ASHLEY’S POV
The whole school felt like it was vibrating with excitement the next morning. Banners were half-taped to walls, student council kids ran around with clipboards, and a group of dancers kept practicing the opening routine in the hallway, nearly kicking people as they passed.
Everywhere I turned, someone was arguing about decorations or trying out their outfits for the charity gala. I kept getting pulled into conversations I didn’t ask for - something about centerpieces, something about rehearsal schedules, something about coordinating outfits because I was Jason’s date and apparently that made me part of the “IT crowd.”
I smiled at people because I had to, because I didn’t want anyone guessing how scrambled my insides were. Students asked what my dress looked like, if Jason
