Survival Of The Fittest

Chris Carlson had only been to one prom before, that being as a junior. The last time he went, his date suddenly announced that she was going with her brand-new boyfriend at another school and that she hated him and wanted him to die. He always did attract the crazy ones. He was left going alone, the seat next to his empty, and having to tell the waiter that the other girl wasn't showing up.

He was determined to make this year different. He had Sarah, though he would have much rather had Kelly with him, and they were going to look good and have fun.

That brought up another thought of his: Kelly. The two of them had started dating just after Chris had decided to go with Sarah, and she had already made plans for the night of the prom. Having Kelly with him would have made him the happiest man in the world, but alas, he was with the video chick.

He would just have to make do, though. Sarah was a pretty girl and fun to be around, and he was determined to have fun this year, no matter who he was with. Of course, Chris was a weirdness magnet. God knows what would happen on the dance floor.

((Sarah Atwell continued (indirectly) from Irritating Thoughts ))

Sarah spun around daintily. The red cocktail dress she had bought fitted snuggly to her form. She had made a few alterations, with the help of her mum. It was a rare day for the girl as her parents had been extremely civil. Tonight was all about her. Matching shoes: Red kitten heels, had been secretly bought for her by her mum and her dad had driven her to the hairdressers and beauty salon to perform all the required touch ups that went on before an event such as this. Her hair was spun down and straightened perfectly not a missed strand in sight. A little blush applied to the face, almost blending in with her natural tan to top off the look.

On the way home her dad had taken her around the mall and let her pick out a handbag to match her outfit. It had cost almost $400 but he was happy to pay. Almost giddy with excitement she had hugged both parents and several photo's were taken, both parents smiling together - an occurrence which hadn't happened since she graduated primary school. Her brother had Skyped in from overseas and sent his best wishes as did her boyfriend who gave her a heartfelt apology and promised to bring back many gifts in compensation upon his return after the end of the year.

From all this preparation Sarah was beginning to get nervous. Originally she had been planning to go with Aislyn McCreery and her friends. The girls without partners, however after Chris had inquired she had briefly discussed the matter and had come to the arrangement that she would just go with Chris and the girls would catch up later. She regretted missing out on the pre-prom activities. Chris was to pick her up 30 minutes before and her parents had insisted on meeting the boy, despite nothing going on between the two.

She had Terry and Chris had Kelly. Well kind of. She was sure nothing would happen. Heading down the stairs Sarah checked her handbag. Although its dark red fit in with the rest of her ensemble she had picked it for another reason as well. Her Sony Handycam fit snuggly into the largest area and if needed could peak out the top. She had packed 4 tapes in the bag as well and set it down next to her backpack, which carried a change of clothes: a top and jeans and a pair of red sneakers for the after party.

The night was going to be perfect. Well near perfect Sarah thought to herself. Terry was overseas but that didn't mean she couldn't have fun. She was feeling a little light headed already, since she had been given a celebratory glass of wine by her dad, along with a stern warning of "not to drink to much after." The bottle of Midori in her bag was unopened and she had neglected to tell either of her parents about it's existence. Sitting down carefully in the living room; not something she did often, Sarah waited anxiously for Chris' arrival.

Chris calmly turned the key, the headlights on the champagne-colored 2003 Saturn L-300 dying away. The car used to be his mom's, but she had given it to him after he got his license. It was a bitch getting it, too; being Canadian, he had to apply for U.S. citizenship, and it took two tries to get it finalized, thanks to a technicality the first time. Now, he could finally drive, hold a job, and got to college.

He got out and began walking up to the door, feeling slightly nervous. He had never met Sarah's parents, and even though he wasn't even CLOSE to being her boyfriend (and he was perfectly fine with that), he didn't want to make a bad first impression on any adults that evening.

Chris' outfit was almost exactly like the one from prom last year: dark gray pinstripe shirt, black jacket, light gray tie (which he loathed), black dress pants, and black loafers with practically no traction on a dance floor; perfect for dancing, not for turning at anything faster than walking speed.

He had also cleaned himself up immensly. For one, he cut his hair. Once shaggy and shoulder-length, it was now clipped to just about his ears and held in place with a small amount of gel, shiny and almost black. He had also finally gotten glasses, and was now wearing a small silver-framed pair.

As he rang the doorbell, he checked the time on his digital watch. A reflexive action, but one that calmed him down. Here we go, big-shot. Don't fuck this up

Sarah jumped up from the couch as she saw the flicker of the headlights pass the top of the curtains at the front of her house. Almost habitually she checked her hair and face to make sure everything was in place and grabbed her gear. As the door opened she could hear her dad sternly talk to Chris in a low voice.

She couldn't make out most of it but she could only image it was some variation of the usual, take care of my girl speech that he often gave Terry. Running up to the door, well psuedorunning since the heels didn't exactly facilitate the process Sarah embraced her dad quickly. Taken in Chris' face she smiled, hopefully defusing any situation that may of occurred during her brief absence.

"Come on Chris, you ready to go?" Sarah inquired, anxious to be away to the event proper. They were already a few minutes late.

"Just one second miss." Her dad said gruffly. "You promised your mother a few nice shots out the front before you head off. I'm sure you're date won't mind, isn't that right son?"

Sarah's dad glanced back at Chris. Sarah noticed his face had not changed from a furrowed look of concern throughout the conversation. Pulling out her Canon EOS 5D Mark II Digital Camera Sarah motioned Chris out to the front porch and her parents silently followed along. Her father was playing up the concerned father thing a little too much, but it was to be expected, considering that he had never met Chris before. Her mother however was all smiles still and despite not interrupting gave the situation a sense of calm.

Posing slightly after handing her father her camera she motioned Chris over. "Let's get this over with shall we Chris?" Sarah paused for a second, thinking about the phrasing she just used. "Not that I don't like being around you... it's just my dad's a lousy shot, he wouldn't know framing if it hit him in the face." She had to interrupt herself mid ramble as her father pulled the camera to his face and rested his finger on the button.

"CHEESE!"

When the door opened, Chris was sort of expecting such a stern look from Mr. Atwell. He didn't exactly think he was going to be some goofy, nerdy, absent-minded professor type of guy. And he also knew that he was going to be fairly protective of his daughter, so Chris did his best to stand firm and not recoil as Mr. Atwell gave him "the speech."

"Hello, Chris," he started. His voice was deep, but kept quiet; either he was trying to keep Sarah from hearing this, or he was trying to be more threatening. "Now listen to me. I want you to take good care of my girl tonight. She has a boyfriend, and just because he's not here right now doesn't mean you can do anything you feel like. If she comes back pregnant or hurt in any way, you'll be wishing you didn't go to prom. Is that clear?"

Chris gave him a curt nod. He was used to such threats from authority figures. "Well, don't you worry, sir. I already have a girlfriend, and I don't think she'd much appreciate me having any fun with Sarah."

He was glad that Sarah came up to the door right then, since it meant that he didn't have to deal with any comeback from her dad. "Come on Chris, you ready to go?" she asked. He was about to respond when Mr. Atwell spoke up.

"Just one second miss," her dad said gruffly. "You promised your mother a few nice shots out the front before you head off. I'm sure your date won't mind. Isn't that right son?"

Shit

Chris didn't want to take any pictures. At least, not with Sarah's parents around. He wouldn't be surprised if this was an attempt to rope him into conversation/interrogation, to try and see just how much of a hooligan this new boy was. Despite this, he shrugged and said "Not a problem," as Sarah handed her camera off to her dad and led him over to the porch.

"Let's get this over with, shall we Chris?" she said as he posed. He wasn't entirely comfortable with putting his arm around her or anything that he did with Kelly, so he settled for slightly crossing his arms and moving up close to her, their shoulders just barely making contact. "Not that I don't like being around you," Sarah said, "it's just my dad's a lousy shot. He wouldn't know framing if it hit him in the face."

She barely got a chance to finish rambling about photography before Mr. Atwell gave a booming "Cheese!" Chris did his usual smile: pull up the left side of his face into a smirk. His left eye, already a bit small compared to the right, would close slightly when he did it, but it was more comfortable than a right-side smirk and his teeth were hardly anything to look at.

They took a few more pictures, all of them mostly the same. Chris got no chance to leave his smile between photos, so by the time Mr. Atwell was done his face was aching. Finally, he handed the camera back to his daughter. "You two have fun, now!" he said.

Chris nodded and grinned slightly. "We will. Thank you!" He led Sarah toward the car, opening the door for her before getting in himself.

He checked his watch. They were about ten minutes late. Crap. Time to drive fast.

He turned the key, gave Sarah's parents a friendly wave, and eased off the brake, letting the car coast away from the house.

((Christopher Carlson continued in Let The Dance Begin!))

Sliding in to the side of the car Sarah buckled up, giving her parents a friendly wave as the pair drove off to the prom. This was going to be one hell of a night she thought to herself.

((Sarah Atwell continued in Closing Time))