‘Oh, you read it?’ I feigned shock at his poor manners.
‘No, I just wanted to hear what you had to say...Tory says she’s going to put it on the internet or something tonight.’
The horror in my eyes masked my fear of exactly which pages would be uploaded. I had a feeling the Princesses did not do things anonymously and certainly not by halves. During the past weeks we’d all become so friendly, we’d shared details about our first dates with Mark and Jet. If they couldn’t have the prize, no one else would either. The Princesses planned to upload the early Mark insults I’d written, first impressions never meant to see the light of day. How could I ever have imagined Teegan was trustworthy? She probably considered showing Mark all the horrible stuff we wrote (excluding their pages) before we even got to edit the blog. It was the surest way to secure the prize for the prom! We had exactly two and a half hours before the scheduled midnight meeting.
‘Well, it’s true that we were playing a dating game, for fun, sort of...’
‘What did the winner get?’
‘The winner hasn’t been announced yet,’ I said cryptically. Let’s face it, at this point it seemed the winner was unlikely to be me.
‘That seems, kind of...confusing.’
‘Oh, you can talk! Being nice to me then kissing my best friend and trying to ruin Joel’s life!’
‘His life! Didn’t you read my letter?’
‘That still doesn’t excuse you for being proud and difficult before we talked, then ...after we’d talked you seemed so much nicer and I was beginning to like you, but...you seemed to be more interested in Mouche. Anyway, I can see you are not in any mood to be civil.’
‘That’s not true. Why do you think I went to all the trouble of writing you letters to explain everything? I’ve never written a letter to any girl in my life. You are the special one. I think I liked you the first time I realized you could see through my facade.
I was so mad at myself for ruining things by speaking out of turn at the dance, that I’ve been trying to make it up to you ever since. The kiss was in the script! I’m not going to apologise because it made you jealous. I was only talking to Mouche to find out more about what it would take to get you to like me.’
Mark turned around and I thought he was about to stomp off, when this loud, fairly romantic string quartet started to play softly then louder on the steps outside the stately reception home (slightly less stately than Mark’s). I looked up and saw Mouche and Jet dancing in the rotunda and looked quizzically at Mark.
‘He’s taking her to prom,’ Mark said.
‘Oh,’ I replied. So Mouche hadn’t won the bet either. Mouche had traded gold for love. Perhaps Mouche was a better person than I was.
Mark paused. He was dressed very nicely in his suit and tie for the wedding. I wasn’t surprised he was here because he and Jet were in Miss Love’s academically gifted class, taking advanced trig, something that’s never vaguely interested me.
Then he looked at me strangely, as if he was still trying to work me out, and smiled.
‘Will you give me another dancing lesson?...’
‘I didn’t think boys really liked to dance...except maybe Peter Williamson.’
Mark smiled and took my hand.
The day had ended. Mouche sat at a table deep in conversation with Jet. I stood at the punch bowl with Mark as he leant over and pushed some of the wedding glitter off my nose. The Princesses disappeared into the indigo shadows, along with their dates. The night wore on and the other guests started to leave. Mark’s sister, Petra, walked outside with the boy we’d introduced her to, Josh. They were sitting on the steps with their sodas, laughing. Mark looked up, then looked at me.
‘I was wondering?’
‘Yes?’ I said. My heart was racing.
‘Well, I was wondering if you still feel the same way you did about me after the Fall Fling.’
‘...No, absolutely not,’ I smiled.
‘Good....’ he said in return.
Then quite unexpectedly, Mark moved closer. Across the functions room furniture, all cream and garlanded with peonies and chocolates and recently wiped away wedding cake, we met. He kissed me as we sat atop a mahogany table where lovers from as far back as 1968 once made out.
We looked at each other and smiled. Then Mouche glanced over at me and smiled and even though Mark hadn’t actually asked me to the junior dance (although I was willing him to do so and wishing I could break our self-imposed rules and do it for him) suddenly everything seemed right with the world.
‘I gotta go,’ I said, ‘You were never just a game. You were first prize. It’s a girl thing – a meeting all of us planned months ago.’
Mark seemed to accept this explanation with a bemused smile.
Mouche looked over at me as the Princesses started to trail off without their dates.
‘Okay, I gotta leave early anyway. My uncle’s taking us boating before breakfast...he’s better when he’s not jet lagged,’ I smiled although it was in dubious taste to mention Mark’s uncle at a moment like this. ‘So, I’ll call you tomorrow...’
‘Until tomorrow,’ I said. I wasn’t sure how long I could wait until I saw him again.
That night, I was walking home with Mouche along Main Street. I was so glad to have my best friend back. Life was an embarrassment of riches right now.
I apologised for my petty behaviour and Mouche accepted.
‘I missed you so much,’ I admitted, ‘You are my best friend in the whole world,’ I added.
Mouche smiled, ‘same here,’ she said.
‘We should head to the Lake House, get a lead on the Princesses...c’mon...’
The Christmas lights were out and everything looked so beautiful. By ten pm only the Sunrise Cafe was still open. As we rounded a corner, Mark’s aunt was finishing her late night shopping. Our bridesmaid dresses were dragging in the street as we walked along the pavement, so Mouche and I tucked them into our underwear.
Mark’s aunt practically walked into us. Her expression registered our impropriety. She had left the wedding early and was finishing her late-night shopping but still wore her tailored linen suit and heels that were far too high to be comfortable. She rested a small bag of groceries on her hip as she headed towards her expensive European car. Then, before stopping as an afterthought, she turned around to speak to us.
‘Ah...Phoebe Harris, isn’t it? I didn’t get a chance to speak to you at the wedding. You came to my house for lunch a while back...’
‘Yes,’ I said, unravelling my skirt.
‘Hello again, it is nice to see you.’
‘Yes, nice to see you too, Mrs Knightly.’
Mark’s aunt had been way rude to me and had placed the skinny, miserable looking daughter of her business partner, Kayleen, right next to Mark at the wedding to encourage him to dance with her instead of me, no doubt.
It seemed so funny that she was currently looking at me like I
was the one who was seriously impolite. Mark’s aunt seemed to be concerned that I was imagining myself to be the next Mrs Knightly just because Mark took me on a tour of his house. Hello, I’m barely sixteen!
‘I’ve seen your picture on my nephew’s cell phone. I just came to ask if you are going to the prom with him.’
She questioned me in a very loud, overbearing voice.
‘Ah...I’m not...’
‘I only ask because he knows he has a prior arrangement with Kayleen.’
‘Well if that’s the case, then how could he be going with Phoebe?’ Mouche interjected.
Mark’s Aunt got high on her horse at this point.
‘Oh, I know who you are. This whole town’s been talking about you and your mother’s infamous liaison with the school guidance counsellor...not to mention your illegitimate sister...’
‘Ah, that word is not used anymore in polite company,’ Mouche said.
‘That is quite enough, Mrs Knightly!’ I interjected. Being insulted was way harsh, but to insult my friend and push her to the verge of tears because she was standing up for me, was an outrage.
It was weird because Mouche’s psychic abilities and my telepathic ones seemed to have completely abandoned us after the happiness of the day. We were extremely pleased that, although our own dalliances hadn’t worked out the way we planned, we seemed very good at fashioning other people’s and in a roundabout way, love had found us when we least expected it.
‘If it is true that your business partner’s daughter and Mark are dating then you should not be concerned that he might be going to the Prom with me.’
‘Oh, I know how devious your sort can be!’
Mrs Knightly was so pompous and had a very affected accent. I really felt sorry for her and would have had a strange desire to laugh if it weren’t for Mouche gesturing me over to the nearby park bench.
‘Excuse me!’ I said and walked off towards the streetlight.
Mrs Knightly also walked off, shaking her head. Honestly, on the subject of future in-laws,
Mrs Robinson
would seriously have something to say. I mean, there must be millions of future in-laws who are nice. Why couldn’t I have met some of them? I can’t believe I just said ‘future-in-laws,’ I must be losing it. But what really surprised me was how much the dating game had changed us. I was outspoken and standing up for myself – not just on stage but in my private life and Mouche had started to act more demure around the man she seemed to love.