1
Lauren
2004
“Hey-yah!”
“Shake it like a polaroid picture!” we cheer in unison. Surrounded by a circle of my closest friends, breaking it down in gowns that are preparing us for future bridesmaid duty. I can’t believe how much fun I’m having. I look over at Becky and she’s shaking her little money maker in wild abandon. She’s in her glory right now. After months of us trying to derail her visions for our prom night theme, it finally came together. And, I’ve got to admit, it looks spectacular.
When she first started pushing for a “Fairy-tale” theme at the council meetings, I rolled my eyes harder than anyone else. In all fairness though, her first pitch really wasn’t the best. Thankfully, we did manage to evolve her Disney princess idea from one that gave me a horrible flashback of my childhood fear of Mickey Mouse into the stunning setting we are dancing in now. The white, silver and teal blue balloons are tied in clusters and hung from the ceiling to look like magical clouds. At least they do under this low light. And the miles of silky fabric hung around the room transformed the Colorado Golf Club into a dreamlike stage for the class of 2004 to dance the night away in.
It feels like everything came together tonight so perfectly, it might as well be a fairytale. Just a week ago, I was crying in my doctor’s office over an ear infection that had me so dizzy I was convinced I’d never make it to the prom tonight, let alone dance at it. I sobbed like a four-year-old lost in a department store when Dr. Klebes confirmed that I would need a day off from school and a round of antibiotics to get it under control.
“But, but, my prom! My dress! I can’t be sick. I can’t miss it!” I’m not proud to say I cried real tears. He told me that I’d be fine by tonight, if I just got plenty of rest, water and took the pills. Turns out, he knew what he was talking about and my mini-meltdown was for nothing.
I guess all those degrees on his wall meant something after all.
As OutKast fades out, my girls and I all stand around and stare blankly at each other as we wait for the next song to tell us what to do. Will it be another fast one? Should we stay in our little scrum of ruffles and sequins? Or is the tempo change gonna send us searching for the guys we showed up with?
Beauty queen of only eighteen
She had some trouble with herself
We quickly stampede off the floor in different directions as Adam Levine begins to serenade us. It doesn’t take long to spot Mack, he’s exactly where I left him three songs ago. Luckily for me, he looks just as sexy as he did three songs ago too. I navigate through the obstacle course of tables and chairs until I reach the back wall he’s leaning against. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was hiding.
Unfortunately, for him, he’s not hard to spot. Hovering around six feet tall, with chiseled shoulders that even his tux jacket can’t hide, he can’t exactly covertly disappear behind a plant in the corner or something. Mack has a face that makes every girl in the room melt and a body that they all wish they could lay beside. It used to make me jealous, all the attention he gets, but he’s never cared about anyone but me. It’s been that way since we were kids and it’ll be that way until we’re old. Besides, everyone knows that Mack’s taken. They can take their chances with Cameron Armstrong instead.
As the quarterback of our high school football team, Cameron’s never had a problem getting attention from the girls. With his sandy brown hair and deep blue eyes, the fact that he’s the second best looking guy in the school doesn’t hurt either. I’d give him a second look, if I wasn’t already with the best looking guy. And if he wasn’t a non-committal manwhore.
Mack’s eyes light up when he sees me, like I just woke him from a dream. I love when he looks at me like that. If there were other girls in the room, you wouldn’t know it by the way he smiles at me. It’s like I’m the only woman in the world, let alone in the dance hall.
“C’mon. It’s your turn to dance with me,” I tug on both of his hands and try to pull him off the wall. “Just dance one slow song with me and then I won’t bug you anymore.” I plead.
“Nah, I’m gonna sit this one out.” He doesn’t budge an inch. I could throw every ounce of strength I have into trying to move him, but it wouldn’t matter. He’s built like a stack of bricks. Hard, cut, strong bricks that have made every girl jealous of me since we started going out.
“Just one song.” I persist, still pulling feebly on his hands. He won’t give in. I know he won’t. “Why did you ask me to come to the prom with you if you weren’t gonna dance?” I stick out my bottom lip in a pouty face that I hope will sway him. “I spent weeks picking out this dress, I’m never gonna look this good again. I don’t want to waste the night standing by the wall.”