Morgan Rice - Resurrected

The thought burned Scarlet up inside. She kept replaying in her head all the details of her and Blake’s date together. At various points in the movie their elbows and arms had touched, and he hadn’t backed away. Neither had she. She felt that he wanted to be closer; but she also felt that he was really nervous. So was she. She wondered once again if she messed up by introducing him to her family as her “boyfriend.” Maybe she should have just introduced him as “her friend.” But that seemed so awkward and childish, like she was in third grade. Plus, she hadn’t wanted them to look at and treat him like any other friend. She had felt a need to draw a line, to be a bit independent, especially from her dad, who could be super protective.

She wished that she hadn’t been put in that position to begin with, hadn’t been surprised and had to introduce him to everyone. But at the same time, she’d loved having Blake there, and he had seemed like a perfect fit with her family. It had felt so natural.

What would she do if Blake didn’t ask her to the dance? And worse: what if he took Vivian? Scarlet would be so embarrassed in front of all her friends, who just moments before were announcing to the world that they were dating.

“Darryl asked Jasmin to the dance,” Maria whispered from the seat beside her. “Can you believe it? That leaves only me and you without dates.”

Maria must have been reading her mind. Talk of the dance made her stomach drop. The pressure was on, and it was building. Soon, everyone would have a date. Everyone but her.

“So,” Maria whispered. “You’re leaving me in suspense. Did he ask you?”

Scarlet blinked back at her, for a moment wondering what she was talking about. And then she realized. Blake. She wanted to know if Blake had asked her to the dance.

Scarlet shrugged.

“Um… not really. I mean, he started to, but then Vivian showed up.”

“No!” Maria said, eyes opening in disbelief. “What happened?”

“Scarlet and Maria stop speaking right now!” snapped the teacher.

It was another teacher that Scarlet dreaded – her biology teacher. She couldn’t think of any subject more boring, and this teacher was a close second in meanness to her math teacher.

But this time, Scarlet welcomed the rebuke. It gave her a chance to regroup, to not have to answer any more questions. She turned and stared out the window, and zoned out all the way until the bell rang.

Scarlet shuffled quickly out the room, Maria by her side, and the two made their way towards the cafeteria, for lunch. As the halls filled with students, surging towards lunch, the energy increased in the air, and the noise got louder. Scarlet started to get nervous as they approached. Blake would be there. He always was. Would he come up to her? Would he ignore her? Would he be sitting with Vivian?

Worse, had Vivian already asked him to the dance? Scarlet didn’t think so. As much as Vivian wanted to go with him, it would also be awkward for her to ask. That wouldn’t put her in the best light – and it might even backfire.

Scarlet realized this might be her last chance. She had to catch Blake’s attention, had to finish their conversation from earlier. Unless, of course, he showed up with Vivian.

“So tell me what happened?” Maria said. “Was he planning to ask you?”

“I have no idea,” Scarlet snapped back. “Stop asking me.”

Scarlet immediately felt bad; she didn’t mean to snap at her best friend. All this pressure was just getting to her.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean it. I’m just a little stressed, you know?”

Maria nodded gracefully.

“It’s okay. I feel it. I’m stressed, too. I think we’re the last ones that don’t have a date for this thing.”

“What about Julio?” Scarlet asked, suddenly remembering Maria’s ex-boyfriend. “It looks like you guys are talking again.”

“He asked Samantha. Can you believe it? What a pig.”

“I’m sorry,” Scarlet said, meaning it.

Maria shrugged.

“It’s okay. I don’t think I would’ve wanted to go with him anyway. Sometimes you have to let things go, you know what I mean?”

They opened the double doors to the cafeteria, and entered a huge, cavernous room, filled with hundreds of screaming, energetic kids. The tables were packed, and the line for a hot meal wrapped along the wall.

Scarlet spotted Jasmin and Becca sat at a table far across the room, and as she walked over to them, she scanned the room for any signs of Blake or Vivian. There were none. She did, though, notice that Blake was absent from his usual table of friends – and so was Vivian. Not a good sign. Were the two of them together somewhere?

Scarlet sat at her table, her heart thumping, and set down her books.

“Hey guys.”

“Hey.”

“The meatloaf’s good today,” Becca said.

But Scarlet wasn’t hungry. Her heart was fluttering, and she was finding it hard to concentrate. Maria dragged her to the line with her, and she found herself waiting on it with all the others.

“Maybe I just won’t go,” Maria said, as they reached the food and the women heaped huge servings of food on their trays. “I mean, what’s the big deal about a dance anyway? It’s so overblown. It’s just a huge pressure cooker. And it’s always so lame. There’s that bonfire, and most people don’t even dance.”

“I know,” Scarlet agreed.

“I mean, who made up this stupid dance anyway?” Maria continued, as they took their trays and headed back to the table. “It’s like just a big excuse for everyone to see who’s dating who. It’s so aggravating.”

As they headed back, Scarlet saw something that made her heart leap: there, sitting at the table with all the popular girls, was Vivian. As Scarlet walked past, Vivian looked up and glared at her, daggers in her eyes. There was no sign of Blake, anywhere.

That was a good sign. The two of them were not together, and Vivian was pissed. Maybe something went wrong. Clearly, Vivian hadn’t been successful yet; if she had, she’d be sporting a smile. At least now Scarlet had a chance.

Scarlet smiled inwardly to herself as she made her way back to her table with her food, sitting with the others.

She sat there, food untouched, watching the door, as more and more kids streamed in, looking for any sign of Blake. She saw his table, with all his friends, and he still wasn’t there. He had to come in any second. And when he did, she would make room for him, try to get him to sit with her. In fact, she prepared, sliding over.

“What are you doing?” Maria asked, looking at the empty seat as Scarlet slid over.

Scarlet had no time to explain: suddenly, she saw him, walking through the door. Blake looked as cute as ever. He walked in with a big smile on his face, carrying a small bag of lunch, skipping the line. He was walking in her direction, right at her, and as she looked up, their eyes locked. He saw her. She was sure of it.

Scarlet began to get up as Blake walked right for her table. He was only a few feet away and he wasn’t even looking at his guy friends. He was looking at her. Clearly, he was coming to sit with her.

“Blake?” came the voice.

No , Scarlet though. Not again.

Blake stopped, a few feet away, and turned at the harsh voice summoning him.

Vivian stood at the head of the table of girls, gesturing to him at an empty seat beside the head of their table.

“I saved you a seat,” she said.

It was more like a command than a request – and her entire group of friends, in perfect solidarity, all stared at him as one, in such a way that left open no room for refusal. It was a look that said: if you don’t sit here with us now, you are forever banned from the popular group.