Prom, poise, and senior boys

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by Cecilia Butler

As soon as he pulls up in his low Mazda with black rims and tinted windows, the difference between him and her besides age becomes apparent. She peers through the white lace curtains in her pale pink room to see him, all dressed up in his taupe bow-tie and white suit. Fourteen tiny stuffed animals lay on her bedroom floor and her torn-up pink rose “blankie” rests on her bed. At last the time is here.

Meet Laura Vedder, a Blue Valley North sophomore. Last year, she went to St. Teresa’s with her friend Christi Backer. They spent their Friday nights watching Zac Efron and Channing Tatum on Netflix. They talked about the boys they thought were cute, the girls they thought were mean, and how they both probably failed their math test.

A name had come up. Ben Magee, a cute boy who was two years older and attended Blue Valley North. A boy neither of them had ever spoken to.

But then time flew by. Friday movie nights turned into monthly get-togethers. Laura entered the world of a co-ed school. A world of cheerleaders and “it” boys. Christi stayed in the world of all girls. A world of tampons and Waldo pizza.

Tonight, their Friday night is spent a lot differently than it used to be. Christi stands above Laura, a Chi curling iron burning hot in one hand and a bottle of Aussi hairspray in the other. They’re prepping Laura for prom. Prom with a senior. Prom with Ben Magee.

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“My freshman self would have been shocked,” Laura says as she wiggles a bobby pin into her light brown curls. “I would never believe I would be going to prom as Ben’s date.”

Christi and the rest of Laura’s friends say they have seen a change in Laura since freshman year. “She’s independent. She’s more into who she is,” Christi says.

Now, she stares at herself in the mirror, looking at the reflection of a totally new Laura. Ben McGee is not just a senior. He is the Ben Magee. The hot senior. The lacrosse, soccer and swimming star. The boy all the girls want. The boy that Laura got.

Most underclassmen at St. Teresa’s wouldn’t even imagine going to prom with a senior. Last year Laura would have agreed, but public schools do things differently. “People of all ages will date [each other],” Laura says.Laura thinks that the public school girls are a lot different than STA ones.“I love the girls, but they’re typical public school girls. They always care what they look like and I’m not like that I think cause I went to STA.”

Laura’s parents were surprised when Laura told them the news of prom. Mrs. Denise Vedder views the seniors as being more daring and adventurous than younger classmen.

“I’m nervous because it’s hard to trust everybody that she’s with,” Mrs. Vedder said.

It’s thirty minutes until Ben is coming to pick up Laura. Thirty minutes crammed with hairspray, nail polish, blush, and Laura’s favorite Maybelline black lash mascara . She turns to her mom, “Oh, um, mommy will you make me a peanut butter sandwich?” Laura asks with her puppy dog eyes and pouted lips glossed with cherry Carmex chapstick.

Christi finally finishes Laura’s hair and they admire it in the full length mirror.

“So, you nervous?” Christi asks.
“Are you kidding me? I’ve been pooping all day.”