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The fact that prom is a thing in St Churnley’s was weird the first time Kevin heard of it. That something so… normal, is in St Churnley’s, the school for weird things, did Kevin never understand. But he understood one thing: he wanted to be prom king.
If he were prom king he could show his parents that St Churnley’s maybe is more normal than they thought. Every school had prom, and if his parents changed their mind, maybe they would be okay with that Kevin took Monty, Roland and Edgar to Disneyland.
Kevin worked hard to at least get the chance to be prom king. Prom in St Churnley’s came to them who were at least in year three. He had to be it. Prom king.
But it’s kinda hard to get people to want him as prom king. To the most he is just “fart boy”. He is just a joke, the funny one, compared with people like Monty who have cool and dangerous curses. Monty turns into a blood thirsty wolf every 10 business days and Kevin has a party trick. His classmates would for sure want him to take care of the music.
But he is still doing okay. Who would want Aaron, with gross pastry skin, to be prom king? He knows what prom is about, the looks, and people with maledictus mutanti will often not get chosen. The people in his class that would have the biggest chance to be prom king are actually his friends, Edgar, Roland and maybe even Monty.
Even if Monty has a maledictus mutanti so doesn’t it mean he can’t be. Not only that people respect him, he usually walks around with wold ears and a tail now when he has more control over the curse and it’s kinda cute, actually.
-
It’s now about 2 weeks before prom, and the votes are gathered. Hexmaster Singh looks over this year's classes for St Churnley’s prom. Prom in St Churnley’s is something special, something that will gather the classes together and realise that we aren’t so different from each other, that whatever curse you have doesn’t matter and it’s the person deep inside. For the children it’s now more of a “who will be the most handsome person there” and people vote for the ones with the coolest curse or just the best looking.
Singh remembers when he was in their place, a nervous 13 year old wreck. The year when Elliot Allan got to be prom king with his raven Persimmon. Persimmon had a cute hat.
Singh smiles.
He thought that Elliot's son, Edgar, would be prom king like his father before him. Elias probably also got to be it back in 1969.
But kids don’t want tradition, which he is grateful for. Kids want something new.
These kids are now in the dining room with him. All of them wonder if they could be this year's prom king. It’s what it usually looks like.
The younger ones are filled with anticipation and all of them are more or less nervous for who it’s going to be. They are actually lucky this year, this year will be one of the youngest prom kings ever.
For the older ones, who have done this many times before, is this child’s play. They really don’t care anymore and are just here for the good food.
Hexmaster Singh looks over to Mr. Kelly, who is one of them who is in charge of this event.
It’s time.
-
It feels like hours ago Kevin and the rest of the third years got their places in the dining hall to get the message for who was going to be the prom king. Kevin knows that he probably won't get it. But he still wants to. He has now tried so hard to get his friends to vote for him.
He wants to show people that he isn’t just a funny little boy with fart power. That he isn't “fart boy".
That he is Kevin Creely.
Whoever that is.
Elliot Kelly goes up to the podium.
“Heeeyyy contestants for this year…. PROM KINGGG!!!!!”
Now when Kevin thinks about it, how did Elliot get his job for the steward of respect?
Anyway, when Elliot begins to talk, the whole dining hall gets quiet. Elliot has at least gotten some respect over him.
“Both me and Ranjit-”
He points at Hexmaster Singh. He is probably the only one who can call him for his first name.
“Has counted all the votes for who you want to be prom king and now we have an answer! It also looks like this prom king will be one of the youngest ever. I know, this is big.”
Wait. What? Could it be someone in our class? Not anyone who actually deserves to be it and has their last year here?
Could it be me?
The first class, who were nervous to start with, has now gotten more nervous. Kevin is not the only one tapping their fingers now.
“You don’t have to be nervous, third years! It will go fine, you see.”
Can’t Kelly just shut up now? I want to know now.
What if I get the chance?
What if I don't…
“This year's prom king is going to be…. Big Ben!!!”
Big… Ben? The growing kid? How is he going to get clothes that fit him if he’s 5 feet in the morning and 9 when prom ends?
It’s not fair.
Why didn’t I become prom king?
Why didn’t people want me?
Well, of course no one wanted fart boy. Because that’s all I am.
Kevin has already run out of the dining hall before Hexmaster Singh come to the podium and says:
“Exactly, Benjamin Locke from the third year will be prom king this year.”
Nobody is really thinking why Kevin ran out of the dining room. Nobody expects one.
-
Monty looks at the doors that Kevin ran through.
He wonders why Kevin was so upset that he didn’t become prom king. Kevin probably thinks he hid it well, his desire, but Monty saw since the start of the term that something was off with him.
But he still doesn't know why Kevin wants to be prom king. He feels like someone who doesn't care if he gets or doesn't.
“Do you know why Kevin ran away?”
He asks Roland and Edgar. Kevin maybe told them what he was going to do and maybe just really needed a toilet or something.
“Don’t worry, Monty, he maybe just wanted to practise the violin a bit.” said Roland.
But that still doesn’t sound like Kevin. Kevin has looked forward to this for a really long time now. Why would he run away now?
Monty looks at Kevin's untouched bolognese. He knows that it’s not the first time Kevin hadn’t touched his food.
That’s another thing that was weird with him at the start of the term. He ate less. First Monty thought that it was because the food here isn’t the best. It’s not often the food is warm and filled with flavour. But Edgar always uses pestidigitation to make the food taste better. So it must be something more than that he just doesn't like the food.
He even asked Roland and Edgar a couple of months ago what they thought it was, but they hadn’t noticed that yet.
“I will just go and look over him, I will probably come back later.”
Monty didn’t know if he would come back later. But he had to see where Kevin was.
He ran out of the dining room into the dorm room corridor for the third year. He had the key to Roland and Kevin's dorm. They visited each other all the time anyway, so they made keys to the dorms under the craft class with Mr Hebden. He locked up Kevin and Roland's shared dorm and saw… No one.
The only one who was there was Kevin's Disney plushies. Monty never watched that much Disney, but Kevin had teached him about Timon and Pumbaa. Kevin has talked about how we could go to Disneyland together. Hope we get the chance sometime.
But Kevin was anyway not there, so he ran to the music room. It was Kevin's own little place that he was when he wanted to be alone. Nobody really was there, so it was perfect for some alone time.
And there he was. Sitting on the windowsill and playing his violin.
Kevin was crying.
But the music. He played like he never played before, it was beautiful.
Monty just stood there at the door and listened. It was just when Kevin opened his eyes again when he saw that someone was looking at him.
-
When Kevin opened his eyes he thought that he would die. Because before him there wasn't an empty room. There was this bigboned boy with wolftail that was named Montague.
You are so fucking stupid.
Kevin wiped away the tears and threw carefully away his violin.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
Of course someone would find you here.
Didn’t even lock the door.
“How long have you been here?”
“Your music was beautiful.”
It was nothing. He didn’t even answer my question!
“Kevin. I know that something's wrong. There is something about you and being prom king.”
“It’s stupid.”
Kevin sat down on a pillow on the floor. Monty sat down next to him.
“Nothing can be more stupid then that I couldn’t take on my clothes by myself when I was 11, just tell me Kevin.”
Monty took Kevin's hand and looked at him with his dark brown eyes. Kevin felt a jolt through his body.
It was true. Monty couldn’t take off and on his clothes so Kevin made stupid songs so that Monty could remember how to do it. It was a fun 45 minutes
Kevin had to wipe his tears another time now. He would tell Monty. He trusted Monty.
“After I got my curse have I never felt really home anywhere. My parents saw me as some monster, even if the only thing I do is that I fart musical bits. I truant from school nearly every day. My parents then got this flyer about this school. They wanted me gone, so why not let me go to this weird school? I didn’t want to go, if I just held it in there was no problem. But then I started here…”
Now Kevin started to cry again, more forcefully.
“I thought that I could be normal in comparison with the other boys here! But no, no, no here everyone just sees me as this partytrick! As this FaRtbOyy! The one that is just here to be funny! Nobody here will take me seriously!!! Everyone just sees me as this-”
Kevins voice broke.
“I don’t want to be a joke anymore. If I could be prom king, I could show everyone that I’m just like everyone else. Not the one who drops funny lines.”
Why Kevin had this amount of trust in Monty doesn’t he know. But it felt… Good. Good that someone knew. Even if Monty never could put himself in Kevin's shoes. He had this dangerous curse that even the last years take seriously, even a few of them are scared of him.
Monty looked speechless. He probably didn’t know what to say and would totally just leave Kevin here. Then would he tell the whole school about this and Kevin would have to go home to his shit parents.
“I may not know how it is to have your curse-”
Exactly what I said. I could just leave now. But Monty didn’t move. He still holds my hands and looks at me with his big brown eyes.
Kevin knew he shouldn’t, but he at this moment thought that even if Monty isn't a girl, he is pretty cute. Cuter then he usually was.
“-but you don’t know either how it is to have my curse.”
“Easy.” said Kevin. “Everyone has respect for you and everyone takes you seriously.”
“Yes. But there’s also how many people are scared of me. There is only Sarge, you, Edgar and Roland who trusts me 100%. Everyone else, even after 3 years, still sees me as this monster. You were the first person here I told about my curse. You didn’t scream. You weren't afraid. You helped me. So let me help you now, Kevin.”
He was right. Again. Kevin was the first one that he told about his wolf thing. That he really killed his parents. Kevin helped him through that. He didn’t tell the other boys about that and helped him hide it. It was a hard time for Monty.
But it’s not an easy time for Kevin either.
Kevin and Monty sat down for a minute, still holding hands, when Monty remembered something.
“Kevin. You need to know that I’m here for you. But now I want you to tell me something.”
Kevin nodded.
“I have noticed that you eat less than you have done earlier. With less I mean almost nothing. I just want you to know that you can talk with me about that.”
Fuck.
Of course someone would notice.
I made it clear.
Everyone probably has noticed that.
My weird eating thing.
“It’s nothing. I’m just not that hungry.”
Kevin knows that Monty is not that gullible.
“You can trust in me, Kevin. There is always something.”
Kevin now started to cry even more than before.
“It’s something weird with me and eating. During last summer did I try everything to make my curse inactive. I know it’s not an on and off button, but something would help. So I came up with, if I didn’t eat, I didn’t fart. If I didn’t fart my musical fart, I was normal. I could be a normal kid with my parents. I know that I could be myself here, but I just couldn’t eat. I don’t know what it was, but I just continued like I did under the summer. I’m still healthy, I promise! But I just don’t eat so much so I fart. Does this even make sense I don’t know-”
Now Kevin understood what he had said. He has so overshared. Now Monty thinks that he is even weirder! Why did you do this, Kevin…. He wanted to run away, but Monty still held his hand. Kevin didn’t want to loosen the grip.
“I think it makes sense.”
“You are just saying that so it makes me feel better.”
“No. It makes sense. I would probably also do that if I was in your situation. I may be able to help you with this. So that it doesn't become a problem, you still need your curse in St Churnley’s.”
Why did everything Monty said be so true?
“I don’t need help! I can do this myself! There is nothing wrong with me!!!
He wasn’t weird. He wasn’t a problem. He just was…
What was he?
Monty still stared at him. It was like he looked into Kevin's soul.
“Kevin. You know that you need help. I can at least try to help you. There is nothing wrong with you. It’s your parents who lets you think that you are the problem. They just don’t know better. But I’m here for you.”
Kevin knew his parents weren't the best.
He also knew that Monty would forever be on his side.
“I trust you Monty. I really do. I really, really, really do.”
Kevin started to get nervous.
Would Monty leave him now?
Why did he think that Monty was so special?
Why does Monty still hold his hand?
“You know what. You may not get the chance to be prom king this year. But that doesn’t mean that you would have a boring evening under the prom ....”
What would Monty say now?
Does he not want to be my friend anymore?
“...And I trust you too.”
He trusted him?
He wouldn’t let him go?
Monty let go of my hand.
Monty let go of my hand.
He started fidgeting with his fingers.
What was he about to say?
“Kevin Creely. Do you.. Do you want to go to prom with me? Not platonically, not like friends or classmates. Like, like… lovers.”
Kevin suddenly stood up and brushed off the invisible dust of his school uniform.
“Sorry… But I’m not… We’re not… Egh…”
Then Kevin ran away for the second time today.
Monty still sat down and just looked at him with sad puppy eyes.
That was the only thing Kevin thought of that day.
-
Kevin tried to not get close to Monty that week. Roland and Edgar both wondered what had happened, but didn’t want to make something worse.
Kevin spent all of those days wondering why he ran away.
He did like Monty.
But he couldn’t be gay.
Right?
BUT WHY DIDN’T HE SAY YES???
Monty nearly never got out of his dorm. He also got Edgar to sleep in Roland and Kevin's dorm, he just wanted to be alone for a while. He only got out of it when he needed to, he took his food there so that he could eat there and he left when there was time for class.
Sarge noticed that something was wrong, but when she asked Monty he just said that he feels sick.
But now he had to get out of his dorm again. It was 5 days until prom and the third year would get the whole day to choose what they would wear.
Kevin hated his ginger hair. Whatever he took on didn’t match his fiery hair. Even if he really liked green it still didn't suit him, he just ended up looking like a leprechaun. He looked at this leprechaun in the mirror when Monty came.
Monty was blue under his eyes and he probably hadn’t taken care of his hair.
He had also cried. A lot.
“Hey.”
Kevin tried to get close to Monty again. He wanted to say that they could wear matching suits and go to prom together.
But Monty didn’t answer.
“Monty?”
Monty cleared his throat. He probably hadn’t talked so much these days.
“What do you want?”
Kevin took a step forward. Monty took a step back.
“Sorry. I didn’t know what to answer. I thought that I wasn’t… That I didn’t like.. But now I know that I am-”
“Gay.”
“Exactly. That… Sorry, I still can’t say it… But I would really, really want to go to prom with you. I like you, Monty. I really, really do. In a romantic way. It’s okay if you don’t want to anymore, but you will know that I at least like you…”
Monty sighed.
“No, I haven’t gotten over you under these days. I would like to go to prom with you.”
YESS!!!! HE ALSO WANTED TO DANCE WITH ME!!!!
He liked me.
“Do you want to have matching suits?”
“Thought that you would never ask.”
Monty must have supervision also or something, cause he immediately found a suit that suited me. It was like it was made for me. It was red and fit my hair really well. It also had hand embroidered sheet music. Whoever made this must have thought of me.
When Monty came out of the changing boot Kevins completely dropped my jaw.
Monty had a matching red… skirt. It fit him well and wore a red that matched Kevin's blood red suit. The skirt was a red checkered one and ended at the knees. He also had a normal white shirt with a tie that matched the skirt.
His face also matched the skirt, it was red like a tomato. I don’t think he should be ashamed, it fits him really well.
“Don’t you think that you have to wear something more feminine because you are going out with me. It’s probably multiple people going out. I promise that Melvin and Morti is going out together and-”
Kevin didn’t want to be a burden to Monty. He just wanted them to have a good time.
“No. I just want to wear a skirt. Is that ok?”
“Oh. Of course it’s okay! Boys can wear skirts too! Even if you wasn’t a boy and were like enby or transfem-”
“I’m not enby or transfem, I like that you are supportive tho.”
“You are cute in that.”
He really is. Didn’t think that I would have a thing for the femboy wolves.
I guess I’m quite unpredictable.
-
The prom went well.
So well.
Big Ben totally killed it like Prom King. He got his own type of suit that grows with him so that he doesn’t have to change all the time.
Roland and Edgar weren’t that surprised, or they at least didn’t show that they were surprised.
Edgar actually also had a skirt, or actually a dress, which matched him really well. It was black and ended at the ankle. With the dress he had a coat over.
Roland had one of the more… normal suits. Just plain black. We are clowns compared to him.
Monty wondered if Sarge would wear a dress, but we didn’t even see her in the evening. Guess prom isn’t something for her.
Not to be like that, but Kevin and Monty were the cutest of them there. They were even cuter than Mortimer and Melvin, who has now been together for a year now.
But that was one of the more normal nights in St Churnley’s that Kevin ever have had. What's now a normal night in St Churnley’s school for cursed boys is. Kevin now has about 50 photos to show his parents from this prom. If he ever is going to show them the pictures. Should he even tell them about him and Monty? Should he ask them if he and the rest of the boys could go to Disneyland? Looks like time will tell.
We can at least see if we are going to be full of boyfriends after this. Who knows? He needs to help me with this eating… thing. I know that it’s bad to not eat so much, but it’s fine! He can eat… Maybe not everything but he it’s not that bad… Right?
He really doesn’t know, but maybe Monty will help him otherwise.
He can’t believe that he wanted to be prom king to be normal. To not be a joke. To be that you just need good friends.
Like he and Monty.
Like he, Monty, Roland and Edgar.
It’s only us who can help each other.
Maybe Monty can help him afterall.
But first we have to survive this school year.