed a

comb and some gel and made my hairstyle into a quiff haircut. That took the remaining 7 minutes because hair is high

maintenance.

I looked at myself in the mirror. I thought I did okay for 10 minutes worth. I had on a black semi formal suit and black tie with a

clip on it so it won’t go flying with the wind. I had a white shirt on underneath it and black dress shoes to top it off.

I entered the area they were in and their jaws dropped to the floor.

“This isn’t real, right? Who are you? Where’s Helix?” one of the girls asked me.

I looked at her like she was an idiot. How can they not know it’s me?

“What’s with that look? I asked who you were!”

“Helix.” My voice was low and held no emotion.

“What did you do? You didn’t look this good before.” Sarah jumped in.

“I’m not in my casual clothes. Maybe that’s why.”

“Wow! So clothes can change you this much???”

Santana was looking at me with pity. I looked back at him and pleaded with my eyes for him to lead everyone out so we could get

going.

With Santana taking the lead, we all went outside to the front of the apartment and got inside a limousine. We made our way to

their date’s houses and picked them up.

Sarah’s date was a popular guy and Sarah got asked to prom in front of the whole school. She obviously said yes. Her friend’s boyfriends were triplets. They all had brown hair and hazel eyes. It was only Santana and I without our partners.

We stopped in front of a large house and Santana got out. He went up to the door and knocked on it. The door soon opened and a girl in a red dress and long orange hair which went down to the hip walked out. Everyone was staring out of the window. She gave

Santana a smile and they approached the car.

The girl sat in the middle of Santana and myself, so I had to hear all of their chattering. I was insanely bored, so I looked out of the

window.

When we got to the hotel, everyone got out. I was the last to get out, not that it’s relevant in any way. I didn’t really want to go in

because a lot of people make a lot of noise.

The group started walking and I was falling behind. Santana turned around and called out to me.

“Helix! Keep up with us! You’re falling behind.”

Santana’s date turned to look at me since she didn’t get a good look when she entered the limo. It may be also that I was staring

out the window the whole ride.

“Helix?”

I looked down at her.

“Oh. Clara.”

“Helix, that’s really you?”

“...”

“Woah! Clothes can really change someone’s appearance!”

“I know, right?” Sarah’s friend commented.

Santana looked me up and down along with his date. It made me quite uncomfortable.

“I’ve caught up, now let’s go, let’s go.” I tried to sound annoyed, but I guess it didn’t work because they laughed.

“Haha, okay. And to the Prom, we go.” Santana led the group to the door and we went up the elevator.

The ride was slow and it was also cramped. It was only when everyone got out of the elevator that I felt like I could breathe again.

The double doors opened and a giant dance hall appeared. There was a DJ and decorations. And there were LED lights. Mostly it

was dark though.

As we entered, people looked our way. There were some cheers because Sarah entered with her boyfriend. Thankfully her

boyfriend was my height, so I was hidden behind him.

When they moved, so did I. There was a corner with no one around, so I went there and dragged the closest chair to it. I sat down

and closed my eyes. Hopefully, anyone who passed would walk right by me.

Surprisingly, it actually ended up happening that way.

Most of the people were dancing. Someone did walk up to me and ask me to dance. She looked nice. She had dyed red hair and

sparkling brown eyes. The dress she wore was a red and black fade. It was black mostly, but the face of red reached the bottom.

I honestly didn’t want to come here, but was dragged and pressured by Melody’s parents and my friends. What a pain.

As I sit in my exclusive corner, bored half to death, more and more people come in.

Am I the only one who doesn’t want to be here? No, that’s not entirely accurate. There’s a lot of people who look happy on the

outside, but are truly the opposite.

As I was sitting in my corner, my friends approached me and asked me to dance with them and to drink with them. I agreed

because I honestly didn’t have anything better to do in the hall.

The music was loud and everyone was on the dance floor, myself included.

‘I really don’t like to dance, should I tell Santana that I can’t dance?’

“Uh, Santana.”

“Yeah, bro?”

“I can’t dance.”

“... What?”

“Exactly as you heard it.”

“No no. I didn’t hear you.”

I then leaned into his ear and spoke louder. “I. Can’t. Dance.” I emphasized each word. My volume was between a yell and

speaking normally.

“Oh. I can teach you.”

I cringed and facepalmed myself internally thinking, ‘God. He can’t take a clue. That’s Santana for you.’

“Um. San-”

Before I could finish my sentence, Santana took me to his side and taught me some dance moves for songs with bass and rap.

My eyes twitched as he was explaining.

“Santana. Maybe you should show me instead of explaining.”

“Oh, right. Okay so here.”

He did something like a step diagonally to the right following with his back foot. His shoulders bounced with the flow and went

along with the beat. You know the K-pop stars? You know how they do the love sign with the index finger and the thumb? He had

his hands like that.

I just continuously nodded and nodded until he finished showing me.

His date, who went to get him drinks, came back at the best time possible.

“Now, you try!”

I looked uncomfortable. Scratch that. I WAS uncomfortable. To get me out of the uncomfortable situation of dancing with the

group, I got into an even more uncomfortable situation where Santana was giving me dance lessons.

‘My poor dignity…’

“Now now, Santana. Dance with me.” Clara noticed me feeling uncomfortable and decided to step to drag Santana away.

With Santana gone, I was finally at peace. I looked around and found Sarah easily. She was having fun with her date and friends.

As time went on, more and more people showed up. Before you went to the party, there was a section for photos. I skipped it

because I don’t like taking pictures of myself.

Inwardly, I’m a narcissist, but only I know that and you those of you who are reading this.

It’s been about an hour since I’ve arrived and I’ve felt many things such as embarrassment, awkwardness, boredom, and most of

all, exhaustion. Being around these young kids is wearing me out.

I needed air, so I went out into the main hallway towards the exit.

I reached the elevator and looked around. People were just getting off the elevator. I decided to just sit in the stairwell. Since

Melody hadn’t arrived, there was no use for me being present in the dance hall.

I felt round my pants for a lighter and a box of cigarettes. Of course, there were none.

Imagine finding out that someone from a respectable high school was smoking in the stairwell. My past self planned well for this moment.

Since narcotics, anything to smoke, snort, or drink, had no effect on me, I can use it freely. The downside is that it doesn’t affect me.

Contradicting, right? Well, why do people drink in the first place?

Some people drink to get loose, drown their sorrows, forget, and probably other reasons. Others smoke for the hell of it, the

feeling of being high, etc etc. I’m not saying that drugs and alcohol are good, but that there are reasons people take or drink them.

I really want a cigarette now. When I am left to my thoughts, I start wondering how the world works and why people do what they

do.

After I had enough time to actually think without noise, I went down the stairwell to go buy some cigarettes.

I opened the door and went through the main lobby. There were still limouzines in line to drop people off for the dance.

As I was walking, I spotted a familiar silhouette. The person was female, had brown liddle length feathered hair that had sparkles

in it. She was wearing a purple dress with silver sparkles on it and was looking down at her phone.

I stopped walking and she continued forward. Of course, I knew who she was, but she didn’t seem to notice my presence.

She just continued walking and eventually bumped into me.

“Ow, watch where you’re going” she said.

“No, miss, I think you should watch where you are going.” I was wearing a playful smile as I spoke so she knew I wasn’t trying to

offend her.

She looked up at me with her big brown eyes and saw my expression.

“Helix! What are you doing here?”

“Hm, I think you know why.”

“You’re right. I do know why. It was a stupid question.”

“Stupid, but a conversation starter. I’m being dragged against my will to attend and babysit.”

“Babysit? Who?”

“...” I had no words. I couldn’t just say that she was the child I was supposed to babysit.

“N-never mind.” she backed off quickly noticing that I didn’t have anything to say.

“You don’t look happy to be here.”

“It’s not that I’m not happy, but I’m embarrassed to be the only single person here. People come to these things with another

person.”

I thought for a minute before answering her. “Well, you’re not the only one.”

“Wait what? You don’t have a date either?”

“No.”

“But you look really handsome today. Why--” She was just about to ask why I’d come here, but she realized that the conversation

would circle and stopped herself.

“Well, I’ll go now.” she spoke again and started to walk away.

“Wait.” I just thought of something. I can kill four birds with one stone. I can be away from the party, watch over Melody, give her

a date, and cheer her up.

Okay, I admit. The third reason was not really a reason.

“Would you like to take a walk with me?” I asked.

“I’d love to.” She smiled.

She walked back to my side and we started walking.