Titan

The Prom

The Hotel Monaco is in downtown D.C., west of the Capitol. It stands as tall as a building in D.C. can stand. No building can be taller than the Capitol and with its opulent top-floor ballroom, it was popular for all kinds of events. Weddings, bar mitzvahs, business engagements, proms and even the president organized events there. St. Paul's Academy normally wouldn't have stood a chance to get a late May event scheduled there if wasn't for Kyp Carson, one of Eric's hockey teammates, who's dad co-owned the place. He also got them the top-floor ballroom suite. It would make for a memorable night.

Oh, would it ever.

On the top floor, the elevators opened onto a wide hallway stretching out to the right and left along a scarlet carpet with gold edging. The walls were beige and ornate with classical art and antique fixtures. Across from the elevator, two sets of thick, oak double doors opened onto the roomy, circular ballroom. Tall, pearl-hued columns led along the round edges of the room toward the open glass view of the Washington, D.C., skyline, over to the national Capital Blades Hockey Arena across the street and, ultimately, to the Washington Monument and the Capitol both on the horizon in view. Glass doors circling the room opened onto a viewing deck for guests to take in the view with the night air.

Hardwood flooring ran up the center of the room, leading to the glass doors, with a border of scarlet carpeting circling the edges of the room. The ceiling was a delicate display of architectural design and function, with a buttress connecting the columns from the opposite sides of the room. One thinks "white" and "clean" when standing at the oak doors, but that should not be mistaken for sterile or without character. No, the room just looks expensive.

A large banner, which read: "A Night to Remember – St. Paul's Academy," hung over the left wall along the inside of the columns—it was the gaudiest thing in the room. Other typical prom decorations dotted the walls: posters to sign, tables with props for personal photos and other knickknacks, and pictures of the graduating seniors.

Tony Frank had been working events like weddings and proms for the Hotel Monaco for almost ten years. It wasn't his chosen profession. No, Frank got disability retirement ten years ago. He had been a detective. He wasn't "Dirty Harry" or Frank Pembleton, but he was a solid cop. He missed a step down a flight of stairs during a foot chase and ruined his back. The bad guys were kids and he had become an old man. The fact he walked with only a limp was lucky.

The event setup gig was nice, though. Being a cop is a lot of paperwork and organization, so arranging a room for different functions was easy. He had it down to a science. Preparation, preparation, preparation. If you do good setup, take good inventory, make sure you don't run out of anything major on game night, and keep to the schedule, the events would work themselves out. Some lousy shylock gets bar mitzvahed, a couple gets blasted at their wedding reception, or some horny teens dance and act like idiots at their prom—as long as the food was out, the drinks were served, the tables cleaned, etc., everybody was happy. Simple.

As a rule, Frank didn't care what the event was. He was paid for all of them, but proms were something else. Kids these days were smart-mouthed, little bastards. They were rude to his staff and left messes because they were lazy shits. Geez, and their dancing... they might as well be fucking. These Catholic deals were a little better since the chaperones and other school admin types kept the floor fucking to a minimum and had a tight leash on the kids. Girls still dressed like little sluts and the guys pawed them all night, but the messes and backtalk—his departments of concern—were at a minimum.

Event prep for this prom started a day early, which was unusual, with moving tables, chairs, the dance floor sections, and the tech for sound setup. Frank's team was good and fast, so he didn't understand why all of the extra time was requested. Probably some "richer than God," private school prick parent complained that it wasn't safe enough with only one day of setup.