A Highlander's Promise

Will You Go to Prom With Me?

Today was the day.

She was sure of it.

Last night she could barely sleep with the constant feelings of butterflies in her stomach. The interminable giggles and blushing didn't help either.

But who could blame her? This was her first crush. Her first real crush. Not some infatuation over the boy in middle school who had the coolest Pokémon cards or the guy in pre-calculus who praised her to be the fastest matrices solver, without a calculator of course, in the entire school. Which was pretty cool.

This was different.

He was different.

Today she woke up early, even though she had gone to sleep late, to put extra effort in getting ready this morning.  A little more concealer to hide the bags under her eyes and a brighter shade of lip gloss, because today was the day.

The day Matthew Greenberg was going to ask her out to prom.

Matthew had shown his interest in her many times; they went to the library during their free periods to 'study' but they both knew they would make jokes behind the aisles of bookshelves and hide away from the librarian's piercing glare, he casually waited an extra period after school just so they could walk to the bus stop together, and they even video-chatted late at night where they would talk about nothing on end even if they both would have rather gone sleep.

He had planned to go to the park today with some of his friends and had asked her if she wanted to come. Yesterday his friends found themselves suddenly inconvenienced with some other situation that came up, conveniently leaving him to go to the park alone with her. Of course neither did he nor she mind. She told him she would bring snacks and they would just hang out together.

Which is why she packed a full picnic basket with sandwiches, bottles of iced tea, pudding cups, fruit and a huge blanket.

It was just casual. Right?

He had told her he would meet her at 11:30am. So there she was 11:28am waiting for him at the corner of her block, her auburn hair in loosely plaited Dutch braids, wearing a red and white checkered sleeveless dress that reached above her knees and her face lightly dusted with freckles that tickled with anticipation to see him. She was going on to be eighteen this summer and but somehow she found herself feeling as giddy as a child.

"Leora!" a familiar voice called out in the distance. As she heard her name she swiftly turned to his direction where she found him skateboarding right towards her. His black bangs flying in the wind to reveal his soft forehead and his hazel eyes filled with glee as he approached her.

Oh dear, can he be any cuter?

Every time he smiled she felt a rush and crossed her fingers that her blushing was not too obvious.

When he came to a complete stop they exchanged greetings and he told her she looked lovely. He took the basket from her arms and held his skateboard in another as they both made their way to the park.

~*~*~

After the lunch they shared on the blanket, they conversed about their recent exams and joked about the new math teacher and the senior prank.

She asked him about his new sketches as he had promised to show her. After handing over his sketchbook from his sports bag, she flipped through the pages examining each one with admiration. Through the pages of people and scenery, he explained to her his favorites. After the last drawing she had reached a blank page, he then told her there was more and so she followed his directions to turn one more.

She stilled trying to take in what she witnessed. On the page was an intricate sketch of herself, with words delicately written with floral adornments as he had also stated them aloud.

"Will you go to prom with me, Leora?"

She hadn't realized how silent she had been until Matthew had call out her name again.

"Yes! Yes!" she cried. "Yes I'll go to prom with you!"

They received smiling glances from nearby onlookers who had observed the scene she had just been part of.

It happened. And she was so happy.

~*~*~

"I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!" Leora heard her best friend boasted on the phone that night. "He is so sweet. You have to let me get a look at that portrait tomorrow, we're going prom shopping after school. No excuses!"

There was no one Leora could confide in more than Daliya. She was glad that they could end the school year with her best friend by her side and a totally cute prom date on her arm.

Senior year was going to end so splendidly for her. She had been accepted to one of the top pre-med programs on half scholarship, she had kept up her 3.9 GPA, had loving friends and family, and now going to go to the-one-in-a-lifetime-chance prom with her high school crush.

What more can a girl ask for?

After she hung up the phone she kept replaying different prom scenarios that might occur; ones with slow dances with Matthew and ones with even kissing him, too. She then wondered if he had asked her out of courtesy of their friendship or that it was a move to make her his girlfriend.

Wait. She realized that just because they were going to go to prom together, didn't mean that they were an official couple or anything.

She was so excited she didn't even inquire if he had feelings for her.

But he has to like me? Right?

She should have asked.

Ugh. Oblivious Leora...

After persuading herself not to dwell upon the topic further she drifted off to sleep dreaming of the perfect prom kiss.