Surviving High School

instead of this on the day in question.”
    Emily shook her head and didn’t say a word.
    “No permanent damage done, I hope.”
    He handed her the dress, and she examined it closely, looking for ripped fabric, but no, the dress was fine. Not even so much as a loose thread.
    “’Night, kiddo,” he said, and left, closing the door behind him.
    Later that night, a few minutes after eleven o’clock, Emily booted up her computer and found Kimi online. They still hadn’t spoken since their argument outside the cafeteria.
    EmilyK14: Hey…
    ChEnigma22: You’re up late.
    EmilyK14: Yeah. Things have kind of changed around here.
    EmilyK14: And I’ve changed.
    EmilyK14: And I’m sorry.
    EmilyK14: I was a bad friend. I put myself first. I didn’t listen when you tried to tell me what was going on with you.
    EmilyK14: But I really miss you now.… And I promise, promise, promise to do better if you’ll be my best friend again.
    ChEnigma22: Aw, Em.
    ChEnigma22: All you had to say was “sorry.” (But I DO appreciate the groveling!) Of course we’re still best friends!
    ChEnigma22: And… I guess I’m just in a forgiving mood today. Since I got a new homecoming date!
    EmilyK14: No way! Who?
    ChEnigma22: Well…
    ChEnigma22: Don’t laugh. Or at least don’t type lol if you do. But…
    ChEnigma22: Remember Kevin Delucca?
    EmilyK14: You’re kidding, right? Isn’t he best friends with Amir? The one who forwarded your rating sheets to the whole school?
    ChEnigma22: I know, I know… But then he sent me this really nice e-mail about how bad he felt, and how Amir felt really bad, too.
    ChEnigma22: And then they even hacked that Facebook group about me and changed it to 50 Reasons Why Kimi Chen Is Actually Pretty Cool. And he’d noticed I’d written “actually kind of cute” in the pro column of his spreadsheet.
    EmilyK14: You did?!
    ChEnigma22: There’s no accounting for taste I guess… He was one of my lowest-rated suitors…
    ChEnigma22: But we just hung out at the mall yesterday and he turned out to be pretty cool. I guess sometimes the numbers lie.
    EmilyK14: So in that case… homecoming double date?! I’m sure I can get Ben to go for it.
    ChEnigma22: OMG! You and Ben are back together! Em! Congrats!
    ChEnigma22: And a double date sounds perfect. I can’t wait!
    The day before homecoming, Mr. McBride asked Emily to stay after class. That usually wasn’t a good sign, but this time a hint of a smile on her teacher’s face let Emily know she didn’t need to dread this conversation.
    “I’m afraid I have some alarming news for you,” Mr. McBride announced as Emily approached his desk after the bell rang. Unlike most days, he actually looked up from an essay he’d begun grading. “Your most recent test has thrown off my entire grading curve, thus forcing me to award it an A-plus instead of my usual maximum grade of a simple A.”
    “I’m—sorry?” Emily had studied extra hard, and it certainly made things easier that she wasn’t falling asleep on top of her test sheet.
    “As am I!” said Mr. McBride. “Should this trend continue, my reputation as the school’s harshest grader may be at stake.”
    He handed her the test.
    “I’ve been informed through certain faculty back channels that you have ‘found’ your textbook. I trust you’ll take better care of it this time?”
    “Believe me, I will,” said Emily.
    Mr. McBride returned to grading the essay.
    “That will be all, Ms. Kessler.”
    Emily backed out of the room, unable to contain her smile.
    On the afternoon of homecoming, Kimi came over so that she and Emily could get ready together. Kimi had found a bottle of nail polish that perfectly matched Emily’s dress, and they painted her fingernails for the first time. As her nails were drying, Emily wiggled her fingers happily and watched as Kimi painted her own toenails bright red.
    They were about to move on to their hair when Emily’s dad walked in. He was dressed in his gray game-day suit and wore his lucky coach’s whistle—the one he reserved for state and national meets—around his neck.
    “I just wanted to say good-bye,” he said. “Have fun at the dance. We’ll sure miss you at the tournament. Without you around, Dominique won’t have much competition.”
    A little pang of guilt struck at Emily. There was a part of her that wanted to go with him. But the part of her that wanted to see Ben all dressed up, to sway with him on the dance floor and kiss him again, was