Plum Martinis, Mai Tais, Sushi and bikini dresses

I went with the red dress. That was pretty much the highlight of the
evening -- walking around in my red dress. Running late, the make-
up and hair were not up to prom par, but I'm just a teacher and just
going to gawk at the the students. However, meeting the other
teachers, I was early so made small talk with colleague number 1.
This is a different group of teachers than I normally hang with
(cause us teachers just hang and kick it, too, in our own little
posses). Anyway, I am the only non-Latina and only one not in a
small learning community. Shiftless and indefinable, the story of my
life. It was just like high school.

We drove around downtown Burbank for a bit looking for parking, at
which point the driver dropped us at the Japanese restaurant to get a
table. We were criminally overdressed fro pretty much any place in
LA, but most definitely for Burbank, other than the senior prom.
Everyone was all in formal black, except for me. So even among us, I
stood out, like, well, a sore red thumb. We ate well and enjoyed
plum martinis. So, myth number one: teachers don't get to drink on
prom night. We needed it.

Prom looked like something between a medium budget wedding and one of
our professional development training sessions: a bland conference
room with the tables and white table clothes, left overs of water
glasses, tea, and dessert on the tables. We wandered around the
crowded hall. Dancing was just beginning and the floor was packed
within minutes. I was disappointed that only about five of my
students from my senior class showed up. We took pictures. My
students looked cute and I asked if they were having fun and they
just nodded yes. Then the teachers and I went to the fringes to gossip.

Hairdos were impressive. A lot of upsweeps and curls. The dresses
were mostly satiny numbers, sleek and very evening gownish. MOre
like the oscars than traditional prom. Greens of all shades seemed
particularly popular. There were a few occasional yellows, pinks,
and purples and several with the sleek white look. And lots of
skin. The look that most distinguished this prom than something from
my generation (from what I knew, since I never went to my prom) is
what can best be called the bikini dress. Basically, it is like a
fancy, silky, glittery version of a bikini top and sarong. Another
popular style, which I wondered how they got past mom, is the low cut
back, one that would make the pundits comment about even someone like
JLo, with the halter style top, basically just covering the breasts
and totally bare back. Nice for the oscars, but I thought a bit
tacky for high school. Particularly one tries to do the bump and
grind in it on the dance floor. Thankfully, not my students.

The boys mostly looked charming in their tuxes. However, these aren't
boring tuxes of simple black and white. i particularly liked the
patterned vests, often in a tasteful grey or black and white pattern,
but definitely something with style and umph. One of my students
was striking in a white and blue tux to match his date. His fiancee,
which surprised me since he definitely always gave the impression of
not having a girlfriend. Male students are always so much more coy
about their dating than females, who will often write about their
boyfriends in journals and such. Not so shocking, I guess.

My teacher posse hit the dance floor for a few songs, then we jetted
over to the bar in the adjacent restaurant. At this point, I was
pretty bored and would have been game for hitting a dance club, if I
knew of any. However, instead, I drank my mai tai (without even
getting a good buzz, which is surprising for me) and listened to this
group of colleagues gossip. Nothing terribly fascinating, but
interesting to hear what other groups have to say about others and to
pick up on little conflicts and tensions.

I think this is probably my last prom. I feel a bit comforted
knowing I didn't miss much, from what I saw. And now, I don't have
the red dress taunting me to be worn.