I think I die on prom night

Chapter 2

When we arrived at the hotel our prom was being held in I adjusted my wig to make sure it was on straight then stepped out to join Sam and Emma. Sam looked wonderful in her midnight blue dress with her blonde hair tumbling down her back. Even in year eleven, Sam rarely wore her hair loose. But tonight, we had managed to persuade her. Emma had her red hair, dyed when we were fifteen, on the back of her head in a clasp. The turquoise of her dress contrasted beautifully. I had curled my wig earlier that day, and it was dip-dyed purple to match my dress.

As soon as we entered I noticed some girls I was friends with in years eight and nine. I decided that seeing as it was prom night, I would go say hi to two of them who were still somewhat friendly to me. Ellie Freeman and Emma Matthews. "Hi" I said to them, determine that tonight would be one of the best nights of my life. "Hi Lily, you look..." Ellie's voice searched for an answer "Pretty." she settled on

"You too!" I replied "That dress really compliments your eyes" I looked at Ellie's silver dress that lightly swept the floor when walked. "Emma, hi!" I said to Emma Matthews. "Short prom dresses don't look right" she looked distastefully at my outfit choice. I somehow managed to keep my face plastered with a smile as Ellie walked away "Nice to see you too" I said, Emma then leaned closer to me. "How are you?" Emma was the first person who had found out about my... situation... in year nine. "The doctor said that there's only a few rounds of chemo left. I should be fine as long as I don't do anything too strenuous"

"Are you sure prom isn't too strenuous?" I laughed.

"Of course I'm sure!" Emma and I were still genuinely friends, but Ellie, Milly, Emily Price, Ella and the people Emma hung around with kinda didn't like me. Emma and I tended to talk to each other over Facebook rather than face-to-face. "Four" I said quietly. We both started laughing. Four had been our inside joke since year eight. We had both read a book called Divergent by Veronica Roth, and we both had a thing for 'Four'. "Lily, don't worry about what I said earlier. It was just because Ellie was still around. You look great in your prom dress."

"Thanks Emma. You too" Emma had never been the smallest of girls but she had managed to lose a lot of weight since we were kids. The black, princess style dress hugged her curves perfectly, making Emma look stunning. Although practically the whole of year eleven had turned up, if I had to choose who looked that best in their prom dress, it would be Emma. "You know, when you showed me the photo in year eight, I didn't think it would look that good." I should have remembered there and then, Emma was dropping enough of a hint. Probably without meaning to. "Emma!" a voice called. It was Emily Drake, one of Emma's friends that didn't actually near-to-hate me. "Emily!" I cried "You look wonderful! And you're actually wearing a dress!"

"I know!" she said. In all the five years I had known Emily, not once had she ever worn a dress. Skirts she could deal with, but a dress... it was a huge step forward. "How are you, Emily?" I asked

"Good." she replied. "You?"

"Alright"

"Lily, can I ask you a question? It's something I've been dying to find out for years"

"sure." I wasn't quite anticipating what happened next.

"Why do you take so much time off school?"

"I... urrr..." I struggled for words.

"It's a medical condition" Emma blurted out. "Lily only told three of us, Sam, Emma-Louise and I, because she didn't want the whole school knowing"

"Oh. What kind of medical condition?" to answer her question I reached up and casually scratched my head, taking care to knock my wig slightly to one side. The message came through clearly enough. "Oh Lily, I'm so sorry"

"I don't want your sympathy." I said firmly as I straightened out my wig "I want to have the best night of my life, however short it may be. By the way Emmy, your dress looks amazing" the emerald green taffeta rustled as Emily walked. "How long have you had, you know?" Emily's question was casual enough, but I felt unsure about telling her more. 'No' I decided 'Emily was always my friend. She has a right to know.'

"Remember when I was off for the whole of activities week in year nine?"

"Yeah."

"That's when I found out"

"So that's..." Emily started calculating "One year, eleven months and two days ago."

"Yeah, I guess" there was a tap on my shoulder and I spun around, almost falling over in my high heels. "A rose for the lady" a male voice said, offering me a red rose. I looked at the offerer. "Alex!" I cried, delighted to see him. We had been going out for over four years "May we dance?" he asked

"Of course!" I giggled as he took my hand and we went over to the dance floor.