Diplomat High

Chapter 22.3 - Homecoming with Emmanuel

Your mind is racing, and you're wondering if you should just back out now. But no, you were going to do this. You could do this. You needed to remember that Emmanuel willingly wanted to go with you. All you had to do was agree.

You don't even know where you're going. You don't even know where to find him. Not to mention, you look pretty dumb wandering the halls. But you do feel pretty dumb after all. 

Of course he had theatre, but you doubted that meant that you would manage to catch him in the middle of the day. But he had to be around here somewhere.

But to your luck---or maybe slight misfortune considering the state you were in---you catch him walking down the hall. "Emmanuel, hey!" you greet, maybe a little too enthusiastically. Or should you have been more enthusiastic? Why was this so hard?

He beams at you when you see him. "Y/n, what a fate to run into you. Time treating you well?"

"I guess so," you say. "I haven't died yet, so I think it's possible."

 "A veritable measurement." He tilts his head at you. "But were you looking for me or something? You looked pretty relieved to see me."

"Uh, yeah, actually, I was." Here you go. Except your mouth ends up being glued shut.

"How about you walk with me? My destination is aimless, but you could join me."

"Sure, totally." You join him in walking down the hall as you start to think and muster up the courage to say what you came to him to say. But he speaks first.

"I never apologized for leaving so abruptly that night," he said.

"No, no, it's fine," you assure. "Everything was great. And I..."

"What?"

Here you go. "I'd like to go to Homecoming with you."

A smile spreads across his face. "That's-- really? Oh my gosh, I'm honored, truly."

"Believe me, I felt more so when you asked me."

"Equality is important." His smile broadens. "But should I meet you there?"

"Yep, that totally works!" You laid it a little thick on the enthusiasm to prevent your lunch from ascending, because it definitely felt that way.

"Looking forward to seeing you there."

"Me too." He waves at you as he carries down the hall. Wow, you really did that. You actually let out more than a sentence without physically combusting. This was a new high for you!

You carry on through the rest of the day, and as you do, you realize that today is your last day to submit a vote. With a smile on your face, you submit your vote for Emmanuel.

Afterschool, you head shopping for what you're wearing to Homecoming. In all that time, you're in semi disbelief that you're actually going to Homecoming. You'd never gone before. Mostly because you'd never had anyone to go with. And now you had someone. You actually had a choice of who you wanted to go with, and you chose Emmanuel.

But here you are, very unsure of how far you come. And then you remind yourself that you're supposed to be enjoying it. And you would.

Later on, all dressed up, you head down to the Harbor and see that for the most part, the aura is warm. There are colorful string lights, music, people dancing and talking, and much more. To say you never imagined yourself being in such an environment is an understatement. It's in this moment that you realize you haven't been to a birthday party since the Jurassic World themed one in 6th grade that belonged to this set of twins that you didn't really like, but it was at that point in your life that it dawned on you that it would be a mistake to ever pass up free food. All in all, that day transformed you.