Prom

         “This is the greatest day of my whole life.” Andy smiled into the mirror, adding the final touches of purple eye shadow to her lids. The light foundation she painted her face with did little to cover the bumps, crevices, and craters that marred her face. She pushed her lips out and slathered three coats of Pink Passion lip stain to her chapped and cracked pout.

         Her dirty blonde locks hung in a loose ponytail at the base of her neck. However, her eyes kept dropping to the silver and plum dress that sparkled at her bust and floated away from her body like the way they always did on the Disney Princesses. It was her older sister Charly’s dress from her prom days. It had to be let out to fit her size 18 frame, but the tailor was able to fix it flawlessly, seamlessly.

         She pulled out her yearbook at flipped to page 37. She knew the order by heart and her eyes quickly zeroed in on the face of Mark Bash – handsome, remarkable, popular. Her crush since 6th grade. The love of her life. Though not a single word had ever been exchanged between the two, the enriching, stimulating conversations that she had created in her mind were enough to sustain her unrequited love and desire to one day be Mrs. Mark Bash.

         The, he asked her. Sharing 6 of the 7 classes, he turned and smiled upon her double chin, splattered with a little of the day’s barbeque sauce, and said those 9 small words… “Do you want to go to prom with me?”

         She was stunned, dumbfounded, speechless…empty.

         A weak nod bobbled on her spine, and he smiled the smile of confidence dressed in white, perfect teeth.

         “Great, I’ll pick you up at 7:00, Andy.”

         ‘Andy! He knew my name!’ She beamed, flushed face, and managed to hold back the giggles.



         7:15 – She applied a smear of blush to her cheeks.

         7:30 – She rushed to the foyer when she heard a car door.

         7:31 – False alarm – Mrs. Johnson’s daughter.

         7:50 – Andy’s mom fluffed her dress, reassuring her about the terrible, Saturday night traffic.

         8:15 – Tears welled in her eyes as she curled on the couch, watching out the window.

         9:00 – The phone rang and she dove, nearly suffocating Dixie. Just Charly checking in.

         9:45 – Her lip quivered as she kicked off her shaky heels, biting back the screams that enraged her heart.

         11:20 – Her mother helped her out of the dress that took two weeks and $180 to alter… money that would have been better spent on the family trip to D.C. that had to be canceled for the special occasion – Andy’s first dance.

         11:50 – Andy softly cried herself to sleep on the greatest day of her whole life.