The Prom Queen (16 page)
Authors: R.L. Stine
K
evin held me close for another slow dance. I rested my head on his shoulder. The perfume of the gorgeous gardenia corsage pinned to my dress wafted up. When the music stopped, Kevin smiled down at me, his green eyes twinkling.
“I don't know about you,” he said, “but this is one prom I'm never going to forget.”
“That's for sure,” I agreed. I had different reasons in mind than Kevin did.
We were walking hand in hand off the dance floor now, past the two bulletin boards the prom committee had set up in memorial for Rachel and Elana. Kevin caught my glance.
He said, “I think it's great what Mr. Brandt did, donating the prom queen money for a college
scholarship in their honor.” He took my hand. “I can't believe what you've been through,” he said.
I looked across the vast ballroom of the Halsey Manor House to where Dawn stood talking to several cute-looking guys. We had abandoned the whole prom queen idea, but Dawn was still the queen of this partyâshe couldn't help it.
The music started again, and Kevin pulled me back toward the dance floor. I spotted Lucas Brown dancing with Shari Paulsen. Perfectâshe was as weird as he was. But he looked happy for once. He finally had a date.
Moments later Dawn danced by with one of her many boys.
She stared admiringly at my dress. I was wearing the black, sexy one we had fought over at Ferrara's. Dawn had insisted I wear it instead of her.
“You know what?” she said, leaning close. “It looks better on you.”
“You're just saying that to be nice, right?” I asked skeptically.
“Right,” she replied. And quickly danced away.
“Where do you get your ideas?”
That's the question that R.L. Stine is asked most often. “I don't know where my ideas come from,” he says. “But I do know that I have a lot more scary stories in my mind that I can't wait to write.”
So far, he has written over a hundred mysteries and thrillers for young people, all of them best-sellers.
Bob grew up in Columbus, Ohio. Today he lives in an apartment near Central Park in New York City with his wife, Jane.
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
First Simon Pulse edition February 2003
Text copyright © 1992 by Parachute Press, Inc.
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