Harper:OH! That’s exciting…! Meeting for prom is in the gym at 4?
Easton:Oh, sweet. I’ll for sure be done by then.
Harper:Awesome. I’ll meet you there?
Easton:Yup.
Chapter 23
Harper
“Explain this again? What’s a walk-through?”
I shoot Easton a sidelong glance, waiting for him to open the gymnasium door for me (like a gentleman), then sidestep around him when he does.
“Art teacher wants to make sure all the decorations will fit, and make sure we have enough.” He also said something about things being “to scale,” whatever that means.
“Oh yeah. Right.”
Together we enter the gym, echoes of our footsteps bouncing off the walls in a not-so-subtle way.
People stop what they’re doing when we walk in.
They stare.
If music were on, it would grind to a halt.
For serious. I mean, Aubrey Baker’smouthhangs open when she spots us. Currently she’s on the ground, coloring on some big cardboard rosebush, gluing silk roses to it so it can later be placed at the front of the gym near the stage. She does a literal double take at the sight of Easton.
Is it such a big deal that he’s here helping?
I ignore her inquisitive glances and keep walking, head heldhigh.
The space is huge, and right now, it’s an empty canvas. A blank space for the castles and knights, the hardwood floors shining under the overhead lights. There’s a faint smell of sweat, a reminder that this place usually sees more basketballs and volleyballs than dance decorations.
Several drop cloths are laid out on the floor, along with a bunch of art supplies: a stapler, markers, paper, glue, scissors, and some other stuff.
Mr.Grazz is already here, standing in the middle of the room with a clipboard in one hand and a measuring tape in the other. He looks up as we approach, offering a nod of acknowledgment.
“Glad you could make it,” he says, his eyes flicking from me to Easton. “Thanks for joining us, Mr.Westermann.”
Easton nods. “So, where do we start?”
Mr.Grazz gestures to a large roll of butcher paper spread out on the floor, with rough sketches of the decorations penciled in. A floor plan, if you will.
“We’re going to lay everything out just like it’ll be on the night of the prom. You tell me how many knights we have and we’ll put them on the map to determine if we have too many or not enough.” He pauses. “And then there’s the castle.”
“Castle?”
I kneel beside the paper, trying to decipher the sketches, and hear Mr.Grazz say, “It’s just a facade. Painted it myself.”
“Wow,” I mutter, scanning the layout. “This is so exciting!”
“How many knights do we have?” he asks.
“Um.” I do the mental math of the ones we’ve finished. “Ten so far.”
The art teacher nods. “And how tall are they?”
