Whether it was at King's, home, their respective afterschool activities, or in their dreams, the trio of Sonny Drake, Kavi Salvador, and Stella Lambert all that their respective schedules to keep with all three busy in their own ways. Sonny was dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Marisol that hit the shores of King's Academy just last month. Kavi was having the time of his life as he found himself being able to juggle two dates in one weekend that, as he might tell someone if they asked, went rather well. Meanwhile, the ever-jittery and energetic Stella was actually having a better week than she was post-Santiago's party. She had accepted that Lucas and her weren't going to happen. If it was, then she'd welcome it, but given she was way too busy with the sudden arrival of her cousins from New York, as well as her Uncle Wesley and Aunt Florence, coming to live with them for the remainder of the fall whilst their house gets renovated. Of course, this meant her free time has been limited - especially with her on-again, off-again best friend and favorite cousin, Winnie has been keeping her attention.

At some point during Friday, the trio of Sonny, Kavi, and Stella was under the impression this assembly that was supposed to be filled with pep and school spirit, seemed to have this unreasonable amount of tension and worry. There was something of a nauseated feeling among the trio as they took their seats. You see, these three, though they might not seem like it, actually go way back. They don't look it, but at one point, in addition to the likes of Marisol, Archer, and Jun, they used to be all really good friends. When Kavi wasn't such a smelly, mixed bag of dickweed and ass-munching hair, he was a swell, if not still somewhat-conceited, guy. And Sonny - well, SOnny's the same he's always been. There was really no mistaking that. As for Stella, she was under Savanna's thumb at the time, so she was a lot more confident than she has been in recent months. Bottom line, seeing these three together, let alone taking a seat together as opposed to Sonny taking a seat next to Marisol or Jun, Kavi sitting with Nadia or Ariel or Jason, who as he looked around, wasn't anywhere in sight, or Stella parking it with her new cheerleading buds, the three opted to sit next to each other; but they were nowhere close to the front. Only nerds sat in the front of an assembly.

When the room filled up and the seats were taken, the eyes were all on the ever-present and ever-attentive Mrs. Sanders. Her poise was somewhat crooked, but that was her thing. She never stood straight. A quirky adult through and through. She stood next to two bowls. The confusion lingered as she took her sweet time actually opening her mouth about why they have all gathered here so abruptly, not to mention the urgency of the assembly. It had been emphasized all week that there was some big mystery with this assembly. It really started last Monday when the news that the Homecoming budget was cut by nearly half of what Victoire Bailey, their class president, had requested. The rumors started to spread about how the school was going to cut other programs in favor of sports. That wasn't so much a bad thing for - oh let's say nerds like Mara whateverhername is and Aaliyah King, the girl named after the dead singer - but for the likes of Santiago, Kavi, and Sonny, who all were apart of sports teams, it meant things were looking up for them. Even Stella, though she was still plenty anxious (that was due to her hating surprises), wasn't particularly sad.

"I still say the nerds are losing their chess club," Kavi commented, laughing to himself.

"Do you really have to act that way with us, Kavi Antonio?" Sonny asked him, rolling his eyes at the mixed bag of Dickweed.

"Act what way? Like a boss?"

"Come on, guys! It's been so long since we've been together like this. Even if we dont' do it enough, let's not fight before Mrs. Sanders has a chance to tell us why we're all here." Stella tried to calm whatever tension was between her two, high-testosterone friends.

Sonny gave them both a shrug. "Fine, but be sure to tell Kavi that."

"Maybe you should just relax, Torvald. Or is the mighty Thor Jr still reeling from Hurricane Marisol?"

"Seriously, you gook! I will pummel your face."

Kavi smiled. Whatever his intention was, seeing Sonny raise his voice somewhat was exactly what he wanted. "It's okay, Cracker Jack. Not all of us can be as amazing and better than you," Kavi proudly proclaimed, smiling arrogantly at the short, caucassian teen. "And for the record, I'm more than just a gook. You might not remember, but I'm also part spick, too!" What was normally an insult from someone, Kavi stated it with a certain amount of pride that made both Sonny and Stella laugh, though the former was less willing in it.

"See? Didn't you two miss this?" Stella smiled, looking to both her left and her right. What was a situation for the perverted mind's dream, Stella was between her two, oldest friends. The only thing in her mind that would make this better was if Savanna was here to mellow out the two. Alas, Stella would have to let go of that particular dream.

As her eyes glanced from the two, there was a more dominating sound of Mrs. Sanders from below clearing her throat into a microphone, effectively silencing the entirety of the class as she began speaking. The generic 'welcome' introductions aside, she didn't waste any time to remind them all about homecoming and how it was jus a week away. She also didn't pretend to hide the fact that most, if not all, of the students, had already picked out their outfits. What she didn't say was how, at least for Stella, she didn't have a date, but she did have an outfit picked out. Mrs. Sanders obviously was talking to the entire class and her mention about outfits and how some had an idea of going out with certain people. It wasn't until she mentioned something about shaking things up did panic and worry take over.

"Wait what?" Sonny murmured, "did I hear her right?"

"Pretty sure we all did," Kavi affirmed Sonny's worry.

"I'm sure she was mistake--"

Stella's train of thought was inturrupted by the startling revelations about the truth of the Homecoming Dance and how exactly they all would be paired up. Of all things, fates of the pairings were going to be decided by randomly-picked names out of bowls. BOWLS! Seriously? That had to have been the most authoritarian, bullcrap that Stella or Kavi or Sonny heard of in their lives. Putting aside the odds of each of them getting exactly who they wanted, there was no way this was going to end well for the majority of the students that the trio knew. For Sonny, he was more curious about who the others were going to end up with rather than who his predetermined date was going to be. Kavi, unlike Stella, was amused and watched Mrs. Sanders intently, both curious about his own pick and entertianed by this sudden development..

But Stella? she was horrified. She was beside herself with the overwhelming fear that she could actually be paired up with Santiago. The odds were slim to none, especially given there seemed to be an overwhelming amount of names in the male and female-colored bowls, but just imagine being in her shoes for a moment. If there was even a small chance the name of Stella Lambert and Santiago Fernandez could be paired up was enough to drive the girl a little bonkers. She tried calming herself down, but it was too much for her. She almost got up, but Sonny stopped her.

"What's up, Stella?"

"I..I need to use the restroom."

Sonny knew that was bullshit. "I know that's bullshit, Stella. What's up?"

"You're just going to laugh."

"I might, but Sonny won't," Kavi added.

"You're not helping."

"I wasn't trying to."

Sonny ignored Kavi's comments and gestured Stella to do the same as he fixated his gaze on her. "Focus on me. What's up?"

"I..just--"

Again, Stella's thoughts were inturrupted by the sound of Mrs. Sanders' voice, but this time it wasn't to explain whatever it was she was going to explain; no instead, it was about the big reveal. The pairings were about to be drawn. The first four was an instant hit with the trio. The first one aside, Kavi actually was quite pleased, though Sonny certainly had a few things to say about that. "Oh, isn't that cute? You got the greese monkey."

"You sound jealous."

"Not at all, Kavi," Sonny assured him. He actually wasn't jealous. If anything, the Drake teen felt bad for his somewhat friend. It wasn't because April was necessarily a bad person, but it was who her on-again, off-again boyfriend was that made Sonny smile. Better Santiago focus his efforts on Kavi than him or Stella for a change. "You have fun with that one. You're going to need all the good luck."

Kavi shrugged, only offering Sonny a smile as the next series of names were called. To the trio's surprise, who Stella ended up being paired up with resulted in the girl letting out a somewhat vocal "Yes!", earning a surprised grin from both Kavi and Sonny. "I mean, it's not Santiago, so I'll take it!" She coughed, clarifying her earlier, sudden comment.

"So, that's what was eating you up before," Sonny deduced.

It was obvious the weight of Santiago being her homecoming date was almost too much for her. It almost had Sonny want to go over to that asswipe and kick his ass in front of everyone. Sonny didn't show it a lot, but he did care a great deal for Stella. Their families have been friends for years and if there was anything Sonny hated more than anything in this world, it was seeing his friends fearful of asswipes like Santiago. But that obviously was a worry for another time.

As Mrs. Sanders called the next name, Kavi's smile went from a U-shape to somewhat neutral, instantly turning the man's entertainment into something resembling jealously, though when it clicked with him who Mr. Diedrickson was, he laughed. "Score one for the Fairy," he commented.

Sonny laughed as well, recalling how Ariel and Marisol might not be so close anymore. He could just imagine her reaction when Archer was announced to be with Ariel. He'd soon find himself laughing a little louder than he thought he would be when the next pairing of Jun and Victoire was announced. "Oh, now that's just too funny!" Sonny said through his uncontrollable laughter. "To think, of all people, she'd get stuck with Wang,"

"Is it really that funny?" Kavi asked.

"Of course it is! Do you not remember how Jun gets when he really wants to troll you?" Sonny asked, a grin on his face. "I know and I hate it when he does shit like that, but this just means more entertainment for me when I know he'll do that with VIc, which makes me so happy. Karma truly was a bitch and she was going to get hers!" Sonny had found himself saying, eager for the next series of pairings to be drawn.

And as he leaned forward, the pairing of someone named Reyes and King was announced. Sonny didn't know who that was, but Kavi sure as hell did. It resulted in his smile to return, only for him to think about who exactly this Reyes guy was. He would have to look into that at a later date; for now, he put all of his attention on the next pairing.

"Santiago was paired up with who?" Stella asked as his pairing was announced.

"Isn't she that one Nazi? She's got a mouth on her or something," Sonny said, trying to recall exactly who she was. His memory was pretty shit compared to some, but then again Mara never did make a lasting impression on him, so that could be why. "Either way, that should be fun to see. Santiago is an asshole and Mara, as I recall, is equally a bitch."

Even though she didn't intend to, Stella found some delight from that news as she turned her previous frown upside down into a wide smile, a laugh escaping her lips. "Well, maybe they'll annoy each other and leave us the heck alone!" Another uncharacteristic comment coming from Stella's lips.

"Great, Torvald, you've influenced the innocence out of her." Kavi said with the hopes of getting a reaction from Sonny. Unfortunately, Mr. Drake was too focused on the announcement of the next couple of pairings. Kavi managed to tune in just in time to hear Sonny was being paired up with Nadia. "Oof. That's going to be a boring date, buddy."

Sonny let out a sigh. "Welp. At least I can focus on getting plastered that night."

"What are you guys talking about? Nadia's a great person! You'll be surprised at how pleasant she can be, Sonny!" Stella assured Sonny, hoping to get him to see that just because Kavi's date with her went south, that didn't mean Sonny's had to. "I promise you she's great."

"I guess," Sonny's lackluster reply was met with a laugh from Kavi and a sigh from Stella.

There wa sno denying that Sonny wasn't exactly thrilled about his pairing with Nadia. Of all people he could've been paired up with, given what Kavi said could hold some merit, he wasn't looking forward to having to deal with Nadullia, especially if Kavi was right about her being boring. He'd wouldn't ever say it because he knew it would go straight to Kavi's head, but what if he was right? God-forbid that actually was the case, but there was a cloud over his head about Nadia Josette and the possibility that she wouldn't even present a fun evening. At least with Vic or some of the other members of the senior class, he'd be able to say without any doubt they would be a lot more interesting than Nadia fucking Josette.

As the students started to dessemble, the trio took their sweet time to - well, leave. It was mostly due to Sonny being lost in his own thoughts and the other two talking whilst Sonny spaced. "Tooooorrrvaaalllld!" Kavi tried to get Sonny's attention.

...But to no avail. It took Stella's pinching of his cheek to make sure he was still alive for him to bark back at her. "What!?"

"Glad to have ya back, brother!" Kavi teased him. Sonny knew it was bullshit when he used terms of endearment.

"As I said: what?"

"We were just talking about our dates. Kavi brought up the subject about who is more likely to get laid."

In an uncharacteristic change, Sonny was borderline-disgusted by Kavi right now. "Seriously Kavi? Is that all you can think about?"

"Oh tell me you're not curious if the virign of Saint Mary will put out for you?"

To Stella's surprise, Sonny fell silent. "Sonny!" She gasped.

He offered them a shrug. Why would he bother explaining himself? He knew Kavi was right as that was one of the main things he found himself thinking about aside from the obvious of 'why me?' Even still, that didn't mean it was the only thing plaguing his mind. Actually, Sonny was more curious about how she was reacting to all of this? If he recalled, she was pretty close to Victoire. All of Kavi's jokes put to the side, there was something quite intriguing about this pairing for Sonny. It was almost at the point where he wanted to speak to Nadia about this personally.

"So, I don't know about you two, but I know I'm definitely going to get laid that night."

"What? You can't be serious, Kavi!" Stella was shocked by how brazen he was with his words.

"You aren't going to make those first moves, Stella and Sonny here has more of a chance of getting Josette to put out than you doing that exact thing."

Stella was clearly annoyed by his insinuations. "Oh shove off! I will have sex with Oliver!"

"Is that a dare?" Kavi could always smell bullshit a mile away, but a challenge was a challenge.

Stella narrowed her eyes at him, finding heself becoming more and more annoyed with him the more he ran his mouth, though it was in a rather playful manner rather than genuine annoyance that SOnny previously displayed with Kavi. "So what if it is?"

"Then I would tell you that you're probably going to lose. There's no way Oliver gives into your...charm before April give into the temptation of the Kavimister."

Stella found herself visibly cringing when he referred to himself as 'Kavimister'. Truly, his ego had gone far beyond the point of ever returning to the humble Kavi from First Grade. "Sonny, a little help, please!"

Without even speaking, Sonny got up and left, clearly his mind was elsewhere. This caused Stella to punch Kavi's shoulder. "Ow.."

"You made him leave, dummy." Even if it wasn't the absolute truth, Stella still found enough, though she didn't wait for him to reply as she too left Kavi alone.

Meanwhile, Kavi was still in a state of absolute pride when was left to his thoughts. Obviously the news of being paired up with April was better when he had the time to think about it. Actually, Kavi was so deep into his own thought that he pulled out his phone and texted Diablo himself.

Sonny didn't realize how long he had been lingering in the area around him and several other students in his Senior class until he heard various voices become quite vocal in the aftermath of what Mrs. Sanders had revealed. Some welcomed the change while others were quite against it. Sonny wasn't exactly sure, but off in the distance, he could've sworn he heard the far-off voice of Vic and Mara. It was too distant for him to make it out, but he could've sworn he heard one of them say something about hostage or something similar. Either way, he didn't care enough to search for them. Sonny's mind was better left to his own situation.

He still couldn't get past who he had to pair up with. It wasn't as bad as some might've thought about who they were paired with. Sonny's mind had to wander to how the likes of Santiago and Mara felt. It wasn't a mystery that neither of them liked each other, let alone how Santiago might respond to the news that Kavi was going to homecoming with his supposed 'girl', April Foster. That was plenty to make Sonny laugh. He knew Kavi was going to rub it into Diablo's face. The question that Sonny was asking himself was how far was Kavi going to go with the teasing? It wouldn't be a wise thing on his part to poke the devil too much. That was something he knew Kavi did too much of. Whether it was teasing Elijah Abrams and incurring the wrath of Johnny or flaunting April in front of Diablo, what Sonny knew - and maybe even had feared for Kavi - was how those careless antics of his will come back to haunt him in the ass. He just wasn't sure who was going to crack their fists over his jaw first.

"We shall see," Sonny murmured to himself. Only just a moment later, Sonny felt someone lightly tap him on his shoulder. He barely felt it, but it was enough for the teen to turn around. To his genuine surprise, it was Nadia. She's not wasting any time, huh? Sonny thought, doing his best to fake a welcoming smile, but it came across as an obviously-fake attempt, so he just gave up on it and kept his neutral, 'don't' bother me' almost-pout. "I guess we are," Sonny mouthed, giving her a lackluster response. "Oh god, don't tell me you expect me to ask your father's permission? Because I'd rather get expelled than kiss his ass like that."

“A good thing? Perhaps,” Sonny offered nothing but a few words for Nadia, following it with a shrug at her final words.

Sonny was going through some stuff and with Kavi’s teasing, what happened with Marisol, and now the uninspiring homecoming revelations that placed him in a no-escape date with Nadia, it wasn’t exactly a favorable situation in his eyes. Nothing about this was what he wanted. Up until the sudden announcement by Sanders, he didn’t have homecoming on his mind. What he did have on his mind was taking his truck and going to Miami Beach for the weekend with just him and his solitude. He was going to surf and allow himself get lost in the scenery, but now? Now, Jackson Drake Jr was forced to actually go to that overhyped danced among pretentious douchebags with, as Kavi said, someone who was a bore.

But was that really fair to Nadia? Probably not. She didn’t do anything to Sonny’s recent memory. He didn’t know her aside from being closely related to Viccy and Lucas. Even that much was very limited, so why was he holding that against her?

As he looked at her, he saw a girl with a frown on her face - even more so with his sudden silence. He offered her a shrug again, though this time it was followed by words. “I guess we can hang. I usually eat lunch with the others, but I can ditch them for you.”

The redhead perked up immediately, somewhat surprised by both the offer and the break in silence. It was so out of left field but it was incredibly kind for him to offer, so she decided to agree. “Oh, sure!” Maybe to some her agreement was a little too immediate, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t one to turn down anyone.

That being said, the situation reminded her a lot of what happened with Jason. Deciding to approach Sonny with the same energy, she made sure to calm herself down slightly. “This whole thing is a mess, isn’t it?” She decided to poke his brain for his opinion.

Sonny didn’t have an immediate answer for Nadia. He had to think about it. Calling it a mess wasn’t exactly accurate. Was it unfortunate and somewhat bizarre? Yes, without a doubt it was. There was nothing traditional about this. Homecoming was the dance that people went with whoever it was they happened to be dating. Or if not, then they went with friends. For the homecoming couples of their class to be decided by the accuracy and sure-fire process, in the same way, one would conduct a raffle was, if nothing else, an innovative way, but Sonny wasn’t sure if he approved of the motivation.

“I’ll say this,” he said, letting out a drawn-out sigh, “the excuse that people stick to their own groups is bullshit. This school has always been pretentious and way beyond anything I prefer. My father has stated that the inclusion of uniforms that was put in place three years ago was absolute bullshit. Now they’re trying to control who we choose to interact with? That, if it’s nothing else, is bullshit, Nadia.”

Nodding in agreement, she noticed the amount of contention he felt for the school as a whole. It sounded like something Victoire had told her once, but she didn’t dare bring her up. She instead tried to look at the positive. “The intentions are alright, I guess, but the methods...could use some work,” She admitted. “Maybe it’s their way of trying to get us out of our comfort zone. My first thought was that we were being punished for something.”

“Punished? For what?” Sonny asked her. “I’m not asking you rhetorically. I’m genuinely curious why you think they’re doing this to punish us. The school’s graduating average is the third-highest in the state and test scores are second only to that even more pretentious school way across town. Gang affiliation is basically non-existent. The only relations we have to gangs are Santiago’s pill-popping ass and general distribution of weed. And don’t even get me started on the cocaine presence, yet even that’s not as high as some of the schools in Miami. So, tell me, Nadia, what exactly do we have to be punished for?” As he stood there, stopping his feet from moving, Sonny let out a heavy sigh, looking to Nadia. “Sorry, that wasn’t--I didn’t mean to shout.” Again, Sonny’s uncharacteristic behavior resulted in a surprising apology.

Nadia shook her head at him, lightly dismissing his words. She knew he didn’t mean any harm. “No, maybe punishment was too harsh of a word,” She hesitated for a moment as she looked at him, debating internally on whether or not to tell him what was on her mind. After a moment, however, a decision was made. “Well...I don’t know if you remember, but there were budget cuts before. They happened because supposedly some of the financial backings of the school had pulled out. The short version of it is that they did that because of our class. They think we’re going to be the ones to mess up the school’s image. So this…’bullshit’ that’s happening, it’s a warning. If we keep our heads down and do things right, they’ll leave us be. Otherwise...well…”

Ruin the school’s image? Sonny scoffed at the insinuation that he or anyone else was a bad news bear. “Like I said it’s bullshit,” he repeated himself from before. Now he was in a nastier mood. “Now I’m thinking this dance isn’t even worth it. Maybe I should just be act how they assume I’ll act and give them the finger as I take my truck and leave this school for good.” He was talking out of his ass probably, but damn it if it didn’t feel good to say. He looked at Nadia with a grin, seeing her give him the most distraught expression. “Oh relax, I’m not that angry, but you should totally see your face right now,” he said, laughing.

Somewhat surprised, her face quickly turned into a pouty one as she let out a huff. “W-Well, I wouldn’t want to get in trouble because of you!” She couldn’t help but exclaim. “We’re in this together, remember?”

He kept laughing. “Okay Troy Bolton.”

Nadia was one of the worst people to take seriously and it was a fact she was all too aware of. She should have at least gotten mad, but all she could do was huff again. “I’ll make sure to make this easy for you, then,” She told him. “I already had my dress picked out for this, so I just need you to have a gold tie, you can wear whatever else you want.”

Sonny didn’t know if he should commend Nadia for being so organized or laugh at her again for choosing gold as the color of her dress, but he then had another thought. “So, all I have to wear is the gold tie? I guess I’m definitely going to be expelled for indecent exposure,” he told her, grinning.

The girl stared at him for a moment, somewhat confused, but after a few seconds, it hit her, her face as red as her hair as she shook her head feverishly. “N-N-No! That’s not what I meant!” She hastily corrected him.

“I’m hurt. Don’t you want to see all of this?” Sonny wiggled his eyebrows as he walked backward, shaking his hips at her.

For the sake of her sanity, she was not going to give him anything. Or at least, that was what she told herself as she resumed her rather fast paced walk, throwing him a dissatisfied look as she passed him.

Wow that usually worked on girls,

Sonny was just a bit surprised that Nadia didn’t react in the way most tended to. His antics, his teasing ways all had some kind of reaction, but the only thing he got in return was her disapproving glance. Maybe Kavi was right about something, but maybe Kavi just didn’t have a little patience. Then again, Kavi was more of a multi-woman man. Not that Sonny had any intention of getting into Nadia’s pants, but she wasn’t as boring as his friend implied that she was.

He picked up his pace and caught up with Nadia. “That was a little rude, ya know. I was doing my hip wiggle dance and you didn’t even wait for me to finish.”

There was more?!

Nadia resisted the urge to roll her eyes, brushing a little of her hair off her face as she looked at him. “You’ll have plenty of time for any dance you want at Homecoming,” She informed him.

“So you do want to see the rest of it, then?”

“If you’re fully clothed, sure.”

He couldn’t help but just give Nadia a teasing grin. “Sounds like a date, then!” Sonny found himself saying, feeling this whole conversation went unexpectedly. He didn’t think there would be an easy connection between him and the prude, but maybe she wasn’t as uptight as Kavi led Sonny to believe she was.

Nadia shook her head slightly, but she was smiling nonetheless. Silly Sonny, though she was really glad she ended up talking to him anyway. Lucas had been right, she didn’t have anything to be afraid of. Maybe they could even be friends or something. At minimum, they could enjoy homecoming and then part ways.

"Oh, so when I try to pair people together, all hell breaks loose... but the faculty can just go and steal my ideas?"

To say that Chanel Martin was excited about her last High School homecoming dance would be a bit of an understatement; in fact, the young woman had started searching for the perfect dress and matching accessories months before school had even started. It wasn't until a couple of weeks before, however, that she decided to stop browsing online shops and to just go ahead and piece together her own dress instead. After all, Chanel was probably never going to find the perfect ensemble she was hopelessly searching for online, and she had just enough experience with a sewing machine to create something that suited her perfectly. Now, a week before the dance, Chanel had everything: the bright orange hair, the beautiful black dress, the death-defying high heels. All that Chanel was missing was a date. After everything that went down with Marcus Donaldson a month before, Chanel decided that she wanted to focus all of her time and energy on maintaining a high GPA, improving her dance skills, and preparing for cheer tryouts. Finding a date to homecoming was no longer a priority; she figured she wouldn't need a date, anyway, as long as she had her girls to tag along with.

But as Chanel sat in her extremely uncomfortable seat, nestled right in between April Foster and Julie Macmillan, her neutral facial expression instantly turned to one of immense panic as Mrs. Sanders announced just why the entire Senior class had been called into the auditorium that afternoon. "Oh, shit..." Chanel muttered in response to Julie's comment, "What are we, District Twelve? Please tell me this is some kind of sick joke." But as the theater teacher continued on to draw names from the two large bowls, Chanel came to the sudden realization that this wasn't some big prank; she was really about to be forced to attend the dance with some random guy in her class. See, Chanel was perfectly fine with helping Julie set other people up, but she wasn't down with letting it be done to her.

After hearing the first pairing, Chanel couldn't help but let out a snicker as she nudged her best friend in the arm. "Sort of funny how you were trying to pair him with Martha last month, and now he's your homecoming date." Soon to be announced were April Foster and Kavi Salvador, to which Chanel simply shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. "That's going to be a very... interesting date, to say the very least. Good luck with that, girl." The next couple of pairings were honestly a bit of a blur for Chanel; she was listening carefully to find out exactly who it was that she'd be partnered with. The only pairing she did happen to catch before hers, however, was Aaliyah King and someone whose last name was Reyes. "We just have to work our magic on her for homecoming, Julie," the woman whispered excitedly, "You know, invite her with us to pick out dresses or something since we have yet to conduct our little experiment."

Finally, Mrs. Sanders picked Chanel's name from the large bowl, and upon hearing who she'd be attending homecoming with, Chanel simply couldn't mask her confused expression. "Mr. Henderson..." the young woman trailed off, raising her eyebrow as she scanned the room. In all her years at King's Academy, not once did Chanel run into someone with that last name. She tried to spot if anyone had reacted to their name recently being called, but Mrs. Sanders had already moved on to the next pairing before she could find who it was that she was searching for. Frustrated, the young woman sat back into her seat and folded her arms across her chest. "Of course I'd end up with someone I don't know," Chanel said to her two friends, "Any chance either of you know who this 'Mr. Henderson' person is?"