ABSTRACT

In high school I attended three proms, the first with a boy I hardly knew. I had initial hopes that our affections might be ignited by our attending the prom, but romance never materialized between us. The second prom I attended with my high school boyfriend. The promise of romance accompanied us both to the prom. Yet as often happens with promgoers, we fought about everything: how many times we would dance together, to which songs, and how long we would stay. By the time my senior prom rolled around, romance and the other more conventional pleasures of the prom seemed remote. I even debated whether to go at all, but I went, again with the same boyfriend.