Prom 2000April 29 at the Arvada CenterThe ScenarioThe Dinner We had dinner
at the Briarwood Inn in Golden, Colorado. The ride down was pretty nice
- we rode in an SUV limo, listened to Janet Jackson, and talked about
a variety of topics, mostly school related. Justin
did get a little Pokémon happy, though. The restaurant was beautiful.
Our appetizer had iced shrimp in the middle with little bowls of marinara
sauce, cheddar cheese, salmon, pâté, and mixed veggies. The
pâté, as disgusting as it sounded in French class, was actually
pretty good. Our salad was next - spinach leaves with onions and mandarin
oranges. I only ate about half of it. We had a fun time figuring out what
to order, since a lot of the names were in French. I ordered Lia's
food for her because she didn't know how to pronounce the word! I started
feeling kind of stuffy headed then, and by the time the food arrived (fried
prawns for me), I felt like I was going to pass out. I went out for some
fresh air, and Orion came with me. He told me a little about college and
how he's been feeling kind of lonely. We went back in when I felt a little
better, but I wasn't hungry at all. I nibbled on my prawns, but that's
about it. After dinner when I went to the restroom, I thought I was going
to faint. Luckily I didn't, and I felt a lot better when I got out to
the car.
The DanceWe got to the dance around 9:15. It was raining, so we had to run to the door under umbrellas. Orion and I had our pictures done while bad music was playing, and we actually started dancing after that We were in a big group with Justin, Lia, Jamie, and Sarah Moore. I got a lot more into it than I have in the past - I was all jumping around. It was tiring but fun. On the first couple slow songs, Orion and I chatted about various things, like how great it was to be able to talk to each other about odd and unique things like programming. Later, we didn't talk. At first we looked around at other people, but then we started looking at each other. I had forgotten how powerful his eyes could be. Every time there was a slow song, we just warped into a little bubble where there was nothing but him and his smile.We watched Cindy and Adam swing dance - they are amazing! Brother and Sister Egbert were there too - they chauffered Adam and Cindy. Soon the king and queen were crowned, but the DJ couldn't even play the right song. The last song of the night was a slow song, Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss A Thing." After it finished, Orion gave me a big hug. As we walked to the limo under umbrellas, Orion insisted on escorting me with linked arms. He opened the door for me and sat in the middle seat next to me instead of on the other like he did coming to the dance. Soon he slipped his hand into mine, and then wrapped his other around my arm. I guess I kind of expected it, but it was new and happy nonetheless. We headed to his house to get his swimsuit and we gazed at each other all the way there. The driver actually missed the turn because of it. Janet's "Come Back to Me" began playing, and I felt like I was trying to send brain waves to make him listen to the message of the song. After he got his swimsuit, I was so tired, and I figured that since he was right next to me anyway, he wouldn't care if I slept on his shoulder. The After-PromIt was snowing when we got back, so we took the Bronco to the school. After getting fake cash and a ticket at the door, we headed to the cafeteria to see Sister Crawford and Sister Worthen. Sister Crawford sent us to Brother Egbert's Unmarriage Booth. We were still in our prom stuff, so it kinda fit. He had a Webster's Dictionary and was dressed like a Southern preacher, with the hat and everything. He even had the accent going on. He gave me a ring pop and Orion bubbles after he told us to look into each other's eyes and promise to be unmarried until 5AM. He opened his dictionary up to "restless" and told Orion not be restless. The he opened to the "G" page and told us our kids would be "goofy" and "greasy." We signed our certificate and were done. We changed, and when I took a long time Brother Egbert told Orion he'd be spending a lot of time waiting for me.We put our stuff up and went to the cafeteria. I poked into the Dorm-Mart to see what was there, and I bought an iron! Score! Shortly thereafter, my raffle ticket number was announced. I had won a cordless phone with an answering machine! BONUS! We put my stuff in my gym locker and then went into A-Gym. There was black paper on the wall so we could draw chalk drawings. I drew a duck in a pond and then an earhworm that I labeled "Beth." This prompted Orion to ask about my play. We discussed a bit as he drew Darth Maul getting eaten by a can of Spam. In the Swimming Pool We decided to go swimming next. I was blind after taking my contacts out, so I had to lean over and squint when Adam and Cindy called to me. Orion and I played with the rubber balls in the deep end. My shin started hurting, so I swam to the side. We started crossing over arms to get to the shallow end. I started going faster than Orion; we got tangled up and he tickled me! My makeup was smeared, and he told me I looked like a raccoon, so I dove under to try to wash it off. After taking out all my hairpins, we just sort of hung out in the shallow end. Then Josh Owsiany swam over to us, under Orion (kind of tipping him over) and grabbed me, leading me to the corner. When Orion came up from the water, Josh called him a "punk" and told him to go away. He told me to stay put while he got the inner tube. Then he put himself and me into the tube and swam away. Now, Josh is a pretty big guy, so it was a tight squeeze! Orion was swimming after us, trying to get me out. Finally, I dove underwater and met Orion at the side. We got the inner tube and we both got in. Josh capsized us and got in it with me again. I got out, flipped the tube over his head, and climbed in so my arms and legs were hanging out. Orion and Josh started fighting over me, and Josh eventually knocked me into the water. Eek! It was getting late, so Orion and I got out and got dressed. We found Justin sucking helium and Lia nowhere to be found. We searched all over for her and then went to breakfast, hoping her parents had picked her up. We were fine before, but now we started getting really tired. Justin and Mike Hurley kept saying "Wazzup" while we were eating, and I just wanted to sleep. Together AgainI thought about the pros and cons as I drifted in and out of sleep that morning. After telling Mom and Dad all about it, I asked Orion to chat with me privatel. I was kind of blunt in asking him what he wanted to do, but oh well. We discussed all the implications, touching on all the problems we had in our last relationship that ultimately brought it to its end. We decided that all the problems were pretty much resolved, and after setting a couple ground rules, we aagreed it. Not the most romantic way to become a couple, but we agreed that we had never started out a relationship before feeling so right.It's going to be an interesting summer.  Back to My Love |
