Page 110 of Electricity

CHAPTER 41

Iwoke up the next morning to two texts from Darius:

Ride?

Prom?

Lemme ask Lacey

I texted back as I texted her. She responded seconds later.

You can ride in with him as long as you meet me at our lockers.

Prom is go.

A nervous tension I’d been holding somewhere inside my chest uncoiled and then recoiled even tighter, as I messaged Darius.

Prom is happening. Come get me?

He responded with a thumbs-up emoji, and I got my act together.

I met him half a block down from my trailer after Allie’s bus had gone, and I apologized the second I got into his car. “I’m sorry—my mom—I can’t get grounded now.”

“Not when you can wait to get grounded tonight.”

“Ha. Hopefully not.”

Darius pulled out of the trailer park, just behind the bus. “So what was your good reason yesterday afternoon?”

“Lacey wanted me to check in with Sarah. She’s feeling a little paranoid after finding out the pictures were loose. But Sarah doesn’t seem to know anything—not even rumors of things—which means whoever does know something, the circle must be pretty small.”

“What’d I tell you?”

“It’s not even that, Darius,” I said, gaining speed. “Mason’s not the world’s best photographer—Danny’s in almost all the photos. So why would they put up anything at prom, if showing her incriminates him? It’d ruin her reputation, but he’d definitely be in trouble too. Much bigger trouble.”

“That’s awesome,” he said. “So prom is now just prom?”

I nodded slowly. “Hopefully.”

He looked over at me and I felt the corkscrew inside my chest wind half a twist tighter. “That’s awesome too.”

And then the car felt both too big and too small at the same time. “So how was your day yesterday?” I asked, just to make small talk.

“Good. Just like you suggested in the morning, so, thanks.” I made a strangled sound, and he laughed. “It’s okay.”

“Easy for you to say,” I said. “Have you ever been to a prom?”

“Prom no, school dances, yes. You?”

I shook my head.

“Ahhh, that whole date thing.”

I felt myself flush. “Prom is not a date. And besides, we’re paused, remember?”

“Yeah. I remember,” he said, in a slow tone of voice that made me flush even further. “But, afterward—the movies or something? With dinner?”

“No hamburgers?”

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