Cupcake

Shaking my head, I continued my walk to the cafeteria, which was thankfully in the opposite direction of Mr. Personality. Out of all the guys in school, I just had to run headfirst into Rhys. The guy gave new meaning to the word swoon, but wow, did his surly attitude suck.

Try out for football? Blah.

I couldn’t believe I’d fallen under his spell for even a second.

Luckily, no other obstacles (human or otherwise) impeded my progress, and I got to the cafeteria right on time.

A petite blond woman, wearing a green and white sweater dress, met me as I walked through the door. She had an easy smile. Her teeth were blindingly white, and she wore a sparkly pin in the shape of a crown on her left breast.

“You must be Ariel!” she said brightly and handed me a packet of papers. “I’m Juliana Weaver, Honeycomb’s Homecoming director. I’m so glad you’re here! We’re still waiting for one more, but we were just about to get started.”

“Thank you,” I said softly. “Are there assigned seats or…?”

“Oh no, honey.” She laughed. “Just pull up a chair! Feel free to sit wherever you’d like!” This woman’s entire demeanor was like one big exclamation point.

Trying not to worry about all the eyes on me, I made my way to the back and sat down. My gaze searched the faces dotting the cafeteria, and it was like a who’s who of Honeycomb High. Lana was there, of course, and she narrowed her eyes as I passed her. She was seated at a table that included Bryleigh Davis, Tessandra Mendoza, and three guys I knew to be some of the most popular in our grade: Daniel Pascale, Jon Wu, and Zander Albritton.

Daniel was our student body president, a total hottie, and one of the smartest people in the school. Jon, drum major of the Honeycomb High marching band, was also a member of several clubs (including debate, which he rocked by the way). He waved as I looked at him, and I waved in return. Zander was a member of the wrestling team who knew basically everyone; he also played defensive lineman for our football team and was nearly as big as Tank. With his Hawaiian heritage and easy smile, Zander kind of reminded me of a young Jason Momoa.

I made a mental note.

So these were the princes.

All of them were popular and good-looking.

Actually…glancing around, I noticed that was a common theme. Bryleigh, HHS head varsity cheerleader, had always looked like she stepped straight out of a magazine. Her hair was the color of ebony, falling in long waves down her back, her skin black and beautiful. Her makeup was light and nearly as perfect as Lana’s. Tessandra should’ve looked out of place sitting next to them, but she didn’t. Even if she was a so-called “nerd”—we’d all known Tess would be valedictorian of our graduating class even when we were in middle school—her tomboyish clothes couldn’t hide either her flawless olive skin or her smarts. She fit with the others for a simple reason: Tessandra was extraordinary. So was everyone else sitting at what I belatedly realized was the unofficial senior table.

I was betting the freshman, sophomore, and junior nominees each had something special about them as well. They all looked completely at ease in this crowd.

Ugh, I felt like such a poser.

I so did not belong in this room with these people.

Maybe I could sneak out the back before anyone noticed. I was just about to make my escape when two things happened at once.

“Well, I guess we should get started!” Ms. Weaver said, pulling us all to attention. “Though we seem to be short one prince.”

And the door to the cafeteria suddenly opened and in walked the quarterback, looking just as good and unhurried as he had out in the hall.

“Rhys Castle, I presume?” Ms. Weaver said, smile extra bright. “How nice of you to join us! I’m glad you could fit us into your busy schedule.”

“No problem,” he said, gesturing back to the door. “I was going to skip, but Coach told me I had to come.”

The wattage in Ms. Weaver’s smile dimmed.

“Oh?” she said. “Well, I’m glad Coach Feinnes persuaded you. Homecoming is a big deal here at Honeycomb High!”

“If you say so,” he said.

“I do! This should be something very special for you! Please take a seat.”

Rhys nodded, then sat right in the front at an empty table.

Okay, so it wasn’t me—he was just a cold fish. I guess that should’ve made me feel better.

“It’s my pleasure to welcome you all to this year’s Homecoming Court! As I said, my name is Juliana Weaver, Homecoming director, queen for the class of ’88.” No surprise there, I thought, mentally cataloging her nonstop bubbly persona and general friendliness. “I’ll be helping you all through this wonderful time in preparation for the big day!”

I gave a mental scoff. Only in the small southern town of Honeycomb, Georgia, would this be considered big. They loved their traditions here almost as much as they loved football. Keyword: almost.

“There are only three weeks until Homecoming, and that time will be packed full of fun. If you’ll open your packet to page one, you’ll notice a court calendar and itinerary of events.” She held up a finger. “These will include, but are not limited to, the following: the annual Homecoming parade, bonding exercises, formal dance lessons, pep rally, and Homecoming football game culminating in the announcement of king and queen, as well as the big dance!”

My eyes widened as they moved down the page. This was definitely more than I’d bargained for. Ms. Weaver confirmed as much with her next words.

“For the next month, everyone in this room is Honeycomb royalty.” She beamed at each of us in turn. “You are all now princesses and princes, voted in by your peers to represent Honeycomb in this time-honored tradition. Oh, it’s just so exciting! Does anyone have any questions?”

Tessandra raised her hand. “Will this affect our schoolwork in any way?”

Ms. Weaver shook her head. “Most Homecoming activities will be held outside of school hours, and those that aren’t have been agreed upon by the faculty and staff. So you won’t be penalized for leaving class early or anything like that.”

One of the junior boys raised his hand next. “What about sports? Will this interfere with practice?”

“The coaches are all aware and fully supportive of our Homecoming traditions.”

My eyes went to Rhys as he grunted. Looked like he didn’t approve.

Lana was called on next, and she actually stood.

“I don’t have a question,” she said, “but I just wanted to say thank you so much, Ms. Weaver. I’m so proud of myself for being a Honeycomb High princess for the fourth year in a row. It is such an honor.”

Juliana Weaver nodded. “It is, Lana. Thank you. Does anyone else—”

“Actually, I wasn’t done,” Lana said, cutting her off. “I also wanted to add that keeping in shape and making sure to look my best has always been a top priority, and I cannot wait for the chance to be Honeycomb’s Homecoming queen. Some people were born for things like this, and I’m so glad to be in good company.” Her eyes sliced in my direction, then quickly away. “But there can only be one queen. And we all know who that should be.”

With that, she sat, looking very pleased with herself. I found myself biting back a smile. Lana was just so over-the-top.

Rhys spoke next. “What if we’re supposed to play in the Homecoming game?”

“Good question,” Zander said. “What happens then, Ms. Weaver?”

“Or if we’re cheering,” Bryleigh put in.

“Or leading the band,” Jon added.

Juliana Weaver had been staring at Lana with what looked like disbelief, but the questions shook her out of it.

“There shouldn’t be a problem,” she said. “At halftime, you’ll simply abandon your posts and assume your royal capes, so to speak.”

“Do we get capes?” Zander said as his smile widened.

“Not literally,” Ms. Weaver said slowly, but seeing the disappointment on Zander’s face, she quickly added, “but the girls do get tiaras and sashes, and the boys each get a scepter.”

“Dang,” he said, nudging Jon with his elbow. “A scepter is like a sword, right? I’m going to rock that so hard.”

The two high-fived as Lana rolled her eyes and held up her hand once more.

Ms. Weaver looked wary as she called on her.

“When will we find out who our princes are?” she asked.

My ears perked at this. What did she mean by that? All the princes were already here, I thought.

“I was just about to get to that,” Ms. Weaver said as she leaned down, picked up and placed something covered by a green silk sheet onto the table. “Every princess has her prince, and the opposite is also true. That’s actually our first order of business! I can tell some of you are confused, but don’t worry. All will be made clear in a moment.”

With a flourish, she withdrew the sheet to uncover…two large, antique-looking cups.

They seemed to be made of bronze with hints of pearl and a few emeralds shining through. Honestly? My mind immediately jumped to Harry Potter. That happened a lot. I’d already done several desserts dedicated to the Hogwarts crew.

“This matching set was gifted to us by one of the founding members of the school. They are called the Honeycomb chalices. Each year, we put the nominees’ names into the cups and draw to see who will be paired with whom. The chalice never lies.”

Okay, it was official. There were literally two goblets of fire sitting before me. Harry, Ron, and Hermione would probably walk in at any moment. Where was Toni so we could geek out over this together?

One of the sophomore girls timidly raised her hand.

“Yes?” Ms. Weaver said.

“Do we have to be paired up?”

“Most of the activities do require a pair—such as the bonding exercises and dance lessons. Oh, those are just wonderful!”

Considering the fact that I’d always been too chicken to dance in public, I wasn’t so sure about that one.

The other sophomore girl raised her hand.

“Are the pairings always girl-boy? Or can we be a little more inclusive and have a girl with another girl?”

Ms. Weaver blinked twice. “Well, I’m sure we could…if that’s what you wanted. There’s nothing that says it has to be divided by gender. Though, for the underclassmen and juniors, that would mean your pairs are already chosen, since there are just two girls and two boys. Is that what you’d like to do?”

This led to some conversing, and in the end, it was decided that the sophomores would be paired girl-girl and boy-boy. Everyone was cool with that decision, including Ms. Weaver. She drew names for the freshman and junior representatives. Then came the seniors’ turn. The first two pairings ended up like this:

Tessandra and Jon.

Bryleigh and Daniel.

Lana’s name was drawn next, and from the way she kept throwing glances at Rhys, I knew she was hoping to be paired with him. Secretly, I hoped that, too. He was beautiful, there was no doubt about that. But Rhys wasn’t my type, and I wasn’t his—case in point, he used to date Lana back in the day—so I wasn’t eager to spend more time with him.

Unfortunately, my prayers went unanswered.

“And Lana’s prince will be…Zander!” Ms. Weaver smiled as she put the two names on the table together, and then placed her hands in the glasses one last time. “So that means our final pairing will be Princess Ariel”—she read my name from the paper in her hand and then switched to read the other—“and Prince Rhys. What delightful pairings!”

Were they really? I wondered. Rhys had looked my way when she read my name, but I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Probably something like: Great, it’s her. The girl who walks into walls. Ugh.

Of course, Lana had something to say about the results.

“Can we draw again, Ms. Weaver?” she asked, then lowered her voice, though we could all still hear her. “I think the chalices may have made a mistake. I should be with Rhys, and Cupcake should have Zander. Those pairings make more sense. Plus, they would just look better, don’t you think?”

I couldn’t deny that I saw what she meant.

Though wow, what a brat for saying it out loud.

She and Rhys were cut from the same cloth. I wasn’t ugly, but Lana was gorgeous. Although Zander had a cute face, Rhys was debonair in a way he’d never accomplish, something that obviously called to Lana. And yes, either of them would probably look better on her arm than on mine. But geez.

“I’d be okay with that,” I said, just so no one thought I was holding Rhys against his will. As if. No matter what he thought, I wasn’t one of the girls who would fall at his feet. Well, I mean I had. But I wouldn’t do it again. Not on purpose. Also, it was really crappy of Lana to throw Zander under the bus like that. “I’m cool with switching partners if everyone else is.”

“Awesome,” Lana said, then looked to her right. “Zander, are you good?”

He shrugged. “Sure.”

“Well, I’m not,” Rhys said, surprising all of us.

“What was that?” Lana said in her sweetest voice. “Did you say something?”

“Yeah. I don’t want to switch. I want to stay with Cupcake.”

Lana’s face fell. “But—”

“That’s enough,” Ms. Weaver said and held up a hand to stop any further protests. “The chalices are never wrong, Miss Leavengood. The homecoming pairings have been chosen, and they are final.”

Lana’s mouth snapped shut but then opened once more. “Oh well, that’s fine. I was just thinking about the optics, that’s all.”

I rolled my eyes at that, then caught sight of Rhys watching me, and looked away.

Why did he want to stay with me anyway? The only other time we’d talked, I’d run smack into his chest and ended up making a fool of myself. Not to mention he’d been a colossal jerk. Let’s be honest: I was pretty sure Lana was right, and they’d fit together better than we ever could.

“Everyone be sure to review your packets,” Ms. Weaver said, still smiling. “I’ll meet you all here tomorrow at the same time to discuss our first Homecoming activity. Being on Court is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! I hope you enjoy every second!”

As I was about to leave, Ms. Weaver came over and placed a hand on my arm.

“I hope you weren’t offended by what Lana said.” She spoke quietly so only I could hear. “I want to believe she didn’t mean anything by it, I do. But I’ve known that girl for the past three years and her mother far longer. They aren’t the…nicest people.”

I smiled at her concern. “I wasn’t. It’s all good, Ms. Weaver. Honestly, I think she was more upset that she didn’t get her preferred prince. Zander’s an okay guy, though. I wouldn’t have minded the change.”

“Ah, ah, ah,” she said, “the chalices know what they’re doing, my dear. You just have to trust the process!”

“Okay,” I said.

“You know, Ariel was always my favorite princess,” she said with a wink.

“You and my mom have that in common.” I sighed. “See you later.”

I walked away in a bit of a daze.

Princesses, princes, and chalices. It felt like I’d suddenly been thrust into a fantasy novel. And Ms. Weaver was sweet, but…

Goodness gracious, a whole month of homecoming activities?

Ugh, I knew I should’ve bolted when I had the chance.