My Last Prom, The Days Before Graduation Were so Surreal.
Most the boys in school thought Stacy my date, looked like Farrah Fawcett... Issue #49
ifOnlyi… knew the power of the last event, the Prom, before our Graduation. Saying Goodbye to more than just a few. It was the best of times.
I had first asked Erin to be my date for the Prom, and we seemed to have an awesome connection throughout our school years together. But when she asked me if I was Mormon, I said, “No. Why?” Her reply was that her parents wouldn’t allow her to go unless it was with another Mormon. I was sad. But then…
I psyched myself up to ask Stacy, and guess what? Wow, how lucky can one be? She said yes! I was elated. The boys in school were shocked, but no one else had the courage to ask, only the desire; I had both.
What was next? Was I going to find out she had a boyfriend like Lisa on last year's Prom night? That story is Issue #34
I arranged to go with my very good friend Chris and his date. We booked a Limousine for the night and dressed in our Tuxedos and tails. It was not a Dumb & Dumber kind of Tux, I promise. We planned to look the part.
Dressed to impress, off we went to pick up our dates and brought them back to my home to start the night.
My Mom opened some Champagne for us to celebrate and took photos before we left. ( I wish I had those pictures today, but that’s another story) My date was the very same beautiful girl I had taken to watch the Rocky Movie on our first date in December 1976.
Now, it was 1978. We were neighbors on the same side of the street, which was convenient. Stacy was more than super cool; I liked her a lot, and we looked stunning together.
Soon, we were all graduating from high school, and everyone was going to attend a university of their choosing, a junior college, perhaps a trade school, or had no plans. But this was coming near the end of our time together over the last four years.
Looking back, I can say my four years of High School were the best. There is a bond you build with friends in those years that’s different from the friends you make in College; it is almost impossible to do this in College as all the students are so focused on a career, and the amount of studying given is massive compared to High School obligations. Plus, it costs a ton of money to go to University; High School is FREE!
I wasn’t going to a fancy University at all. My grades slipped so severely in the last few years of High School that I had to do a year in Junior College. I opted for El Camino because it was only a year, and I wanted to beef up my grades.
Others like Stacy went to prestigious schools like the U.S.C. (otherwise known as the University for Spoiled Children or the University for Successful Children), but in truth, it was the one and only “THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.”
That had always been my dream. I loved everything about S.C.
This was our last hurrah. It was near Graduation day, and our lives would all go in different directions. Truthfully, it was sad, in some way, as all the bonds and memories built over those four-plus years would change and go away.
I felt sad knowing there would be no more school dances, let alone proms. No sitting around the school grounds in the dark of night, sipping from the neck of a bottle of Alcohol of some kind, laughing and joking, and putting on the dares. They were all going away.
The Friday Night Lights Football season was awesome. There was competition between mates, sneaking around, ditching school to go for a day skiing, changing your report card grades, cheating on test days, and whipping your buddies with the wet tip of your shower towels. I didn’t miss any of it, but all in all, it was a lot to say goodbye to.
It was time for us all to GROW UP!
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#…ifOnlyi… short stories are published chronologically and follow my life growing up in California from 4 years old. If you’ve just found me, the stories will come together when you start reading from...Issue #1