Mepham homecoming queen has to wait for her king

Jordana Bove had no choice but to stand alone at the center of the Mepham High School football field when she was named the homecoming queen Friday night.

Unfortunately, her king was relegated to the locker room.

She was hoping to see king James Hatcliffe for the crowning, but she understood.

“He’s a football player,” Jordana explained of her boyfriend. “He probably doesn’t even know he won.”

Nonetheless, the new queen of the high school in Bellmore received wild cheers from the crowd. She’s a member of the school’s kickline team, The Pirettes, and the entire squad mobbed her on the field, so she was hardly alone for the special moment.

Her mother, Mary, father, Dominick, and sister Nicolette, were also present, and they joined her on the field's track as she waited to at least catch a glimpse of Hatcliffe, if only to briefly note the moment.

“I’d really like to see him!” she was heard saying as she stood with her family, all of which kept an eye to the field for Hatcliffe.

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“I’m so happy for her,” Mary Bove said. “I didn’t know where she was walking in from [when the crowning presentation started], and then they called her name, and I couldn’t get my video going. But it was amazing.”

Dominick Bove was smiling almost as much as his daughter, a fact easily recognized as they share the same beaming, electric type of grin. Did he ever think he’d be the father of a homecoming queen?

“Maybe not exactly that," he said, "but I always knew she’d be something wonderful.”

Nicolette, Jordana’s older sister and a Mepham alumna, was impressed but again, not surprised.

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“She’s so great, we all expect these things from her," she said.

The football team took the field for the second half, and they all suddenly craned their necks to hopefully spot Hatfcliffe — which they did — but without catching his eye.

“Ugh I want to tell him!” Jordana Bove said as Hatcliffe trotted toward the sideline.

“I’m sure someone probably whispered it in his ear by now,” she said. “But maybe not,” leaving the queen with a chance to tell her prince he became the king, and to add one more highlight to her night.