Prom stories … prom stories. And ones suitable for public discussion to boot! Well, my sordid misadventures in high school aside, prom was a good time. And as I quickly approach my ten-year high school reunion this year, it makes me look back much more fondly on those oh-so insane events that in high school seemed like the biggest thing in the world.

 

 

I think for me, the most interesting part of my senior prom was the fact of who I went with. While Clare and I are to this day very good friends, back in high school we hated each other…and even to this day we can’t figure out why that ever was.

 

But, after three years of dirty looks in the hallway and snide remarks in drama club meetings, the proverbial dust must have settled, because little by little, Clare and actually found each other being gradually nicer to each other.

 

This was also probably facilitated by being thrown into an annual holiday performance show at school where various students performed holiday themed skits, songs, routines, etc as various pop-culture characters…and being 1997, Clare and I were forced to work together in an Austin Powers-themed skit. So, over candy canes, Santa hats, and go-go boots, we bonded.

 

And then came prom time.

 

Sure, we may have hated each other for years prior, but the holiday show went well, so why not give it a whirl. I decided to ask Clare to the prom, she said yes, and we ended up having a great time, and even going to college within 10 minutes of each other, leading to a whole other string of wacky adventures.

 

And lo and behold, years later, we remained good friends, as she went gallivanting across the world on archeological digs in her pursuits as an Egyptologist, and I found myself making my way back home to Utica .

 

Of course, I’ll never forget having to pick her up and meeting her parents for the first time and her mother’s first words to me which were, “And there will be no drinking?”

 

No pressure