Chapter 2: Prom Night
"...there was a girl getting ready for the night of her life." I began.
P.O.V.
It was six o'clock in the evening and the sun was just starting to set on the horizon in Gaia. It was the middle of May and the weather was warm.
The Last Chance Garage lay on the outskirts of the city. It was a small, two story concrete building. On the first floor, as soon as you entered through the front door, was the garage portion itself. To the of the garage portion was the master bedroom and bathroom that also had the washer and dryer. If you continued towards the back of the garage, there laid the small kitchen with a dinette. Located near the dinette was a ladder that led up to the second floor where a small family room was located. Next to the family room was Charley's bedroom and a three-quarter bathroom.
They did their best to keep the outside of the garage looking as good and clean as possible. But, the inside was long overdue for a remodel. It was in desperate need of paint and paper. The floors were beginning to crack with wear and tear. The kitchen cabinet doors had broken off a long time ago. But, they were a happy family and did everything that they could to bring the money in. It may not have been much but, they always managed to scrape by. They had plans to save up enough money to go room by room and make the necessary repairs to make their home livable.
Because, her mother and father insisted that Charley go to her senior prom in style, they worked together and put in a bunch of overtime to be able to send her there in style. She had been more than willing to stay home because of the money situation but, they weren't hearing of it. Her parents believed that she deserved to be a princess for one night.
How do I say goodbye to what we had?
The good times that made us laugh
Outweigh the bad.
So, in order to save on the costs, her mother and she went to goodwill and found an inexpensive sky blue halter dress made out of chiffon that went down to the floor. They also found some sparkly hair pins and a pair of silver glittered shoes in her size. Her mother believed it was a sign that she was meant to go have a good time. The next day, a senior named Jack asked Charley to go to prom with him. Of course, she said yes.
I thought we'd get to see forever
But forever's gone away
It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.
Now, it was the night of prom and Charley was sitting on one of the chairs in the kitchen with a set of hot rollers in her hair. Charley had asked her mother to do her hair and makeup. She smiled and then teared up with joy. As Charley sat in the chair waiting for her hair curlers to cool down, her mother applied her makeup. She kept it simple with a smokey silver eye and long dark lashes. She completed the look with a nude lip.
I don't know where this road
Is going to lead
All I know is where we've been
And what we've been through.
After the curlers had cooled, she took each of them out of her shoulder length dark auburn hair. Then, she ran her fingers through each of the curls to separate them. Taking her time, she went curl by curl and pinned each one of the saucy ringlets into place on top of Charley's head, being sure to hair spray each one into place. And last, but not least, she used the sparkly hair pins on either side of her head.
If we get to see tomorrow
I hope it's worth all the wait
It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.
"You look lovely" Mrs. Davidson smiled as she grab a small mirror and handed it to her daughter.
And I'll take with me the memories
To be my sunshine after the rain
It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.
"This looks amazing" Charley said as she looked at herself in the small mirror and admired the work her mother had put in to make her pretty for one night.
And I'll take with me the memories
To be my sunshine after the rain
It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.
Standing up, she hugged her before going upstairs to get into her prom dress. Stepping into the soft gown and then fastening it, she felt like a girl instead of a mechanic. Looking at herself in her dresser mirror, she smiled and then did a small twirl. She loved the way the fabric felt against her skin. Light and airy. Perfect for a night of dancing.
Charley heard a knock at the door and in walked her mother with a small box in her hand.
"No princess can be complete without at least a piece of jewelry" she said as she opened the box and then placed a necklace around Charley's neck. It was a large piece of raw amethyst wrapped in silver wire and it hung from a medium length silver chain.
"It's beautiful!" Charley exclaimed as her mother placed the unique jewel around her neck. She picked up the purple stone and looked at it. It was perfect in her eyes.
"Your grandmother gave this to me about twenty-five years ago when I went to my senior prom. I figured it was time for you to have it" she stated.
"Hey, are there two gorgeous ladies up there?" her father called from the bottom of the ladder. He felt as though he had waited a lifetime for this night. The one night out of her life that she didn't have to be Charley, the daughter of a mechanic. She could be anything this night. It was a night where dreams could come true. He had never seen his little girl so happy about anything as she was when she said that a boy asked her to prom. It was at that moment, he wanted to make sure that she had everything that a princess should have.
"Coming" Charley exclaimed, feeling butterflies in her stomach as she descended the ladder. Looking over, she saw her father waiting in the kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee.
"My little princess" he said, quickly wiping a tear away before she saw.
"Daddy, princess live in castles" Charley chuckled as she reminded him of that.
"No...a princess is a state of mind" her mother stated as she came down the ladder.
"Your mother's right, ya know" he said as he placed his cup of coffee down on the counter and walked over to hug Charley.
"Gotta get a picture" her mother exclaimed as she grabbed an old Polaroid and snapped a picture of them. The photo spewed out of the front of the camera and she fanned it out of habit.
"You look so pretty" her mother stated with a smile as she showed the picture to Charley.
"You're just saying that" Charley had to admit to herself that she didn't look like the same girl anymore.
Just then, they heard a knock on the door. Her father walked to the front door and opened it. In walked Jack McCyber. A tall and handsome blonde hair young man who put her father in mind of a sea surfer. He wore a black tuxedo with a crisp white shirt underneath.
"Hey Jack" Charley said as she walked out of the kitchen and smiled.
"Aw Charley, you look pretty" was all he could come up with.
He had asked her out on a dare from some of his friends. Which he gladly accepted. He just didn't think that she could be made to look anything more than just a simple mechanic girl. She constantly came to school with a smudge of grease on her face or oil buried under her nails. Her hair would consistently be pulled back away from her face in a ponytail.
But, tonight, she was absolutely stunning to look at. He didn't think it was possible to turn a sow's ear into a silk purse. But there it was. She looked like an angel and now he was going to have to eat his own ego for it. Also, he was now a thousand dollars richer for it too.
"Let's get another picture" her mother said, somehow sensing that Jack wasn't all he appeared to be but, Charley was happy and she wasn't going to spoil that. She took a picture of Jack and Charley standing together. He wrapped an arm around her waist and tried to awkwardly stand next to him as her mother snapped a picture.
"Ready?" Jack was in a hurry to get out of the garage as soon as possible.
"Yes" Charley smiled up at him.
"Make sure she's home by midnight" her father ordered.
"Yes sir" Jack agreed quickly. He didn't like the way the old man looked at him with his dark menacing eyes. Her father looked like a force to be reckoned with. He was tall and sinewy with several tattoos going down his arms. To Jack, they appeared to be old jailhouse tattoos and he didn't want to find out why he went there or for how long.
He did every gentlemanly thing he was suppose to do. Holding open the door and then helping her into his convertible. He could feel the cold, baleful look from her father as he stood there at the garage door and watched him through the windows.
They spoke very little as he drove to the prom. As Charley and Jack walked through the doors, she felt out of place but, tried to make the most of it. She and Jack danced together for several songs. From what she could tell, he didn't seem as interested in her as she once thought but, she just brushed it off.
About two-thirds of the way through the night, Jack had disappeared and she went looking for him. She found him in front in front of the boys bathroom with his arm around another girl and laughing with a group of guys. Charley stayed hidden and just listened.
"So, how's it going with that grease girl?" one of them asked.
"She cleans up real nice. So, you gonna..." another guy trailed off.
"I will if she lets" Jack chuckled as he kissed the other girl on the cheek.
"Welp guys, pay up. I got the grease monkey's daughter to go out with me and you boys owe me" Jack said as he watched the guys pull the money out of their wallets.
"Is that all I was to you? A gamble?" Charley seethed with rage as she finally revealed herself. Her hands balled up into fists.
"Uh?" was all Jack could muster up.
"My father works very hard to provide for us. When was the last time your father did hard labor?" Charley snapped as she backed him up against a nearby wall.
"Just as I thought. Forget giving me a ride home. I'll walk" Charley turned heel and stormed away from Jack and out of the school.
She knew that the quickest way home was through the park and so, she removed her silver heels and walked through the darkness, with only a fell moon as her guide. Charley was well aware that it was going to be after midnight before she got home but, her anger fuel her walk. She had never been so embarrassed in her entire life. She felt like such a fool to have believed that some guy was actually interested in her.
Charley was so consumed by her sadness that she didn't hear the approach of footsteps coming from behind her.
"Look Jack. Just get lost" Charley turned around to see who it was, assuming it was Jack. Only to be caught off guard by another individual who clamped a large hand over her mouth and forced her to breathe in from a chloroform soaked rag.
P.O.V.
"This would be the last time in Gaia that anyone would see Charley again for four years" I said as I laid my knitting down in my lap and looked at the children's faces.
I hope everyone is enjoying the story's development so far. If anyone has any questions or concerns about the progression, please feel free to shoot me a line and I will try my best to answer it.