The Cat That Went to Homecoming (19 page)

“Oh, really, you want to talk about dates?
You brought your gay friend for your date! That’s just as bad as
bringing your own cousin or brother. Who is pathetic now?” she
retaliated.

Brandon shifted in his seat and I just put my
hand on his shoulder, hoping that would let him know that I was
handling this. He stilled and just took a swig of his soda.

“My date is someone I truly care about and I
chose to spend my evening with the people I love the most. You, on
the other hand, chose to bring someone who means nothing to you.
You chose to use your only night as Homecoming Queen to torment
someone who really doesn’t care what you think of her. In other
words, you have wasted your big night.”

“Boy, Watermelon, you grew some balls over
the summer!” Darcel said. “Maybe that’s why gay-boy here hangs
around you.”

“It’s time for you to leave, Darcel,” Cindy
said. “You should leave before I get up and smack your ugly face.
Once that happens, you and I will be evicted. We’ll lose our
crowns. I personally don’t give a rat’s ass about this tiara, but I
know YOU do.”

Darcel grabbed Jason’s arm and led him away
from the table.

“Good one, Babe,” John said to Cindy, “Hit
her where it hurts the most.”

Brandon put an arm around my shoulders and
kissed my neck. We didn’t need to say anything. We both knew we
were proud of each other.

The musical choices the DJ made were not
always to my liking, I preferred pop music to rap. Brandon loved
rap so he loved the music. John and Cindy did a lot of dancing but
I’d only drag Brandon out for pop songs. How the heck do you dance
to rap?

The time came for Cindy and John to leave and
prepare for the ceremony. The crowd formed a semi-circle around the
stage when the principal announced it was time for the coronation
ceremony. Brandon and I stood as close to the front as possible so
I could get pictures of Cindy and John. It may just be a popularity
contest, but I was still so proud of Cindy. She was a well-liked
person because of who she was inside. She stood up for what she
thought was right without a care about what others thought of her.
John’s popularity stemmed from the fact that he was our star jock.
Others didn’t really know what kind of person he had become. His
votes for Prince were based on his athletic status, all the votes
but mine. He got my vote because of Haley.

The court was announced. John and Cindy
walked down the aisle first. Cindy was beaming, and people were
cheering for her and John. The yearbook photographer was snapping
pictures simultaneously with me. After they were crowned, John
grabbed Cindy, dipped her down and kissed her long and hot. The
cheers were rattling the ceiling! They were the power couple of the
school!

They took their seats on stage and then the
King and Queen were announced. Darcel and our King, Bob Jenkins,
walked out into the aisle. Darcel looked beautiful. She was wearing
a long, strapless, pink gown. She also looked like she was high or
drunk. Her eyes were glazed over and she stumbled a lot while she
tried to walk in her silver heels. There were people laughing and
whispering in the crowd. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who
noticed her intoxicated state. Bob looked extremely annoyed. He had
to hold her up as they made their way to the stage.

Brandon was standing behind me with his chin
on my shoulder and his arms wrapped around my waist. When Bob and
Darcel passed us, Darcel looked at me for a mere second and in that
flash I detected regret in her eyes.

Darcel tripped on her way up the stairs to
the stage. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. The crowd burst
into laughter and Bob was so irritated that he let her fall. He
walked away from her as she lie on the steps and stood in his place
at the front of the stage. Cindy stood up and went over to Darcel
to help her stand. Cindy led Darcel to her spot on the stage and
then went back to her seat. John took her hand and held it.

The principal looked stunned, but he carried
on with the ceremony as if nothing was wrong. He placed the crown
on Darcel’s head, while Mrs. Johnson placed Bob’s crown on. He then
announced, “Ladies and Gentlemen, your Homecoming King and Queen,
Bob Jenkins and Darcel Simmons.”

The microphone was handed to Bob. He wasn’t
popular because he was a star jock. Bob was a nerd, if you will. He
was a brilliant, straight-A student, on the debate and chess teams,
and our only male cheerleader. He gave a great speech, thanking the
student body for recognizing his accomplishments and for
recognizing his involvement in bettering our school. Then he said,
“I’d like to thank my
true
Queen, Marybeth, for putting up
with all of this pomp and ceremony for the night.” Marybeth was in
the crowd, not far from where Brandon and I stood. She blew him a
kiss and he blew one back at her.

Bob handed the microphone over to Darcel. She
weakly accepted the microphone and a hush fell over the crowd. She
cleared her throat and looked up into the gymnasium.

“I don’t know what to say,” she said in an
almost inaudible voice. She tried to walk away, but Bob grabbed her
hand and pulled her back in place.

“I think what Darcel means is that she’s
speechless right now. She needs a moment to absorb all of this
attention,” Bob said.

She snatched the microphone out of his hands
and turned again to face the crowd. “No, that’s not it. I’m used to
the attention because I’ve been receiving it for years. What I’m
struggling with is why? Why am I standing here? Yes, I campaigned
hard to get your votes. I made threats and I made promises I never
intended to keep. I don’t deserve to be standing here.” She dropped
the microphone onto the stage and staggered to the stairs.

I don’t know what came over me, but I felt so
bad for her that I broke free of Brandon’s hold, ran to the stairs,
and caught Darcel before she fell again. I stood her up and
straightened her crown.

“Darcel,” I said to her, “Don’t give up.”

“What is wrong with you?” she shouted,
pulling away from me. “Don’t you realize I meant to ruin your
night, tonight? I worked my ass off to get the votes so I could
shove it in your face, Ellen.” Then she stumbled back to the front
of the stage and picked up the microphone.

“Take a look at Ellen Jones. She is here in a
dress covered in animal hair. I would be embarrassed and wouldn’t
be caught dead like that. My outward appearance means everything to
me, but Ellen doesn’t care about things like that.” she said to the
crowd. “She has tolerated so much bullshit from me and people like
me, but has stayed true to herself. Tonight she came to help me,
and I don’t understand why she would do that. I wouldn’t help
someone who treats me like shit. I don’t deserve to be your
Homecoming Queen. I know that it is traditional for a senior to be
the Homecoming Queen, but I am handing my crown over to Ellen.” She
yanked her crown off and shoved it at me, and then she staggered to
the stairs and toppled down them, falling in heap of pink on the
floor. The principal and Mrs. Johnson rushed to assess her. Mrs.
Johnson shouted, “Someone call 911!”

There was a flurry of activity going on.
Brandon had made his way onto the stage and was at my side along
with Cindy and John. Jason was nowhere to be found, and I suspected
there was a reason for his departure. Whatever he had given Darcel
had her inebriated and completely vulnerable.

The paramedics arrived and hauled Darcel out,
unconscious, on a gurney and the dance was called off. There were
groans of disappointment and protests as we were herded out of the
gymnasium. I overheard someone say, “I hope the photographer got a
picture of her on the gurney! That would be awesome in the
yearbook.” I didn’t agree.

Chapter Twenty
Three

I walked through the doors of the hospital
with Hershey in his carrier, stopped at the information desk, and
found out which room Darcel was occupying. I took the elevator to
her floor, walked with confidence through the hallway until I found
room 318. I knocked on the open door and announced myself.

“Hello, Darcel, may we come in?” I asked.

“Who is
we
?” she asked, irritated. I
stepped into the room.

“I’m Ellen, and this is Hershey. Would it be
okay if we visited with you for a few minutes?”

Darcel had tears in her eyes, but she was
smiling. From what I heard through the grapevine, she was lucky to
be alive. She had taken a pretty lethal cocktail of prescription
drugs and alcohol. The authorities didn’t know who had supplied her
with the pills, but I was sure I knew who it was.

“Come in,” she said.

I let Hershey out of his carrier, and asked
her if I could place him on the bed next to her. She agreed.
Hershey had once arched his back and hissed at her. I had once
hated her. Now, Hershey snuggled his face into the crook of her
elbow and started to purr. We had forgiven her.

THE END

About the Author

My name is Julie
Otzelberger and I am no stranger to bullying. I grew up in a small
suburb in Wisconsin and was overweight for most of my life. The
comments made by classmates still haunt me after over thirty years.
I admit I’ve had self esteem issues all of my life because of the
bullying I underwent, and in an effort to overcome it, in January
2010 I underwent gastric bypass surgery.

Anyone with pets will tell you how special
the bond between a pet and owner is because of the unconditional
love pets offer. I’ve had many cats during my life, all of them
special and dear to me. I currently have four cats, one of whom I
am a registered animal handler of through Pet Partners. My cat Bear
and I currently volunteer for Heartland Hospice and Health Heelers,
and I find this to be the most rewarding experience of my life.
Gastric Bypass surgery may have changed my appearance and the way
some people treat me, but my work with Bear has changed how I feel
about myself and has given me the self esteem I’ve been
lacking.

Hershey is a combination of each cat God has
blessed me with over the years. My life was similar to Ellen’s, but
I did not find anything like Pet Partners until very recently. I
hope I help a young girl finds her way to Pet Partners and follow
her altruistic path with her best friend.

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