Then Senior Year Arrived
Prom was suddenly no longer some distant event.
It was real.
There were posters around school.
Girls were looking for dresses.
Guys were talking about suits.
Everyone was asking one another:
“Who are you going with?”
I already knew my answer.
One afternoon, Noah came to my house carrying a small box.
He looked nervous.
“What is that?” I asked.
He smiled.
“Something I've had for twelve years.”
He opened the box.
Inside was the same little purple stuffed dinosaur he had carried when we were six.
I stared at it.
“You kept that?”
He nodded.
“Because you made a promise.”
I felt my eyes fill with tears.
“I remember.”
He smiled.
“Then we're still going, right?”
I nodded.
“Of course.”
But that night, something happened that I wasn't expecting.
My mother asked me to come downstairs.
She looked serious.
Too serious.
“Sit down,” she said.
I immediately knew something was wrong.
Mom Locked My Bedroom Door
The next evening, my mother came into my room.
She closed the door.
Then she locked it.