The Prom - Part 1

It was just 5 days before the most awaited day in every high school kid’s life – THE SENIOR PROM. For some, going to prom was the whole purpose of high school. But for others – like Laura Summers, prom meant spending the night at home, curled up in bed with a good book listening to soothing music. Still others, like Daniel Smith thought PROM was Programmable Read Only Memory…the only problem is that this isn’t a "geek meets freak and they have a happy ending" story.

Laura was on the organisation committee of the prom and that meant that she could, if she wanted to, come stag to the dance. But who in their right mind would want to do that?

“Such a waste of time,” she thought. Laura was not your average run of the mill high school bimbo. She was different – an outcast. Shunned by the popular (read hot) chicks because she couldn’t tell a makeup applicator from a pain brush. The nerdy chicks wouldn’t touch her with a yardstick because she wasn’t "smart enough" for them – or so they thought. Not surprisingly though – the guys thought that she was a fine piece of ass but because she didn’t take half as much time as they did getting dressed for class – even they didn’t notice her. Laura gave two hoots to their opinions – she lived in a world of her own – she had her art, her guitar and her little poodle Cookie Monster. An aspiring fashion designer, who also wanted to major in Forensic Anthropology – Laura was one confused lass.

Preparations were in full swing for the big night. Laura was hard at work making sure everything was set in place whilst the other girls fussed about what to wear and how to steal the show. Becoming prom king/queen was a matter of great pride for most high schooler’s – most, not all – they could kill for the coveted crown. There were times when Laura dreamed about going to prom (she wasn’t all that abnormal you know), dressed in a red flowing gown with strappy silver stilettos to go. Her dark auburn hair held back on one side with a glittery hairclip. Kohl lined eyes, a touch of rouge to lend colour to her otherwise pale skin with a beautiful pink corsage adorning her frail wrist.

“Hailey’s come to see you Lauriiiii, she’s waiting downstairs!” Her moms voice broke her little dream sequence from culminating – somehow she never got to her prince charming’s face. Laura stumbled down the stairs to meet her best friend Hailey. Laura and Hailey were a perfect example of how opposites attract; on the one hand we had Laura – dressed in torn denim shorts and a faded t-shirt with her hair shabbily tied into a pony and on the other hand there was Hailey –a perfectly polished young lady wearing crisp ironed clothes, her hair pressed polka straight, complete with manicured hands.

“What ran over you?” she sighed with an utterly disgusted look on her face.

“Hey you caught me unaware, I was sleeping man!” Laura said in an equally disgusted tone. She hated it when Hailey commented on her presentation – she was her best friend but that didn’t give her the right to comment on how she dressed.

“Ok listen up, you are coming to senior prom you hear me! I’ve arranged a date for you. He’s Richards football buddy, Todd. He’s like totally hot and I had to convince Richard to…”

Laura had stopped listening to Hailey after she said 'senior prom'. She just kept looking at her with a blank expression, trying to figure out how to react to this act of charity.

“…and we have to get you a sexy dress, I think you should wear purple – it goes well with your hair and…”

“Huh? But why?” Laura managed to blurt out in between Hailey’s grand plan disclosure.

“What the hell do you mean WHY? You’ll be like the only chick in Uni who’s NEVER been to a single prom! Do you have any clue how insulting that is?” Hailey was turning red with anger and utter disgust at her best friend’s ignorance.

“Who cares? Its not like I…”

“Enough! I am not going to listen to any lame excuses you hear. I’ll come pick you up at 4, we’re going shopping. Period.” It was useless arguing with Hailey, especially when it came to matters concerning image/fashion/boys/brands/etc. “Pfft…ok whatever,” Laura agreed half-heartedly.

The shopping spree ended in disaster. Hailey bought herself a dozen evening gowns with matching shoes and accessories while Laura came back hogging at a B&R ice cream tub. “You pig! How can you eat ice cream 5 days before prom? I’ve been on a liquid diet since last week!” Laura hated Hailey for trying so hard to be such a superficial bimbo – or maybe she was and Laura was finding it hard to accept? “Ok look Hail, here’s the deal – I don’t give a fuck about the prom. I don’t care if I get an award for the worst dressed pig in the party. The only reason I’m even trying to do this is cos’ you want me to go!” that came out much harsher than it had sounded in her head. Laura stood dumbstruck as tears welled in Hailey’s eyes...

Now I've done it - Laura thought...

The Prom - Part 2

“Hurry up Lauriii! We have to be fashionably late but we kinda have to be at this years prom not next years you know!”
“Hail I look like a stuffed sausage in this! I ain’t coming…just go without me!” Hailey gave Todd and Richard a wry smile and clambered up the stairs to Laura’s room.
“Get your ass down there right now! We’ve been waiting forever!” Hailey said while banging on Laura’s door. Slowly Laura opened the door and emerged from inside looking like a million bucks. Hailey’s jaw dropped, Laura had never looked so beautiful and feminine in all the years she had known her. Mrs. Summers clicked their pictures with tears in her eyes…she had never seen her daughter glowing so much before – how quickly kids grow up she thought to herself. They bid goodbye and boarded the limo that was waiting outside…Inside the limo was a surprise…

As Laura boarded the limo she saw Samantha Crow, the head of the senior cheerleading squad perched inside wearing a teeny weeny see through turquoise dress.
“Hey Sam,” Laura managed to blurt out. No one else looked the least bit bothered by her presence. Laura looked at Hailey with questioning eyes.
“Oh…umm…yeah Lauri, Sam didn’t have a date for the prom so she decided to hitch a ride with us…so…yeah whatever...”
Laura found that a little hard to believe, Samantha Crow was born to be a prom queen, she had model looks and a figure to die for…It wasn’t just hard to believe, it was impossible to believe that she would go stag to senior prom. Suddenly an eerie feeling engulfed Laura, she felt very uncomfortably suffocated in the limo…something bad was going to happen.

“Hey Laura I must say you look absolutely stunning today,” Todd said with a wicked grin on his face as he moved closer to her.
“Umm…thanks,” Laura said shyly, trying to maintain a comfortable distance. Suddenly the limo jerked to a stop.
“Are we there?” Laura asked puzzled.
“Dunno, lets go check it out dude,” Richard said winking at Todd.
All five of them de-boarded the limo to investigate what was wrong – they had stopped in the middle of a desolate park.
“The fuel pipe’s clogged sir, it should take a few minutes,” the driver said as he opened the hood of the limo.
“Even limo’s get busted? Sweet Jesus!” Laura giggled.
“Hey lets go check out the park in the mean time,” Hailey suggested.
All five of them wondered into the shadows until they reached something that resembled a deserted picnic spot but something was amiss. There was a camera set up and lights surrounding the clear patch.
“Who would leave such expensive equipment lying around like this? That too in the middle of the…”
Before Laura could complete the sentence Samantha knocked her unconscious. Her limp body fell like a feather to the ground.
“Ok hurry up! Roll the camera before she comes round!” Hailey hissed.
“I’m going in first man! She’s my prom date afterall!” teased Todd as he undressed and lay ontop of Laura.
“I’ll man the cam,” glossed Samantha.
“Prom Porno…Take One…and ACTION!” Todd felt Laura gaining consciousness and began quickly working his way on her like a hungry wolf. Laura let out a scream of anguish as he entered her.
“Damn she’s tight!” he said in between his moans of passion. Laura tried to fight back but the pain was excruciating. She tried to scream but no sound came out. A sudden burst of energy engulfed her as she freed her hand and scratched Todd’s face. He punched her in the face, knocking her unconscious again.
“Dude you’re an animal, enough already!” joked Richard as Todd stood up perspiring. Richard looked at Laura’s bruised, unconscious body and felt it would be a waste not to get a piece of such a fine ass and went for the kill.
“Guys we gotta get out of here! Someone’s coming!” Shouted Hailey who was keeping guard. Richard gathered his clothes and made a dash for the limo. Todd and Samantha picked up all the equipment and made a run for it leaving Laura's lifeless body on the grass…

The Prom - Part 3

“Hello!…Is anybody there?” Daniel yelled as he strutted along the cobblestone path in the dark. He had heard muffled sounds coming from a dark corner of the park. “You’re going to see a shrink first thing tomorrow morning,” he said to himself. Daniel Smith was the high school “nerd”. Dressed in a borrowed tuxedo, he had decided to go to the prom and hang around outside the hall and wait for some like-minded nerdy girl to come and ask him to prom. Laura could hear a faint whistling sound drifting away from her. She couldn’t open her eyes but put all her remaining effort into letting out a drowned scream. …
Laura sat on the green park bench with her face buried in his shoulder. Her bruises oozed blood, which made her shredded dress a deeper hue of crimson. She felt sore. Sounds of her sobs percolated an otherwise silent night, punctuated only by the sound of crickets and other nocturnal insects. Something inside her snapped…she couldn’t believe her best friend would partake in such an inhumane assault; she let out a violent scream and broke down into tears…

“Its going to be ok Laura, I’m here now,” Daniel shook as he gently caressed her hair, trying to be as comforting as he could.
“The bastards…they…even Hail…I’m gonna kill them…” Laura managed to whisper between her sobs. She whimpered like a little puppy and hid her face on his shoulder, smudging mascara all over his coat.
“So much for the borrowed tux,” Daniel thought.
Suddenly she detached from him and looked directly into his eyes…Her teary eyes pierced through his soul. He didn’t know what he felt at that moment but all he wanted to do was save this girl from the clutches of the world before they tore her apart. He held her tight trying to assure her that things would be ok, but he knew as well as she did that Laura Summers world was going to fall apart…and that too sooner than he expected.

…

It had been a week since that disconcerting episode and Laura was recuperating at home. The Summers’ had decided not to take any legal action against the kids – being too self righteous to face trial – instead they had decided that as soon as Laura recovered they would take her away to some small town where no one knew them and start afresh. Daniel had become Laura’s best (and only) friend after the incident. He would visit her every day after school and he seemed like the only male (other than Mr. Summers) whom Laura felt the least frightened by. He would sing to her, write her poetry, act like a maniac around her and basically do everything within his power to bring a smile back to her face. But all he saw, day in and day out, were Laura’s stone cold eyes – devoid of all feeling. She barely spoke, nor did she smile – she sat around staring into the distance – oblivious to the world around her. One fine autumn evening when Daniel went to meet Laura, she seemed to be in a pretty happy mood. She actually came down to greet him and the door with a smile.
“Now there’s a first,” thought Daniel joyously to himself.
“Come upstairs I have something to show you,” she said as she held his hand and guided him upstairs.
“She’s holding my hand! She’s holding my hand!” Daniel thought with excitement. This was the first physical contact the two had made after that fateful night. Even though he wouldn’t admit it, Daniel had started caring for Laura as someone more than just a friend. He enjoyed the heady feeling he got from nursing her back to health. She was like a dove, and it was his duty to protect her from the big bad world. The two went upstairs and Daniel sat on the dresser stool waiting to see what other surprises were in store for him. Laura scurried to her cupboard and took out a mahogany box with intricate carvings on it and handed it to Daniel.
“Whoa! It’s amazing! Where did you get this from?” He exclaimed as his jaw fell to the floor.
“I made it…for you,” She said in a matter-of-fact way.
“Dude seriously, this is like totally…”
“Ok, listen to me,” she cut in before he could finish his compliment marathon.
“Keep this box with you. Don’t open it till you think the time is right. You will know when that is, I might not be around by then…but you have to promise me you will do justice to whatever is inside the box…promise me Daniel,” she looked into his eyes with her cold expression – her eyes wanting to hear an affirmation.
“What the hell are you going on about? You crazy woman! You’re going to be around to terrorise the world for many years and till then you better keep this box and make me a few more to hold my coin collection,” Daniel said with a chuckle.
“Daniel promise me,” she said in a more solemn tone. This time he had no choice but to give in…
“Ok, I’ll do whatever you say princess,” he smiled softly and tucked the box into his backpack.
That night Laura hung herself from the fan and brought Daniel’s world crashing down. Her parents and loved ones were devastated. No one knew what went wrong. She seemed to be getting better – she was picking up the pieces of her life.

What made her do what she did? What did she leave behind in the box for Daniel? When was the right time to open the box? Did Daniel open it and do justice to the contents just as she had asked? …That’s for them to know and you to find out. I couldn’t think of an ending (as must be pretty apparent) so I decided to leave it vague…please help me complete the story.

The Diary of A Twisted Mind

Dear Diary,

It's been an eternity since I last heard from him, a deafening silence that gnaws at my insides. I'm haunted by the echoes of my actions, the words I uttered—why did I say those things? Why did I push him away when all I wanted was to pull him closer? The urge to reach out is suffocating, but the fear of discovering he's moved on cripples me. Does he not miss me? Weren't we entwined in love, or was it all a facade? I'm questioning everything—my worth, my existence. Nothing feels tangible anymore; I'm enveloped in an illusion.

Today, I saw him chatting with Shania. He promised to call her. Will he ever dial my number again? My first exam—a surreal haze of thoughts and worry, a heart weighed down by his absence. Is he over me already? I'm drowning in disbelief and confusion, begging silently: don't I deserve happiness? A love that embraces me wholly, a sanctuary from the chaos. Dad's illness adds flames to this raging inferno, and I feel stranded, engulfed by the blaze.

My exam? A blur. My mind, preoccupied, sent him a blank email with an attachment—a desperate plea for a lifeline, for any semblance of normalcy. But all I feel now is an agonizing numbness, a pain that renders me void. He promised never to hurt me, but here I am, shattered and abandoned. Withdrawal gnaws at my soul; he's vanished, buried in his solitude, hiding behind a facade. I believed his excuses, his plea of needing to study. Why does he treat me differently? How can he chat with strangers while ignoring me completely? Who will answer these tormenting questions?

People advise me to move on, forget him, but he vowed to be my anchor. Where is he now when I'm adrift? Was this a twisted rehabilitation, a game to push me deeper into delusion? The colors of my world have dulled, my once vibrant palette lost in a monochrome haze. I hate the canvas, the paintbrush—I hate this art of longing.

I yearn to feel, to be enveloped in his presence. The ache is unbearable. Tomorrow looms, a dreaded prospect, a continuation of this desolation. But tonight, as another day fades, I wish—fervently hope—that tomorrow never arrives.

K

Caged

This is a really old poem I stumbled across on my comp. I wrote when I was a frustrated teenager...trying to be all rebelious n stuff...its a little childish but in the interest of preserving old memories...here it is:

"Turn down the volume! Don’t talk on the phone!"
"Don’t answer back! How dare you moan!”
"Stop chatting on the net, where is your book?"
"You are so maner-less! Don’t give me that look!"

Those are just some taunts I hear...
Each day each night, as shadows draw near...
What is my fault? Where did I go wrong?...
These are some questions, whose answer’s I long...

"You're at it again! When will u learn!"
"You better start being disciplined! Wait for your turn!"
"You're spoiled! You're useless! You will cause us shame!"
"Keep up what your doing and spoil our name!"

I sit in solace, with a storm in my heart...
Wishing life would end, before its start...
I am caged, and trapped in a web of the past...
My minutes of glory barely last...

"What do you do so late at night? Watching porn on the net?"
"You can’t look after yourself, and you ask for a pet!"
"Don't go on texting on your colour mobile!"
"You pathetic girl! Don’t give me that smile!"

I want to break free; I want to cry, to run away!
But I'm their only support, for them I must stay...
He will never understand me; my lifestyle and friends...
For he hasn’t moved on with the worlds changing trends....

"Go to sleep now! Why are you awake!"
"Don’t listen to music, its noise you make!"
"Don’t bother to ask, my answer is no!"
"Can’t you see I love you, all this care that I show?"

He claims to love me, he claims to care
Why can’t he let me be? Does he have to snare...
My happiness and wishes all the time?
I’m so upset I’m running out of rhyme.

"I am your father, treat me with respect!"
"You live by my rules, how dare you forget!"
"Why aren’t you perfect like you used to be!"
"You must dance to my tunes and obey me!"

I don’t like to fight, it hurts me too
But my life’s a prison, with a shitty view
I want to see the world, I want to grow
But you wont ever let me, coz' ur "concerned" I know

"You cant go for the movie, don’t even ask"
"Sit at home and read for in knowledge you'll bask"
"There is nothing on tv don’t bother watching it"
"You must wake up early and stop throwing a fit!"

At times I hate you at times I cant
Why can’t you let me have what I want?
I know my limits and priorities too
The fault isn’t in me, the fault is in you!

"Why cant you be like x, y or z?"
"You can have fun, but when I am dead!"
"You will not drive, you can’t come home late!"
"You're messing our lives, you're playing with fate!"

I agree I’m an only and that’s why you worry
But I’m older now, I can .....To be continued
=======================================
had this real bad habit of not completing stuff even then!

Random

Feathers clipped amidst a fancy flight
How could she tell a day from night?
With eyes blinded, and senses numb
Picking up lifes pieces…crumb by crumb
Invisible shackles restrained her might
Torn between what’s wrong and right
Feeling restless, jaded and vexed
Her luck’s run out, her happiness hexed
By shredding her heart, sliver by sliver
Breaking all the vows you couldn’t deliver
Rocking the foundation of trust and love
By piercing the heart of an innocent dove
============================================
A few random lines ...the result of one horribly sleepless night.