“Sheila, I don’t know what I’m gonna do!” I cried again as my hope swiftly ran away from me. “That’s the third date I’ve gone through, and prom is two weeks away!” The entire class quieted and turned to look at us. “Oops, that was loud. Sorry, Shi.”

“I know, I know.” She sounded exhausted, and I couldn’t blame her. We had been running around together like madmen, just trying to get ourselves (and our dresses) ready for the huge night looming just ahead of us. I had been searching for a date for a while, and I could tell it was starting to take a toll on both of us. “Look, I know it’s not really your style and you really wanted to have someone with you, but could you at least consider going alone? You know you’ll have us to chill with.” Us… Andrew, Sheila, and Abby.

I had pretty much already resigned to the thought that I was going alone. As far as I was concerned, if I found nobody, I was either going alone or “going” with my friend Erick. The latter was kind of a stupid option since he lived all the way across the country.

“I know I will, but it’s my first prom, Sheila! I want it to be special.” I meant it. It really was my first prom, and I really was hoping that I could find someone to take me. Manuel had paid for me to get in, but he had to cancel for some… Unknown reason. Jerret originally said yes, but then he had to cancel because he was going to California. Hailey had told me to text Lucas and ask him. He never replied. “I’m kinda running out of options here. Think Abby might be willing to take me?” I figured Abby would if no one else, but it was a long shot. She already had a date.

“Probably not. Look, I’ve got someone I’ve been talking to and I pretty much have him convinced to go with you.” What!? “But there’s no promises yet. He still has to find a tux, and you’re gonna have to talk to him and ask him yourself.” Both things I wasn’t entirely certain about. Me and guys… The only thing they were really good for was sex. And even then, there wasn’t much talking involved. But I was desperate.

“Okay. Well, what’s his name?”

“His name is Lane.” Lane…That’s a name I didn’t hear very often. “You’ll like him. He’s kinda your style. That’s why he came to mind so quickly. You two are pretty similar.” Again, what!? I rarely ever ran into people that I could consider even close to similar to me. The bell rang just then. “Look him up on Facebook tonight. I’m sure you two will hit it off nicely. Have fun!” And with a wink, she walked away.

I had to sit and wonder about this for a few minutes. It wasn’t like Sheila to say she had “found me someone.” I was confused too, though. Who was this Lane, and was he really like me? I trusted Sheila. I trusted her a lot. While I was pretty nervous about talking to someone new and kinda sketched out by Sheila’s description, I was pretty excited. Whether or not he stuck around after prom, I would more than likely have a new friend. Unless he didn’t like me. Which at this point, I was sure was gonna happen.