Here's a Tuesday Teaser for Project Princess which will be released SOON!
*Teasers are unedited and subject to change. Release dates TBA
“Okay, everyone. Let’s see who made prom court this year!” Mrs. Snow said waving a red envelope around excitedly. I swear Mrs. Snow lived for this stuff. She sounded as excited as the students. I could clearly tell just by how she was as an adult that she’d been a proud member of the Geek squad when she was in high-school. So, I wouldn’t be shocked to discover she was living vicariously through her students. Dang, had 45 minutes passed that quickly? I started putting papers away in my notebook. All I was doing was drawing anyway to pass the time. All my coursework was complete. My stomach was growling I was so hungry. I needed to hit my locker up as soon as the bell rang. I had a granola bar there and I’d grab a bottled water from the vending machine on my way out of the building. I had exactly an hour and a half to get to my after-school job at Meyers Dry Cleaning. Thank God it’s Friday and payday, I thought.
“Let’s see, senior prom King is Dash Knight and senior prom Queen is Cynamon Brown! How exciting!”
My head snapped up at hearing my name. I was confused. Did Mrs. Snow ask me a question? I hated that I was caught off guard not paying attention.
Everyone was staring at me.
“Excuse me Mrs. Snow what did you say?”
“Well Ms. Brown it looks like you’ve been elected by your peers to be Prom Queen. How exciting is that? I must say you and Dash will make a lovely couple.” Mrs. Snow said. She was one of my favorite teachers. Kinda young and really goofy but she went above and beyond to help a lot of students. If she saw anyone struggling in her AP English class she was always willing to help. I did so well in the class, I was basically her teacher’s aide and helped out.
Just then the bell rang signaling the end of the school day.
All the classes on the Senior level floor flooded the student lounge which was in the middle of the hall.
Everyone gathered around congratulating me, but I was in pure shock. How the hell did this even happen? I literally had like five people I would consider myself to be friends with in the entire school. Of course, I talked to other people in class, but I didn’t consider them to be friends really. I guess you could say I was “cool” with everyone but I never thought it would lead people to voting me as prom queen. All of my close friends lived in my neighborhood on the other side of town. They were the kids I’d gone to school with from kindergarten through middle school. I felt like all eyes were on me. I felt self-conscious as hell. I did manage to smile and say thank you to everyone who congratulated me. My ears were buzzing hearing random phrases like, “I’m glad someone new one for a change. At least that bitch Kira didn’t win again. We needed someone new.” Random people were patting me on the back.
“I don’t give a damn what those envelopes said, I’m going to the office right now and demanding a recount. There has been some fuckery going on. There’s no way I shouldn’t be prom queen! You know it’s true. Me, Kira Randall, losing to Cynamon Brown?”
I looked over to see Kira Randall, the undisputed most popular girl in school ranting on. Every word she said was punctuated with a toss of her weave. The weave she swore up and down grew out of her head, but I could spot even the nicest weave. She may have thought she was fooling the Mexican and White girls she hung out with but not me. Besides, one day in gym she was bending down doing a cheer. When I tell you the hair in her “kitchen” was from Southern Sudan Africa and the weave was from a whole other continent. I don’t know why she felt the need to get all loud. I didn’t cast a vote at all for prom court let alone try to get myself nominated. I was just as clueless as to how it happened as she was.
“I know girl! What were people thinking? There must have been a mistake.” Kira’s best-friend Monique cosigned looking at me with her nose turned up as if I smelled. I stared dead in her face and her lips stopped moving mid-sentence. Then I gave her the middle finger.
I didn’t give a damn about any of this, but I’ll be damned if I let a snooty bitch think she was going to talk shit about me.
“Obviously there wasn’t a mistake if every 7th period class got the same envelope. But go ahead and walk to the office to complain with your bucket full of salty tears. Just face the fact you ain’t got the juice this year sweetie.” I replied with a smirk. These bougie girls at this school really did not want it with me. I stayed to myself and minded my business. I’d been rolling that way since freshmen year but the last thing they wanted to do was try me. I was not with that whole bullying thing.
“Excuse me? Were you talking to us?” Kira asked. When I looked in her face I almost burst out laughing. I could tell she was really mad about not winning. How lame can you get? I guess you could act like not making prom court was the end of the world. I may only be 17 but I have real-life shit going on. Every day I opened my eyes it was survival of the fittest. Fuck a damn prom queen. It must be nice to have being prom queen on your list of priorities.
“I was talking to whoever is running their mouth.The prom queen loser. So yes, I was talking to you. Look if you have a problem because people didn’t vote for you, talk to whoever you need to about all that. But I suggest you don’t come for me unless I send for you. For what it’s worth, I’m not pressed about being prom queen. If they let us switch I’m fine with it.” I said before turning my back on her and continuing on to my locker. Kira Randall didn’t deserve my attention. I didn’t have time for this at all. I was going to miss my damn bus addressing this nonsense.
Five minutes later I was standing at the bus stop down the street from the school stuffing a granola bar down my throat. I hadn’t even gotten to work yet but I was already daydreaming about the Chinese food plate I was going to treat myself to at the spot next door to my job. Ugh, on second thought, after that video I saw on Instagram with the employees from the Chinese restaurant carrying that dead dog inside, I changed my mind. I mean I know that’s not all restaurants, but way take a chance? I knew by the time I got home from work, if any food had been made, it would have been long gone by the time I walked in the door. I pulled out my cell-phone to check my Instagram then call my best-friend Nakia. She was going to trip when I told her I’d been voted prom queen.
“Aye.”
I kept right on looking at my cell-phone. Yeah, my Mama was dead ass wrong for naming me Cynamon, but I know damn well she didn’t name me “Aye”.
I was checking my favorite celebrity’s pages, the Shaderoom, along with a few of my friend’s pages from the neighborhood.
“Excuse me…CYNAMON!”
I raised my eyes up to see none other than Dash Knight parked right in front of the bus stop in his black Mustang convertible. I shook off the shock. Good Lord this boy was fine, but he already knew it. I’m sure every girl at Windham Academy let him know no less than 100 times a day. Plus, he was Kira’s boyfriend. I guess they called themselves a little power couple.
“Yeah?”
“So, I wanted to talk to you about prom court.”
“Who are you?” I asked my lips pursed tight. I decided to play with his ass just because I could tell he was conceited as hell. Rolling up on me talking about some damn “Aye”. The nerve.During the last four years of course, our paths had crossed occasionally but it had always been school related. Dash Knight was as snooty as his girlfriend.
I could see his face momentarily fall but he quickly recovered. Hmm, I’ll give him a little credit for trying to play it off quick.
“My name is Dash Knight. We’ve gone to school together the last four years. Matter of fact, we had chemistry together last semester.”
“Oh yeah. I remember now. So, what’s up? Whatchu want?”
“Well I thought maybe we could talk right now about prom night. You know with the new rules and everything, they want us to go together. So, I figured since we only have a month to get it all together, we may as well start planning as soon as possible.”
“The rules say we have to go together? I never heard that. I mean I ain’t all into the prom thing but how they gon’ tell me who I have to go to prom with? They must be gon’ sponsor me to go huh?”
“Well I mean it’s not set in stone, but I figure with all the pictures we have to take together, the dance we have to do why not?”
“Boy bye. If you don’t want to go to prom with Kira, why not just tell her? Don’t put me in your mess.”
Dash’s eyes widened quickly, and he played down a smile flirting at the corner of his lips.
“Nah. That’s not it, but I just know all the stuff they have you doing for prom and it’s much easier if you just go with the person. I was Jr. Prom king last year. You may not recall, I mean since you don’t recognize me and all.” Dash said slyly.
Just then the bus pulled up right behind him blaring the horn loudly.
“Look I have to get on the bus now. This is a lot to think about…,”
“Well just get in with me, I’ll give you a ride home, so we can talk.”
“No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” I stammered nervous all of a sudden. This was a lot to think about and I still wasn’t sure I was going to accept the nomination.
“Shit if she don’t want a ride I damn sure do!” A grown ass woman said leering at Dash. She looked almost as old as my Mama. That wasn’t saying much, my Mama was only 36. It’s not like she was ready for the grave and half the time she acted younger than me, and I wasn’t even the oldest. I was her middle child.
“You need to be ashamed of yourself. This is a teen-aged boy.” I said cutting my eyes at her. It suddenly pissed me off because even though I could care less about Dash, this woman was acting as thirsty as my Mama would have acted.
“He looks every bit of 18 to me! As long as he’s legal you best believe I can ride that thang!” The woman said cackling loudly with her mouth wide open showing several missing teeth. The bus honked again.
“Come on now, you are holding these people up.” Dash pressed.
I looked at the crowd of people waiting to board the bus and they all glared back angrily.
“Okay but I need you to take me straight to work.” I said hopping in the passenger side.
