The Popularity Project » l.h.

11. Pre-Gaming for Prom

S T E L L A

"What really is homecoming anyway?"

"Like pre-gaming for prom I suppose."

"That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard."

I looked at Luke with a confused expression, shaking my head in disapproval of his answer. We were in the midst of setting up decorations for the homecoming dance, meaning balloons and streamers galore. I never considered myself a decent dancer, nor did anyone ask me to be their date to a dance so setting up was as close as I ever got to the real thing.

While I was untangling strands of lights, Luke was blowing up white and red balloons with a large tank of helium. From the past twenty minutes alone, I reminded myself to never ask him for help if it meant giving him a leadership role in the slightest. It really gets to his head and his ego.

"What? I mean think about it, Stel." Luke began, pinching the tie of the balloon over the spout of a helium tank. "It's a cute dance. Girls in short dresses, a bad DJ, the occasional flashy disco ball makes an appearance."

"Well I-"

"But that opens the opportunity to scope out your prom date at the end of the year. You see, guys get to see the girls all dressed up and see the way they dance with their date, or if they don't have a date that's a big plus," Luke flashed me a playful smirk before continuing. "And once they finally find the one, they make a plan so outrageous, the girl can't refuse and they have themselves the perfect prom experience."

"That's an awful lot of strategy for getting a prom date."

I could not help but express the baffled feeling I had from Luke's thought process. The amount of thought, and somewhat scheming, he had invested into the idea of 'pre-gaming' for prom. My annual plan on prom night involved me praying for a delivery delay so I could get my pizza for free. In subtle ways, Luke reminded me how different our lives really were.

"Well that was my process and how I ended up with Heather, but you're Stella." Luke shrugged, attempting to tie up the white balloon in his hands. "You won't even have to plan anything, all you gotta do is show up and be your hot self and guys will be lining up to ask you out by the end of the year."

"What makes you think I'm going to homecoming?" I asked quietly, more so for myself than Luke.

"What?"

I looked up to see Luke blinking at me, dramatically releasing the untied balloon in his hand. I watched the white decoration sputtered circles in the air, landing next to a student at the end of the gym.

"Don't waste the helium-"

"Stella Anne Summers, you are going to homecoming." Luke interrupted me, pointing a finger inches away from my face like an angry parent.

"I don't even have a date and I am not going stag to our senior homecoming dance. That's the pinnacle of pathetic." I groaned, standing up from my seat to hanging the newly untangled lights. "And you are extra sassy today, by the way."

"The pinnacle of pathetic is not going at all and I am not sassy, I just have a big personality." Luke scoffed, following me as I was setting up the ladder near the wall.

"Homecoming in general is pathetic." I rolled my eyes, climbing up the ladder to get a few feet off the ground.

Luke continued to bicker with me as I attempted to string the white lights across the wall. Whether it was because of my frustrating conversation with the blonde boy or the fact the I was not tall enough, I struggled to place the lights on their designated hooks.