For as long as I could remember, my daughter did everything she could to bland into the background. It was partly because of her bulky orthodontic headgear. It wasn’t just any set of braces; it was something much more complex that covered her face in such a way that made her very noticeable everywhere she went. Adolescence is often brutal, and while some students taunted her with terrible nicknames or laughed behind her back when they thought she couldn’t hear, many others were just naturally curious.
However, the end result was always the same, and piece by piece, Elsie withdrew from all attention through her refusal to smile, by looking down and remaining silent throughout each of her classes. As difficult as it was for me to watch my daughter struggle with this awkward-looking machine, nothing was harder than witnessing her belief that she wasn’t worthy of attention.
One day, she burst into the house with a smile on her face bigger than any I had ever seen before, telling me that Mason, the golden boy of the high school, had just asked her to the prom and told her that she looked beautiful. See, Mason was the type of kid that all parents love, a brilliant, respectful, straight A’s student and captain of the football team.
I was very happy for her, especially because I was still carrying the burden of the time I lost my seventeen-year-old self after my boyfriend, Darren, had left me mid-prom and then again after he learned I was pregnant.
Watching my daughter live out the perfect prom dream that I never got to have was priceless, and there wasn’t anything in the world that I would’ve wanted more than for her to make memories that would leave no room for regret. As the time drew closer, Elsie walked down the stairs wearing a beautiful green dress. Her curly hair had been done up in a way that gave her old pearl pin, belonging to my grandma, a place to shine.
When Mason knocked on the door, I could see he was nervous. Seeing them together, I finally felt like life gave my daughter a break.
The dance took place at the gym, which wasn’t fancy but nicely decorated with drapes and fairy lights while the parents watched from the sidelines pretending to give their kids some privacy. I didn’t leave as Elsie had specifically told me to stay there, and during the first hour, everything was going well with Mason opening doors for her, fetching her a drink, and paying her all of his attention. During one moment, I saw Elsie laughing really hard without holding back which almost made me want to cry out of joy. Then the music shifted to a slow song, and Mason danced with her looking absolutely delighted. But then, something changed.
Mason leaned and whispered something to Elsie, and just like that, her smile got wiped off her face. He then whispered something again, and that’s when she tried to yank away from his so fast that some of the students turned to see what was going on.
Elsie started crying and ran towards me, crying. She accused me of paying Mason money to take her to prom because I pitied her.
Those around us heard what she said. I tried to explain to her that what she accused me of wasn’t true, but I didn’t get the chance because she ran outside as fast as she could.
Just as I turned around to follow her, Mason suddenly popped out of nowhere and without even a word of apology, nervously mumbled that he had done his part and asked me to follow him. He took me into a dimly lit corridor where there were no people except for some classrooms, and then he opened the door of a janitor’s closet. Initially, my mind just could not comprehend that there sat an elderly and tired-looking gentleman under a buzzing light bulb seated atop an upside-down bucket, until I realized that this was actually Darren. Just hearing him attempt to give me an explanation brought a whole decade of repressed fury to the surface within a second or two.
As he tried to defend himself by saying that he got hold of Mason just to be able to set up the meeting and see Elsie, I grew even more frustrated at how he took away Elsie’s best night for the sake of his little game. As he continued to speak, I realized that Darren had not changed even a little, that everything was still all about him and how he felt.
An idea flashed across my mind all at once, so I allowed myself to drop my guard and give him a glimmer of hope as I whispered that perhaps I should first speak to Elsie so that she wouldn’t shut herself down out of shock. He nodded, looking immensely relieved and asked me if I would really help him, to which I smiled and said I would.
The moment I stepped back into the gym, I saw Elsie near the doors with the school principal and Mason’s parents looking absolutely devastated. I gently told her that her dad was in the room, and that it was he who had arranged everything with Mason. Everyone around us gasped as whispers spread like wildfire, but while Elsie looked at me in shock, she squared her shoulders and demanded that I bring him out. After a few moments, Darren entered the gym in anticipation of a personal meeting, but all he found was a firing squad waiting for him.
All of his confidence was gone in an instant, and when he tried to step forward and call her honey, Elsie cut him off and told him to never call her that again. She looked him dead in the eye and confronted him about paying someone to pretend to like her, leaving him to stammer out pathetic excuses while Mason eventually cracked and admitted he’d been promised college connections.
Listening to them try to rationalize their actions only made everything feel more slimy, until Elsie pointed out to Darren that you don’t make things right by manipulating people, and that he could have written, called, or even knocked on our door.
When Darren defeatedly whispered that we wouldn’t have given him the time of day, she shook her head and noted that he never even gave her the choice.
The ensuing silence was deafening because each and every individual present in that gym knew that she was right, and eventually the principal had to intervene, reminding Darren that it was now time for him to go. Darren made his exit rather slowly, and without even a soul following him; all eyes watching as he left that gym for good.
It has been a while since this happened, but looking back, I don’t really recall the decorations, the embarrassment, or even Darren leaving. All I recall is the way my daughter stood in the midst of all those people inside that crowded gym with tears pouring down her cheeks, unwilling to become anyone’s puppet. That day, she saw herself not as the victimized little girl anymore, but the powerful woman who no one would ever under-estimate.
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Bored Daddy
Love and Peace
