Destiny Rising

Chapter 3

As the limo pulled up to the school, our moods had lightened considerably. Sliding gracefully from the limo, we glided into the gym and saw every one of the dance committee running around doing last-minute touch-ups. Michelle was assisting the DJ with setting up and going over the playlist with him. Taylor was centering on the beautiful white and pink rose centerpieces on the tables in the other gym. The tables had light blue tablecloths covering them with a pale yellow runner down the middle. Carrie was going around straightening the white chair covers and the light green ribbon that held them on. Alicia and Sue were over by the doors we had just walked through, setting up the table where they would collect the other students’ tickets as they came in. Grace was over speaking with the servers and going over last-minute instructions with them. The only guy that was actually doing anything was Michael, he was going around lighting the candles in the centerpieces. He must have felt my gaze because he suddenly looked up and right at me. His gaze was so intense, and it was almost as if he knew something about me that even I didn’t. Just then, I saw something flash across his face and he quickly looked.

“Okay,” I said as I mentally shook off that tingly sensation I got from him, “I think we’re just about ready.”

I survived the room and thought it looked amazing, like a fairy tale. White lights were twinkling in the trees we had brought in and the other decorations were all light and spring-like. We even had a special dance floor installed, so it looked like a spring meadow.

“Alicia, open the doors, and let’s get this dance started,” I said into a microphone the DJ had handed me. Alicia opened the doors, then sat down next to Sue at the ticket table as they started collecting. I handed the microphone back to the DJ and went to mingle with everyone as the servers began to wind their way through the crowd with trays of hor d’oevers. The DJ started spinning music with the volume down so people could talk, but after dinner, he would crank it up. As I mingled, people would comment about how everything looked and how long it must have taken to pull it off. I remained polite and would graciously accept their comments and say it was all a team effort. For about an hour, we held a cocktail hour, just so everyone who bought a ticket would have a chance to arrive before dinner was served. Finally, the DJ announced that it was time for dinner to be served in the second gym.

When we had first been planning how we would arrange the tables for the dinner, Jasmine came up with an idea. When someone bought a ticket, they would get a number. The number would then match one on a place setting. That way you wouldn’t get clumps of friends sitting all together, and people would get a chance to talk to someone they wouldn’t normally talk to. But, since Jasmine, Kiara, and I had gotten our tickets at the same time, we were at the same table. We had just sat down at our spots when the other 3 people at our table arrived. Michael appeared to have gotten the spot to my right, between Jasmine and myself. Jacob Thompson had the spot between Kiara and Jasmine and Chris Marshall sat to my left, between myself and Kiara.

“Hey,” I said to the boys, “how are you enjoying yourselves so far?”

“Music’s kind of low”, Jacob commented.

“Yeah, you need to crank it up” Chris piped up.

“Guys, calm down. It’ll get turned way up after dinner. I just didn’t want people to have to yell at one another while eating”, I replied calmly, smoothing my hands over my lap.

“Sounds reasonable,” Michael said as he took a small sip from his water glass

“Oh, look, our table is up for food” Kiara announced as she slid me a look of confusion, which I knew I would have to deal with later.

Dinner went by quickly, everyone chatted about upcoming exams and final projects, as well as their plans for Victoria Weekend next week and the upcoming summer holiday. I chatted with everyone around me, except for Michael, which was only because he seemed to do the same to me. After everyone had finished eating and started getting up and moving around, the servers came around to clear the tables. The DJ also turned up the music as students began drifting towards the other gym. I had just excused myself from a group of people and was headed to the bathroom when my girls cornered me in the hallway outside the gym.

“So, spill” Kiara demanded.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about” I replied innocently.

“You do so. What’s going on between you and Michael? Cause if you don’t want him, I’ll totally make a move then.” Kiara said, smirking.

“Nothing is going on between Michael and me. He barely talks to me anyway,” I retorted.

“Sweetie,” Jasmine said, placing a hand on my arm, “Michael likes you, and I mean really likes you. Everyone can tell by the way he looks at you, and only you.”

“Doesn’t matter, I’m with Troy,” I muttered.

“Seriously, you’re playing the “Troy” card?” Kiara burst out

“Huh?” I asked

“Troy doesn’t love you anymore. He is never free for you and doesn’t look at you the way he did when you first started dating. Hell, I’m pretty sure he’s only staying with you for the sake of his appearance. I mean, imagine how it would look if he broke up with the most popular girl in school right before summer vacation.” Kiara said, straight to the point, as usual

“So, you’re saying I should break up with him?” I asked.

“Hell, ya!!” Kiara exclaimed.

“I think what Kiara is trying to say is, think it over. Don’t make any rash or bold moves just yet.” Jasmine said soothingly.

“If it makes you feel better, I will. Okay?” I replied, sighing “Anyways, we should probably get back to the dance.”

With that said, I managed to edge around them and head back to the gym. Once there, we were glad to see everyone dancing and enjoying themselves. Putting smiles on our faces, we joined in and danced our way to the middle of the floor. Since Troy hadn’t come, I only danced to the fast songs and sat the slow ones out. I was just about to sit down when “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri came on, but someone stopped in front of me and offered their hand to me. Looking up, I looked right into Michael’s clear blue eyes.

“Would you please do me the honor of this dance?” Michael asked, completely sincere in his words.

“Um, sure,” I replied as I placed my hand in his and felt that tingle of awareness again. Leading me back to the center of the dance floor, he twirled me around until we were chest to chest. As I placed my hands lightly on his shoulders, he moved his hands to my lower back and started turning in a small circle.

“Hey,” he said softly.

“Hey,” I replied quietly, becoming increasingly aware of how hot he truly was. We danced in silence for a while. “You do know I have a boyfriend”, I suddenly blurted out.

“Of course, I do. All I want is for us to be friends. Don’t you want to be friends?” he asked quizzically.

“Of course,” I muttered in reply as we fell back into silence. When the dance was over, he raised my left hand to his lips and lightly placed a kiss on the back of my hand. He then did an old-fashioned bow and turned to leave, leaving me rooted in my spot until Kiara came over and hip-checked me out of my shocked state. “Ouch,” I said, rubbing my hip “What did you do that for?”

“You were zoning out again.” She said, rolling her eyes at me.

“You still don’t have to do that,” I said, looking at her as Jasmine came over with a microphone in hand. “It’s time, isn’t it?” I asked.

“Yup, good luck,” Jasmine said, handing me the microphone. As I made my way up towards the stage, I couldn’t help but look around at all my classmates dancing, talking, and laughing. The gym looked amazing and I couldn’t have been prouder of all the hard work and dedication that went into the dance. As I climbed the stairs of the stage with Kiara and Jasmine following behind me. As I took my spot in the middle of the stage, I glanced over at Kiara and Jasmine who were standing over by the DJ booth. Kiara nodded at my gaze and leaned over the booth to tell the DJ to cut the music.

Taking a deep breath, I lifted the microphone to my face as I glanced out at my classmates dressed in their beautiful gowns and tailored tuxes. “I would just like to take this moment to thank everyone. All the volunteers came out to help with fundraisers and the setup. Also, for those who sponsored and donated money and the equipment. The caterers for the delicious food and the DJ for coming out at the last minute. Finally, a huge thank you to all of you for supporting the dance, coming out for the fundraisers, and purchasing tickets for tonight. I hope you all had a great time and a safe night. Thank you.”

Everyone started clapping as I handed the microphone back to the DJ and he packed up his own equipment.

“Alright, so are we going back to your place now?” Jasmine asked as we climbed down from the stage to retrieve our clutches from our table.

“Yeah,” I said, looking around for Kiara, finding her standing with Leo Matthew, playing with his tie. “Just need to pull Kiara away from Leo before he loses his mind to her,” I said as I walked over to Kiara and grabbed her by the back of her gown and Jasmine loosened his tie from her fingers.

“Run,” Jasmine told him as I turned Kiara away from him. “Forget what happened.”

Glancing around Kiara, I saw that his eyes were slowly returning to normal from the dazed expression he had while looking at her.

“What the hell? I was just flirting.” Kiara said, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring down at me.

“You were doing it again,” I said as I dragged her towards the gym doors, where Jasmine was waiting with our clutches.

“Doing what?” Kiara asked, glancing back and forth between Jasmine and me in confusion.

“Kiara, don’t you see what you do to the boys?” Jasmine asked as she linked her arm through Kiara’s.

“No…” she said as she continued looking back and forth between us with her disturbingly smoky grey eyes.

“You do something to them, it’s kind of like they go into a trance once you focus on them,” Jasmine explained as we left the gym and headed down the hallway that would lead towards the exit, moving around the other students as we went.

“Whoa, seriously?” Kiara asked, dumbfounded.

“Mhm,” I said, “It’s like they get caught in your eyes or something.”

“How long has this been happening?”

“Not even a year yet, since around your 16th birthday last summer,” Jasmine answered as we rounded a corner that took us to the doors that led outside. We stepped out into the cool spring night and I released my grip on Kiara, letting them walk ahead of me. Rubbing my hands against my arms for warmth, I trailed behind them toward our waiting limo. A gentle breeze suddenly blew right past me and I froze, looking around.

“Sapphire, are you okay?” Kiara asked, looking back at me.

“Um, ya. Did you just feel that?” I asked as I walked over towards them.

“Feel what?” Jasmine asked, wrapping her around my shoulder “OMG, you're freezing. Come on, let’s go.”

“That breeze.” I said, “I felt a breeze and as if someone was watching me”, glancing over my shoulder as they led me to the limo and gently pushed me in, and shut the door. Looking out the window as they got to the other side, I saw a girl wearing a light grey dress and a matching fedora covering her hair. She was standing under one of the old-fashioned Victorian-style street lamps across the parking lot. She turned to look in another direction and I followed her gaze. Michael was leaning against a silver Ford Focus under another street lamp. His gaze was steady and unwavering at the limo in which I sat.

“Are you sure you felt something? Cause there is no breeze tonight.” Jasmine said, drawing my attention from the outside.

“I guess it was just my imagination,” I mumbled, looking back out the window at where I saw the girl and Michael. Both were gone now, but I still felt the lingering feeling that I was being watched.