Riley and Patrick walked outside holding hands. But they were not perfectly horizontally aligned. Riley walked a little more slowly and cautiously than Patrick, mainly because of her wide dress and cape.
"Not too fast...not too slow..." Fear murmured.
"Do not ruin this for the rest of us!" Anger snarled.
"Calm down, both of you," Joy chided. "We just have a few more steps to go."
In front of them was a white limo with the passenger door open.
"I sincerely apologize for not giving you a police escort," Patrick remarked.
"That's all right," said Riley. "This limo was much more than I expected."
They climbed inside the elongated Chrysler 300C. It had a long purple light on the ceiling and the seats had a cool blue light in the bottom back where the seat belt buckles were located.
Before attending the prom, they went to dinner at a restaurant called Pearl 6101. Patrick ordered Chicory Caesar, Ricotta Gnocchi, and Olive Oil Cake. Riley ordered Seared Ahi Tuna, Squid Ink Spaghetti, and Chocolate Torte.
The Squid Ink Spaghetti made Disgust recoil, "We're eating THAT?! That doesn't look like food, it looks like sludge!"
"It's something new!" Joy argued happily. "The more new things we do, the more special this night becomes!"
They got back into the limo and arrived at the prom. It was now 8:45 PM.
It was a very high-end hotel ballroom. Riley felt butterflies in her stomach. Was it what she ate? Or was she just nervous? She had no reason to be nervous. This was supposed to be a fun evening. This was her high school prom, not the Oscars or a state dinner or the Met Gala.
Maybe it just because she had never been inside this building before. That was it. Hopefully that was it.
Riley and Patrick had only taken three steps into the ballroom when they were confronted by a woman with red wavy hair in a green dress. She demanded, "What are YOU doing here with MY boyfriend?"
There is still more to come. Keep reading.