Chapter 1

1980s Prom Night Tale

All characters are eighteen years old and a week away from high school graduation.

I’m in a tuxedo, eating my steak with a French name that I’m sure I mispronounced while ordering, when a shoeless foot worms its way under my left pant leg. Toes are suddenly gliding up my shin. Geometry wasn’t my strongest subject, but my date is sitting right next to me. Of the seven people I’m at this table with, it is least likely, based on angles and accessibility, that the intruding foot belongs to her. I survey the faces that surround me for a clue, but they all remain inscrutable. My cheeks flush a crimson red as the foot rises as high as the fabric of my rented pants will allow. The toes give one more wiggle and then the foot slides back down my shin before disappearing.

How did I even get to this place and time? I figured prom night would come and go while I stayed at home like the lame loser most people think I am. High school is almost over and I’ve never even been on a date. Prom is a night for couples and that rules me out. I really didn’t want to go alone and hang out by a big bowl of spiked punch while the rest of my friends danced with someone special. My parents thought I should go. Senior Prom is one of life’s big moments, my mom told me. Right. Except I don’t have anyone meaningful to share it with. I never have.

But I do have a group of friends; there are eight of us. It was way back in the third grade when Chris, Keith and I (Timmy) were all grouped together for the science fair. Our project was a disaster, but we became friends and stayed close all these years. Keith has a never-ending schedule of family obligations filling his weekends, so Chris and I had like a million sleepovers without him. Chris and I becoming best friends was a no-brainer. Keith never had any hard feelings and we always included him whenever he was around.

It was freshman year of high school when Keith’s cousin Ricky moved here to West Virginia from Chicago. Ricky had to start high school in a new state knowing only his cousin, which sucked, so we understood when Keith invited Ricky into our group and our trio became a quartet. Ricky was a nice guy, but he and I only ever connected within the group. We never had any one-on-one time and I kind of didn’t know him as an individual. Whenever the four of us were together and Chis and Keith would happen to leave the room at the same time, there would be this heavy awkward silence between us that lasted all the way until our other friends returned. I never understood why but that’s just how it was between us.

By the second half of sophomore year, we were all sixteen and allowed by our parents to date. That didn’t seem to mean much to Ricky and I, but Chris and Keith both found girlfriends immediately. It wasn’t surprising. They’re both good looking guys and they seem to have a natural charm that Ricky and I were not graced with. Their girlfriends, Tracy and Becky, each have best friends – Paige and Sarah. So, for more than two years now, the eight of us have become a tight crew.

I initially thought I’d resent the unplanned addition of the four girls to our friend group, but the truth is, the four girls are actually pretty awesome. We all just clicked immediately, which is something that to this day hasn’t happened between Ricky and I. I never felt bitter about Chris and Keith having girlfriends because through it all, Chris is first and always my best friend. And despite having had the same girlfriend for more than two years now, he always makes special time for me. I love him for that. I try not to think about how graduation is in a week and going off to different colleges in different states looms ahead of us in just a few months. We’ve been best friends for nine years. It’s easy to say that we always will be, but who knows if it’s true? Who knows where life will take us?

So, two months ago, Chris campaigned hard for me to ask Paige to go to prom. I thought he was joking. It would be ridiculously weird. Paige is my friend. Going to prom with her would feel like dancing with my sister. But Chris wouldn’t let it go.

“Who knows how many more times we’ll all get to hang out? Come on, dude. All eight of us will be there. Dinner before, sleepovers after… Keith is getting Ricky to ask Sarah so it’ll be all eight of us like always. We’ll just be paired up in four couples.”

He played the best-friend-guilt card to perfection. He’s always been there for me, so I of course will do this for him. It made my parents thrilled. Not every kid dates in high school, and while they’d never say it out loud, I think they were starting to get a little worried about me. They have no idea.

So, I rented a tux with a bow tie and cummerbund that perfectly matched Paige’s dress. I spent an hour getting ready, restyling my hair four times. It was either too spiky or not spiky enough before I got it just right. After embarrassing photo sessions with all eight sets of parents, the eight of us all fit perfectly into one stretch limo. We went out to a steakhouse and sat at one large round table, eating fancy food that was nothing like the burgers and fries we usually shared as a group.

And now here we are. As we eat, I consider my date for the night. Paige is a sweet girl. Tracy told me a few months back that she had a sneaking suspicion that Paige had a secret crush on someone. When she teased her about it, Paige would not say who it was or even admit it was true. But is it? Am I ruining her prom night? By agreeing to go with me did she sacrifice following her heart? If anyone else asked her, she didn’t tell me. Just because my heart’s not in it doesn’t mean this night doesn’t mean something to her. For her sake, I really should commit to the role. The boys in this school are idiots for not asking her. She should not have been available to be my friend-date. I know she doesn’t expect that she and I will become a couple after tonight, but still. I can step up and make tonight memorable for her.

I’m pretty sure that Ricky and Sarah are in the same boat; convinced by dating best friends Keith and Becky to come to prom as a couple. We’re all friends and we’ll have a good time, but this is prom. It’s not just another casual hangout. I’m wearing rented shoes, but they’re not from the bowling alley with a big red “10.5” on the heel. This is not just a movie or another lame party either. It’s prom. It should be dope.

I snap out of my daze when Keith says to me, “Timmy, didn’t you tell me you’re going to Champlain in Vermont?”

“Did you know that Ricky is too? That’s cool. You already have a college friend and you haven’t even started yet. Maybe you two should room together.”

Ricky and I only work in a group dynamic setting. It’s kind of an unspoken thing that all eight of us are aware of. Without some combination of the other six present, he and I would be strangers.

Ricky answers Keith for me, “I don’t think freshmen get to have a say in the matter. You go where you’re told to go.”

Chris says, “But still. You’ll both be there. I wish one of the seven of you was going to my school.”

“College is a big place,” I say. “Nothing like high school in a small town. Ricky and I might never see each other.”

The shoeless foot returns to molest my leg again.

The actual dance is in the school gym. Cheap decorations and awkward parental chaperones do little to camouflage the fact that this is still the gym. A house of horrors. I have a flashback of team basketball games. Shirts versus skins. Why was I always on skins? Seriously? Every freaking time. I think the gym teacher was targeting me, but why? I was never a musclebound, iron-pumping kind of a guy. I had nothing special to show off. But every day Mr. Stone would look me right in the eye, point and say, “Timmy, skins”. By the odds alone, it should have evened out. It never did. I don’t know why I even bothered putting a shirt on for gym class. Within minutes I was always told to strip it off.

Forcing high school boys to play team sports shirtless is borderline child abuse, but the real abuse came in the humid smelly locker room afterward. Pushing, shoving, name-calling, towel snapping and general humiliation. And the presence of a male gym teacher in the locker room – Mr. Stone – who never intervened, was more creepy than preventative. I will not miss high school.

Paige and I dance to Take My Breath Away, I’ve Had the Time of My Life and I Want To Know What Love Is. At some point we trade partners one dance at a time until the couples end up all back together again. Fancy clothes, too much hairspray and overdoses of perfume and cologne almost (but don’t quite) mask the lingering scent of sweat and feet in the air. If a room ever needed better ventilation, this is it. Eventually, we disperse and the bigger group is no more. Paige excuses herself to the restroom and I drift over to the punchbowl. Standing here, I realize that my fear has come true; it’s just me and the damn punchbowl. I don’t think the punch is spiked, but it still tastes like shit.

Billy, a kid I know from Spanish class, sidles up to me and says, “I thought you two were just friends?”

“Paige?” I look at Billy but I can’t see his eyes. He’s wearing Ray-Ban sunglasses. Inside. At night. I want to tell him that Corey Heart was like forever ago and he looks like an idiot. But, he’s an idiot who also happens to be one of the few decent guys in this school, so instead I say, “We are.”

He shakes his head, “Is that what she thinks? I asked her to prom long before you did and she turned me down. And I wasn’t the first one either. She said ‘yes’ to you.” He gives my arm a play-punch and leaves me standing there.

Shit. I am going to end up hurting her. Why would she turn down real offers and say yes to me? I can’t really be her secret crush, can I?

I realize that it’s been about fifteen minutes and Paige has not returned. I know she drank some punch earlier, maybe it is spiked. But now that I think about it, I haven’t seen any of my friends in a long time. When one finally appears, it’s not my date. It’s Chris.

My best friend’s smile envelopes his face when he sees me, like it has for nine years now. He puts a hand on my shoulder and says, “Take a walk with me.”

“Hanging with Keith and Becky. She knows I’ll be right back.”

He sneaks us out the gym doors and leads us down the hall, dimly lit by scattered emergency lights.

“Where are we going?” I ask.

“To your prom.” He grins at me.

“Umm, where have we been so far?”

“So far we’ve been to everyone else’s prom. Now it’s your turn.” He hooks his arm around my shoulders as we walk down the hall and past the cafeteria.

“Chris, I can’t just abandon Paige.”

He sighs, “I didn’t twist your arm into asking Paige to prom for my benefit. I mean, sure, it’s cool that my best friend is here and all, but I did it for you. You deserve a memorable night as much as anyone.”