Prom

Just when it felt like life was finally straightening out for us, it fell apart again. So I think it's time for a good flashback kind of entry.



My sister and I were having a discussion on the phone one night about Senior Prom and our odd stories. She had always felt like hers was an exceptionally weird story, but then after talking about it, had to admit mine was even weirder.

*I wanted to include a link to her blog entry about our conversation, but I can't find it right now. The only detail I remember about her Senior Prom was that her date turned out to be gay.

**Also, I would post pictures, but Surfer Pirate's computer and my scanner aren't getting along at the moment and my laptop is possessed.



Bear with me, this is a long story.

In the fall of my senior year, my high school sweetheart broke up with me. I was devastated and heart-broken and convinced the world had ended - just like EVERY girl who's ever had her heart broken for the first time. I had temporarily dated another guy in an attempt to "get over it" (there's another good idea for a flashback entry - that relationship), but by the early spring was still a heart-broken mess.

My buddy Bill and I were at Perkins - THE hangout for teenagers in our town back then. His high school sweetheart had broken up with him just a couple months after my relationship ended. We were both in that trying-to-get-over-it-but-not-really-wanting-to stage, and were discussing how much we missed being with our lost loves. Then the subject of prom came up. Since neither of us wanted to miss the dance, but also couldn't go with the dates we REALLY wanted, we decided the best option was to go together. Perfect solution, right?

Then Easter came. Bill went to Arizona to spend Easter with his mother. While he was there, he had to admit to himself that he'd always kind of been attracted to guys. Once he realized he was bisexual, he wanted his family to know as well. His dad was FURIOUS! He told Bill that he was never welcome back home again and he would no longer pay for his return trip to Montana. So now Bill was trapped in Arizona, wanting to get home with no way to do that. His mother couldn't afford to send him, and his dad refused.***

So now prom was coming, and my date was stuck in Arizona. Meanwhile, my then good friend SLUTricia's prom date quit talking to her (because she's a psycho). She and I decided that we would go stag to the prom, and started making plans to do just that.

SLUTricia and I used to spend our spare time at the mall, shopping for guys. (What else do you do in the mid 90's when you're 18 and single??) About 2 weeks before prom, we had just gotten to the mall and passed by this particularly yummy piece of eye candy. We looked back after passing him to find him looking back at us. We gigggled - as 18 year old girls tend to do - and kept walking. We then went to our favorite mens' store to flirt with our favorite mens' store employee. Eventually Mr Eye Candy came into the store as well. SLUTricia and I had a strict rule - no going after the same guy. We had both spotted Mr Employee at the same time, and it was still yet to be determined who he "belonged" to. We had a long-standing flirtation going with him, and I figured something would happen sooner or later, so I leaned over to SLUTricia and whispered "You can have that guy (Mr Eye Candy) if I can have him (Mr Employee)." She said "Deal."

Over the next hour or so, the 4 of us talked and flirted at the store's counter until Mr Employee had to kick us out in order to close down the store. The then 3 of us sat on a bench outside the store continuing our conversation. Mr Employee finished closing and came out, locking the door behind him. He said "Well... goodnight" and walked away. I was disappointed, but figured I would meet up with him another time. So SLUTricia, Mr Eye Candy and I decided it was time to take our conversation elsewhere. We drove over to, none other than, Perkins.

By the end of that weekend, the two of them were dating. He found out that our prom was coming up and that she didn't have a date. He offered to take her. In one of her few Good Friend moments, she told him that she wouldn't go with him unless he could arrange a date for me as well. He agreed, and plans were made. He had arranged for me to go with one of his Air Force buddies, but I wouldn't be able to meet the guy until the night of the prom. The only clue I had about the guy was when Mr Eye Candy asked if I was prejudiced. Turns out my date was black (I'm not the least bit racist, but I refuse to use the term African American because I think it's stupid. I'm not called English American, am I?)

There was one complication to my blind date. He wouldn't be able to be there the entire night because he had "something he had to do". He would be there for dinner, then would have to leave, but he would be back before the dance was over. That actually worked out quite well for me because when I had planned on going stag, I had decided to spend a good part of the night taking pictures of my friends - for future memory. After all, high school was almost over! I wanted to make sure I would have pictures to preserve my precious friends. PLUS, there was a guy who would be there who was interested in me. He was going with a girl I knew (as a favor to their respective fathers), and she had already told him that she wouldn't slow dance with him. He was planning on slow dancing with me. This solution was perfect for me. I had a date for dinner, had someone to dance with, but also had the freedom to run around taking pictures!

Prom night came. I wore my pretty brown lace dress. It hugged my curves and was very flattering on me while also being modest and sophisticated. SLUTricia came to my house where our dates would pick us up. The guys showed up in their fancy little sports cars, and I was impressed that my date, Mr Chocolate, was really cute. (He was also impressed with me, as proven by the way he's looking at me in one of the pictures my mom took.) We posed for pictures at my house, then drove over to SLUTricia's house to do pictures there. Her mother was acting a little strangely, but plastered a fake smile on her face while she took pictures.

Dinner was pizza at Chuck E Cheese (a prank SLUTricia and I had planned for the guys. The prank fell flat). We took Mr Chocolate back to my house so he could get his car and go do his "something he had to do", then Mr Eye Candy, SLUTricia and I went to the prom. I had a GREAT time, doing just what I'd planned. I took pictures, talked to my friends, danced when I felt like it, and enjoyed having the freedom to run around without worrying about a date. Mr Chocolate finally arrived 20-30 minutes before the dance ended. Finally getting to dance with my date was wonderful, although semi-awkward. Mr Eye Candy had one of those ever so classy jumbo cell phones from the 90's, and Mr Chocolate had it with him while he was gone for his "something he had to do". There was a battle between the guys about who would have to hold the phone while dancing, so it wouldn't get stolen. It was NOT easy to dance with that thing around, trust me.

When the dance ended, I finally got to be alone with Mr Chocolate as we rode in his cute little red sports car. He sang to me as he drove - great voice. We went to (big surprise) PERKINS for an after-dance snack. We hung out and talked until time for my 1am curfew. Around 3 or 4 in the morning, SLUTricia's mom called my house wanting to know if my mom knew where "the girls" were. My mom told her that I'd been asleep for hours, but she would wake me up to ask if I knew where SLUTricia was. The guys lived out of town and hadn't wanted to drive all the way home that late, so they'd gotten motel rooms. I knew that she had planned on going to the motel. (Let's face it. The guys got motel rooms for more than just the drive. There's a reason why I've given the girl the name I did, and Mr Eye Candy was already aware of what she was like. Unfortunately for Mr Chocolate, I wasn't that kind of girl - and he was a complete gentleman.)

Aftermath:

SLUTricia and Mr Eye Candy dated for a couple of months until she dumped him for a guy she liked better.

Mr Chocolate and I had a couple of dates here and there, but quite honestly, I was too young for him (he was 25) and he was dating other people. I found out later the "something he had to do" was another date! He had promised another girl that he would take her out that night, long before our blind date was set up. He went to dinner with me, then left to take her to a movie. When the movie was over, he took her home and then met up with us at the prom.

I discovered later that SLUTricia's mom was a BIG racist. She was completely horrified when she saw my date, but did her best to be friendly that night. She told her daughter that we were all going to hell - SLUTricia and Mr Eye Candy for setting up the date, and Mr Chocolate and me for dating someone not of our race.

About 2 years later, I was starting to really understand what kind of friend SLUTricia WASN'T. In the middle of trying to decide if it was even worth keeping her in my life, Mr Eye Candy and I ran into each other. I decided that she hadn't been a good enough friend to keep our "no dating the same guy" rule. Mr Eye Candy got immense joy from showing up with me to her birthday party and getting a chance to insult her in front of everyone. I have to admit I enjoyed it as well. Needless to say, she and I didn't stay friends for much longer.

Oh, and did I mention that SLUTricia was 3 months pregnant with another guy's baby at the time we all went to prom? She gave the baby up for adoption.



***It took us several months, but eventually a bunch of us were able to pool enough money to buy Bill a bus ticket to come home. He had a tough road after that. Since he wasn't welcome at home, he had to find an apartment and get a job. He was working, living on his own, and trying to finish high school all at the same time - with only his friends for moral support. Over the next year, he realized he wasn't bisexual, he was fully gay. I have some really fun memories of going out with him and hearing his take on who the "Bill Worthy" guys were anywhere we went.

Bill,
I'm sorry we lost contact with each other over the years. I wish I knew what happened to you. There is a rumor that you died, but no details of how that might have happened. I miss you terribly, my friend! If you are still alive and walking this earth, I send a message out into the world for you - come back to us, your friends! We love you!