It all started at lunch.
I take a course called musical theater, which means no PA days, no late starts, no early dismissals, and select Saturdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays after school because they’re all dedicated rehearsal time. Rehearsal time also cut 30 minutes into our 1 hour lunch, which always leaves me 30 minutes to eat and get back to our rehearsal space. It’s a privilege to get a full lunch when you’re in this course because you’re always busy busy busy, creating and refining content.
So there I was, sitting next to my friends Kayla and Tara in the hallway at lunch. I used my backpack to block the view of open food from the hall monitor because food was prohibited on the second floor, but us seniors could care less; we always clean up after ourselves anyway so we didn’t see what the big deal was. Strangely, he wasn’t there that lunch. I wasn’t hungry, but being the bored-eater type I was, I opened up my thermos and ate some of the steamed chicken skin i packed, knowing fully well this was feeding to a bad, unintuitive habit, a habit I was determined to break someday. I finished faster than my friends and sat by the lockers, chatting leisurely and waiting for time to pass by until I go back to rehearsals. Looking back, I should have realized Kayla and Tara, the two friends who I sat with, were not close and they were only there to stall me as Daniel prepped his promposal.
But Kayla slapped Tara’s bum at some point during their giggle-off, and I didn’t question their closeness. At 11:55, I told Kayla I had to leave for MT rehearsals and she said to wait until she finished her banana. God, she was eating everything so slowly! I was getting bored of waiting for her the entire lunch. There was even a fashion show I wanted to see but she made me miss it with her slow eating.
Suddenly, “Chariots of Fire” started playing over the PA system and I saw from around the corner of the hall a guy who was running in slow motion with a group of people behind him cheering in silence. I didn’t recognize Daniel at first, but as he got closer I wondered what on earth he was doing. I figured it was some sort of flash mob advertisement for The 30 Hour Famine movement going on soon at our school a movement both myself, him, and a group of friends were participating in(it’s a movement to raise awareness for hungry children) and for just a split second I thought it was odd for Daniel to have volunteered to make such a scene in public; he was the shy type of guy. Halfway through he grabbed fake pink flowers from a guy and everyone in the hall(who was in on the prank) took out their phones and I thought it was because they wanted to capture the weirdness happening while it was still happening. Streamers were thrown around in the hall and one of them landed on me. As The song came close to an end, Daniel awkwardly ripped open his shirt to reveal a white t-shirt with pink text:
“PROM?”
It was then I realized no one was behind me. I was sitting on the ground with my backpack on ready to leave, and no one was behind me, and everyone was looking at me, and for a second it took me a while to realize this action was all directed to me. I blinked and I blurted out,
“Me?!”
A few people laughed and they wanted in anticipation, Daniel before them.
“Oh my god, Yes!” I jumped up and gave him a hug and realized he was sweaty.
He started jumping up and down like a child. “She said yes!” And everyone started clapping and cheering.
And that’s how it happened.
I never thought in my entire high school like I’d one one person celebrating me. Simply and honestly me. I never thought I’d have friends who’d decorate my locker for my birthday, anyone to rejoice with, much less someone who’d make a scene. I am so grateful to have Daniel, the egg boy in my life.
(Prom is May 8th, tonight. Stay tuned for updates!)
What was prom night like for you? Did you go, or what did you do instead?
