SENIOR PROM

Hazel Richards sat in her room and stared at the clock with visible dismay. In a mere twenty four hours, she would be attending her senior prom and she didn't have a date.

 

Life was, to Hazel, always drab and grey. But today put her in a fix that was almost irrecoverable. A white hand-made dress lay hanging in her wardrobe but she lacked the person she was supposed to be seen by in that dress.

 

"Hello? Parker residence." A female voice called out from the other end of the telephone.

 

"Hazel speaking, Mrs. Parker. Is Derek home? I can't reach his cell." Hazel breathed a sigh of discontentment.

 

"He has gone out dear. I think he'll be back in a few minutes. I'll ask him to call you when he gets back."

 

"Thank you." Hazel hung up. At least Derek had better stuff to do than worry about dates, she thought.

 

Derek was, shortly, the most popular boy in school. He was not perfect, but girls nevertheless shaped him into their perfect dream man. He was great in sports, horrible in studies; good at talking, horrible in writing. He loved bird watching and photography and hated art classes and creative essays. He always protected freshmen from getting bullied, but somehow stood out as the 'tease' in his group, which was HUGE. He got along with short men and blonde girls, but stood as far as possible from lanky boys and red headed girls. They, according to him, always ended up disliking him. But his best friend was, miraculously, Hazel, the green eyed red-head who sucked at sports, excelled in studies, got the highest grade in creative essays and was the least popular girl in school. Their only common quality was photography.

 

Hazel sulked and threw her phone on the bed, plopped on her pillow and sulked again. I wish prom would come! She thought. The clock struck twelve and Hazel lay fast asleep in an awkward position when the phone rang.

 

She almost dropped on the floor at the sound and upon seeing the name of the caller, was on the verge of blowing up the house with a blood curdling scream.

 

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Hazel shouted over the phone.

 

"Easy girl, easy. My mom said you called?" Derek lay on his bed, tired from his night out with the best looking blondes of that precinct.

 

"I did call, Derek. But that was FOUR fucking hours ago!"

 

"Well, so I'm a little late. Are you gonna kill me for that?" He grinned as he reminisced about the curly blonde playing with his cock and the other one branding his chest with her lipstick.

 

"Derek, whom are you going to prom with?" Hazel exhaled.

 

"Uh... Let's see. I have one hundred and twenty six invitations, officially and five unofficially. I think I'll pick the straight haired blonde who always wears a pink shade of lipstick and winks at me in class. She is HOT. Or, I can go for the green-eyed brunette. She isn't bad either."

 

Hazel counted in her head. One hundred and twenty six official. Five unofficial. She laughed, more at herself. "Oh well, goodnight then Derek. I hope you have a good time at prom."

 

"Hey! Whom are you --" Derek was cut short as Hazel hung up. Hm... Is the blonde one better? Derek put himself to sleep thinking about all the flaring options he had with him, Hazel put herself to sleep thinking about all the flaring options Derek had with him. And prom came.

 

***

 

Hazel went out for a walk in the park and saw couples jogging together. She reached the front gate of her school and found it closed. Tonight, she would enter this gate before the last few days of school, after which she would graduate. Tonight, everyone would have fun. Champagne bottle corks would shoot up in the air and the music would capture the magic of the moments, the last few moments of teen hood and high school romance. And Hazel would be deprived of those few lasting memories. She didn't have a date for prom.

 

***

 

The clock struck eight as the white hand-made dress lay on the bed. Hazel had called up Derek and he had boasted to her about the final decision he took about his date. He had, at last, been able to break free of his prejudice against red-heads and decided to pick one of the hotties from his unofficial invites. He had told her that he would surprise his date with his last minute arrival at her door step and that he chose her because she was hotter than the blonde with the pink shade of lipstick.

 

"I'll see you in school then. Don't forget to check out my hot new catch." Derek giggled. "And yeah, I'll be looking forward to meeting your date. I know he'll be less hotter than me, but you'll have to do with him."

 

"Derek, I --"

 

"See you." And he hung up.

 

***

 

It was eight thirty. Hazel put on her white dress and wore her make up. She tried to look her best. Date or no date, she decided to go to prom. She would at least be able to taste the champagne, if not romance; dance with the teachers, if not her date; kiss her teenage life goodbye if not a boy; and sleep with her tears and frustrations if not THE guy.

 

She had bought a new pair of white slippers to go with her dress. She had carefully chosen one she could dance in. Hazel put on her shoes, did a last minute gussying up and went to the door.

 

The sound of the doorbell startled her. She opened it and gasped in disbelief. In front of her stood Derek.

 

"Hey, girl! Are you ready for prom?" Derek beamed a smile at her.

 

She was taken aback for a split second, but then she reasoned with herself. He must be here to flaunt his new red-head girlfriend, she thought. "Well, I do look ready... But I don't think I'll go. I don't have a date." She put it flat.

 

"Oh yes you do. You have this guy here standing in front of you. Of course, he is not better than Derek Parker though. But you'll have to do with him." He winked.

 

Hazel raised her eyebrows. "And where's your hot new red-head girlfriend. She dumped you already?"

 

"She is standing right in front of me. Although, she is not my girlfriend. She is my best friend."

 

"Derek --"

 

"Miss Hazel Richards, will you be my date for Senior Prom?" He owed in front of her.

 

Hazel could almost feel a tear in her eye. "I would love to, my bestest buddy Derek Parker!" She threw her arms around him.

 

***

 

Prom is not all about finding love and romance on a single night. Sometimes, it unfolds to us the more obvious and purest of all emotions and points it out right in front of our eyes. It's friendship that most matters to us in our lives and sometimes when failure and frustration are on their way to our door, we hear the first knock from a friend. Derek and Hazel had a blast...

 

-- THE END --