Shannon felt most anxious the following morning when she had arrived for school, because this would be the moment of truth: whether or not Ruby's parents approved of their romantic relationship… that is, assuming Ruby held up her part of their pact. There was but a possibility that Ruby could have very well reneged on their pact and flaked out of telling her parents, but Shannon did not want to believe such: their pact was Ruby's initiative, and she had proposed their pact because of Shannon's fears of what coming out to her parents may have entailed. On top of that, Ruby seemed more determined to say something sooner than later, and had even dropped the hint a few times since the night they made their pact that she wanted to say something… but, that did not necessarily mean that Ruby would have actually been up to the task when faced with it – especially since Shannon put them on the spot by spilling the beans when she had no intentions to. Still, Shannon did not want to believe any of such; she did not want to believe Ruby would go into this alone –that was the whole point of their pact, that neither of them would have to face such a daunting task alone– as Ruby had repeatedly told her, they were in this together, no matter what.
The Jewish teen nervously paced before the main entrance of the school building until she finally spotted her Indian girlfriend in the distance as she made her way toward the facility. Immediately, she began to look for any kind of a tell: a look on her face, something in her walk, giveaways from her body language, but there was nothing that immediately jumped out at her that made it apparent she had anything of great importance to tell her. Finally, Ruby turned up the walkway toward the school and made her way toward Shannon, where she stopped and looked her in the eye in such a longing manner.
"Well?" Shannon prodded.
Ruby said nothing. She just stood there staring at Shannon, which only added to the suspense.
"Did you tell them?" Shannon continued to prod.
Still, Ruby said nothing as the suspense continued to grow.
"What did they say?" Shannon still continued to prod.
Still, Ruby said nothing, and by that point, the suspense was killing Shannon.
"Say something, Rubes!" Shannon pressed. "What happened? Did you tell them? Did you say anything? What did they say? Do they approve? Tell me, Rubes!"
Ruby finally killed the suspense that was killing her girlfriend as a big smile sprang onto her face – a smile that looked as though it belonged there all along, and was eager to get back home. She followed with a nod of her head.
"They do?!" Shannon asked for clarification.
"They do," nodded Ruby.
Shannon went into shock as she began to sway and tried to grab ahold of the banister by the front steps, but luckily for her, Ruby was quick to grab ahold of her girlfriend and keep her steady as she tried to make sense of everything: her parents approved of hers and Ruby's relationship, and now, Ruby's parents approved of the same.
"Shans… do you know what this means?" Ruby asked as Shannon tried to regain her composure. "No more secrets! No more hiding! No more living in fear!"
"No more…" mumbled Shannon as her daze subsided. "No more. No more!"
"We're free now, Shans…" said Ruby in rejoice. "We're finally free!"
Indeed, they were. No longer did they have to restrict their love and devotion for one another to the confines of their personal get-togethers to keep their romance on the down-low. No longer did they have to cover their tracks to avoid revealing the true nature of said get-togethers. No longer did they have to live in secrecy from their parents over any justifiable fears they may have possessed that they would not approve of their romance – or even worse, disown them because of it.
They could be free. They were free.
"And you and me are free to be… you and me…" responded Shannon in a singsong voice.
Overcome with feelings of relief, solace, and joy, the two lovers pulled each other into an intimate embrace. It may not have been anywhere near the holiday season, but Shannon could suddenly hear the refrain from one of her favorite Hanukkah songs by Jewish rapper, Matisyahu, play in the back of her mind…
Do you believe in miracles
and am I hearing you
and am I seeing you
Oh, eight nights
and eight lights
End these fights
keep me right
and bless me
to the highest heights
with your miracle
If Shannon's faith ever faltered or wavered before, she truly was a believer in miracles again – first her parents approved of her relationship with Ruby, and now Ruby's parents approved of the same… just as Ruby said, they no longer had to live in hiding; they could finally be free, and it truly felt liberating in every sense of the word.
"These two just can't ever get themselves a room," said a familiar voice that broke the two away from their moment as they took notice of a buck-toothed girl and her curly-haired boyfriend as they their way towards the entrance.
"Well, some people we know already laid claim to the supply closet…" added Benny with a hint of cheekiness, which garnered an equally cheeky chortle from Luan.
"Joke all you want, cause nothing can restrain our jubilation!" Ruby fired back as she and Shannon remained in each other's arms.
"Care to share?" Benny asked in rhyme.
While Benny and Luan waited to be apprised of the reasons for their friends' jubilation, Ruby and Shannon waited for the other to speak first.
"You wanna tell them?" They asked each other at the same time.
"Okay, you tell them," they also said at the same time before they began to giggle.
"Let's tell them together," they also said at the same time as their giggling grew.
"Tell us what?" Benny asked while on the verge of giggling himself.
"Yeah, tell us, what's got you two geese a-gigglin'?" Luan pressed.
With that, Ruby and Shannon turned toward their friends, and as though they waited for a cue, shared their tidings of comfort and joy with them…
"Our parents approve of us!"
"They do?!" Benny and Luan gasped in stereo.
"They do!" Ruby and Shannon exclaimed in kind as they shared in a cheek-smooshing victory hug.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Benny and Luan squealed in absolute delight.
"That is so amazing! Congrats!" Luan continued to squeal.
"This must be such a weight off your shoulders!" Benny exclaimed.
"You have no idea, Ben-Ben," said Ruby.
"What made you guys finally decide to come clean?" Luan asked out of curiosity.
"We, like, didn't decide," said Ruby before she gave the floor to her girlfriend.
"Cliff note version…" began Shannon, because she knew the school day would begin momentarily, which did not provide much time to go into all of the juicy details. "It was a slip of the tongue when my mom was talking about the prom yesterday."
"Yeah, and since Shans told her parents about us, I told my parents about us last night," added Ruby. "It was our pact, that we'd do this together."
"So, you guys will be going to the senior prom?" Luan asked.
"It was our plan all along," revealed Shannon. "Of course, we had to keep it a secret; I even devised a whole plan on how we'd pull it off…"
"Like, thank the Hindu gods we don't have to follow through with that plan anymore," said Ruby. "Honestly, I doubted we could've pulled it off, anyway…"
Shannon frowned to hear her girlfriend doubted her, but in hindsight, even she had to admit that her plan was so complicated that a different set of complications could have arisen in trying to pull it off.
"We're so, so happy for you!" Luan squealed.
"Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if my parents end up hearing about this from your parents, Shans," said Benny, as the Steins were really good friends with the Tannenbaums, not to mention Candice Tannenbaum could be a rather big gossip. "I'm sure they'll be very happy for you, too."
"Well, after all's said and done, I suppose one of Shakespeare's recurring themes proves to be true…" said Shannon. "Love doth conquer all."
The moment was interrupted by the ringing of the first bell, signaling that school was now in session.
"Dang it," muttered Ruby and Shannon in stereo.
With the date for the senior prom having just been announced the day before, there was a certain spectacle that cropped up throughout Royal Woods High with increasing frequency: prom-posals. It seemed as though at the drop of a hat, a senior would propose to another senior to be their prom date, and the more of these that Shannon witnessed, the more it began to set the wheels in her head into motion.
Later that evening, Shannon sat with her parents for their family dinner, whereupon she relayed the news of Ruby's parents approving of their romantic relationship as well, which not only brought joy to Dr. and Mrs. Tannenbaum, but also a sense of relief as well.
"Oh, that is so wonderful!" Candice squealed. "I'm so glad Mohammad and Diya are on board with the two of you dating."
"I'll bet this was just as much of a relief for Ruby as it was for you, dear," said Daniel.
"It's like she told me this morning… we're finally free…" said Shannon while her parents smiled. "No more living in secret… no more living in hiding… no more living in fear…"
"I know we can't exactly speak for the Patels, but like we told you yesterday, Shannon, you never had to live in secret, or hiding, or fear," noted Daniel. "All you had to do was talk to us, we would have understood."
"I know that now," said Shannon. "But… Mom, Dad… be honest… did you ever expect to hear me confess to something like this?"
Candice and Daniel exchanged looks with one another, as that was a question that contained quite a bit of buckshot, and one they had to consider before they could answer.
"Not exactly…" Daniel finally admitted.
"I was so certain you were pining for a mystery boy at synagogue," noted Candice.
"I know; I was worried you were going to start some sort of an elimination process to figure out who you thought it was I was interested in," confessed Shannon.
"Welllll… that thought did occur to me…" confessed Candice sheepishly.
"But nevertheless, Shannon, your sexuality or your choice in a romantic partner does nothing to change our minds about you," assured Daniel.
"Not at all, Shanny," agreed Candice. "We don't think any differently about you than we always have… you're still our daughter, and we still love you."
"Always have, always will," added Daniel.
Shannon smiled and blushed at her parents' reassurance. It all still seemed so surreal to her that all of this was now out in the open and that she received no objections or judgment from her parents regarding the matter.
"So, if the Patels approve, I suppose this means you and Ruby will still be going to your prom together?" Candice prodded in a giddy manner; her thought process may previously have been that her daughter may possibly meet a nice young man at the prom, and a romance may blossom from there, but now, her thought process was thinking of what a lovely couple her daughter and her girlfriend will make at their prom.
"Yeah, matter of fact, I wanted to talk to you guys about that…" said Shannon. "You see, now that we no longer have to keep our prom date a secret, I've been thinking about doing something really big to make it a little more… official, I guess… And… I was wondering if… maybe you guys could help me with it…"
"Of course! We'll be happy to help!" Candice chimed in immediately before her husband could even open his mouth to respond. "What have you got in mind? What can we do to help?"
It was not just her parents whose assistance Shannon sought for what she had in mind, she knew that this would be a team effort, and fortunately for her, she had a team she could rely on for just such scenarios. After dinner that evening, she opened her laptop and sent out an e-vite for a group video call with her team: Luan, Benny, Rex, Amy, Lyberti, and Leo.
"Thanks, guys," Shannon told her teleconference. "Now, let me explain why I have summoned you all here tonight…"
"Yes, please do, the suspense is killing me!" Luan exclaimed. "The butler did it, didn't he? It's always the butler!"
After the requisite chuckle at Luan's comment, Shannon got down to business.
"As you guys know, now that Ruby and I no longer have to keep anything a secret from our parents anymore, I really, really want to do something really big for her, but I can't pull this off alone, it's going to require teamwork," explained Shannon. "Will you guys help?"
The others happily voiced their agreement to volunteer whatever assistance Shannon would need for something she wanted to do for her girlfriend.
"Of course we will," said Luan after the murmuring died down. "After all, what's our motto?"
"Drama club for life!" They all cheered in unison.
"So, what's the program here?" Lyberti asked.
"I'm glad you asked, I have a very specific role for each of you," said Shannon.
"You're the director," conceded Benny. "Tell us what to do, and we'll do it."
"Right," the others agreed.
"Okay, so here's my plan…" she began to explain.
A couple of days later, Luan had arrived early at school that morning, but she curiously hid behind one of the large shade trees out in front of the main facility, where she continually peered around the trunk to see various other students who arrived for a new school day – some of whom were transported and dropped off, either in a car by a parent, or by bus, but some students walked to school, including the one specific student whom she kept an eye open for as she could finally see her appear in the far distance as she came from the opposite direction. From out of her skirt pocket, she removed an old Ace Savvy walky-talky she borrowed (or maybe pilfered) from her little brother's closet.
"Come in Punch, this is Judy. Come in Punch, this is Judy. Do you read me?" Luan spoke into the device.
"This is Punch; reading you loud and clear, Judy," Benny's voice crackled from the other end.
"Target spotted and locked. Repeat: target spotted and locked," said Luan as she kept her eyes on said target as it approached nearer the school from down the street. "Remain on stand-by for further instructions."
"Roger that," said Benny.
Luan stood by herself and watched as her target blissfully made her way toward the vicinity of the school, and waited for just the right moment to make her next move, which she did once she saw her target turn into the main walkway leading to the building. With that, she emerged from her hiding spot and began her pursuit while she relayed instructions to Benny.
"Judy to Punch, Judy to Punch. Target has been intercepted and I am in pursuit," said Luan into the walky-talky. "Now's your move. Repeat: now's your move."
"Roger. Over and out," said Benny.
Inside a darkened vehicle, Benny sat in the front passenger while he wore a dark and rather formal-looking uniform; he sat his walky-talky aside, and relayed the instructions to the uniformed man who sat in the driver's seat next to him.
"Okay, now's our move," said the curly-haired boy.
"I wish I had a cool codename like you kids," pouted the driver who felt a little left out.
"Oh… um… what do you want your codename to be?" Benny asked.
"Call me… Big Wheel…" said the driver as he lowered his sunglasses from the top of his head and over his eyes because he thought they made him look cool.
"Um, okay…" shrugged Benny. "Well, Royal Woods High, Big Wheel! And step on it!"
"10-4, Punch!" 'Big Wheel' responded as she stomped his foot onto the pedal and drove off for the nearby high school.
Back at the school, Luan knew the timing of everything that was about to unfold was crucial, and needed to be precisely to the second – as she pursued her target, she waited until said target was just about to step foot up the stairs into the main entrance of the school building before she put her next move into action.
"Hey, Rubes!" Luan called out to the Indian teen and caused her to turn around.
"Hey, Luan!" Ruby responded to the buck-toothed and ponytailed girl who approached her.
"You got a minute to spare some of your expert knowledge?" Luan asked.
"That depends…" replied Ruby. "Like, what am I supposed to be an expert on?"
"Well, earrings are you thing, aren't they?" Luan asked as she noted the two pieces of bodily ornaments that always hung from Ruby's lobes.
"Well, I don't know if earrings are, like, my thing, just that piercing is kind of a tradition in Indian culture," explained Ruby. "I've got ear piercings, a naval piercing, after graduation I'm getting a nose piercing…"
Again, Luan understood that everything about this plan had to be timed to perfection, so to move things along as they needed to; she interrupted Ruby's string of consciousness to further elaborate on her inquiry.
"I just wanted to know which earrings you think I should wear…" said the comedienne as she held up two different styles of the jewelry pieces to her earlobes. "Hoops or daaaaaangley ones?"
It was then that Ruby's browed furrowed as she pointed out, "Wait… you don't wear earrings…"
Luckily, Luan was gifted in the art of improvisation, and was able to quickly ad-lib an explanation for Ruby's note: "Yeah, but I need a new look; I'm stagnating. So, what do you think?"
As Luan held the earrings up to her ears once again, she was mindful to make sure she was positioned to keep Ruby facing towards the direction of the street, because she knew that as the Indian teen studied the earrings, something off in the distance would enter her field of vision and garner her attention, which was exactly what happened. As Ruby visually compared the two different earring styles for her friend, suddenly, a long and dark vehicle slowly pulled up to the curb in front of the school, and immediately caught her attention.
"Whoa!" She marveled.
Luan took her reaction as a clue that the next phase of the plan was about to unfold, but even so, she played it cool.
"Wow, do they really look that fab?" She asked.
"Huh? Oh… check out the stretch…" Ruby pointed out. "I don't remember Mother Jones saying we were expecting a visit from, like, a V.I.P. today…"
Luan stepped aside to see for herself what Ruby had pointed out; right on cue, a long, black limousine had parked in front of the school, the sight of which drew attention from other curious kids who were still out in the front schoolyard at that moment. Just then, Benny disembarked from the front passenger side, where upon he removed a cap he had tucked under his arm, and placed it atop his curly-haired head as he stepped over to the back seat door – all of which added to Ruby's curiosity and confusion.
"Benny? What's he doing?" She asked.
It seemed to Ruby that Luan would know what it was that her boyfriend was up to, but she did not respond, she simply continued to watch in anticipation as her boyfriend opened the rear passenger door of the limousine, out from which a large roll of red fabric emerged, and unrolled its way down the front walkway until it finally came to a stop just inches away from Ruby's feet. By the time Ruby looked up again, she saw that more of their mutual drama friends had converged on the scene, such as Amy, Rex, Lyberti, and Leo – each of them had some kind of device they were using to capture the moment, whether it was a cell phone, a DSLR camera, or even a camcorder. Finally, Ruby recognized the pair of long and shapely legs that slowly stuck their way out from the back of the limousine before the rest of this person's body followed suit. It was Shannon. She was dressed as she ordinarily was, but the only difference was that instead of her favorite yellow Montague scarf, she had accessorized her outfit with a yellow feathered boa. Curiously, she also appeared to have some kind of a small black box in hand. With that, the tall Jewish teen slowly walked down the walkway; Benny and the other thespians followed alongside her to take pictures and shoot video – it all looked very much as though Shannon was a big Hollywood starlet who had just arrived at some kind of red carpet premiere, where paparazzi hounded her all of the while. Finally, she approached the Indian teen outside the main entrance and locked eyes with her. Ruby was astounded by the big scene she had just witnessed, but also terribly confused.
"Shannon… what's going on here? What is all this?" She asked.
Rather than directly answer Ruby's question verbally, Shannon responded with a proclamation…
"In the presence of all those who bear witness to this event, I have something of great importance to ask…"
With that, Shannon dropped to one knee before the Indian teen…
"Ruby Patel…"
She held up the little black box…
"Would you make me the happiest woman of Royal Woods High…?"
She opened the box to reveal a corsage she made herself with red yarrows and geraniums; she remembered how Ruby had taken a particular liking to them when she toured her flower garden recently, and clipped for this very reason…
"Would you go to the senior prom with me?"
Ruby was stunned and taken aback by such an unexpectedly elaborate prom-posal, especially since the two of them had already made plans to attend the prom together, albeit in secrecy. Shannon was all too aware of that fact, but this act of hers was both significant and symbolic. Now that she and Ruby had to keep their relationship on the down-low no longer, Shannon wanted to offer Ruby a public prom-posal to make their date a little more official, as it were. And now that Shannon was no longer completely in the closet about her sexuality, it was also a way for her to finally free herself from her bonds and come out publicly.
Gradually, the chants of, 'Say yes!' arose from other students who were out in the front schoolyard and did, indeed, bear witness to the prom-posal – even their drama friends, who were already in on this prom-posal, added to the moment as they chanted along with the others.
Ruby looked down upon her beloved girlfriend who remained on one knee before her and held up the boxed corsage as though it was an engagement ring – the sight of which choked her a little… and Shannon had the most beautiful glow on her freckled face as she smiled up to her Indian girlfriend. Even in spite of the plans they had already made, and with all these witnesses chanting them on, how could Ruby possibly say no to any of this? Finally, she, too, fell to her knees before the Jewish teen, locked eyes with her, and took hold of her hands.
"Shannon Tannenbaum… going to the senior prom with you would make me the second happiest woman of Royal Woods High…"
The two girls wrapped their arms around each other and planted their lips together to the cheers of everyone who witnessed the red carpet event of Shannon Tannenbaum and Ruby Patel making their prom date publicly official - even 'Big Wheel' cheered for the two from inside the limousine, having never witnessed such a uniquely creative prom-posal before.
Even though it may have seemed as though it was all part of the act, the other thespians had legitimately shot photos and video of Shannon's public prom-posal to Ruby, and for good reason at that: Shannon's parents had helped her orchestrate the entire prom-posal – they played a crucial part in putting all of this together by renting the limousine for Shannon to be driven to school in (they contributed to the cost, naturally, though they also deducted much of it from Shannon's allowance for the next few months… but, their daughter felt it was worth every penny), and they really wanted to be able to see how it all played out.
Shannon had all of the footage that had been taken by her friends imported into her laptop, as she played back said footage for her parents while they sat on the living room couch and watched the red carpet event that took place at her school earlier that morning. Already, they enjoyed seeing the red carpet unroll all the way down to where Ruby stood before the front entrance, and watching as their daughter stepped out of the back of the limousine, looking every bit like the star they knew she was destined to become, while her friends followed alongside her as she approached her stunned girlfriend.
"Ruby Patel… would you make me the happiest woman of Royal Woods High… would you go to the senior prom with me?"
"Say yes! Say yes! Say yes! Say yes!"
"Shannon Tannenbaum… going to the senior prom with you would make me the second happiest woman of Royal Woods High..."
"EEEEEEEEEEEE!" Her parents cheered and applauded over the outcome of their daughter's prom-posal.
Candice was already in high spirits as she watched her daughter offer this proposal to her girlfriend, but as soon as she watched the two of them hug and kiss each other, that was when she lost it all over again, as streams of tears burst from her eyes. It was a good thing that Shannon and Daniel both wore their rain slickers this time; Shannon was a little on the superstitious side (and not exclusively theatrical superstitions), and feared that opening an umbrella inside the house would bring her bad luck.
"You did great, darling," said Daniel as he rested a hand on Shannon's shoulder and gave it a gently squeeze. "You planned everything so perfectly, and just look at the surprise on Ruby's face; she didn't even see it coming… I'll bet she'll never forget this."
"I really hope so…" said Shannon; of course she wanted Ruby to remember this for a long time, which was one of the reasons why she went all out with her prom-posal plans. With that, she rested her laptop onto the coffee table, and wrapped her arms around both of them in deep gratitude – not only for their contributions in helping make her prom-posal to Ruby possible, but for also approving of everything else on top of that. "Thank you. For everything."
The two wrapped their arms around their daughter and hugged her tightly as she did them; they could not have been happier for her.
At the Patel residence, Ruby played some of the footage that had been shot of the prom-posal on her phone for her parents – specifically, the footage that had been shot by Amy, as she used her own phone during the event, and sent them to Ruby. Mohammad and Diya were very impressed to see for themselves just how much planning their daughter's girlfriend had put into carrying out such an elaborate public prom-posal as this.
"I totally did not see any of this coming…" explained Ruby with such enthusiasm as they had reached the point where Shannon had approached her and dropped to her knee.
"Ruby Patel… would you make me the happiest woman of Royal Woods High… would you go to the senior prom with me?"
"Say yes! Say yes! Say yes! Say yes!"
"Shannon Tannenbaum… going to the senior prom with you would make me the second happiest woman of Royal Woods High..."
When Ruby looked up at her parents' faces again, she was pleased and relieved to see the smiles that both of them wore; they very much enjoyed what they had witnessed.
"What a clever young lady Shannon is!" Diya remarked over how the theater-loving brunette had made a red carpet event out of her prom-posal to their daughter.
"Yes, very much so," agreed Mohammad. "To think that she planned all of this herself is quite impressive… perhaps she could be an event planner for us."
Ruby gave her father a rather puzzled look; why would Shannon want to plan the kinds of boring snooze-fests that her parents often hosted at their hotel? On the other hand, with her imagination and vision, she could probably help liven things up quite substantially, but still, as if Shannon would want to be in such a position.
"And what a lovely corsage she got for you," added Diya.
"She made it from her own garden," explained Ruby.
"She did?" Diya asked. "Oh, then you'll have to give her a homemade corsage as well!"
"Well… I was just gonna buy one from a store…" shrugged Ruby. "Besides, I don't even know how to make a corsage, let alone grow flowers…"
"Well, I do," said Diya; much like Shannon, Diya also possessed an interest in horticulture, and even though Ruby had a point in that she could easily purchase a corsage from a flower shop, Diya knew it would be much more meaningful to present Shannon with a homemade one in return. "And I will help you."
"Th-thanks, Mom…" said Ruby.
As they continued to watch the footage that Ruby shared on her phone with them, their smiles only increased as they witnessed their daughter and her girlfriend hug and kiss each other. They could see for themselves that there was, indeed, true love, admiration, and respect between the two of them, and that this was not just some curious or experimental phase their daughter was going through. They had absolutely no reason to doubt her sincerity – she did speak from her heart the other night when she finally opened up about her relationship with Shannon, and that she was the love of her life. After the footage ended, Mohammad and Diya both looked upon Ruby, who could see that the smiles never left their faces.
"We are very, very happy for you, betee," said Mohammad to their daughter.
"Yes…" agreed Diya. "Shannon is most certainly the one for you. Hold her close to your heart; she's a keeper, as they say."
Just the same, if Shannon brought Ruby this much happiness, they had no reason to doubt that this lovely young Jewish lady was, indeed, the one who was meant for their daughter.
Ruby's eyes sparkled; it brought her much joy that her parents came around to support she and Shannon being together, and that they even agreed that she was the one who she was meant to be with. Overcome with emotion, she threw her arms around both of them for an embrace, much to their surprise – it was the second time in less than a week their teen daughter showed them such genuine affection, but it further warmed their hearts as they, too, wrapped their arms around Ruby and shared in the familial embrace.
Shannon's prom-posal has now been added to my personal unwritten list of fanfiction scenes that I wish I could see fully animated... perhaps such could be achieved through AI, I don't know... but the only other option is an illustration, which I have submitted to Deviant Art.
Hold onto your bibs, kids, because our next chapter is going to be a whopper... maybe even a double whopper with cheese.
