School Daze (The Spring Formal)

In keeping with the theme posts started by "Southern Gal" and "Pretty Circle Drawer", I've decided to share one of my fondest school memories with you (it being September and all). I've had my share of bad experiences with women but, not all of them were that way. This story had a happy ending (for me anyway).

Every spring, my college had something called a Spring Formal. It was the equivalent of a high school prom... guys got a tux, the girls got a gown, and there was a small fee (I think it was $50.00 per person). You took your date out to a nice hall in the neighboring township for a night of dancing and fine dining and, just like high school, you had to put your bid in early to get your date.

I began my "campaign" in January, as soon as the spring semester began. I began seeing a cute little AKA named Shelly around this time. We had a few classes together and at first, we began going to the library to study together... then, we would go to the student activity center for a burger and a cup of coffee after class. Then, I began stopping by her room, dropping by the laundry room in the basement of her dormitory, and going with her and her roommate into town to go shopping on weekends. My frat brother, "Hollywood", would often ask me, "Yo man, are you gettin' anywhere with that (meaning, had we had sex yet)"? I would always answer, "I'm close to breakin' through man" (which usually meant that I hadn't even kissed her yet!)

Into all of this intrigue came a Que named "Ice". He was one of the smoothest players in the game and it was generally known that, if he set his sights on a girl, she was as good as gone and everybody else could just forget about it. The brother was so cool, I often wondered why he wasn't a Kappa (his frat brothers did too). He just wasn't like the other Ques on the yard. He was real laid back and didn't speak above a whisper. I liked him and respected him as a person but, I wasn't afraid of him and I wasn't about to just hand over to him what I felt was mine. My uncle used to always say to me, "Somebody's gotta win... it might as well be you."

And, so began the long battle for this AKA girl... she and I would be coming back from class and I would see a pair of sunglasses drawn on the bulletin board of her door that said,"Hi baby, Ice was by to see you at 7:00 pm... later." He would bring her back from the movies and I would leave a message on her board that read, "Steak of K-A-PSI was by 2 say Hi" right under what he wrote. ("Steak" was just one of many silly nicknames that I would carry in a lifetime. I got it in middle school and brought it back in college for a season.)

I had an ally in Shelly's roommate, Diane, also an AKA. She said, "Personally, I think both of yall are wasting your time but Keith, I like you better than I do Ricky (Ice's government name). Diane never called either of us by our nicknames... she didn't believe in that. She said that she liked me because I came over and brought Pizza for everybody, I made them both laugh, and I didn't treat her like she didn't exist. On the other hand, Ice brought only himself and really really didn't like Diane. He treated her like a leper. He told me once... "Man, Diane won't leave the room... she just sits there the whole time. Does she leave when you come over?", he asked me. I said that I didn't mind her being there. He said, "You don't? Huh, well I most certainly do."

We had a weird competition going on, me and him. We both knew we were after the same girl. We both knew that one of us was going to surely lose and yet, we remained friends and had no visible animosity towards each other. He didn't come around her when he knew I was with her and I didn't come around her when I knew she was with him. It was a mutual respect. However, my frat brothers viewed this as competition and a chance to one up the Ques, as I'm sure his did too. You know, "Stick it to those Kappas", while her sorors thought the whole thing was funny. I overheard one of her sorors say, "You got these two guys, a Kappa and a Que, fighting over one of us... an AKA."

Did I tell you that Shelly and I shared the same birthday and the same birth hospital? Yeah, we were both born the same day, same year, and at the same hospital. I saw this as a sign that she ought to be with me. Ricky was a Scorpio and he had no business being with an Aries woman, I reasoned. So, on our birthday, I took her out for ice cream and I asked her to go to the Spring Formal with me. She looked at me and said, "Oh, you should have asked me that sooner... Ice already asked me about a week ago and I'm going with him." I was stunned but, I shouldn't have been. Now, I had no date, the formal was in six weeks, and any girl that I would have wanted to go with, had already been snatched up. It looked like I had played a losing hand. Then, something wonderful happened... I got sick!

(To be concluded tomorrow, I promise...)

Footnote: Fraternity & Sorority Shields (top-bottom): Kappa Alpha Psi, Alpha Kappa Alpha, and Omega Psi Phi.