Chapter Fifteen: Turn Down For What

Well, it finally happened. This last weekend was the weekend of PROM!!
It's so crazy because at the beginning of this year, Prom (and graduation) seemed so far away. But now it's over and done, and the next big event is speeding towards us. It's also a little surreal for me because I, having been a class officer all four years of high school, have been raising money for and planning this event ever since the beginning. And now that it's over, it's like, "What now?"
Though planning prom was an amazing and cool experience, I wouldn't do it again. It's seriously hard work and very stressful for me. But you know what made it worth it? Seeing my Class have fun. Seeing all the prom pictures, smiling faces, happy friends, and satisfied faculty really made all those tough, grueling hours worth it.
I had a blast. I went with a big group of friends (Erin, Kim, and Victoria) and my date (Luke). Now, I know this is really sad, but I never expected someone to ask me to Prom. My mom would constantly nudge me with her elbow, teasing me if "Whatshisface" or "Soandso" (fake names used to protect identities) was going to ask me to Prom. But I always said no. Because I didn't think anyone (except for my friends) would want to go with me. And I'm not fishing for compliments here, I'm just saying that I didn't think it was going to happen.
But, of course, we are often surprised.
I was asked by the one and only Luke Henderson.

Brought to you by bell peppers and Little Debbie Swiss Rolls.

Now, of course I said yes. But we both decided to play with this, and not tell anybody (except for a few friends) about him going to prom with me. It wasn't expected Luke would go to prom because he's a Junior, and the only underclassmen that can come to prom are those who are invited by seniors. 

So, our little charade played out real well. I posted the promposal picture on social media sites with the caption, "Oh, by the way, I got asked to Prom about three weeks ago. But by who? ;)" on the day of Prom. Everyone was guessing and guessing, but I will never forget the surprised looks we got when we arrived, especially from his friends who came. As Brian would have said, "It was...mental." 

Luke and I looking quite dashing.

All my fwiends.

All in all, Prom was really fun and I am so glad everyone else enjoyed it, too. Seniors, never forget:

"Please, no crowd surfing."

"Keep your clothes on."

"Put the tea candles back on the tables!"

After prom, we all went to....well...After-Prom. This is an event run by PTA, where we spend all night (err, morning) playing and just goofing off at Main Event. I had such a great time (and it was great to get out of the pretty dress and into some comfy shorts!) and I think everyone who went did too. 

As you can tell, we are super excited.

The event went from 12:30 to 4:30 AM, but, unfortunately, Luke and I had to leave early because we were leaving later that morning to go to UIL state competition for music. We left After-Prom at 3:00 AM and the instant I came home, I showered and fell in bed to sleep for a short three hours. 

At 10:00 AM, we were on the road again.

Don't let our faces fool you. We were actually the loudest ones on the bus.

The fine arts of our high school (Choir, Band, and Orchestra) all piled into the bus to head over to Austin, Texas for our state competition. In order to come, we had to make a 1 (highest rank) on a Grade 1 (hardest kind) music piece. Once we get to state, we perform again. 

Well, a lot of seniors went to prom and after prom (and some after after prom parties) so we were a little...pooped. So we partied a little bit on the bus on the way to Austin, but most of us slept. I slept for maybe an hour, but, honestly, I was just so excited, it was hard to contain myself! (Luke and I really were the loudest ones on the bus!)

We made a couple of stops on the way to Austin such as going to West, Texas to pick up some good Czech baked goods, and, ironically, another stop at the Main Event in Austin. I've never had so much happen in so little time. 

We finally made it to the hotel, unpacked a little bit, and then headed out to the pool. That was a little fun, but I really enjoyed myself when a big group of us went next door to Chili's. We weren't too hungry (at least I wasn't.) but public outings with fine arts kids is always fun. 

Calm down, adults. It's just lemonade.

Anyway, after a very, very long day, we finally turned in for the night. My roommates (Jordan, Ashley, Kelsea, Alondra) and I had a really nice late night talk. After an hour long shower of getting weave glue out of my hair (Sigh. Long story.), I finally got some good rest.

Monday morning wasn't too exciting. Band, Orchestra, and Choir all got separated to our performing halls. Choir, for the first time in forever, finished first, and pretty early too. It was just about lunch time, and Ms. Miller was wondering what we wanted to do for the next 5 hours. 

"STARBUCKS!" we all cheered collectively. 

Unfortunately, Austin was getting a little rain on Monday. 

Actually, a lot of rain. 

But we wanted Starbucks.

And so we did. 

We walked probably for a good hour in the constant rain. It was pretty fun, in my opinion, other than Ms. Miller's shoe completely breaking, coming across two closed Starbucks, and getting pretty soaked. But, none of that matters, because, in the end, life isn't about the rain, it's about the adventure. And by golly we had an adventure (and got Starbucks!) 

Staaaaaarbuuuuuucks

After walking back to the UT campus, we were a little soaked, and some of us wanted to change into dry clothes we didn't have with us. Fortunately, there was a little tent set up selling design-able shirts, so I decided to grab one. 

Comfy and true!

Eventually, we all were together again on the bus, ready to head home and (surprise, surprise) sleep! The ride back was honestly more fun than the ride there (probably because we were more rested than before). The back of the bus was honestly where the party was at because we were drumming, rapping, singing, whatever. And it was fun! Fine Arts kids are honestly the best people, and I wouldn't have asked to spend it with anyone else.

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Sorry for the long post, I tried to include a lot of pictures to make it a little interesting. ;)

Thanks for reading! I'm almost to 1,000 views and I couldn't have done that without every single one of you guys. Thank you so much. :)