Short+Stories

Prom Night Friday, April 13th, prom night. The night everyone dreams about. You have the dresses, flowers, perfect hair style, group of friends, and the dream date. For you, that date is James Jansport. You and your date are accompanied by Maria Converse and her date, Ellis Vans. You and Maria are 17, and Ellis and James are 18. For this night, and this night only, you will never know what’s going to happen. You wake up looking at yourself in the mirror. Prom night. Immediately, you pick up your phone and call James. “Excited about tonight?” you ask. “Of course I am! But hey, I have a question.” You wait in silence. “Ellis, Maria and I were talking last night and we wanted to know if it would be alright for us to drive to North Carolina. I mean, it would be fun, and we could leave early the next morning so that you wouldn’t get in trouble. Please?” Once again, you wait in silence. “I don’t know James,” you sigh. “How would we get there? The limo won’t take us out of state. Georgia to North Carolina? Really? It’s a lot to ask of someone.” “Come on babe,” James starts. “Just say yes.” Hours go by, and you’re finally ready to go to Prom. Ellis, Maria, and James all show up at your door. Standing at a rousing 6ft 4, James gives you a hug and directs you to the limo. Ellis and Maria follow close behind in their matching blue. All of you guys take a seat inside of the limo, and instantly, they bring up the idea of going to North Carolina after the night is over. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 24px; line-height: 115%; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">“Alright, so what’s the plan?” questioned Maria. “I was thinking that we go to prom, leave, take some shots in the limo and take a long drive to North Carolina. It’s perfect! We get up early the next morning and our parents will never know!” said Ellis with his blue eyes twinkling in the light. “THAT’S PERFECT!” yells James. It sounds all fun to you, but you aren’t quite sure about the whole idea, but you give in anyway. “Alright, I’ll do it.” <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 24px; line-height: 115%; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">There you were. In prom thinking about your great escape to North Carolina for the night. They have it all planed out, what could go wrong? You haven’t drank before, but you’ll just have one. It can’t be that bad. Besides, your parents will never find out. You trust Ellis and Maria. Plus you love James. Nothing bad is going to happen to you. Nothing. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 24px; line-height: 115%; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">“Alright,” starts James, “the limo driver said that he can drive us to North Carolina. Maria already got us the rooms and Ellis has the beer. We’ll be just fine. Now, come on and hurry before he realizes we don’t have enough money to pay him for the night.” You all follow James out the door to the black, tented windowed, limo waiting for you in the high school parking lot. Slowly, you get in and drive off with your friends. Looking back at Jackson High, you realize something… “My Phone!” you scream. “I cannot leave my phone! It’s in the bathroom! I have to go get it!” “CALM DOWN!” yelled James. “I grabbed your phone and disabled it for the night. It’s not going to work in the mountains anyway. Chill!” You sit back and sign in relief. Why would he disable your phone, though? While in deep thought, you fall asleep. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 24px; line-height: 115%; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">*** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 24px; line-height: 115%; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">You wake up, startled. Looking around, you notice you’re in the mountains. Ellis, James and Maria are all looking out of the window, so you join them. You have come to a complete stop and are facing two roads. On the right, it’s windy and rugged. To the left, the road is also rugged, but you can’t really see the road’s path. “Where to?” asked the driver. You all look at each other in thought. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 24px; line-height: 115%; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">“How about we flip a coin, heads we go left, tails we go right,” suggests Ellis. The coin flips.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 24px; line-height: 115%; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Heads <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 24px; line-height: 115%; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> Tails