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His se on my wrist They really were rather attractive, for the inable were interspersed with babyʼs breath I couldnʼt understand, however, why someone had stuck a clump of oddly shaped yelloers in the middle "What kind of flower is this?"

"Iʼ to be snippy all night?"

"Does that ht?"

Like there was ever any doubt "I guess it wonʼt kill ht"

"Thatʼs what I thought," he said slinging an arm over my shoulder

Dinner was a painfully aard affair Valero’s, one of only two for establishments within a forty-five minute drive of the school, had overbooked The four of us cra elbows and grabbing the wrong water glass Charlie attee James in conversation, but that went over about as well as a Joan Crawford parenting ym Iʼve heard rumor that some schools have prom in swanky hotels That sounds nice Unfortunately, there are no swanky hotels near Tie and no one wanted to fight the roaches for the dance floor

At Lake County High the Juniors host the prom for the Seniors They pick the theme, hire the entertainht upon entering the gym was that the Juniors hated us The room looked like Barnu fro and cascaded down the walls Balloon bouquets served as centerpieces for the tables along the edge of the dance floor I noticed in horror that people were expected to have their pictures taken with a giant cement elephant

"Youʼve got to be kiddingto freak" He pointed towards the center of the floor where the DJ was dressed as a clown

"Stop it," Talley said "Lots of people are genuinely afraid of clowns Poor Jase This is going to ruin his prouess it could be worse," Charlie said "They could have--" I never figured out exactly how it could have been worse because at thatat the table Talley alking towards My storeat!" I said a little too enthusiastically "That looks just like the dress Megan Fox wore to the MTV awards last year"

"Oh ht so too!" My compliment caused Joi to literally vibrate with excitement "Wow! Who is your date? Heʼs super-cute!"

"You reht?" Joi turned to Alex, as the very picture of dapper aloofness in his black suit and tie "Alex, this is Charlie Heʼs Jaseʼs cousin, but, you know, heʼs not really related to Scout, so theether isnʼt nearly as icky as it sounds" I would have to remember to thank Joi for that later "Charlie, this is Alex" Charlie did the guy nod thing and Alex offered a "hey" in response It wasnʼt the war punches That was a good start There were only two e between Charlie and Alex or allowing the two of them to sit next to each other As I slid into ainst Alexʼs ankle