The Mars Project by Julie Steimle (i can read with my eyes shut TXT) 📕

of a semi-truck. And per Pennington High’s sense of humor, they were dressed as pirates, having a duel over a heaping ‘treasure pile’ and a few ‘wenches’ via the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie final battle scene. Their student body president was dressed in an almost perfect Captain Jack Sparrow costume, staggering around the scene ‘drunkenly’ while the others battled with the rest of the Associate Student Body presidency in flamboyant style.

 “…And now let’s cheer for this year’s princes and princesses!”

Following the floats, several convertibles drove by carrying the chosen princesses and princes. Everyone stood up to see the upcoming princes and princesses of the freshman, sophomore and junior years. Of course, that only made it more difficult for anyone to see since everyone else was standing up. Jeff and his friends cackled together, imagining who had ended up king and queen in the senior class, as none of them really cared. It was the drama of it during the big reveal that would get interesting, as the girls often got emotional.

The freshman princess was a skinny girl who wore a pink spaghetti strap dress. Her prince was a pimple-faced redhead that ran in track. She grinned, her bright silver braces shining as she waved at the crowd. One of the junior varsity cheerleader’s ended up being the sophomore princess.  Her snotty expression spoke so much about her as she gazed on everyone else and waved smugly. She rode in the back of a black convertible, wearing a black strapless dress that she had to constantly pull up. Her prince was a blond boy wearing a smirk that said you-love-me-don’t-you. Next came the junior convertible, Maria Forte riding as princess alongside a boy who played basketball with the varsity team. He sat awkwardly alongside her, too tall and stringy, yet happy to be there. Maria waved and smiled with such a blissful grin, like she was amazed that she had been picked. As it passed by the cheerleaders, Zormna waved back, smirking.

Then the announcers raised their voices. “And now for our senior princes and princesses! Who do you think will be the lucky guy and gal, Ted?”

The dirty-old-man voice responded. “Obviously the one with the biggest—”

“And here they are folks!” purposely cutting him off. “This year’s Homecoming court!”

Everyone cheered.

They all looked out at the people voted to be princes and princesses. There were about five each. Michelle Clay was among the princesses, and Adam Arbor was among the princes. Adam looked nervous, dressed in a suit, rubbing his hands and giggling that he had actually been picked as a candidate.

“Woah! Adam!” His friends cat-called him from the stands, laughing at his luck. For a newcomer, he had made himself quite popular. But then, Adam had that kind of open personality.

They all were let out near the fifty-yard line. They gathered, waiting for the final announcement. Several of the girls were crossing their fingers, biting their lower lips in hope.

“And senior prince is…”

The band played a drum roll.

“Bradley Hershott!”

The football player jogged off the field and accepted his small crown amidst cheers, though Zormna was sure she heard a few boos coming out as well. Brad didn’t notice it or he ignored it.

 “And the Homecoming king is….”

Another drum roll. The crowd even got into it.

“Adam Alexander Arbor!”

Adam grinned dazedly as if he didn’t believe it. He had to be nudged forward to accept his crown.

The last year’s king placed it on his head, even while Adam laughed at his luck. The other princes shrugged and stepped back. It was over and done with.

“Now our Homecoming princesses! Michelle Clay!”

Michelle’s face pretended to be excited, but everyone could tell she was floored with disappointment. Normally she would have jumped or screamed or faked tears, or done some kind of Miss America wave with false humility. But she merely grinned at Brad, her prince, as she was crowned, instead of giving him the customary kiss.

“And Homecoming queen of this year goes to…”

A heavy drum roll echoed through the stadium. People pounded their feet on the ground the thrill excitement filling everyone.

“Amanda Autumn Jenkins!”

A girl Zormna hardly knew started screaming among the princesses. She jumped up and down with that familiar beauty pageant teary cry then walked up the rolled out carpet to the front next to Adam.

Brian and Mark burst out laughing, though it was not clear what was so funny. Jeff chuckled with them as their laugh was infectious, but he had to wait until Mark explained the joke.

“If she had an A last name then our home coming king and queen could kick them in the A…A…A…A—as in the cheer,” Mark said.

Jeff and Jonathan stared at him then shared a look.

But Sam found it hilarious. Tears ran from his eyes as he guffawed.

Immediately half-time entertainment started.

“Pizza!” Jeff announced, popping from his seat.

The others got up also, prepared to buy out the concession stand.

“Somebody needs to watch our stuff,” Brian called back, hesitating between going and staying.

“I’ll watch it if you bring be back a cocoa,” Zormna called through the fence, hopping over. The flag team was on the field and the varsity cheer squad was watching from the sidelines. Most were whispering over Michelle’s predictable temper fit over not winning Homecoming Queen.

“Joy, do you want any?” Brian asked his sister.

She grinned, rubbing her cold legs as she joined Zormna near the fence. “Please! Yes!”

The boys rushed off.

The flag team performed a well-choreographed routine, wowing the older adults in the stands while the band played their marching song. As they were performing, the band came down like a motley crew of rogues who had raided the Music Man’s stash of instruments. The boys barely got back when the cheerleaders had to go back on again, with their mascot Amanda Jace performing twirling stunts with her rapier. A time filler, everyone just wanted to get on with the game.

The moment halftime was over, Zormna claimed her slightly cooled off cocoa and had a second to down it with Joy before going back to the sidelines to lead cheers.

The game started again. Soon enough they were now 20 to 14, Pennington losing. Then it was 20 to 21. Then 26 to 21. Then 27 to 21. Then it was 27 to 28. The Pennington cheer team was finding it exhausting as they cheered each touchdown and booed every of the opposite team’s touchdowns.

In the last quarter, they ended with three minutes on the clock and a score of 34 to 28. The Harvest team had the ball. The quarterback passed it clear across the field to their receiver’s open grasp. He ran and leapt and scored.

It was 41 to 28.

At one minute to the end, Pennington had the ball. They passed it. With much anticipation everyone held their breath.

A Harvest team player intercepted the ball then darted off before the Pennington team knew what hit them. He ran, bolting across the field in one big chase, crossing across the goal line.

The visitor’s side roared, cheering as the clock hit zero.

Harvest won, 47 to 28.

The Pennington cheerleaders dropped their breath and let their faces fall. They had lost their Homecoming game.

Zormna gazed out at the team, chest heaving, sweat on her forehead, and shook her head. She kept shaking her head as she walked up to the stands where Jeff and his friends had watched the game. Leaning against the low wall, she wiped her forehead and commented to herself. “That was a good game.”

Brian over heard her. Throwing up his hands in protest, he almost exploded in exasperation. “How is that a good game? We lost!”

Zormna looked up at him with a smirk at him. Brian took such thing so personally. She liked and hated that about him. Next to him, though, sat Jeff who was shaking his head and smothering a laugh.

“Not by much,” she replied. “That boy on the other team made a great catch. It was impressive.”

Already the band started into their death-march song—the one they always played when they lost a game. Behind Brian’s exasperated tirades, it lent a sensation of irony. “But they’re the enemy! You shouldn’t be cheering on the enemy!”

“I’m not cheering. Only admiring,” Zormna chuckled at his overreaction. “Relax, Brian. It is only a game.”

Mark swelled up at her words as if she had just slapped him and told him his mother was a bag lady. And next to him, Jonathan gazed down on her with disappointment, along with Sam.

“Have some school spirit,” Sam said.

Zormna lifted her eyebrows at him. “Admiring the other team because they played well is not anti-school spirit. Honestly, this kind of blatant hate is rather of childish.”

The boys stared at her as if she had punched them in the gut.

Jeff rose. “Well, that was fun. Wanna see if there is any pizza left?”

Zormna nodded, shooting most especially Brian a disappointed look.

She and Jeff walked off.

Joy, who had been lingering nearby and listening, cringed. “She’s got a point.” And the hurried after them, slipping in between.

They stared at her now.

Mark shot her an I-thought-I-knew-you look.

The field cleared. Many of the Pennington supporters left sad, and some of the football players took their defeat hard. But like Zormna, many secretly thought it had been a great game which they had been honored to lose.

*

Jennifer woke early the next morning and pounded on Zormna’s door. She was sleeping in, or so Jennifer first thought. She knocked on the door again.

“She’s not up there, Jennifer,” her little brother Andrew said as he walked out of his bedroom toward the bathroom.

Jennifer turned around. “Where is she?”

Her brother shrugged his shoulders and said, “I don’t know, but she took the car.”

Jennifer’s mouth fell open.

Stepping toward her little brother, panic whipped through her. “She took the car? She doesn’t have a license.”

Andrew shrugged again. “Well, she has the car and—”

They both heard the front door close. They both stopped then ran to the end of the hall and stared down over the stairs. There was Zormna, walking up to the stairs with a large bag in her arms. She glanced up when she got to the top step, passing by them both with a faint grin at them.

“Good morning, Jennifer. Hello, Andrew.”

“Where have you been?” Jennifer followed her up to her room.

Andrew went into the bathroom and hastily closed the door. He didn’t want his parents to overhear any conversation which might get Zormna into any trouble.

Puzzled, Zormna replied. “The mall. I needed a dress for today.”

“You didn’t get a dress until this morning?” Jennifer gaped after her.

Zormna shrugged. “No. I saw it in the mall a month ago, but it was too big. But they said they could order the one in my size. It has been on layaway. I have not had the time until today to pick it up.”

Entering her room, she set the clothes bag on the bed.

Jennifer peered expectantly at her, surprised Zormna had actually ordered a dress without her knowing. “Can I see it?”

Zormna smirked as she extracted the contents from the mall bag, dumping both onto her bed

The dress was peach colored. It had an empire waist and mid length sleeves along with a low square collar that cut along her collarbones. The flowing skirt dropped just beyond her knees. She also bought a pair of silky peach heeled shoes that had lace up straps which reached past her ankles. They weren’t exactly ball-gown level. Zormna held them up then dropped them on the bed.

“We don’t go until six in the afternoon. Sam had wanted to go on a date before, horseback riding I think, but I told him I had something to do.” Zormna sat down on the bed pensively then looked up at Jennifer. Jennifer was watching her carefully, wondering if more had been discovered about their FBI spy.

“So you’re really going through with this?” Jennifer asked.

Zormna nodded. “Jafarr has everything planned. If all goes well, and Sam doesn’t suspect anything, then the others will be able to do their part.” She sighed, thinking a little more. “I