Prom Date by Melody Carlson

Bryn slapped her hand on the table.
    â€œThen why even have prom?” Devon said with disgust.
    â€œExactly.” Abby nodded eagerly. “That’s what Kent said they’re going to do.”
    â€œHuh?” Emma looked slightly lost.
    â€œKent said that some of the guys plan to circulate a petition. Starting this week.”
    â€œA petition for what?” Cassidy asked.
    â€œNot for anything,” Abby clarified. “The petition is against . The guys want to see prom canceled .”
    â€œNo prom?” Bryn looked truly horrified.
    â€œCan they do that?” Devon asked with concern.
    â€œI don’t know,” Abby confessed. “But it sounds like they’re going to try.”
    â€œThat’s too bad,” Emma said. “I was pretty sure that Isaac was going to ask me too. He even hinted about it a few weeks ago.”
    â€œWell, Isaac was at youth group that night,” Devon told her. “He might be on the anti-prom bandwagon too.”
    â€œThis is just wrong,” Bryn proclaimed. “How can we be the only school that doesn’t have prom?”
    â€œIt makes me want to go back to my old high school,” Devon said sullenly.
    â€œWho do they think they are?” Bryn asked. “Just because a handful of guys are anti-prom doesn’t mean the whole school should give it up. I mean, fine, if they don’t want to go to prom, let them stay home. Why do they want to spoil it for everyone?”
    â€œI wonder how many signatures they need to get,” Cassidy mused.
    â€œEven if they got all the guys to sign, that would only be about 50 percent,” Abby pointed out.
    â€œWhy would all the guys even sign it?” Bryn asked.
    â€œBecause guys always like to complain about events like prom,” Emma told her. “I remember how my brother, Edward, would go on about how expensive it was, how it wasn’t fair that the guy got stuck with the bill, but it was mostly for the girl.”
    â€œKind of like a wedding.” Abby nodded toward Bryn.
    â€œWell, you can’t have a wedding—just like you can’t have a prom—without guys,” Bryn said wryly.
    â€œThis is so lame,” Devon grumbled.
    Emma shook her head. “Is there any way to stop it? What if we circulate our own petition? Mrs. Dorman is our faculty advisor. Maybe we could ask her to put a stop to the boys’ petition.”
    â€œIsn’t that kind of undemocratic?” Cassidy asked.
    â€œCirculating a petition might be like freedom of speech,” Abby added.
    â€œJust the same, someone needs to put the kibosh on thoseboys,” Devon declared. “Before they gain any more momentum.”
    â€œYou’re right.” Bryn nodded. “It’s time to get really proactive.”
    â€œDo you have a plan?” Devon asked.
    Bryn’s brow creased. “I’m working on it. The most important thing is to act fast. That means some of us need to get onto prom committee ASAP.”
    â€œTo get onto prom committee, you have to be a student council representative or else appointed by one,” Abby pointed out.
    â€œYou’re a representative,” Bryn said back. “You could be on prom committee.”
    â€œNo way.” Abby firmly shook her head. “With track and the play coming up, I don’t have time.”
    â€œI’m a student council rep too,” Cassidy admitted.
    â€œGreat,” Bryn told her. “You and I will both volunteer for prom committee and then we’ll appoint one or two DG members.”
    â€œBut what if I don’t want—”
    â€œCassidy,” Bryn said sharply. “Are you going to let your fellow DG members down?”
    â€œBut I really don’t want to be on prom committee.”
    â€œIt’ll look good on your college application,” Abby told her.
    Cassidy seemed to consider this. “Who would I appoint—I mean, if I was on the