So the junior prom was coming up. I was pretty much on the out with my current “girlfriend”, and I just wasn’t into her anymore. We already had our tickets to the prom and it’s always nice to not burn too many bridges when breaking up. The auburn hair girl was in the outs with her current man, too, but they too were planning on going to the prom. Her brother drove her and her date, while I drove my date in my car. I don’t remember if I also drove my best friend or not.

Around this same time I had decided to get a scarab beetle tattooed on my chest. A major part of that decision was that as my life was changing I got this tattoo. It reminds me of some of what began around this time in our history, and for that I am grateful.

So now we come to the prom. We joined our group of friends for the dance, put our coats on our chairs, cameras on the table, and took to the floor. As the night progressed, I danced less and less with my date and more and more with this auburned hair beauty. I remember at one point we had what would be considered a train or sandwich going on, and she was in the middle. I realized the irony of the teacher coming over to ask us to move apart as I now do the same.

She and I continued to dance through out the evening, and I even remember the slow dances when we acquiesced to our own dates. I looked across at her with her looking at me over the shoulder of her date; I’d close my eyes, smile and imagine I was slow dancing with her.

When the dance ended I offered to drive her and her date home. Somewhere along the line, my best friend ended up in the backseat of my small hatchback along with the girl and her soon to be exboyfriend. The girl told her brother I’d drive them home; his reaction was “take care of my sister”. (In hindsight a) he wanted the privacy with his own date and b) I have.).

We drove through the twilight and went where we go after danced: Eat ‘N Park. My best friends snored in the back of my car, while the four of us went inside. I slide into the booth next to the girl and my soon to be ex was forced to sit across from me, next to where the new girl’s almost ex.

We had a nice meal, albeit I then dropped her off to say goodbye and good riddance to her exboyfriend, while my soon to be ex, best friend and I drove on down the street.