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  "Yeah Spartans!" I yelled out.

  After the first half, and a halftime that featured the homecoming royal court, the Spartans were up 16 to 3. Even though I don't like football, I had to admit it was a pretty good game. Watching Michael play was an enjoyment to see. He was so graceful out there. I could tell that he really loved the game. After a touchdown made by #72, and a field goal, the score was up 23 to 3. Belmont was kicking Travis' butts. I had to smile because my man was out there playing his heart out. I would have to make sure and give him a long and passionate kiss when I saw him tonight.

  After the second half was over, the Spartans won, with a score of 27 to 7. Everyone was in high spirits because Belmont was now first in their division. As I went toward the locker room, I noticed Michael was coming up to me with a huge smile on his face. He looked at me, took me in his arms, and twirled me around.

  "That was a great game, Michael." I said as he put me back on the ground.

  "Thanks. You were great too."

  "How would you know? You were supposed to be focused on the game."

  "I know, but I had to sneak a peek every now and then."

  I smiled as Michael leaned his lips towards mine. As soon as we were about to kiss, I knew my parents were behind us.

  "Hi Mom, Dad." I said without even looking.

  "Hey Char. Just wanted to say you were great out there today," my mom said.

  I looked at her and smiled.

  "And you were great too," my dad said to Michael.

  "Thank you, Mr. Perry."

  "Oh Mom, Dad, you really haven't met Michael. Michael, these are my parents. Mom, Dad, Michael Collier."

  "Hello," Michael said as he extended his hand to my mom and dad.

  My mom looked at Michael and took his hand. From the looks of it, it seemed like my mom didn't want to shake Michael's hand. I don't know if it because of what happened

  last night, or because he wasn't Derrick Marberry. Or maybe because he was white.

  "Nice to meet you, Michael," my mom said.

  "Same to you, Mrs. Perry."

  While Michael and my dad started to talk, I noticed that Eva and Ashley were still sitting on the bleachers talking. From the time we were talking, the two never came down and talked to us. First Eva, now my mom. I didn't know what was going on with the people in my life, but whatever it was, I didn't like it one bit.

  After the long talk my dad had with Michael; he invited Michael to dinner the following week, much to my mom's disappointment. I could tell my dad took a liking to Michael. I knew in the past he didn't really like Derrick, and was glad that he and I broke up, but my mom, well that's a different story. She was in love with Derrick. She thought he was the perfect person for me. She was even upset when she found out that Derrick and I broke up. You would have thought she was the one dating Derrick, since she was more upset about the breakup than I was. When I went to the locker room to get my clothes, I noticed Brandy by her locker getting her clothes that were sitting on the bench.

  "Hey. You're not going to take a shower?"

  "I'm going back to my house to clean up. I figured I wasted enough time out on the field with my parents and Michael."

  "How is that going? Are you and Michael still the hottest thing at Belmont?"

  "I don't know. I didn't think we were the talk of the school."

  Brandy looked at me and smiled.

  "Please. You two have been the hottest thing going since you set foot on this campus and Michael saw you. The girls envied you, while the guys are slapping Mike on the back because he is with the finest girl here."

  "Yeah right. I just came to this school and I'm already the most popular girl?"

  "I'm afraid so sweetie. When Michael started dating Danielle, she became the most popular one. Now that you and Mike are talking, you're the popular one. That's how it works here. It's who you associate with," Brandy said while putting on her black knee length boots.

  "I guess that's cool. I don't have a problem being the center of attention. That's how I was at Parker."

  "Are you ever going to tell me what happened there and why you're here?"

  I looked at Brandy. I would tell her what happened, but I figured it was no one's business. I doubted if I'd ever tell Michael why I transferred.

  "I rather not talk about that. I figure it's all in the past. Right now, I just want to focus on being here and graduating."

  Brandy nodded her head in understanding and got up from the bench.

  "That's understandable. I better go. I'll see you at the dance."

  "I'll meet you by the door."

  "Okay, see you," Brandy said while walking out of the locker room.

  I sighed and took out my backpack. I looked around the empty locker room and quickly closed it shut. I didn't want to stay in there too long. Besides, Eva and Ashley were waiting for me outside so I could take them back to Eva's.

  13. Charlie

  After coming home from dropping Eva and Ashley off at Eva's so Ashley could get her car, I went back home so I could get ready for the homecoming dance. Since the dance was formal, I had to take a change of clothes for the club later. I looked at the peach colored gown in front of me and smiled. I couldn't wait to see Michael in a suit. I knew he would look really nice. Ashley and Eva seemed really excited about going to the dance. Even though Parker's homecoming is next week, they felt that Belmont was going to be more spectacular.

  As I slipped into the gown, the doorbell rang, which meant Michael was here. I quickly put on matching shoes, grabbed my matching purse and tote bag, and went down the stairs. When I reached the stairs, I stopped in total amazement. Michael was standing by the door looking speechless at me as I slowly walked down the stairs. I knew Michael would look good in a suit, but oh my. He was wearing a black suit with a white button down shirt underneath. But what stopped me was his hair. He cut most of his beautiful blonde hair, and now it was cut close to his head. I walked down the stairs and looked at him with wide eyes.

  "What happened to your hair?" I asked him.

  "I felt like a change. You like it?" he asked.

  "It's nice," I said in a surprised tone.

  He looked at me and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

  My dad walked into the living room and smiled at me.

  "You looked beautiful, sweetie," he said as he gave me a kiss on the cheek.

  "Thanks Daddy," I said.

  "So after the dance, you're going to Range, right?"

  "Yes."

  "And you're spending the night at Eva's."

  "Correct Daddy."

  "Okay. Have fun sweetie," he said.

  My mom walked in and looked at me, then at Michael.

  "Hello, Michael," she said in an uneven tone.

  "Evening, Mrs. Perry."

  My dad looked at my mom and sighed. I could tell there was tension between the two over Michael.

  I don't know why my mom didn't like Michael.

  "I want you to call as soon as you get to Eva's," my mom said.

  I looked at my mom and sighed.

  "Why? You think I'm lying about where I'm going tonight? That's right Mom, I am. I'm going to Michael's, and he and I are going to screw each other's brains out," I mockingly said.

  "Real funny, Charlie," my mom sarcastically said.

  "Bye, Dad." I said as I went out the door. Michael turned around and looked at my parents, gave an awkward smile, and left as well.

  As I got into Michael's car, Michael got into the driver's seat and closed his door. He looked at me and took my hand. He noticed that my hand was shaking.

  "Was that necessary, what you said to your mom?"

  "No, but she's been nitpicking with me ever since she met you. I don't know what her problem is, and I don't care."

  "I don't want to come between you and your mom."

  "You're not. Whatever's going on between my mom and me is our concern, not yours."

  "I know, but I don't want to see you hurting either."

/>   I looked at him and smiled. It was good to know that Michael cared about what was going on with me and my family. I looked at him and squeezed his hand.

  "Thanks for caring."

  Michael smiled and started up the car. He backed out of the driveway and went down the street. I looked out at the window and sighed.

  "You excited about tonight? This is considered our first date." Michael said.

  "Yeah, I am." I said, even though I didn't feel it.

  I really didn't want to go to the dance. I didn't even want to go to Range tonight. Especially since Derrick might be there. I just wanted to be alone with Michael. I felt like we were moving way too fast, because I didn't even know anything about him. I didn't know what he liked to do for fun, or his other likes or dislikes. I wanted to tell him that we should go to his place and talk since his parents were out of town, but I made a promise to Eva, Ashley, Brandy, and Kim about tonight. Besides, tonight will be fun. While I was giving directions to Eva's house to Michael, he looked over at me with a blank expression on his face.

  "What's wrong?"

  "Nothing. I just wanted to ask you something."

  "Do you always have that look on your face when you asked a question?"

  "Just around you, I guess."

  I smiled. "What is it?"

  "I told you earlier my parents went out of town. Instead of coming to my game, they decided to take a day and a half trip to Vegas. So I was wondering since your parents think you're staying at Eva's tonight, if you would like to spend the night with me."

  I looked at Michael, speechless.

  "What?" I asked in a mean tone.

  "No, no, not like that. I wasn't talking about us doing anything. I was hoping we could maybe watch some movies, eat some junk food, and talk. That's all."

  I looked at him and smiled. He had the same idea I had. Before hand, I would probably had told him no because it could lead to something else, but I could tell in Michael's voice that he wouldn't pressure me into doing something I wasn't ready to do.

  "Besides, I get really lonely being in the house by myself. My parents are never at home, so it would be real nice to have someone there to talk to."

  I looked at Michael and nodded my head yes. I could tell Michael was lonely.

  Michael smiled as he turned into Eva's driveway. I got out of the car and went up to the door.

  Eva opened the door looking elegant as usual. She came out of her house wearing a flowing black and white striped gown. She had her dark brown hair pinned up in a nice bun and a beautiful smile to complete the package. Ashley was right behind her wearing a dark blue satin gown with rhinestones around the neckline. Instead of her hair pinned up, she had her hair flowing in loose curls around her face.

  "You two looked beautiful," I said.

  "Thank you. So do you. I like your hair," Ashley said while touching my hair. I had my hair in loose curls also, but it was a little shorter than Ashley's.

  "We better go. We have a huge night ahead of us," I said as I was heading back to Michael's car.

  After the two got in Michael's backseat and said hello to him, I turned around and smiled at the two.

  "Are y'all excited about tonight?"

  "I guess so. It's just a dance and Range. Nothing special," Eva said.

  "Maybe so, but you're going to someone else's homecoming. Tell them how the dance is Michael."

  "It's pretty good, I guess. I always thought it was a little boring though."

  "Even he thinks it's boring, and he goes to the school," said Eva.

  I looked at Michael and sighed. I could tell tonight was going to be a long night.

  A few minutes later, and we were in Belmont's parking lot. As we got out of the car, I noticed that the students at Belmont sure took homecoming seriously. Everyone was in their formal best as they got out of limos and expensive cars.

  We met up with Kim, Brandy, and their boyfriends by the door and went inside the school gym. As Michael and I walked into the school's gym hand in hand, almost everyone stopped what they were doing and looked directly at us. Usually I liked being the center of attention, but this time, having all this attention was giving me the creeps. Some people were looking at us like we were celebrities, while others looked at us with envy. I'm assuming those were Danielle's fans.

  As we went over to a table, Michael went up to a chair and pulled it out for me to sit down. I smiled at him and sat in it. He was such a gentleman. I hadn't encountered one of those in ages.

  "So this is how Belmont parties?" I asked Michael as I looked around the gym. The gym was decorated like a moonlit night. There were blue and white streamers around and tiny stars all over the gym. There was also a painting of the moon and stars by the platform stage that was set up by the refreshment table.

  Michael smile. "The homecoming committee does the same theme every year. From what I heard they also do prom the same way."

  "You never went to any of the proms here?"

  "I didn't want to waste my time, especially since I wasn't graduating then. Just because I'm popular doesn't mean I have to attend every event here."

  Eva looked at Michael and rolled her eyes.

  I looked at Eva and sighed. She really was starting to be a pain now.

  As we were looking around the crowded gym, the DJ started to play another song, which was from Justin Bieber. Usually, I wouldn't dance to Justin, but I figured tonight was going to be full of surprises.

  "Let's go," I said to Michael.

  Michael looked at me as he took my hand.

  Ashley and Eva, as well as the rest of Belmont, watched as we went out on the dance floor. The pounding beats of Justin's latest song were going strong from the speakers as I started to find the rhythm to the beat. Michael went behind me and started to dance with me. He grabbed my waist and put me closer to him. I felt like he and I were the only two people in the gym as we were dancing a little too close on the dance floor. Some people had shocked expressions on their faces while most of the girls were wishing it were them Michael was dancing with. Even though I wasn't dressed in the best attire for dancing, I didn't care. I was just in the groove with a guy I thought was the most perfect man here.

  When the song was over, I looked at Michael and smiled. We had the crowd watching our every move, which was starting to become annoying now. I looked over the dance floor and noticed Danielle by the refreshment table giving me a cold stare. I looked at her and gave her a mean stare back. I was sick and tired of Danielle and her childish behavior. Michael did not and never would want her, so she needed to get over it. I looked over at the table and saw Eva, Ashley, Brandy, and Kim talking up a storm. I knew those four would get along fine. As we walked back over to the table, Ashley looked at the two of us and smiled.

  "From the looks of it out on the floor, it looked like you two were having sex."

  "Ha, ha. Real funny," I said while sitting down.

  "When are we going to Range?" asked Eva.

  "In a few. Don't worry, we're not staying long," I said.

  "We can go now if you want. Believe me, this is how it going to be the entire night," Michael said.

  We looked at each other and started to get up from our seats. When we did, Mr. Davis went onto the stage. He looked at the crowd with a happy expression on his face.

  "Is everyone enjoying the dance tonight?"

  Everyone started to clap or yell out in the crowd.

  "Good. Now I would like to announce this year's homecoming king and queen."

  I looked at the crowd and noticed everyone was talking at once. I didn't care who was homecoming king and queen. All I wanted to do was leave the dance so I could have some real fun.

  "First is homecoming king. This year's king is no other than Michael Collier."

  The crowd started to go crazy after Mr. Davis announced Michael's name. Michael stopped walking and turned around to the stage as the spotlight nearby shined on him. He looked at me and started to walk up to the stage. As soon as he ar
rived, Mrs. Donald, the assistant principal, gave Michael a crown and cane and whispered in his ear. He smiled and went up to the microphone and looked out to the crowd.

  "Thanks guys for voting for me. This means a lot. Thanks again," he said as he went over to the royal high chair that was behind Mrs. Donald.

  Mr. Davis smiled at Michael and turned around to the crowd. I was happy for Michael winning homecoming king. I wondered who homecoming queen would be. Whoever it is, I don't want to watch the girl sharing her title with him.

  Mr. Davis looked at the piece of paper he had in his hand and smiled.

  "Now for our homecoming queen." he said as he open up the paper. He looked at it with a surprised look on his face.

  "Turns out the winner is a write in. This year's homecoming queen is Charlie Perry."

  I looked up at Mr. Davis as if he lost his mind. How could I be homecoming queen? I've only been going to this school for four days! I looked at my friends, who all had huge grins on their faces.

  "Congratulations, girl," Brandy said as she gave me a hug. She gave me a wink after we pulled apart.

  I had a feeling Miss Edwards had something to do with the voting.

  "Thanks Brandy, for the votes," I said silently.

  "What do you mean? I didn't do any such thing," she said innocently.

  While Ashley, Eva, and Kim all gave me hugs, I went up to the stage with a look of confusion on my face. From the look of the crowd, it seemed they didn't want me as queen. Believe me, I didn't want the title. Maybe at Parker, but not at Belmont.

  I walked in front of Mrs. Donald as she put my crown on my head and put my slash over my dress. I smiled at Mrs. Donald and went up to the microphone. All of a sudden I was really nervous as I looked out into the crowd. Some people had smiles on their faces, but from the majority of the crowd, the expression "if looks could kill" was evident, as some wondered why I was up there receiving the crown.

  "Wow, this is unexpected. Thank you all for giving me a chance even though I have only been here for a short time."

  "No one gave you a chance!" someone yelled from the crowd.