Prompt: Dancing
Song: Always Close To You by Jang Keun-Suk
Part 1 of 2
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He remembered that, before she’d broken up with him, they had promised to go to prom together.
Prom was always an unexpected time of year- either it’d be a solemn occasion, like two years ago when a student left before the dance, or it’d be joyous relief before the final week before the seniors and the juniors exams, or it’d be a romantic occasion when a couple who seemed destined finally hooked up- the last time this had happened, the couple broke up 3 weeks later- or something completely unexpected.
Prom was always a thrill, and the whole student body was always anxious to see how it would turn out this year.
And he was no different.
He didn’t exactly like the dancing part of it, but whenever he attended he felt like he was reading a book. He’d sit on the sidelines, the story would start as it did normally, but the events after the monotonous opening were always a thrill.
Last year was the best so far. One of the delinquents had somehow snuck alcohol into the auditorium, started to drink it with his buddies, but it eventually spread to all of the other students. He remembered two girls with boyfriends- who were also at the party- passionately kissing, a freshman throwing up on a senior and said senior punching his lights out, and a guy stripping naked on stage to a hilariously large audience and then stage diving and eagerly getting passed around.
When one of the teachers came into to announce that it was midnight and that students should start to make their ways home, she was absolutely terrified. She let out a high-pitched squeal, and ran to inform the other teachers, who called the police. They took a couple of seniors in for questioning, but as far as he knew, no-one got arrested.
Many students were very lucky that the event was on a Friday, because many reported having hangovers. Even his ex was puking her guts up the next day. She never had good luck in the prom, and something bad always happened to her.
He threw on his suit. He wore it every year, and even though it was almost threadbare, it hadn’t fallen apart just yet. His dark hair, while not immaculate, was deemed a good enough.
He let his mind slip for a bit, thinking about that time last year. After he’d finished all his preparation, he headed over to her house, exited for what would happen that night, ready to pick her up.
It took her three hours. She started with a shower, and then a lengthy dress-picking session- He really wondered why she had that many outfits. And don’t even get him started about the accessories and shoes she had- and then her hair- he was sure she had more hairpieces than bones in her delicate body- and then to Make-up, the worst part. She spent half an hour tossing up whether her make-up should match her outfit, or contrast it.
When they’d finally made it out of the house, they were almost an hour late. But, he was just in time for the fun to start.
And now, as he made his way there alone, he wondered what it would be this year. He particularly wondered what horrible thing would happen to his ex. He grinned wickedly just thinking about it.
In the remaining sunlight, he could see people trickling into his school’s gigantic auditorium. The front was decorated brightly, invitingly, and with the prom’s theme this year, for choosing the prom King and Queen. As per usual, the Creative and Visual Arts Department did an awesome job showing this off.
Heading to the auditorium, he could hear the pulsing music better with every step. It was a popular song, and he could see people running in as soon as they recognised it, wanting to catch time to dance to the remaining duration, even though something as big as that was sure to be repeated several times during the night.
He took up his usual spot against the wall, a spot right under air conditioner to cool himself from the increasing heat of spring.
He took a deep breath, held it for a second, and exhaled slowly and dramatically. He was more than ready for this year’s fun to start.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
