The 9th

I can say April 9th may be the most bizarrest days of my life. If you asked me four years ago, if I was going to Kalani High School Junior Prom, I would have said, “Are you crazy? I will be going to Roosevelt or moving on the mainland”. I never thought I was going to be a member of the Falcons. I didn’t even know where  the school was located. When I was 12, I thought the only high school in Hawaii Kai was Kaiser. Same can be said for the Hilton Waikiki Beach Hotel. I thought the Junior Class Leadership misspelled, “Hilton Hawaiian Village” because my dad’s moving company frequently moves stuff for that hotel and my dad knows how to get in the ballroom secretly. On April 9th, I doubted attending Kalani’s Junior Prom., On the day of the the event, I was sick with an allergy.

Quickly, my mom and I went to the doctor to pick up an inhaler. The visit alone  took up two hours. I knew I was going to get my ears blasted with the Top 40 pop music all night at prom so I listened to the Top 40 country music in the car to avoid repetition. We had a nice picnic at Ala Moana Beach Park until I threw up because of the medications the doctor gave me.  That medications gave a horrible aftertaste in my mouth and I mean, very horrible. We rushed to our house immediately and I washed my mouth with some water. I was too lazy to do anything so I laid on the couch watched some Netflix.

Out of nowhere my eyes started to close and I napped for almost two hours. I looked at the microwave’s clock and it was 3:30 PM, less than 2 hours until prom. By looking the way I was dressed with a stained Gap T-shirt , I was nowhere near getting ready to go to prom whatsoever. I thought, “At least, I have the luxury to take my time and not rushing to meet someone at a certain time.” My dad told me earlier, “you don’t want to be the first one there.” It was an aha moment on for me because I wouldn’t   have someone texting me non-stop asking me, “where are you?” or telling me,  “the limo is waiting,” 20 times in a row. I was my own date and that meant anything goes for my date, me. I spent an hour getting ready, combing my hair and that sort of thing. If it’s up to me, I would have continued to nap and forgot about the prom.

My cousin came to pick me up at, about 5:30 PM. It was like Halloween all over again, I do not normally dress that way but, I look good when I do. During the car ride, my cousin was saying peppy things to keep my head in the game. I was half-listening. I just want to eat delicious food and be done with it. When we got to the Hilton, I honestly felt good about myself. I went to the third floor to see all my teachers and classmates I knew. A good thing about being fashionably late is having dinner immediately without having to wait. The food was fantastic! Everything was fantastic. It felt like I was staying up until midnight on an Alaskan cruise when the sun is up in the sky at midnight .It was that awesome. Although I was sick, it was one of the highlight of 2016 for me. I am a simple man and, these kinds of memories mean a lot to me.

I felt a chill in the air every time they dimmed the light down. Suddenly, loud pop music filled the room and the best part of prom began. I walked around to see people who I knew. It was like a meet and greet for an hour and continuous check on the line for pictures. But it was through the roof with people standing in line. One thing I would change is the line for pictures because there is no way I would stand in line and miss the dessert!

To my surprise that night, I danced! I was suddenly dancing with someone.  My reaction to this was, “Wow, okay!” After three minutes, I was thinking to myself, “Is it over now?” It was definitely nerve wracking. Although it was exciting, it was awkward clinging onto someone for a full three minutes with an acquaintance for me.  I was amazed how fast the night went. Before I knew it, the lights came on and, we were playing who gets the bouquet.  I ate, I people-watched, I did something different and, I slept. What else do I really need?

All in all, I had a good time with friends and giving fistbumps to strangers on the dance floor. The saying, “If life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” goes perfectly with my time at prom! This experience lead the way for me to take a chance or risk it like how I will going on an airplane on my own to the Big Island this summer. I learned two things that night, you make yourself happy doing the things you least expect, and napping at 2 PM will cause you to go to bed at 2 AM. Now that I know all this, I will nap for three hours to get ready for Project Grad next year and maybe senior prom! Looking forward for it!