'Maybe I should have worked out at the gym yesterday instead of swimming.' I couldn't help think as I tried on the suit, pulling the coat over.
"What a handsome boy!" Mom gushed as she gave my head a pat. I retreated in cringe.
"You're making me sound like a dog."
My phone gave a ting sound. I took it out of my pocket and opened my messages. No matter how many times I looked, it didn't feel real.
[ Allison : You didn't forget the color code right? I already got my dress …
Me : I couldn't forget anything you tell me even if I tried
Allison : lol that's cute ]
I was definitely not acting like myself. I like her too much- I think it might even turn me cheesy. Putting the phone back in my pocket, I nod at the reflection in the mirror.
Pretty good. She had decided on a deep red / maroon color for both of us. For some reason, color coding with your date was a must in prom. I didn't mind, this kind of stuff didn't bother me. Not wanting to overdo it, I ditched the tie and stuck to wearing just the plain black shirt with black pants.
"You're going to work?" I saw her grab her purse and office bag. It was a Saturday. Though she did work overtime sometimes on the weekends, she usually made it a point to be at home.
As a result, instead of her usual 7-4, she'd work till 6:30 which was quite convenient for me, considering that I usually preferred to either go to the gym or swim at that time.
I was about to hand her the car keys but she instantly shook her head. "It's okay, I'll take the cab today."
"Mom, it's not a big deal. I can just tell her we'll meet at the party."
I tried to convince her but she was firm on her decision- she wanted everything to turn out perfectly.
At first, I didn't understand why she was so excited over this and once I understood why it made me even more nervous than before. This was my first date, ever. That's right.
As someone who overthinks about many things, I'm disappointed that I didn't consider this.
Though I had gained a bit of confidence over the years after losing weight by working out, it didn't change the fact that I could go from communicating to being socially inept in less than a few seconds.
I watched through the window in the living room as she got into the cab and left for work. A part of me felt guilty, perhaps I shouldn't have let her convince me. I shrugged.
It was only for a day.
Time seemed to move more slowly than ever. I don't think I'd be going as far as saying it went slower than it did in history class. Perhaps that's why they cancelled school on prom night.
I changed out of the suit since there were easily a few hours left until it was time for prom. Allison lived 10 minutes away so I wouldn't need to leave that early, just early enough to get her some flowers before prom- or perhaps a brochure? Flowers would be better.
With a brochure, she might feel obligated to wear it even if she didn't like it.
I turned on the TV and put on a random channel- some scientific news and discoveries.
'We consider scattering of a plane electromagnetic wave by a wormhole.
It is found that the scattered wave is depolarized and has a specific interference picture depending on parameters of the wormhole and the distance to the observer.
It is proposed that such features can be important in the direct search of wormholes.
Interestingly enough, certain places on our very own planet have a slight flicker of this scattering. We are not sure what causes it but for now, there is no proof that there is any other strange activity associated with it, definitely not enough for - "
I am not sure when I drifted off but it seemed like it might be the only peaceful nap I would have for a really long time. By the time I woke up, it was almost time for Prom.
I was on edge because I had woken up later than expected- for some reason my alarm hadn't rang or if it did, I must have unknowingly turned it off while I was half asleep.
I got ready as fast as I could and managed to get the flowers before I reached her home. I was increasingly feeling uncomfortable. I felt a certain resistance about going to Prom. It could have been just my tendency to be alone rather than in a crowd but somehow it was dialed up a notch.
"Ready to go?" I was too stunned to move. Her dress was more of a gown but it was open down the back till her waist. In accordance with the color, she did some red colored eye makeup which accentuated her blue eyes even more. What was she even doing with an ordinary guy like me?
"I'll be right back." She wanted to put the flowers in a vase first.
It didn't take long before we reached the party. It was an unfamiliar sight for me- I hadn't ever attended a high school party in my 3 years here.
Of course, I wasn't opposed to fun, Torin and I would sometimes drink and smoke together to kill time. I just couldn't get into the whole party atmosphere. Get drunk just to dance followed by throwing up on the floor so someone could trip over your vomit? As much fun as it sounded, I had to give it up.
As soon as we entered, it was chaos. I might be the only one with this dreadful feeling, judging from her excited smile. I went to go grab us some drinks as the loud music blared into our ears. If I wanted to talk normally, I'd definitely need some of this. I didn't hesitate to down a few shots before taking some back to her.
I don't know what her tolerance is but I'm sure her dad would definitely not be happy with me bringing his daughter back drunk.
Personally, dealing with just one angry dad is enough. She took 2 shots and it seemed to be enough to flush her face. Nervously, I took the other glass from her and downed it. I hope Mr.Brooks doesn't kill me.
"That was mine!" She pouted and I had a sudden urge to pinch her cheek.
There's no way someone can be hot and cute at the same time. You can only be one, otherwise, it's illegal.
Soon enough, the loud pop party music turned into slow and romantic. I knew what I had to do.
"Care for a dance?" I ignored the fact that the booze was slowly accumulating in my body, taking the edge off but at the same time making me a bit clumsy. As long as I don't step on her, it's fine, right?
Things started getting a bit hazy from here on out. I hadn't drank enough for that, in fact, I considered myself to have a good alcohol tolerance.
It wasn't the alcohol, this restless feeling, it was something else. Earlier in the day, time was moving painfully slow, yet at this point in time, it was moving terrifyingly fast.
It was almost as if I was zoned out while watching a movie at 2x speed. The dance was followed by a stupid award contest. Why would anyone even care about this shit?
There were a few awards for best dressed, best color coding, best couple. There were even individual awards for best hair or makeup. It took a great deal of willpower not to face palm.
I looked at Allison, it seemed like she really wanted to win one of these. And of course, she did win one of the best dressed awards, it was true. She looked stunning tonight. Why wasn't I able to focus on her? I don't want to screw this up.
Torin and Elaine won an award for best color coding. As for me, I was safe. At least I didn't have to go to the stage in front of everyone to collect it- that alone was a reward for me. Allison seemed to disagree, she thinks I should've gotten the best hair award since my hair was such a unique color. Unique was one way to put it, not what I was used to hearing.
"Hey are you feeling okay? You're a little pale.." She might be right, I wiped off the sweat on my forehead with my handkerchief.
"Just a little under the weather."