Woke Up Like This

J. T. is back with the group, flirting with Andie. Char tells Kassie that she just asked Clay to prom, and Kassie is more excited than Char. Kassie commends Char for being bold, and Char realizes that she asked two guys to prom in fewer than 24 hours, wondering where she got the strength to do that. However, despite dreaming of this moment for years, she’s not as excited as she expected to be.

Char wakes up feeling that all is as it should be: She and Kassie are best friends, and she and J. T. are rivals. Char reflects on how fast Senior Week is going, and she wishes that time would slow down. Though her mom tries to hype her up, Char feels “total apathy” about prom night. She questions her mom’s claim that these are the best days of her life, but her mom argues that one never knows that they are the best days until they are over. Char ruminates on her nature—how she loves to crush goals and milestones—and she wonders if she will ever really understand joy in the moment of achievement or if she will always be looking forward to the next one.

Char agrees to meet her dad for brunch. He’s already got a table when she arrives, and she realizes that she doesn’t really know him. They chat for a bit before he asks if Alexandra can come to Char’s graduation with him, and he lights up when he talks about the baby. His happiness makes Char happy, too, rather than jealous or angry. He says that he’s realized how much time he lost with Char, and he begins to weep. By the time he recognized what he’d done, he says, he figured that Char didn’t want a relationship anymore. Char assures him that she does and that she has longed for his approval for years. He tells her that he is proud of her and that he thought she knew. She accepts that he really does care about her, and she fully comprehends that neither adults nor teens always know what they’re doing. She realizes that she doesn’t want to be angry with him anymore and that this could be a new beginning for them.

Char thinks about the list she made of dream prom elements when she was a sophomore. It included Clay, pictures at Ollie’s, and riding in the limo with Kassie; now, she has it all and it’s not fun. She hates her hair and thinks that she looks like a hobbit. Then Clay arrives early, before Char is even dressed. He is nervous, and they are silent on the way to Ollie’s. J. T. is the first person she sees when they arrive, and his smile makes her swoon a little. Nori has bangs, and she explains that future Nori seems cool, so she’d better keep things the same in order to become her. Things are awkward between Char and Clay, and he basically abandons her to sit with the guys when they get in the limo. Char is compelled to sit by J. T., who asks if her feet still hurt and then offers her a handful of Band-Aids. He also asks about brunch with her dad and how things are going with Clay, telling her that he really wants her to have a good time. J. T. says that Char has her “mad face” on, and she snaps at him to pay attention to his own date. When he challenges her, she tells him that she isn’t mad at him and that their kiss meant nothing. She asks why J. T. cannot let her be happy this one time instead of trying to ruin it, and he looks at her with pity and sadness. Just then, Andie plops down right between them, and Char moves up to take the empty seat.

Clay ditches Char as soon as they go inside. Nori pulls her onto the dance floor, which is fun because Nori does not care who is looking at or judging her. All the other girls from their group join them until a slow song starts. She sees Nori with Tayshia, and Ollie with Kassie, and she feels genuinely happy for her friends. She approaches Clay, thanking him for coming with her, and he says that he thinks she’d rather be there with J. T. Char confesses that she’s had a crush on Clay for years, unsure where she’s getting this courage, but it doesn’t seem like they have any chemistry. Clay agrees, and they part as friends. Char takes off her painful shoes and walks to her locker. J. T. follows her and—with all sincerity—tells her that he does want her to be happy. She accuses him of trying to ruin prom the way he ruined freshman homecoming, and he says that she’s the only person he ever wanted to take to prom. He confesses that he asked her for a pencil every day before homecoming just to have an excuse to talk to her, and he pulls out a bundle of her mechanical pencils from his locker. J. T. tells her that they both already know why he didn’t show up for homecoming, and this seems to confirm that he had the same experience of the future that she did. However, before they can talk more, Andie arrives to tell them that it’s time to announce prom king and queen.

J. T. is crowned king and Kassie queen. Char marvels at J. T.’s obvious surprise, noting his humility and likability again. She recalls what Kassie told her after Kassie made out with J. T. Kassie was so excited that he would be at Maplewood too, but the next day, she said that their kiss was meaningless and she had no feelings for him. Char knows, for sure now, that Kassie lied about why J. T. didn’t show up for homecoming; there wasn’t another girl, and Kassie has kept up that lie for four years. Char confronts Kassie about it, confirming that it was J. T. who rejected Kassie and not the other way around. Char accuses her of being upset when J. T. asked Char to homecoming, and Kassie says that no one had ever rejected her before and she was embarrassed. Char points out that she’s hated J. T. for four years when they could have been happy, like Kassie and Ollie. Char knows that the friendship will never be the same, and when Kassie asks how she can fix things, Char demands that Kassie stop lying to her going forward. Kassie vows to be truthful, but Char knows that an irreversible shift has taken place. Char feels at peace with this. She tells Kassie that she has feelings for J. T., and Kassie tells her to find him. Just then, the song from Dirty Dancing begins to play.

Char enters the gym and sees J. T. near the DJ table. The crowd between them seems to part, and Char can tell by looking at him that J. T. experienced the same thing that she did after her fall. He asks her to dance and promises not to ask her to do the lift. They see Andie making out with another boy, and J. T. says that he told her he had feelings for someone else. He asks Char how she knew that he knew, and she says that it was when Kassie confirmed what he told her about homecoming. J. T. knew when Char asked about his sister and parents, as he’d never told anyone else about his feelings. J. T. confirms that everything he said to her was real and that he loves her. He is relieved when Char says it back. She reflects on high school and how it feels like it lasts forever, but then, suddenly, it’s over. J. T. says that they’d better make this time count, talking about how he’ll visit her every day this summer. Char, though, is already worried about losing him. He tells her that he doesn’t know what will happen, but he wants to be with her, and he asks her to stop planning ahead and worrying about the future and just be with him “in this moment” (285). Char knows that he’s right and realizes that being present in this moment is “true happiness.”

The book ends with Char’s letter to herself at 30, which will go in the class time capsule. She tells herself not to let future goals get in the way of present happiness and not to dwell on things that are out of her control. She advises herself to let the past go, to not anticipate the future, and to “[b]e present” (286).