The Locker Wars

On Prom night, Adele was surprised that she didn’t get any phone calls from Riley or Kirsten.

After all they’d been through to get her to come; they weren’t even pushing it on the very night. She at least expected some long, drawled out whining tone from one of them, telling her that she was missing out of one of the most important nights in high school.

But no, Adele just sat on her bed, surrounded by books.

She’d skipped dinner, and her parents were worried. They thought that their daughter was going to be out. And in truth, they’d wanted their daughter to go out and have a life... not be stuck studying. It was too antisocial. And she’d just refused to go to Prom—no reason or anything. She’d told her parents that it was some stupid night for people to get drunk and have sex. It wasn’t the road she wanted to take.

So, now Adele was really bored.

She flipped through her History notes... it was the only subject that she really needed to catch up on. It had been hard, since Skyler, to bring up her mark. It had dropped to an eighty-three, which was sixteen points below of her original mark, a ninety-nine. She’d brought her mark up to a ninety-two (which was now her lowest mark), which was the best that she could. She just had to hope she completely aced the exam.

It wasn’t long before her mind started to wander. What was Prom like? She imagined loud music and dancing in nice gowns, which was really tempting at the moment. But she didn’t have a nice dress, and she didn’t have a ticket to go. As regret sunk into her, she felt a small pang in her stomach. Maybe she should have gone.

And it wasn’t like she could’ve blamed her friends, or anyone else. It was her own mistake. And Adele hated making mistakes, because making mistakes meant that she was wrong in every way. That was horrifying, especially for someone who’d been the best all her life.

She now wished that she hadn’t gone messing around with Skyler. That was why she wasn’t into love. It messed up her grades. And that was the worst situation possible. Even though she’d gotten accepted at a few of her most desired universities.

But she didn’t feel like going. Leaving seemed like the best thing possible, and the worst thing.

She wished that she could think of something else. So she flipped on the radio and listened to a few songs, before one song came on that reminded her of William.

He was a whole other problem. She liked him, a lot, but what use was it? It wasn’t like he liked her back or anything. He probably hated her. He probably hated her for quitting the War and leaving the ends untied. Or maybe she just hated herself for that.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at her door.

“Adele, honey?” it was her mom.

“Come in,” Adele sighed, falling back onto her bed. Her mom opened the door slowly, stepping inside.

“Look who I found outside!” she exclaimed, gesturing to the small ball of fur in her arms. “I’m sure he just wandered back home. He looks pretty well-fed. I wonder who took care of him!”

Adele watched as the ball of fur jumped out of her mother’s arms and onto the ground. It mewed a few times before going to its favourite corner in Adele’s room.

“Oh,” Adele mumbled. She raced to her window, only to catch a glimpse of a familiar car driving off.

“What’s wrong?” her mother asked.

“Nothing,” Adele shrugged, and turned back to her books.

* * *

As soon as William closed the front door behind him, he heard a laughing sound from the living room. There sat Jason and Mike, holding a piece of paper. When William peered closer, he saw that it was a prom ticket.

“You’re going, man,” Jason grinned.

* * *

Adele was petting her cat, reading over her notes again. Though her cat smelled funny, she was still glad to have it back.

She suddenly heard some beeping noises outside, and she put down her cat to go see. She opened her window and leaned out, the cool May air weaving through her brown locks of hair.

“Adele!” Riley was on the sidewalk in front of her house, waving. She looked dressed for Prom.

“What is it?” Adele asked. “Hope you guys have a fun time!” She leaned back in to close the window.

“No, wait!” Kirsten joined her on the sidewalk. “Let us in!”

Adele sighed and then ran downstairs, unlocking the front door. Her parents turned their heads to see what was going on, but they didn’t say anything.

Riley and Kirsten ran up to the door, stepping inside the house with their high-heeled shoes and fancy dresses and hair and makeup. “Adele, come on, put on your best dress. We’ve only got twenty minutes.”

“For what?” Adele asked confusedly. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“We’re taking you to prom,” Riley grinned, slapping Adele’s palm. When Adele looked down she saw a ticket in her hand. “Now hurry up! Twenty minutes are ticking away!”