Cutest Senior Couple?

"I'm gonna have to stop you right there, Jacquelyn," Mom said, putting a hand up to stop her. "If your father knew Hera was going to come over for that playdate, why the fuck did you have to lie on Jason?!"

"Because he was acting like a complete douche earlier!" Jackie said.

But neither Mom nor Dad were buying it. Hera and I both knew what was coming. I was about to win this argument!

Mom just shrugged, but Dad said: "You know what? You're grounded, Jacquelyn Davis, effective immediately."

"But...but..."

"Not another word, Jacquelyn," Dad interrupted. "Go to your room now. And don't even think about coming out until I say so!"

Serves her right, trying to break us up...

But just as a fuming Jackie left for her room, Mom turned to me. "I know you told your father about this," she said, "but why didn't you tell me first? A heads-up would be necessary, Mr. Jason, Jr."

"Sorry, Mom," I said, hanging my head in shame.

"By the way, I did secretly hear what was going on up there," Mom said. "Were you guys...chewing on each other's faces?"

"We were kissing, Mrs. Davis," Hera told her, rolling her eyes. She must've known what that meant. And don't ask how she knows; I don't even watch that show, 'cause it blows.

***

So the month of April rolls in, right? And we're already paying for our yearbooks. Yeah, I paid for mine, too.

Anyway, something very shocking happened during the yearbook voting session. There was a section in which we were to vote for the Cutest Couple, and guess what I saw? I saw that my name, alongside Hera's, clear as day, was on that ballot!

And of course, I voted for me and Hera, secretly hoping and praying that we would become the cutest couple of our class.

I decided to tell Hera the surprising news as soon as that bell rang for us to pass to our next classes.

"Hera!" I yelled. "Guess what!"

"What is it, JJ?" Hera asked.

I was smiling ear to ear. "We got nominated for Cutest Couple of our Senior class!"

"I'm sorry, what? We're actually a Cutest Couple nominee?"

I nodded.

"But...how?" Hera said in obvious confusion. "We're literally a mismatched couple!"

"Hera," I said, shaking my head, "that's a mystery we're gonna have to solve on our own."

I mean, it was a bumpy road for us as a budding couple after all.

***

The next week, during Science, the intercom clicked on, and the voice of Principal O'Hara said: "Jason Davis and Hera Nguyen, please report to the main office. I repeat, Jason Davis and Hera Nguyen, please report to the main office."

Oh, shit... What did we do this time?

After leaving the classroom I was in, I made a quick sprint to the office. And who do I find already there? It's good ol' Hera! She waved at me with a nervous smile.

"What'd we do this time, O'Hara?" I asked, half-annoyed, half-scared. "Are Hera and I in trouble again?"

"All you delinquents are all the same," O'Hara said, "thinking you're in trouble when you're really not..."

Ugh... I need no reminder...

"Anyway, it's quite the contrary from what you believe," Principal O'Hara finally answered. "I called you two here because you two were voted Cutest Couple for the class of 2019."

"For real?!" we yelled in unison.

She nodded.

"Boo-yah!" I shouted suddenly.

Call us old-school if you want—we don't even care anymore—but Hera and I traded a slap-slap-bump high-five on the down-low—palm, back-of-the-hand, knuckles—nice 'n smooth, our new couple's trademark.

Afterward, I became a bit confused myself. "But how is this possible?!" I asked. "We are literally a mismatched pair, Principal!"

"Yeah!" Hera chimed in. "What even happened for us to even become the Cutest Couple for the Class of '19?"

"Come the hell on, do I have to spell it out for you dumbasses?" she said, rolling her eyes. "A few of your fellow students have noticed that the two of you had begun to get along back in October. And don't think for one second that I didn't see the moment you two kissed for the very first time, because—guess what—I asked some of our security crew to install some cams in the stairwells over the summer."

"Wait... So you guys had enough money in your budget to get some additional security cameras?" Hera asked.

Principal O'Hara ignored her statement and played back the footage from the stairwell from Monday. Holy shit, so she wasn't pulling our leg! She snorted, trying to keep her laugh in when she saw me take that tumble on stairwell cams one and two.

Haha, very funny, O'Hara, I thought.

As Hera and I continued to watch the footage, O'Hara said: "I would have you both in In-School Suspension for Improper Display of Affection, but I'm willing to let that slide just this once."

Thank the gods! Maybe there is some good in her after all...

"And by the way," she continued, "one of the co-editors of this year's yearbook demands that you two have a photo taken of you together for the Superlatives page."

"Well!" I replied. "If I'd have known, I would've dressed nicer than I am now!"

"There's no time for that, Mr. Davis. The photography crew wants you in their studio immediately!"

"Yes, ma'am!" I said, standing up and giving a playful salute. "We'll head there immediately." I turned to Hera. "Come on, Hera-chan! We've got a photo to pose for!"

And we headed out the office door and started for the photography studio on the second floor.

"JJ," Hera said as we were heading up the stairs, "now that our classmates know about us finally being together, how's that going to affect your reputation as the big, bad bully?"

At this, I rolled my eyes. "So what if those weaks know?" I replied. "Honestly, my dear Hera, I really don't give a damn about it anymore."

Just as we were midway down the hallway heading to the studio, we heard one of the most childish jokes ever!

"Jason and Hera, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

It was my homies Ty and Wells! And those fuckers dared to try and make fun of us?

"That is the most fucking immature joke we have ever heard!" I retorted. Then I turned to Hera, saying: "Just ignore them... My homies can both be total assholes sometimes..."

***

As soon as we entered the studio, the head of the photography studio, Stephanie Martinez, said: "Jason and Hera! Cutest Couple of the Senior Class, I assume?"

We both nodded before we stepped inside the studio.

"Okay! If you two would please step in front of the green screen, we'll get the photoshoot started!" Stephanie said.

And as soon as we were in front of the green screen, she said: "Now Jason, you hold Hera's waist. And Hera, you wrap your arms around his shoulders."

We both did as we were instructed, and Stephanie stepped behind the camera and told us to hold the pose until the photo was finally taken.

It was still hard to believe, but it was slowly coming into focus: Hera and I were voted as the Cutest Senior Couple for 2019! Talk about crazy, right?!