I froze. It’s not every day the most popular boy in school stops by your locker.
“Hey, Hannah,” he said. “I wanted to ask you something.”
“Yes?” I waited, my heart doing something foolish inside my chest.
“Would you go to prom with me?”
I stared at Caleb, certain I had misheard him. The hallway noise faded into a dull hum behind my ears.
He smiled, leaning one shoulder against the lockers like this was the most normal conversation in the world.
“Yeah. I do.”
“Why?” The word came out sharper than I meant. My fingers tightened around my notebook.
“Because you’ve always seemed kind, Hannah. And I’ve noticed how people treat you. It isn’t right.”
I searched his face for the punchline. There wasn’t one, or at least none I could see.
“Okay,” I whispered. “Okay, yes.”
At lunch, Megan nearly dropped her sandwich when I told her.
“Hannah. People like Caleb don’t just decide things like that,” she said, lowering her voice. “Please. Be careful. Something about this feels… wrong.”
I pushed my tray away, suddenly not hungry.
A part of me knew she was right. A bigger part of me did not want her to be.
That afternoon, I went into the second-floor bathroom to splash water on my face. Brittany walked in behind me, her perfume arriving before she did.
I didn’t answer. I kept my eyes on the sink.
“Enjoy your one night, sweetie,” she said, voice dripping honey. “Make it count.”
She smiled at me in the mirror, then walked out.
***
My mother came home that night smelling like the diner where she worked her second shift. I told her everything.
She sat down on the edge of my bed, took my hand, and looked at me for a long moment.
“What if it’s a joke, Mama?”
“Then we’ll know who he is. But you’ll still know who you are.”
Afterward, she pulled an old dress from the back of her closet and stayed up two nights altering it by hand under the kitchen lamp.
When Caleb arrived on prom night, he held out a corsage. His hands were shaking slightly. I noticed that.
“Thank you.”
In the car he barely spoke. He kept glancing at his phone, then putting it face down on his leg. I told myself he was nervous. I told myself a lot of things.
The gym was loud and bright and full of staring faces.
Caleb took my hand and led me onto the floor. He danced with me like he meant it, eyes on mine, ignoring the whispers building around us like a wave.
Then a boy near the speakers cupped his hands around his mouth. “Did Caleb decide to host a charity event tonight?”
Laughter rippled across the room.
A girl I didn’t even know shouted next. “Oh my God, did someone actually pay Caleb to do this?”
The wave broke over me. The lights felt suddenly too hot, the music too far away. I felt every pair of eyes like a needle.
“Hannah, listen to me.”
“I want to leave. Now.”
