Unexpected Asks

Melissa had watched, all day, as other girls were asked to homecoming. No one approached her about it. It felt strange to be nominated for homecoming court and not have a date for the dance. Doubts rooted in her past resurfaced. Maybe, the nomination was some kind of prank. It was precisely the kind of thing students at her old school would do to her. Then the girl would think her new friends would never let that happen.

These thoughts lingered through the day, as other girls walked around with flowers or were asked in the middle of the hall. It was like promposals in some schools, but, Melissa guessed because many students had money, they did it for homecoming as well. Then of course there was the talk of the dresses, and what people were doing for dinner before the dance. That was talk she couldn’t even get away from within her own group of friends.

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Jason had a plan. He had the flowers and the outfit. He would ask her tonight at dinner. He could only hope that the girl had not been asked before but, at lunch, he noticed the look on her face when people started talking about homecoming. It did not seem to him the girl had one.

He must have walked by hundreds of asks, which was pretty amazing considering the school wasn’t that big. Each time, Jason would make sure that the girl being asked wasn’t the one he wanted to ask and each time it wasn’t. So, he would just congratulate the couple and move on.

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The day went by, classes ended, cheerleading practice ended and Melissa still didn’t have a date to the dance. Then dinner came, and she was hoping something happened soon. And so it did...

Dressed in a suit, carrying a dozen long stemmed multi-colored roses, and headed straight for Melissa was Oscar Finlay. A junior, athlete, he was a basketball player and had asked her to dance at the back-to-school dance, since then the two had spoken several times but Melissa hadn’t really thought he would ask her to the dance.

The girl was smiling but all the attention was a little embarrassing, in a good way. Oscar was nice and he got along with her friends that knew him, like Courtney. So, without much hesitation, her answer was yes. Melissa now had a date to homecoming.

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Jason had waited until dinner, coming in dressed in a nice outfit and carrying a bouquet of a mixed flowers - he stopped at the entrance to the cafeteria as Oscar ask Melissa to the dance. He had arrived too late.

There was nothing to be done now. He couldn’t go in there like this, or so the boy thought until he saw a few other boys also with flowers going to ask someone to the dance. Still, she had already been asked and Oscar was a nice guy, and a friend of Jason’s so he wasn’t about to stop that.

He started to back away, the flowers were headed for the trash, he supposed he could just go by himself to the dance. There would be others without dates there, right? Or maybe…

Jason headed to the rec room where some of the music students were hanging out, he found a girl that he was friends with, Autumn Massy, who hadn’t been asked out. He had wanted to ask Melissa but why not go with a friend instead? So, he asked his friend, making it more funny than serious as he knew she’d like that. Then Jason had a date as well.

They just weren’t going together…