I'm trying to imagine senior prom night at our high school in twelve years.Emma will be poised in a floor-length, modest gown. Her date will arrive in his mother's Honda with a lily corsage which he'll politely tie on her wrist. His name will be Walter. He will wear a simple, black tuxedo and his cumberbund will match Emma's dress perfectly. He will pose politely for pictures and his straight, white teeth will later stand out in the prints. Emma's date will take her to the Black Angus and they will order the prime rib. They'll share a lava cake and drive straight to the prom, where they'll dance and chat and hold hands.
Grace will consider not attending the prom, but change her mind at the last minute when a boy named Leaf asks her to go. He'll pull up to the house on his Vespa scooter or in one of those little cars that looks like it's from England and belongs to Mr. Bean. He will wear checkered vans, Dickies, and a powder-pink bow tie, and Grace will opt for a non-traditional outfit...sort of like Molly Ringwald's homemade prom dress from Pretty in Pink. They will drive to a vegetarian restaurant near the beach and order soy chai lattes and organic spinach salads. She will arrive late to the prom, ditch Leaf, and dance with a few of her girlfriends. She'll hitch a ride home with Emma and Walter, and convince them to stop for blueberry crepes at IHOP on the way home.
Both girls will make it home before curfew. Our family will be awakened at 1:00 AM by Leaf, standing outside of Grace's window with music playing, just like John Cusack in Say Anything (only Leaf will hold up his IPOD and speakers instead of a boom box.) Grace and Emma (still sleeping in the same room even though they've had separate rooms for 13 years!) will giggle in bed as the music fades.
