Frolic and the Homecoming Princess (3)
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“In your darkness―”
The melody of a slow beat entered along with the bass.
“There’s me standing―”
It was Jake’s voice, seemingly indifferent yet sweetly alluring, perfectly matching the melody.
“Even if you say you’ve forgotten me―!”
The drums switched the beat. With the sound of cymbals, the rock-style upbeat rhythm made my head bob on its own.
So this is the original song Jake said he wrote himself…
It was completely my taste. What a genius of a man. I clenched both fists tightly.
I have to go cheer for him.
So I ran to the front of the stage. As much as I felt sorry toward Jake, I cheered loudly and waved my hands.
“Woohoo! That’s awesome!”
That was when I started hearing the kids muttering.
“What’s wrong with her?”
“Looks like she finally lost it.”
“She must be itching to show off. I’ve never seen someone act like an attention seeker over something like that.”
But I did not care at all and kept jumping around, fully enjoying Jake’s performance. Jake’s feelings mattered more to me than those pathetic remarks.
“Thank you.”
When the song ended, Jake glanced down at me and spoke.
“It’s more fun when there’s an audience responding up front. So, for the next song, I’ll dedicate it to the friend standing in front.”
Gasp.
Mom, I’ve succeeded as a fan…!
Without realizing it, I let out a cheer and surrendered myself to the second song Jake started. This time, it was a cover of a song by a rock band I knew well.
“Chloe.”
At that moment, Scott came up next to me and started clapping while awkwardly moving to the rhythm.
“I-I’ll do it with you too.”
That rascal, at least he’s loyal. I grinned and threw an arm around Scott’s shoulder. Then we sang together at the top of our lungs. Koreans really are all about singing together in unison.
While we were having the time of our lives, I suddenly glanced to the side and saw that a lot of people had gathered in front of the stage. Among them were Eisenhower and Bri.
Unlike Bri, who was excitedly waving her hands, Eisenhower was just standing there clapping. Still, the fact that he had come out to enjoy it made me feel a bit relieved.
Yeah, everyone, please enjoy Jake’s performance!
And just like that, Jake’s performance came to a successful end.
“Encore! Encore!”
But letting it end like this would not make me a real fan. A true fan always calls for an encore. I raised my hands high and clapped, urging for an encore.
“Encore!”
Clap.
“Encore!”
Clap.
Then, little by little, the people around me started chanting for an encore, too. Yes!
“Thank you for calling us back once more.”
Jake’s face as he came back on stage was flushed red. He looked like a refreshingly bright boy, and it shook my heart once more.
“Then, I’ll sing one last song as an encore and wrap it up!”
“Waaaah!”
The song that started was also a cover of a famous band, reinterpreted with an exciting punk rhythm. However, I could not listen to it. Derek had gathered all the nominees together.
“The awards ceremony will start soon.”
At Derek’s words, the nominees and their escorts lined up in order of entrance.
“Hm~ Hmm~”
It was disappointing, but I figured listening from backstage was better than nothing, so I hummed quietly to myself.
“Chloe, you really looked like you were having fun.”
Scott, who was standing next to me, said with a smile.
“I didn’t know you had a side like this.”
“I’m pretty good at having fun.”
When I shot back playfully, Scott burst out laughing, and the two of us giggled together. At that moment, my eyes met Eisenhower’s.
“……”
The sulky look he gave me was familiar, but the emotion hidden inside it was slightly different. Something… like regret? Or maybe longing?
What is it, why is he looking at me like that…
I wiped the smile off my face and cleared my throat.
“Ahem, hem!”
As I awkwardly lowered my gaze and wondered if I should tease Scott or do something to break this awkwardness, Derek gave the signal to enter.
In order, the nominees and escorts stepped onto the stage.
“Now, thank you for waiting so long. The moment you have all been waiting for is here. It is time to announce the Homecoming Queen and Homecoming Princess!”
At the host’s words, the crowd erupted into cheers.
“Bri! Bri!”
“Angela! Angela!”
As the students heated up the atmosphere by shouting the names of their chosen Homecoming Queen and Princess candidates, I stood silently, doing my job, which was basically standing there like a piece of wood.
I had expected this, but being treated like an invisible person whom no one recognized was still quite hard.
Ah, I want to turn into a dot and disappear…
While spacing out and thinking such random nonsense as I waited through the boring time, the host began to speak again.
“Then, we will announce the Homecoming Princess first!”
Dun-dun-dun-dun-drrrrrrrrrr. When the drum roll stopped, the host tore open the envelope and called out the name loudly.
“The 256th Homecoming Princess is… Brittany Anderson!”
“Waaaaah!”
The audience went wild. Bri covered her mouth with both hands as if she never expected it to be her. Seeing her eyes well up with tears, she really must have been surprised.
So cute.
I clapped while looking fondly at Bri like that.
“Next, we will announce the Homecoming Queen!”
Since the Homecoming Queen was selected from the seniors, I lost interest. I focused only on Bri, feeling proud that she was walking straight down the path of a teen movie female lead.
“…With this, we conclude the Frolic. Thank you!”
With the host’s closing words, the event came to an end. Students began climbing onto the stage in small groups to congratulate the Homecoming Queen and Princess.
I want to say congratulations too…
But approaching Bri, who was already buried among so many people, was impossible. That was when it happened.
“Kyaahaha. Look at that loser!”
“Hehehe~ Look at her, all dressed up like she thinks she’s something~.”
Kyle and his group started mocking me. They were clutching their stomachs and pointing their fingers at me.
Is it really that funny?
I felt the urge to snap back with a single line. But if I did, they would just latch onto me again, and it would turn into another argument. I was already exhausted from everything that had happened. So I quietly turned around.
“Let’s go, Scott.”
“Huh? Oh…”
As I led Scott toward the back of the stage, the kids’ jeers only grew louder.
“That ugly girl must have thought she’d become pretty just by putting on makeup!”
“Look at her, she even took off her glasses before coming up!”
It was not “again”. Chloe’s eyesight was not that bad to begin with. Yet for some reason, she had stubbornly insisted on wearing glasses. After transmigrating into her body, I had kept them on to stay faithful to the nerd role.
A sense of futility washed over me as I wondered why I had gone that far to maintain the concept. Avoiding that hollow feeling, I opened the waiting room door and spoke to Scott.
“I’ll go change my clothes and come back.”
It was better to hurry and change while the others were busy taking pictures and making memories. Scott, standing in front of the door, nodded as if to say okay.
Left alone in the waiting room, I untied the ribbon of my dress.
Then, suddenly, Eisenhower tying this chiffon ribbon came to mind. Even though there was no one around, I started to have the illusion that I could smell a woody scent, so I shook my head vigorously.
What are you thinking! Get a grip!
Then I quickly changed my clothes and headed out to the lobby, where Scott was waiting.
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The next day.
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“Bri, congratulations!”
The school was filled with praise directed at Bri. Hearing those words everywhere I went said it all.
If everyone is congratulating her like this, wouldn’t it be okay for me to casually join in and say congratulations, too?
I thought about it while closing my locker and heading toward the Literature III classroom.
Yeah. I’ll sit as close to Bri as possible in this class. And I’ll just say congratulations, that’s all.
I made up my mind and walked toward the classroom.
Ah, damn it.
There was an unexpected obstacle. I had forgotten that bastard Kyle was in the same class.
“Hey, loser, yesterday was really fun!”
“Heh heh. You know you got zero votes yesterday, right?”
At that moment, I froze.
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