Alone In the Middle(Ch.14)

by Solana in World of Books

Chapter 14
The weekend had been great. I'd spent some time with Mike, hung out with Jamie and Melody, and I had to fit in some babysitting time with the monsters, but that was kind of to be expected. So when Monday rolled around, I expected everything to go great. But that Monday, when got to school, I found a bunch of people milling around the entrance. There was some big sign that said:

THE SPRING FLING STINKS!
If you were planning on going to the Spring Fling, change your plans. This
year, the committee is headed by Lisa Jenkins, and while her makeover is great,
She cannot plan a dance. So save yourself the torture and skip the Spring Fling!

I was shocked. Why would anyone say this? I had planned a great Spring Fling. The latest music, good food, a dance contest and great decorations. But it would all go to waste if no one came.
I decided that no one needed to read this garbage, so I took it down. But I soon found out that there were a lot more. They were plastered all over the walls. I decided to just tell my friends that the signs weren't true. It would get passed around soon enough.
So after Monday, I thought it was over. No more sabotage. But on Tuesday, another thing happened.

Now this didn't happen until after school. Tuesday was the day we were setting up the music area. All the equipment was in the cafeteria, or so we were told. When we got there, the cafeteria was empty. No equipment whatsoever. It took us over an hour to find everything. And then it took another hour to set it all up, because someone had hid the instructions!

I decided this had gone far enough, and called Jamie and Melody later that night on three-way.

"Okay, what do y'all think is going on. I mean who would try to sabotage the Spring Fling?"
"I think it's Ann and Anna. They don't want you to succeed. So this is their way of holding you back."
"Maybe it's Amber. She was so mad that you and Mike are going together. She probably wants to ruin it for you."
"Maybe they're working together! They could be totally sabotaging this dance just because they're so twisted."
"But why would they do that? They're the ones who wanted to have a great Spring Fling in the first place."
"Well..."

And it went on and on. We went for the obvious suspects of course, but then someone would give a reason why they wouldn't do it. In the end, we figured all we could do was be extra careful. We of course wouldn't find out who the real culprit was until Friday. And who it was would surprise us all.

It was Friday. I woke up so early, I had to wait a whole hour before I could leave. I was really excited. I mean, I was going to the Spring Fling with Mike Wells. I was going to go to a fun Spring Fling. Despite a week of incidents, the cafeteria was ready. And so was I.
I think.
The whole day, I was very jittery. Kevin and Mike walked with us to school. Mike had been really happy, and I'd tried to be the same. But the big bright, happy sun that was supposed to be making me happy had some clouds overhead.
Like, what if the person who'd been trying destroy the dance, ruined everything? What if something happens that I can't go to the dance? What if Mike suddenly decides he doesn't want to go with me? What if...
"What's wrong?"
I looked up into Mike's blue eyes. Clearly, he liked me. Clearly, he chose me over Amber. Clearly.
"Oh, nothing. I'm just excited." I said.
Mike smiled. We walked into school.
That's when the jitters began.

No matter what I told myself, I had butterflies flitting around in my stomach. They refused to settle down, and I couldn't quash them. It was torture.

But I tried to get over it, and when I went home to change, I told myself everything was fine. And it was. Until midway through the dance.
That's when that surprising culprit showed his face.
And it blew me away.