Becoming Better

Chapter 10 - Homecoming Court

After a couple weeks passed with them not speaking to each other because of what happened at the party, Charlie apologized to Wyatt over the phone. She missed talking to him every day. It genuinely surprised her just how much she missed him, but he had become one of her best friends. Jessica and Alex had broken things off with Aiden and Jesse now that summer was over, but Charlie didn't want to lose Wyatt.

He was busy after school with water polo most days, but he always found time to text her. He would send her funny memes throughout the day that made her laugh. If neither of them had too much studying to do, they would talk on the phone. Sometimes they would sit on the phone and watch the same Netflix show at the same time, so it felt like they were watching it together. Right now, they were binging Ozark.

"Oh my god Wendy, come on!" Wyatt shouted.

"She's just looking out for her family, what else could she do?" Charlie defended the woman onscreen.

"Pfff," Wyatt blew air as a response. "So, did anything interesting happen at Saint Pete's today?"

Charlie sighed. "Not really. Oh wait, kind of. We had Homecoming Court nominations today."

"Oooh, fun," he said, feigning excitement. "We don't do a Homecoming Court at Saint Marks. Who'd you vote for?"

"I put down Rachel, Taylor, Alex and Jessica."

"Aww you're such a good friend. But I bet anything you're going to win. You're the most beautiful girl in school, so it's kind of a given," he said.

Charlie rolled her eyes at his flirting, but couldn't suppress a smile. "Well Senior Court has four spots, so technically four of us could win."

"Wait, what? How many Homecoming Queens do you guys have over there?" Wyatt asked.

Charlie laughed. "It's complicated."

Charlie was right, it was complicated. Homecoming Court for Seniors was a much bigger deal than it was for the underclassmen. Yes, you could put down on your college applications that you had won class Princess during Freshman, Sophomore or Junior year, but winning a spot in the Senior Court held much more weight. The Senior Court selection process included interviews with the faculty, an essay about why you were an exemplary Saint Peters student, and your transcript. The eight Senior girls with the most peer votes, as well as the eight guys, went through the selection process. The Principal and Dean picked the top four girls and boys, and they were the ones who won a spot on the Court.

Charlie found out the next day that she was one of the top eight girls in her class. She was thrilled. She texted Wyatt, and he responded with a simple 'Duh 😊 '.

If she could win a spot on the Court, that would totally boost her chances of getting into a good college. Her friends all made it as well, which was exciting. Rounding out the group were two girls from the theater department, Katie and Renee, and shockingly, the new girl Mara.

"Congratulations!" Charlie said to Mara when she saw her in the hallway later.

"Thank you! I'm shook," Mara said.

"I know the feeling," Charlie smiled. "I'll see you at the interviews later!"

Later on, all the girls sat in a classroom while they waited for the faculty to come get them for their interviews. Charlie had told all of her friends that Mara was actually cool, and she wanted them to give her a chance. She was happy when she saw how easily Mara fit in to the group as the girls started asking her about what life was like at Bridgeport High.

"I can't believe that happened to you," Taylor said, wide-eyed. Mara just told them about how she was attacked the year before.

"Are you ok?" Rachel asked. "You don't have to relive it anymore if you don't want to."

"I'm fine," Mara reassured them. "I'm just glad to be here instead. You guys seem really cool."

"We are," Taylor said, flipping her hair like a diva. Everyone laughed at her.

"You don't have to worry about anything like that here," Jessica said.

Alex agreed. "Yeah, we've got your back."

"Wow, thank you guys so much," Mara said.

A teacher entered the classroom. "Charlie Jackson?" she said, looking at Charlie.

Charlie stood up, her heart pounding a little faster. "Ready," she said.

The girls wished her good luck as she headed down the hallway to the interview.

**How do you guys think Charlie's interview is gonna go?