A Prom to Remember(32)

When he got back to his house, he tiptoed through the front door. The TV was off and there was a pile of pillows and blankets on the couch. He was sure his mom was under it, which meant he was definitely, 100 percent going to win this round.

He was patting himself on the back, literally, as he stepped into his room and slipped off his shoes.

But when he turned on his bedside lamp, there was a mound under the blankets on his bed, in the shape of his mother. The shape was unmistakable.

He panicked. There was no way around this. Unless he pretended he’d been in the basement all night or something. But they didn’t have a finished basement, so unless he had been down there using the treadmill or doing laundry for the past—he glanced at his alarm clock—six and a half hours, neither of which his mother would buy, he was screwed. Completely screwed.

(So screwed he might not be allowed to go to prom and could avoid having to talk to Luke about the hotel room. That was the silver lining.)

His mom was still definitely asleep. Maybe he could curl up next to her and convince her she had sleepwalked into his room.

As he was going through a variety of other scenarios, she woke up and stared right at him.

“Well, hello, Otis.”

“Hi, Mom.”

She sat up, throwing off the quilt his oma had made him when he was five.

“Fancy seeing you here, in your room, at four in the morning.”

“I was in the basement,” he said, his voice high pitched and squeaky like he’s twelve.

She tsked. “Keep your voice down and don’t wake up your sisters.”

“Okay,” he said. And then he decided to try a different tactic. He yawned and stretched. “Well, I’m exhausted. Guess I should get back to sleep.”

“Where were you?”

“The basement?”

She stood up and shook her head, walking slowly to the door.

“You’re grounded,” she said over her shoulder.

“Wait, for how long?” Otis asked.

“Let’s say forever.”

“Can’t we negotiate this?” he asked, his hands going clammy at the thought of having to tell Luke he couldn’t go to the prom with him. He’d made a huge mistake.

“It’s four o’clock in the morning. I’m not negotiating anything. You snuck out of the house, didn’t tell me where you were going, then lied when you got home and ruined my sleep. You wouldn’t have pulled this if your father was home.”

He couldn’t deny that.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“I’m sure you are, but we’re done discussing this.”

As she pulled the door closed behind her she said, “Good night.”

Otis threw himself down on his bed.

He knew enough to let it go for now. There was no reason to try to discuss it with his mother. But he would bring it up in the morning, and if that didn’t work he would wait until his dad got back and figure out a way to make them listen about the prom.

He flipped over onto his side and squeezed his eyes shut.

Except maybe it was fate getting him out of the whole hotel room mess and whatever embarrassing situation was sure to happen there.

If he couldn’t go to the prom, he wouldn’t have to talk to Luke about how nervous he was at the prospect of what the hotel room entailed.

He’d put in an effort, because that’s what Otis did. He was stubborn and he loved a good debate. But if didn’t work, it didn’t work.

He’d have to accept it and so would Luke.

Lizzie

When Lizzie arrived at Madison’s house Sunday afternoon, Luke’s car was sitting out front. If she had known Luke was going to be there, she would have asked him for a ride instead of waiting for her dad to get up after working the night shift.

Madison’s mom let her in, and Lizzie ran up the stairs to Madison’s room where she could hear an argument in progress.

“All I’m saying,” Luke said through the crack in the door, “is that he wouldn’t have gone out last night if you hadn’t invited him.”

“Well, all I’m saying is that if he knew he’d get in trouble he shouldn’t have said yes!” Madison retorted.

Lizzie knocked loudly on the door. “I’m coming in!” she yelled through it.

Madison was standing on one side of her unmade bed, and Luke was standing on the other. If Lizzie hadn’t known better she would have thought they were having a very heated argument about the best way to make a bed.

“So,” Lizzie said in a sugary-sweet voice, dragging out the o. “I take it everyone is having a lovely Sunday afternoon?”

Luke crossed his arms and huffed out a breath. Madison slumped into her desk chair and stared out the window.

“I feel like I’m about to play referee here.”

Madison turned to look at Lizzie. “Otis and I went out to a late movie last night, and he got caught sneaking back in. Luke thinks this is somehow my fault.”

“It’s totally her fault that Otis got into trouble! He might be grounded from the prom,” Luke said.

“I’m confused. How is this Madison’s fault?”

“Thank you!” Madison said. “That’s what I want to know, but he doesn’t have a good answer for that question. His logic is baseless.”