Tart Tangerine #4

“Smile!”

The light flashed bright as the camera clicked and whirred, immortalizing forever Tommy and I at Homecoming. My dress was a lovely green, and he looked so handsome in his tuxedo, with matching vest (cummerbunds are so 1980s). We smiled and danced together, and I was the belle of the ball.

And why shouldn’t I be? I was the most popular girl in school. But I wasn’t like the girls you see in the movies – the plastics of Mean Girls. I tried to be nice to everyone, regardless of clique. Maybe it was watching the Breakfast Club so many times as a middle-schooler, but I vowed that when I got to high school, I would be different. I’d try to see people as people and not as labels.

I said hi to all my friends, and gave a hug to Matt, the cute, geeky guy who was the equipment manager of the football team. We actually dated our freshman year. It was how I met Tommy. He was a football player, the star running back. I would come to practice to talk to Matt, and I got to know all the guys.

Eventually, things didn’t work out between us, and at the end of my sophomore year, Tommy asked me out. We’ve been together ever since. I know it seems trite and cliché, but we really did have the perfect high school romance, like in the teen movies.

At least for a while.

Things got rough about two months ago, right before senior year. Tommy had injured himself during practice and so he lost his starting position on the varsity squad. Coach felt bad, so he didn’t cut Tommy. Always held out the hope that the trainer would allow Tommy to go back in. Tommy was really stressed about going to a good college. He was afraid his injury would prevent him from getting a scholarship. That’s when he started getting moody.

If it had just been that, things might have been okay. But things got progressively worse.

I listened to all my friends talk about how lucky I was. They all wished they had a guy as great as Tommy, they’d tell me. But that’s because they only saw Tommy at school, when he put on his happy face. They didn’t see him at night, when the façade fell away and his darker mood gripped him. They certainly didn’t see him on Friday nights, after sitting on the bench. Or last night, when the new running back scored two touchdowns.

And so here I am, under the spotlight, dancing with Tommy after being declared Homecoming Queen, not wearing the backless dress I wanted, and hoping my classmates don’t see me wince through my smile as Tommy puts his hand on my lower back, a touch more gentle than the one he’d used the night before.

Just another Homecoming Queen, leading the perfect life.