One night out of the school year, there is a dance for the juniors and seniors (and whoever they choose to take as a date). It is a night of fun, dancing, eating, and hanging out with friends. Girls buy sparkling gowns and boys rent perfectly pressed tuxedos. When the boys pick up the girls, they usually bring a pretty corsage to give the girl. It's that time of year again. Prom night is this weekend!

Prom is the one thing in school that most people look forward to. Even if a person does not attend the dance, they may decide to join in on the fun at after-prom. Speaking from experience, after-prom is probably more fun than the dance itself. For example, at the dance you have to be dressed up (and probably uncomfortable). At after-prom, sweat pants are the style! I personally enjoy getting all done up for prom, but after the dance I am more than ready to tear out of my dress in exchange for some sweat pants. This year, my dress is a bit tight, so I probably won't be doing much eating before promenade. However, at after-prom I fully intend on stuffing my face with the endless amount of pizza, subs, candy, and soda.

I'm going to be completely honest about something now. I don't get too done up for school; I'm not big on make-up, and I have never been good with hair. A coat of mascara on my lashes and a pony tail are about as far as I get when it comes to hair and make-up. On prom night I will look like a totally different person (in a good way I hope).

Prom dates are usually set in stone, but the occasionally break-up can cause glitches in the system. I have had my date since last October. I am just going with a good guy friend, and in my opinion it is the way to go. I don't have to worry about my date getting jealous if I dance with other people or talk to them, and we can have a fun, stress-free time because we are just friends. Others are not so lucky. One of my friends is taking her boyfriend, and I know that the night will go one of two ways. The first is that they will have a great time and dance the night away. The second is that they will spend the night fighting or sulking. Who would want to waste prom night on that? I wouldn't!

Fast forward to prom day. It's finally here! I am extremely excited to see everyone in their dresses, and for some reason a tux makes a guy look much more handsome. I am ready to go, with my hair and make-up fully done and my dress on. I'm just waiting for my date to pick me up when I get a call from my friend Ally. I answered the phone.

“Hey Ally! What's up?”

“Oh Trish, Scott just called me and said when he went to pick up the car, it had a flat tire!”

“Oh no! We can just take another car can't we?”

“There are none left to rent! Unless we want to ride in my mom's SUV...”

“Ally, I really don't care how we get there. As long as we do get there!”

“Okay, well the SUV it is. I will call Scott and tell him just to come to my house.”

“Sounds great! See you soon!” and with that I hung up the phone.

I was a little nervous when Ally called me, because she usually only calls me when her and Scott have had a big fight. Thank goodness a flat tire was our only problem as of right now! I sat down relieved and carefully, since my dress was still a little tight. I waited for my date, Brad, to arrive. He finally pulled into my driveway, with Scott and Ally behind him. I hurried outside to see everyone and take pictures.

“Oh Ally, you look gorgeous!” I exclaimed. She was wearing a baby blue dress of silk and sequins. She was dazzling.

“You do too Trish! You clean up well!” She said with a wink. I was wearing a red sequined waterfall dress.

“Come on guys, let's take some pictures before we head out to dinner.” I suggested.

Our parents anxiously crowded around and took some pictures of us, both serious and funny ones. After what felt like at least 500 pictures, we loaded up and headed to the restaurant where we had reservations. We went to The City restaurant, one of the more classy choices in town. Ally and I ate light due to our tight dresses, but the boys ordered steak dinners. After an hour and a half, we headed to the school for promenade.

The stage was decorated beautifully, with stars hanging everywhere. It fit the theme “Night Under the Stars” perfectly. Brad and I walked across the stage and a few of our younger friends cheered us on. Promenade took about an hour, and after Brad and I were done we went out to the lobby to talk to the other prom-goers. Everyone was buzzing about how the dance would go, since we had new dancing rules. Signs that proclaimed “face to face, leave space” hung all over the school weeks before prom. We wondered how many would be kicked out for violating the rules.

Me, Brad, Scott, and Ally headed to prom in the SUV. When we got there, a few of the teachers took the tickets and showed us the way. The dance room was dark, with a few flashing lights from the DJ stand. Within minutes the room was filled with other prom-goers. The night was going swell, until Scott and Ally got in a fight. I predicted it would happen at some point. Scott had told Ally not to dance with other guys, but she did and he stormed out.

“Trish, Scott stormed off and I don't know what to do.” She sobbed.

“He'll be back, just give him some time to cool down.” I tried to console her.

I was right, he did come back. The only thing was, he came back to pick her up and take her home. He then dropped her off at after-prom and went home. Needless to say, Ally was upset with Scott most of after-prom until I told her to quit moping and have a good time at her junior after-prom. She did eventually stop moping. Brad and I had a great night. He stayed at after-prom until it was over and he even took me home at 5 o'clock in the morning. The moral of the story is, don't date in high school.