What Senior Prom Taught Me

8:15 the bell for first period rang and the hallways filled with half-awake students trudging to the first class of the day. I joined the ranks, slowly making my way up to the third floor of Mount Saint Charles Academy for the worst possible first period class: Religion; the one class that could put a sufferer from Fatal Familial Insomnia to sleep. As I crawled up the stairs, the bright bubble letters of a poster caught my eyes. “PROM TICKETS ON SALE” the vibrant yellow screamed. I inspected the poster as I waited for my turn to move ahead in the crowd and lightly shook my head. Prom season made hormones that were already raging kick into overdrive. Who was going to ask who? Who wasn’t going to be asked by who they wanted to be asked by? Who wasn’t going to be asked at all? One fancy dance that high school students put a lot of pressure on to be some magical evening even though it always takes place in some cheap event hall with equally cheap decorations and food. However, the playing field leveled up this year. It wasn’t just prom. It was senior prom: the last rite of passage for a high schooler before graduation. I sighed, rounding the corner and into my classroom. High School was always dramatic, but it was about go into Defcon 5.

“I need your help!” Seeley slammed his hands on his fake cherry wood grain desktop the minute he saw me.

“Yes, you do, but unfortunately there’s only so much one person can do, and it won’t even begin to scratch the surface of the amount you help you need.”

Seeley narrowed his eyes at me before continuing, “How should I ask Natalie to prom?”

“Uh, how about… let’s see,” I tapped my finger against my chin as if I was in deep thought, “Natalie would you go to prom with me?” I held out my hand suggestively with an exaggerated nod and large grin as if I had given him a unique take on the question.

He rolled his eyes, ending in a look that said get serious not finding my wit at all funny. Although, I couldn’t really blame him; we were sitting in religion class at 8:30 on a Tuesday.

“Well what do you want from me?” I held up my hands in exasperation, “You know her just as well as I do.”

“I just want everything to be perfect,” he shot back, his dark brown eyes softening.

“Perfect? Are you asking her to prom or for her hand in marriage?” I received another deathly glare, causing me to roll to be the one my eyes before shrugging in response. “She really likes Colt State Park,” I offered feebly.

“Colt State Park,” Seeley jotted the name in his notebook, repeating the name to match the speed of his writing.

“You know what would really surprise her?”

“What?”

“If you finally asked her out!”

I received my third death glare of the morning, perhaps a personal best.

“I’m waiting for the right time,” he hissed.

“Your deathbed?” I shot back right as Mr. Dale called us to attention.

I shook my head with a wry smile as I received one more final glare from Seeley before he turned to face the front of the classroom. I didn’t get it. Seeley and Natalie had liked each other since our sophomore year of high school, and everyone knew it. Hell, even people in school districts two states over knew it. Their flirting was basically an art form, and perhaps the greatest show of delayed gratification in the world. It was shocking to me that neither has made a move in the three obvious years of reciprocated attraction. We were hormone-addled teenagers! How was it possible that a night didn’t end up with the two of them lip-locked in some corner or unoccupied bedroom of a party? Frankly, I was sexually frustrated for both of them, as their hot-and-heavy flirting didn’t expand beyond that.

“Miss D’Amba!” Mr Dale’s clear and authoritative voice pulled me out of my early morning musings. “Why don’t you tell us how the early Christians became Christians in the first place?”

“Sure,” I smirked.

He thought he was pulling the ultimate embarrassing act, asking me a question when he thought I wasn’t paying attention. Unfortunately for him, I learned the answer to this question in every single religion class I took before his.

“So basically the early Christians were still practicing Jews, but then the rabbis were all like ‘Yo, you Jesus believers are not allowed in our temples!’ And then the Jesus believers were all like, ‘Well whatever man, we’ll go worship in the intimate settings of our own homes!’ And thusly, the early Christians were born, and Jesus was sad because if it were up to him there would be no separation of religion, but, of course, people are always disappointing God. That explains his vengeful wrath in the old testament.”

Mr. Dale’s shoulders slumped as I had successfully answered his question.

“Thank you,” he rolled his eyes before turning back towards the black board, “For your colorful, yet correct response to the question.”

I returned his gratitude with a toothy grin and a slight head nod, shifting in my seat, to bring myself back to focus. Leaving the musings of my friends’ romantic lives to a later time, I tried my best to pay attention to the monotony at the front of the classroom.

The forty-five minute period passed by slowly as I sat between half-hearted note taking and whole-hearted attempts to keep my eyes open, but sure enough the bell rang signaling the end of another “rousing” religion class.

“Colt State Park?” Seeley questioned as we left the classroom.

“It’s in Bristol,” I offered, getting where his questioning was going.

“Got it! Thanks, man,” He held out his hand for a pound explode that I returned. “Later?”

I nodded in salutation as we parted, he going down the hall, me going downstairs back through the locker room and to English. The classroom was the only one in the new wing of the school. It was solely used for Mr. Lawrence’s two periods of AP English, and as the most tenured teacher and athletic director he had the status to get a room directly across from his office. I pushed through the double doors and leaving the darkness of the 1920’s construction of the rest of the school or the pure white and airy construction of the new. As I entered the classroom, I quickly scanned the room to see that Ian had arrived before me.

“Ew!” he scrunched his face in disgust as I took my seat next to him. “I was hoping you’d be out today.”

“Please,“ I flipped my wrist in his direction. “You’d be crying the saltiest of salty tears if I was out.”

He returned the comment with a glower before a smile lit up his face and he laughed. “What’s up butthead?” he bridged the gap between us by pulling me into a noogie.

“Same shit different day,” I responded once I had wriggled free of his grasp. I subtly rubbed the spot on my head where Ian’s knuckles had brushed my skull. I got that noogies were a brotherly-like sign of affection, but they smarted.

“Did you see that prom tickets went on sale today?”

“Yep. Seeley’s already on my back to get intel on how to make his asking Natalie perfect.”

“Lee?” Ian placed both hands over his heart, “You mean…he doesn’t want to ask me?” mock pain lined face as he mimicked the tone of someone holding back tears.

I rolled my eyes. Seeley and Ian gave definition to the term bromance. If one needed proof of true love in the world all one had to do was look to the two of them. Their love was pure, rivaling on the purity of love between mother and child, husband and wife, and possibly even dog and dog owner.

“Maybe he’s going for the ultimate surprise and throwing everyone off the trail with Natalie,” I shrugged.

“Are you guys talking about prom?” Someone broke into our poignant albeit ridiculous conversation. The voice made my stomach muscles clench ever so slightly, causing me to sit up straighter.

“It’s the topic of the hour,” I deadpanned turning to the James Gordon taking a seat in front of me, trying to keep the flush from my cheeks as his clear blue eyes locked on me.

“Tell me about it,” he huffed, pulling his notebook from his bag. “Do you guys know who you’re taking yet?”

My cheeks flushed as his eyes met mine. The question was asked to both of us, but it was clear from his intent gaze that he was more interested in what my answer would be.

“Tickets went on sale this morning bro,” Ian responded first. “I got like a whole month to decide.”

“Oh yeah, like the girls are beating down your door to be their date,” I rolled my eyes.

“Awe, it’s okay, you can admit that nothing would make you happier than for me to ask you.”

Mr. Lawerence called us to attention before I could retort to Ian’s jab, allowing him to win this round. The boy gave us a crooked smile before turning away, leaving me to focus on the back of his head.

James Gordon: the one person I could have possibly been interested in the whole high school if I was truly willing to admit it. As it stood at that moment, I agreed with others he was attractive, but didn’t allow myself to explore my feelings beyond that point. To go further acknowledge my greater attraction was something I absolutely didn’t want to do. To do so would turn my casual day dreams about what he might look shirtless into a crush, which mean butterflies, flushed cheeks, weak knees, and the general dweebiness that goes along with liking someone. It was too complicated. Especially when you’re not sure if that someone reciprocates, and James was a tough nut to crack. He was one of those people that was always in a good mood and liked everyone. However, that made it hard to tell if he was being nice to you because he was genial person, or if he was perhaps also wondering what you might look like shirtless as well.

I didn’t have a dream prom date in mind because I lived in reality. Every girl wanted to the best asked by the same five guys, so statistically speaking there was no way my dream would come true. But if I did have one, it would have been him.

“I can’t believe Lee wants to take Natalie to prom over me?” Ian muttered after we had left our thoroughly uneventful class.

“Yes, it really is shocking that your heterosexual friend wants to take the girl he likes to prom.”

“NATALIE!” he cried raising one fist up to the heavens and shaking it.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“You love it,” he chuckled pulling me into another noogie. “Oh!” he exclaimed as we arrived at my locker. “Can you give me a ride home today?”

I rolled my eyes. “I guess so.”

“Oh I’m sorry,” Ian threw up his hands in mock humility. “I didn’t know it would be putting you out since you have to literally drive by my house—the one next to yours—to get home.”

“Yeah, but I have to stop the car and all. It’s kinda a pain.”

“Just bring it to a gentle roll and I’ll hope out like the true action star I am!” he punched, kicked and karate chopped the air and I giggled.

“Fine,” I relented.

“Awesome! See ya later butthead,” he pushed me lightly against the lockers.