BE THE MAN

FRIDAY JUNE 4TH, 1976

MAXINE'S POINT OF VIEW

1976, FRIDAY JUNE 4TH

SENIOR FAREWELL DANCE, LAST DANCE AND DAY OF SCHOOL FOR THE SENIORS

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I was getting the last touches to my dress ready for the senior farewell.

I was wearing a pale purple dress that was a little shorter than knee length. My hair was held down with a braid crown my older sister did.

I was fixing my makeup, and my bag. I had a mini-purse that matched my dress. I had my makeup and stuff in it. I looked in the mirror, and was proud of how hard I worked to get this body, and how hard I worked to pay for this dress. My mother hadn't really been the best mom, and my father was out of the picture.

My sister also pitched in with the money with all she could. She worked a part time job from 7:50 am to 4:30 pm.

It was now 5:30, and I walked down the stairs. My sister was reading a magazine and when she looked up she was in awe.

"Max! You look great!" she said, and hugged me.

"You're growing too fast, slow down" She said with a small smile and she wiped a tear from her eye. We had a 4 year age difference, but with my mom barely being a mom, she practically raised me.

"Thank you Flo." I said with a small smile.

Before we could say anything, there was a ring at the doorbell.

I opened it, and Prince was standing there. He was my date.

"Hi Maxine, these are for you." He said, and gave me a bouquet of pink Camellias.

"Thank you, these are my favorite flowers." I said with a smile, and left to put the flowers in water. While I was filling up a vase, I would hear Flo talking to Prince.

"Florence, always a pleasure." I could hear Prince say, I could even hear the fear in his voice.

"Listen Prince Charming, you better not hurt my sister or you'll get it. I'm not a fan of you, and It's technically illegal that you're going out with her when you're 18 and she's 17." I could hear her say while I was putting the flowers in a water-filled vase.

I left the flowers on the counter and went back to the door, the sound of my heels clicking against the tile floor while I ran filling up the room.

I say bye to Flo, and Prince gets a ride from one of his friends, who also is going to the dance.

When we got there, there was an announcer saying everyone's name and their dates when they walked in.

"Maxine and Prince! My god, what a beautiful couple. Perfect for eachother." The announcer says, and everyone claps just like they did with the last pair who came in.

The gym had blue lighting, with cool colored balloons around the room. In the center were kids dancing with their partners and friends. There was a DJ playing all the hits, including Jackson 5 songs.

Prince grabbed punch for us while I sat down at a table. Macy comes and sits down next to me, her face tear stained.

"Mace, what happened?"

"Conner walked out on me with another girl." She sobbed, her makeup getting ruined.

I hugged and comforted her for a few minutes, until she got up and wiped her tears.

"I'm going home. You can enjoy the dance with Prince." She says, and walks away sobbing.

Prince came a little after, and gave me the punch.

"What's up with Macey?"
"Her date walked out on her." I say and Prince sighs, and takes a drink from his punch.

We danced for a little while after eating, my friends and his friends dancing with us.

After a while,  a slow song comes on and everyone grabs their date, the people who don't have dates sit on the sides.

Prince grabs my waist, and I wrap my arms around his neck. There were a few inches between us, but most people around us had no inches between them.

We danced slowly, and I had to admit, this is one of the most awkward slow dances of my life.

We're not even dating, but he asked me to the dance. I didn't mind because I like him, but he knows how to make everything awkward.

I decide to make a move, and rest my head on his chest. He was pretty short, But i was shorter at a big 5'0. I was 5'1 with these heels on.

I could hear his heart beating faster than the steady pace it was at before.

I decide to ignore it, and it slows down. After a few minutes, the slow dance ends. We start to dance again, and at about 8:30, we decide to leave.

He walks me to my house, which is just 3 blocks away.

"I had a lot of fun tonight." I say with a small smile.

"So did I." He said as he smiled back.

The rest of the walk was in comfortable silence, and when we got to my house Prince stopped me from opening the door.

He avoids eye contact and looks as if he's thinking of something.

"Is everything alright?" I ask

He blurts out "I'm moving."

I feel my heart shatter.

"Why?" I say, fighting the tears daring to sneak out my eye.

"I got a great job opportunity for music, my passion. I'm signing with Warner Brothers to release an album. I need to move to Minneapolis."

"That's in another state. We're in Wisconsin." I say, and I could feel goosebumps rising on my skin.

"And you just moved here last year!" I say shortly after.

"I grew up in Minny, I need to move back. I'm sorry." He pecked my lips and walked away. I stood there, staring at him walk away. He didn't double take or anything.

I felt a tear fall down my face, and I couldn't stop myself. I just started crying.

I hear a door open behind me. "Max, what's wrong?" Flo says and closes the door.

"Prince is moving!" I sob, and hug her as I cry in her chest.

Flo hugs me back and leads me inside.

After a long time of crying, I finally stopped. I wiped my tears and my makeup was ruined.

"How did he tell you?"

"Before I opened the door he stopped me and explained that he was moving to Minneapolis for an opportunity with Warner Brothers so he could release an album- and he kissed me and l-left!" I say, and start sobbing again. 

She pulls me into her arms, and I just sob in her chest.

When I calm down, she looks me in the eye.

"Why don't we have a girls night? Watching sad movies and eating ice cream and junk while crying? And we can do each other's hair and nails and makeup, It'll be fun!" She says, And I smile.

"Sure. let me shower first."

I shower and change into black fuzzy pants with a black tank top. I brush my hair and put lotion on and walk down the stairs to see a lot of nail polish, makeup, sad movies on a VHS, Ice cream, our favorite records, our jewelry boxes, and toppings for the ice cream.

Flo comes from the kitchen with warm cookies in her hands. "I put these in the oven 30 minutes ago." She says with a smile.

"Flo, this is awesome." I say, and sit down on the couch.
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:)) I hope you enjoyed this chapter !!