Only one boy asked me to prom because no one else wanted to go with me because of the birthmark on my face — everyone laughed until police officers walked into the gym.

I froze. The most popular boy in school did not usually stop by my locker.

“Hey, Hannah,” he said. “I wanted to ask you something.”

“Yes?” I waited, my heart doing something foolish inside my chest.

“Would you go to prom with me?”

I stared at Caleb, convinced I must have heard him wrong. The noise in the hallway faded into a dull sound behind my ears.

“You want me to go to prom with you?”

He smiled and leaned one shoulder against the lockers as if this were completely normal.

“Yeah. I do.”

“Why?” The word came out harsher than I meant it to. My fingers tightened around my notebook.

“Because you’ve always seemed kind, Hannah. And I’ve noticed how people treat you. It isn’t right.”

I searched his face for a joke. I could not find one, at least not one I could see.

“Okay,” I whispered. “Okay, yes.”