Prom horror stories
By Caroline Gecker CONTRIBUTING WRITER

File photo Rude dates, bad-fitting dresses and over zealous parents - sometimes the dream of a magical prom night can turn into a living nightmare.

For high school students across the country, prom is the most highly anticipated event of the year. Juniors and seniors spend countless hours and tons of money making certain that their night is a perfect and memorable occasion. However, sometimes prom night is unforgettable for all the wrong reasons.

Casey*

James River High School

 

Most girls appreciate a grand gesture when they get asked to prom, whether it be by a cute poem, a song or a public display of affection. A few years ago, Casey won her junior prom date in a coin flip with another girl - and this was just the beginning of her prom woes. Despite the fact that the unromantic invite was made by a particularly unattractive boy from her creative writing class at James River High School, Casey did not have a date yet and reluctantly agreed to go with him. Her grandmother really wanted to make her dress, and because the dance was only days away and finding a dress in a store at such late notice would be difficult, Casey agreed. However, when the night of the dance arrived, the homemade dress was not finished, and she ended up picking her date up two hours late in a dress held together by safety pins. To make matters worse, her date ended up being as rude as his method of invitation.

"He refused to take any pictures beforehand, and once we were at the dance he said, 'I don't dance,' and went into another room with his friends. I didn't know them very well, so I went off with my friends, too," Casey says.

Although she never actually danced with her own date and regrets agreeing to go with him, Casey now says that the night wasn't a total loss.

"The only redeeming factor of the entire evening was being asked to dance by the guy that I had had a crush on for three years. I enjoyed that part!"

Taylor*

Monacan High School

 

Some people aren't even fortunate enough to make it through their dance's doors. Last spring, Taylor was a junior at Monacan High School. She knew that she wanted her prom to be a laid-back affair, so she decided that going with a date as a friend made the most sense. She decided to ask a friend of her brother, a junior from a nearby school. While she did not know him very well, they had always gotten along. Although his school's prom was on the same night as Monacan's, he assured her that he was not planning to attend his prom and gladly accepted her invitation. Taylor bought a dress, shoes and jewelry and made dinner reservations at a restaurant for a pre-prom meal with friends. About a week before the big dance, however, her date called with a major change in plans.

"He called and basically said that he had decided to go to his own prom, and that I could either come with him to his or find another date," Taylor remembers.

In the end, Taylor agreed to go with him to his prom - or at least let him think that.

"About 20 minutes before he was supposed to pick me up to go to dinner, I called and cancelled on him and said, 'Good luck finding a date now!'"

Although she ended up not going to either prom, Taylor says that she doesn't regret backing out on her date at the last minute.

"And I wore my dress to a wedding, so at least I got some use out of it!"

Lauren*

Maggie L. Walker Governor's School

For teenagers, nothing spells a disastrous date like the presence of a parent. A few years ago, Lauren was excited about going to her senior prom at Maggie L. Walker Governor's School with a guy she really liked. He was attractive, funny and outgoing - the perfect date! Before going to a restaurant for dinner, Lauren, her date and a group of friends gathered at her house to get ready and take pictures. Many of their parents came to capture the big night.

 

However, the mother of Lauren's date was taking more pictures than seemed necessary, and she was still in photographer mode long after the other parents were satisfied with their snapshots. Finally, the photo shoot was over, and the group said farewell to their doting families.

They took a rented limousine to a restaurant where they sat down to a nice meal. Lauren was really starting to enjoy the evening with her date when from around the corner came his mother, camera in hand. The group exchanged confused glances, but let the eager woman take pictures until Lauren's date had had enough and told his mom it was time for her to leave.

She promised she would go home, but just a few hours later, when Lauren and her date were having a blast dancing at their prom, she showed up yet again to take more pictures of her precious son. At this point, both Lauren and her date were extremely fed up. Although the persistent mother did not return for any more photo opportunities after Lauren's date made it quite clear that she had overstepped her boundaries, her frequent appearances made the night quite a bit less magical than Lauren had hoped.

*Names have been changed to protect from embarrassment.