Castle High

48. The Duet - I

“Andrew, please pass the cuff-links.” Jake beckoned to his friend across the bed-room, who was pitched on the bed sifting through his phone. Andrew was the only one in the group who was done with putting on his attire, and it was only so because his attire was the simplest. The boys – Joey, Jamie, Stephen and of course Andrew had all converged at his place in preparation of the prom night, which was only a couple of hours away.

Andrew was clad in a plain-black suit, black bow-tie and black leather shoes also with a white inner-shirt. It was just like he knew, his friend didn’t care much for fashion. Stephen’s outfit was also very similar to Andrew’s, just that his suit wasn’t black but a rather a deep shade of green. Joey on the other hand was the only individual who adhered to the core of corporate dressing strictly. His friend donned a brown double breasted suit, with a matching waist-coat and had a wine-colored scarf wrung round his collar, and brogues of the same color on his feet.

Well, he was technically a business-man.

Jamie wasn’t looking so bad either. He was the only one in the pair not clad in a suit. Rather he was decked out in a double-breasted grey waist-coat coupled with a tightly knotted brown tie and a white inner shirt also. His trousers color held a shade of dark green, and his feet were tucked in brown suede brogues.

His own outfit wasn’t bogus like Jamie’s or Joey, but it wasn’t the regular also. His suit was a tightly-fitted, shawl-lapelled navy-blue suit with white stripes. His collar was rounded up with a brown bow-tie, and on his feet was a blue classic buckle brogue leg gear. The prom was indeed underway.

“Which one?” Andrew enquired apathetically, his attention still fixated on his phone.

Jake grunted, clenching his fists. “How many cuff-links are on the bed?”

Jamie laughed, and leaned over from the other side of the bed to retrieve the tie for Jake. “There you go.”

“Thanks, man.” Jake heaved a sigh of appreciation, as he ventured closer to Jamie’s outstretched hand to collect the tie. “What’s the time, BTW? I hope we’re not running late.”

“What difference does it make?” Stephen drawled nonchalantly, with his hands propped on his crossed legs on a seat by the right side of the bed. Joey on the other hand, was still inspecting his outfit in the other mirror just opposite Jake’s position, and left of the bed’s position. “The girls aren’t going to arrive early, anyway. I still don’t understand why these corporate events call for male punctuality and encourages lateness in the females. What would go wrong, if we all arrive together?”

A collective chuckle pierced the atmosphere, as the whole group seemed to agree on Stephen’s point.

“You’re absolutely right, man.” Joey grinned, motioning his right index finger towards Stephen in an acknowledging manner. “I mean this is where it begins from. Females cultivate the habit of arriving late at such events, without suffering consequences because it’s usually high-school and college protocol. That’s why the majority of them show up late on their wedding days. I’m not surprised.”

Jake whirled around, and braced his hands on the dresser for support. “We should take a stand against such obnoxiousness. You know, refuse to follow the trend. If the females show up late and think they can proceed with the day and act like it’s nothing normal, then we could decide not to dance with them immediately, or better yet dance with ourselves.”

The boys chuckled in unison once more, before the conversation proceeded.

“What sort of a dance theme is – ‘The Duet.’ Anyway,” Andrew groaned in displeasure, whilst navigating through his twitter feed. “I mean it’s not like a proper corporate dance could involve three persons, or one person alone. It has to be just two people, so I really don’t know what they were thinking.”