You Should See Me in a Crown

Liz is exhausted on Monday morning after a long day of prom court meetings and schoolwork the day before. In Mr. K’s class, Gabi and Liz talk about the unknown girl from the day before. Gabi is convinced that the girl may be a double agent sent by Rachel to figure out why Liz is running for prom queen. The new girl enters the practice room and turns out to be their new drummer (the previous one hurt his hand in a prom proposal accident). Amanda “Mack” McCarthy has short red hair, freckles, tattoos, and piercings. She dresses in black jeans, Vans sneakers, and a hoodie with the phrase “FEMME THE FUTURE” on the front (31). Liz immediately has a crush on her. Mr. K tells Liz to help Mack learn the music after school. 

Liz is gathered with Gabi, Britt, and Stone in Gabi’s giant basement to go over the detailed plans for the campaign. The girls know Gabi well enough to ignore the loud argument occurring between her parents upstairs. Gabi has used her mother’s personal shopper to put together some outfits for Liz. Liz feels uncomfortable accepting gifts like she’s a charity case, but she knows that Gabi has good intentions. Gabi was by her side throughout Liz’s mother’s illness and death, supporting her the best that she can. Liz trusts her enough to accept her gift knowing that “she wants to give it” (33).

Britt does not think that outfits will be enough for Liz to win. She offers, somewhat jokingly, for her friends to cut Rachel’s brakes. Britt’s parents also own a print shop and they have provided materials for them to print buttons and posters for Liz. They are allies to Liz, ones who “put their money where their mouth is” (35). Stone also contributes to Liz’s campaign effort by building an app that tracks the number of hits a candidate has on Campbell Confidential. It also takes into consideration all the other factors for gaining points. According to their system, Liz is currently in last place among the candidates. Overwhelmed by Gabi’s detailed plan for prom domination, Liz hurries home, where she is side-lined by Granny for missing dinner. Though she wants to argue with her grandmother, she bites her tongue and simply apologizes. When Granny compares Liz to her mother, Liz only becomes more upset and exhausted. Liz finds dinner waiting for her in the fridge but by the time she settles in bed to eat, she has fallen asleep.

Liz first developed anxiety after her mother passed away. She gets anxious enough to get sick before almost every performance. She saw a counselor after her mother’s death who taught her some coping strategies. Breathing deeply is one strategy. Liz practices this when she arrives at the park, the site of their mandatory volunteer session, where she learns that she has been paired up with Jordan. Jordan tries to initiate conversation with Liz, but she answers in short sentences. She has not forgiven him for abandoning her and Gabi once he started playing football and pretending not to know her when she ran up and hugged him on the first day of high school.

Jordan did not defend her against the racist comments his friends made about Liz and her hair, and the shame she felt from his rejection of their friendship compelled her to start gelling and tying her hair back and to wear all-black. These are Liz’s survival techniques to avoid being seen or noticed by other people so that she won’t have to be humiliated again. Jordan and Liz get into a short argument, with both of them eventually agreeing to be cordial.

When they finally finish picking up litter around the park, the park attendant gives them a difficult time and threatens not to sign their service completion papers. Liz begins to spiral when she hears this. Jordan immediately places two fingers on her wrist, tapping out his foot to the beat of her pulse. This, too, is a strategy Liz learned from the counselor, one that she shared with Jordan back when they were still friends. Jordan threatens to release a video of the park attendant from his last party, and the man quickly signs their papers. After, Liz thanks Jordan for helping with her anxiety and they both smile at each other. They have reached a tentative peace, though Liz still has not forgiven him. 

Liz shares a moment with Robbie while they’re doing the dishes after dinner. Liz reveals that she is currently in twenty-fourth place of the twenty-five girls running for prom queen. The girl in dead last has worn the same tracksuit for the last three years and has already failed to attend the service meetings. Robbie tells Liz that there have been some rumors about her and Jordan on Campbell Confidential. Liz and Jordan have been paired up for their community service activities that week and have slowly been getting more friendly. While they worked in the art room earlier that week, they began joking around and dancing to the Kid ‘n Play dance from House Party, the way they used to as children. When they finished dancing, they found the Prom Projectioners filming them and uploading the video to Campbell Confidential.

Jordan went right back to ignoring her when there were other people around. The relationship between Liz and Jordan is still extremely tense. When he jokes about Liz getting better hair, she immediately stiffens, and he backpedals to get out of the conversation. This tension is indicative of all the history that they share. Though Liz wants to tell Robbie about everything that has been going on with Jordan, their grandmother enters the kitchen to tell Robbie to take his medicine. Liz is tasked with watching him take it as well, as sometimes he stops taking his medication once he feels better. Liz is terrified that he might do so again and put his health at risk. 

Liz is waiting for Mack so that they can go over the arrangement of the music. Mack shows up fifteen minutes late, already speaking as she sets up her drums. Later, she confesses to Liz that she speaks when she’s nervous. In her nervous rant, Liz learns that Mack is originally from Chicago, where she attended a small arts high school. Mack and her father are currently in town to help take care of her great aunt. Mack unwittingly compares Liz, who is wearing one of the red sweaters Gabi picked out for her, to her great aunt. Liz is amused and Mack is apologetic; they both lean easily into the playful banter. Mack picks up the arrangement of the music quickly and Liz is pleased to discover that she’s an excellent drummer, better than their last. Liz has to leave because her grandmother has to work an early shift, but she is reluctant to say goodbye to Mack. Mack and Liz continue to chat and flirt as they part ways. 

The Bake-Off is a vital part of the prom tradition where candidates bake desserts to sell at the charity bake sale. The amount of money made for the charity directly influences the points that the candidates receive. This baking session takes place at the school’s culinary arts classroom. Liz is stationed between two of Rachel’s best friends. Quinn is notably oblivious to Rachel’s rudeness towards Liz, but is superficially nice to her, complimenting her on her skin and how Liz likely won’t need plastic surgery when she ages. Rachel continues to torment Liz, making pointed comments about how having to bake their own desserts equalizes the playing field. This is a jab at Liz’s lack of wealth.

Rachel tells Liz that she will be the one to win prom queen, and that Liz will be forgotten entirely within the next year. Liz feigns indifference, but the words shake her. Mack ambles over and spoon-feeds Liz a sample of her cheesecake batter. The intimacy of the action makes Liz blush. Around them, Derek, Rachel’s boyfriend, and the other jocks begin to argue. The argument eventually devolves into a full blown food fight. Amidst the chaos, Mack and Liz hold hands and scramble to find a place to hide. They are right next to one another in their hiding spot, and Mack smears some batter close to Liz’s mouth. When Liz licks it away, there is a noticeable tension between them. It is broken when Madame Simoné enters the room.