ojandtostitos commented on blueridgemod's post in blueridgeschool:

To say that a situation so full of people put Tatum on edge was an understatement. Tatum had been anxious for several days now, leading up to the actual night of homecoming. She kept trying not to think about Mack asking her to go with her, pushing the entire afternoon out of her mind as much as she could. She was glad to go with Sam, just as she had planned all along. That was what she was supposed to do, wasn't it? She wasn't really one for rocking the boat, never had been, despite encouragement.

It took a lot to shake her out of her stupid fears and worries, and no one had gotten through to her enough to change how homecoming would go. She had turned Mack down, even if she had wanted to say 'yes', even if she wanted to tell Sam everything, how things really were, how confused and upset she really felt. It wasn't a night to cause problems and start blurting out how wrong everything felt. She was nervous, and a little melancholy, but she could put on her best smile and just roll with whatever happened. It wouldn't be the first time.

She supposed that at least she was wearing a dress of her own choosing. Madeline always sent such embarrassing choices when she got the chance, but work had built up on her and she had never gotten around to picking out anything for the girls to wear. It was a small blessing, in Tatum's opinion.

She had arrived with Sam, but quickly separated herself for a few minutes while some of their friends said hello to him. She'd go back and find him soon but for the moment, the redhead just weaved through the crowd in front of her, head down and silent determination on her face. She felt incredibly relieved when she saw the familiar figure in front of her, and she stepped up behind her brother, grabbing the back of his shirt and tugging on it. "Wanna get high?" she asked simply, her voice slightly hushed in case any of the chaperones were around.

They could get away with a bit more in university, but even as a dealer and someone who smoked almost constantly, Tatum also lived in constant paranoia about getting busted. Even if it had never happened once in the last six years.