Prologue: Part Two

As I arrived home from my meeting with Shark, Ashley ran toward me screaming, "Guess what! Guess what! Guess what!!!"


"Hmm..." I said, "I'm going to take a wild guess and say that Ethan asked you to prom?"

"YESSSSS!!!!!" she squealed.

"I'm so excited, I just can't even believe it! I mean, Ethan Waters!" She rambled on like this for several agonizing minutes. "You know," she said, finally calming down, "you really should come to prom, Anna."

"Well, actually I-"

"I mean, even going by yourself can be fun! It's prom!"

"I'm probably going t-"

"Claire Hibbet actually went by herself last year. No one asked her because she had this HUGE pimple the day they announced it. She was so humiliated. She actually spent most of prom crying, I think...But that doesn't matter! She's dramatic. I bet you'd have a good time!"

"Ash, I'm trying to tell yo-"

"We could even ride in the limo together! I'm sure Ethan won't mind. He's a real gentleman like that, you know. Come on, Anna! Say you'll go?"

"I'll go."

"Yayyyyy!!!"

I guess she'll have a nice surprise when Shark shows up at our door. I laughed to myself.

The next couple weeks were fairly uneventful. I didn't see Shark much at school. He was a senior, so his classes were on a different side of school than mine. Sometimes, on the rare days he didn't have detention, I would see him after school. We'd hang out for a couple hours, but that was it. I was really starting to like him. He was such a charmer.

Before I knew it, prom night had arrived. I had found this really awesome dress at a vintage store in Riverview. It was a bit costume-y, but it was so unique and interesting, I couldn't resist. I thought I looked great in it too.

"Oh, Anna! You look fantastic!" Ashley exclaimed, walking into my room. Mom had taken her into Bridgeport last week, and she had picked out a bright blue designer gown.

"Thanks. You look beautiful, Ash," I replied.

"Oh, stop," she blushed. "Now come on, Ethan's here. Time to get our prom on!"

Prom on? "But my date isn't here yet," I said, trying to hide my smile.

Ashley gave me a puzzled look. "Date? What date?"

I couldn't hold back my smile anymore. Nonchalantly, I said, "Oh, did I forget to tell you? I'm sorry. Shark Racket asked me to go with him."

Ashley's eyes nearly bulged out of her skull. "Shark Racket?!? You're kidding, right?"

"No," I said, starting to get a little annoyed, "Is it so hard to believe that someone would ask me to prom?"

Ashley's face became far more serious than I had ever seen her. "No, Anna, of course not. There's a ton of guys at school that adore you. It's just...do you not understand what kind of guy he is?"

"I understand that he's misunderstood. Like I am. And we're going to have a great time. We'll ride separately if his company offends you so."

"Anna! He's not just misunderstood! He's done some pretty foul things that I doubt you even know about!"

I was fuming at this point. She's just saying all this because she can't stand to share the spotlight. "Just shutup, alright?"

With that, I stomped out of the house. I called Shark and told him I'd just meet him at school. I didn't even want to ride in the stupid limo. I knew I was acting kind of bratty, but I didn't care. I'd finally found a guy who saw me and not just my family or money. I wasn't going to let that go easily.

Shark met me at school, and we did end up having a great time. I think. He apparently hadn't been kidding about the punch, and he even let me try some. That turned out to be a bad idea. I remember dancing and laughing a lot. After that, everything kind of spiraled into a blur. I woke up the next morning with a headache and a sense that something had gone terribly, terribly wrong.