“No, ma’am,” Melissa mumbles.
Honestly, I may not have all the staff eating out of the palm of my hand, but I’m a big enough teacher’s pet that this faculty vote thing might give me a fighting chance.
“Now, just because you were nominated does not mean you are eligible. Prom court students are held to the highest standard, so you must be passing all of your classes and on track to graduate. You are also expected to complete various tasks including community service hours, a staff appreciation project, and a school legacy project.” She hands a stack of packets to Callie Reyes, who stands up and passes them out.
When Callie passes to Hannah, she playfully kicks her boot.
“You know her?” I ask. Callie has a mean-girlreputation, and last I checked, she was on the dance team or flag-twirling crew or whatever. Definitely not the kind of girl I’d expect Hannah to be friendly with.
Hannah crosses her arms over her chest. “I guess you could say we’re friends.”
“Full of surprises,” I tell her.
“Flip to the second page of your packets,” says Mrs. Leonard. “There you will find the full list of expectations.”
PROM COURT TO-DO LIST
- 8 service hours to the approved nonprofit of your choosing
- Faculty appreciation project
- Legacy project
- Feature and interview with school TV team
- Graduation eligible
Bekah Cotter raises her hand. “Um, hi.” She turns around from her seat on the front row. “Hi, y’all. This is so neat.” She faces Mrs. Leonard again. “I was wondering if you could explain the two projects.”
“Ah, yes,” says Mrs. Leonard. “Each boy will be randomly paired with a girl and—”
Hannah’s arm shoots up. “I think you mean person? Or, like, king nominee and queen nominee?”
Mrs. Leonard’s brow furrows for a moment as she thinks about that. “Well, it is typically one king and one queen nominee... and, well, this year, we... well...” She motions to me and Hannah. “We have nontraditional nominees, so I suppose... okay... so.”
I can see her brain doing somersaults, and honestly I can’t blame her. I know that gender is fluid and that there’s more than just male and female, but the actual reality of how Hannah and I fit into all this is... a little hard to define, especially for a small town.
“Let me start again,” says Mrs. Leonard. “Each king nominee will be paired with a queen nominee to complete a project, which you will both work on together.”
Callie groans. “A group project? Really? We can’t even choose our partners?”
“Yes, a group project,” confirms Mrs. Leonard. “And partners will be randomly chosen. Now, obviously this does not mean you’ll each be running for king and queen as a duo, but you will work together. Staff appreciation is a project you’ll complete as a thank-you to the staff on behalf of the graduating class. We’ve had breakfasts in the past. Car washes were another popular idea. Be creative. Your legacy project is a campus improvement you do on behalf of your class as a gift to underclassmen and future students.”
“Like a construction project?” asks Bryce Dooley with disgust in his voice.
“What’s wrong with construction work?” I ask. My dad might be the boss of his own company now, but not too long ago, he was working on other people’s construction crews under the hot beating sun, and he still spends lots of time out there with his crew.
Bryce turns around. “I’m not really a fan of getting my hands dirty.”
I roll my eyes. “And people callmea queen.”
“All right, all right,” says Mrs. Leonard. “Quiet down. The legacy project can be a physical gift, like planting a garden. But it doesn’t have to be. It can also be something that changes the culture on campus.”
“Like what?” Mitch asks.
“Starting a new club or tradition. One year, a cheerleader wrote a new cheer.”
“How groundbreaking,” says Melissa, and Callie laughs.
