In 1988 when Dylan Montgomery moves to Beverly Hills after her mother remarries, she must navigate the challenges of fitting into a glamorous but daunting upper-class life. Living across from the charmingly cocky Nicholas and his introspective broth...
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UPPER CLASS | cherriasian
april '89
The school parking lot looked like a scene straight out of a movie. As Dylan and Katie made their way across the asphalt, the first thing they saw was a huge poster—bright pink with glittery silver letters—that read: "Prom with me? Yes, please!" The guy who was holding it looked nervous but grinning ear to ear as he stood in front of his car, waiting for the girl to approach.
"Wow," Dylan said dryly, giving Katie a side-eye. "That's something..."
Katie snickered. "It's prom, Dylan. Everyone's going wild for this stuff."
Dylan rolled her eyes but couldn't hide the little twinge of curiosity that sparked. Sure, she hated how over done it all seemed, but a part of her couldn't help but imagine what it'd be like if someone actually did something that big for her. That much effort for her.
They kept walking, passing by more promposals that seemed to outdo each other in absurdity. By the entrance, a guy stood holding a boombox above his head, the same way John Cusack did in Say Anything. The song blared loudly, but the girl he was asking just looked... confused. She stared at him, clearly unsure about what was happening, as the crowd around them clapped and cheered in excitment.
"That movie only came out a few days ago," Dylan muttered. "Did you watch it?"
"Duh," Katie answered, looking a little amused but also kind of impressed by the sheer effort. "But hey, it's kind of romantic in its own weird way. I mean, the boombox thing is cool since no one else has done it yet..."
They walked past another group where a guy had somehow managed to get balloons and a full-on sign placed in front of the student council bulletin board. "PROM?" it asked in bold, fat letters, with a giant arrow pointing down to the girl in question. She looked up, grinning, and everyone surrounding her burst into cheers.
"That one's okay," Dylan said, raising an eyebrow. "Is prom really this big here?"
Katie just shrugged again, clearly amused. "Hey, everyone here loves a grand gesture. Especially for prom. It's like, the one night you're allowed to go over the top next to Halloween."
The hallways were buzzing with people whispering, laughing, and pointing at the giant white banner stretched across the wall that read, "I can't imagine my prom without you. Will you go with me?" The guy holding the banner was grinning like he'd just won the lottery, and his face lit up when the girl he was asking squealed and threw her arms around him in a dramatic hug. Everyone around them clapped and cheered, some even chanting, "Prom! Prom! Prom!"
Dylan felt that little pang of longing again, the one she couldn't shake. Maybe it was the way the whole school seemed so in it together, or the way those couples looked so certain, their happiness spilling over for everyone to see. Maybe it was because, with Christian, she didn't even know if they'd make it to prom together, or if she'd end up in some weird, half-hearted situation like the unlucky girl she was.
