The Most Popular Boy in School Asked My Daughter to Prom – Then He Walked Over to Me During the Slow Dance and Said, ‘I Did My Part, Now You Do Yours’
“Don’t.” Her voice was shaking so hard it barely sounded like her. “Just don’t.”
She turned on her heel and walked away. I was about to follow her, but then Mason appeared at my side.
For one wild second, I thought he was going to apologize.
She turned on her heel and walked away.
Instead, he said, low enough that only I could hear, “I held up my end of the deal. Now it’s your turn.”
I stared at him. “What deal?”
His jaw tightened. He glanced toward Elsie, then toward the hallway by the stage. “Don’t make a scene. Come with me.”
“What are you talking about?”
But he had already turned.
I should have called for the principal right then, or dragged him back into the middle of that gym and demanded an explanation in front of everyone.
Instead, I followed him.
“Don’t make a scene. Come with me.”
Mason led me past the trophy case and the music room, down the dim hallway that smelled like dust and floor cleaner.
He stopped at the narrow supply closet behind the stage and opened the door.
Inside, under one flickering bulb, someone sat hunched on an overturned bucket.
At first, all I saw was a man with graying hair and tired shoulders.
Then he lifted his head.
“YOU?!” I screamed. “You set this up? How could you!”
Someone sat hunched on an overturned bucket.
He stood too fast and nearly hit the shelf behind him. “Rachel, I can explain—”
“No, you don’t get to explain, Darren! You abandoned me and Elsie the night you walked out of our prom. You hired a teenage boy to manipulate our daughter! What could you possibly have to say that would make that right?”
Mason flinched.
Darren frowned. “I didn’t hire him. Not exactly. We made a deal… but listen, that’s not important. I did this because I needed one chance to talk to her.”
“What could you possibly have to say that would make that right?”
I stared at him, too shocked to form words for a minute.
“Please, Rachel,” Darren continued. “I just want to fix things. I have money now… I can help you both.”
“You turned Elsie’s prom into some disgusting setup because you wanted to fix things?”
