February 2085: The Snowflake Ball (Ruby)

February, 2085. Ruby McCullough is 17, Claude is 12. Kevin Pittman is 19. Lily is 12.


"Smile," Barbara said, holding the camera up at her son and his girlfriend.

Claude's grades were ridiculous, and it was a miracle his father was even letting him go to prom. But they knew it would only disappoint Lily if he didn't go, and she looked so lovely. Her parents were lovely, and rich, and had five children in the school district. Barbara knew it never hurt to have powerful connections when her husband going for school board president. Best not disappoint one of their daughters.

Claude and Lily smiled for the camera.



"Tell me about your family, Lily. Do they do much recycling?"

"Ugh, what? I dunno," she mumbled as Ruby came downstairs in a storm.


Barbara chose her words carefully with her oldest. "Is your date coming to pick you up?"

"No," Ruby said. "Like hell. I'm meeting him there. Don't ask if you can meet him. You can't. And I don't have a curfew, by the way."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Barbara felt her pulse swell.

Ruby rolled her eyes and let the front door slam behind her.

"Do I have a curfew?" Claude asked.

"Absolutely, ten o'clock sharp. I'll be waiting in the parking lot to pick you up at nine-fifty-five."

---

It wasn't terribly cold for February, but it was a dark and cloudy and ugly night for Ruby's senior prom, her last prom ever. She looked at the green monstrosity parked in the driveway, the one her parents were trying to convince her was a birthday present, twirled the keys around her finger and even considered getting into it when her boyfriend pulled up on his motorcycle.


"You said you wouldn't go, asshole."

"I'm not going," he said. "I wanted to see you in that little dress though."

Kevin had said he was too old for prom. He was too old, but that was beside the point. She was going, and she wouldn't go alone either, and he knew that too.

"So what's his name then?"

Her date would be some boy she'd never talked to before, one of the Michen kids. She couldn't remember his name -- there were like three dozen of them... or three. "I dunno, Stryker or Porter or something."


"You don't have to go. Come hang out with me tonight."

"I have to go because I'm going to be Prom Queen. It's my senior prom. It's the last time I'll ever go to prom." She gives him a sad face.

"What if you don't win?"

"I'm going to win," she said.

He smiled. "I bet you will. He better not get his hands all over you then."


"What are you gonna do if he does? You should come and keep him off me."

"Sorry, doll. Can't do it. I left high school two years ago and I'll be damned if you're gonna drag me back. I'll give you a lift though if you want, so you don't have to ride with your brother. You can wrap those stalks around me." He reached out and pinched a handful of ass.

She got on the back of his bike and they rode.

---

Prom happened without Kevin. Ruby wasn't going to miss it just because her boyfriend had moved on from silly teenage things.


Ruby's date was named Parker, she discovered. She was trying to remember that. But she'd already called him Marcus, Palmer, and Pablo, though she'd never met a redhead named Pablo.

"Parker," he said, "Like, 'Park 'er right over there'." He thumbed his hand to the side like a clown in a stand-up show.

"Right, okay," she said.


But Ruby had a way of looking at men--or boys--that made them hypnotically inclined to let their grievances slip. Because she wasn't going to remember his name. Because she didn't want to. And the night might manage not to be a complete wash out if he promised not to take offense. And after a while, he didn't.


They danced together, and he even let her dance closest to the spotlight so it could shine on her hair and twinkle in her eyes. He would do... for a while anyway.


But the problem was that Ruby was dancing with Ryder-Preston-Whatever when Kevin came in. Kevin -- now there was a good, solid name for a man. She'd never been more happy to see him, all tall and torn up, smelling of leather and motorcycle fumes. And she couldn't pretend to care whether Petey-Roland-Parker was offended or not.


"I thought you said you weren't coming," she said as he swept her into his arms.


"I decided you looked too pretty to pass up. Just don't tell anybody I was here."


"Your secret's safe with me," she said.

And from then on, it was the best senior prom ever.

******

Official prom pics. I don't blame Ruby for being less than enthralled at what her date showed up wearing!

notes: abbreviated story, lol! I'm promising myself these will all be 500 words or less, and this one was about 800, so I'm already breaking my promises. It's a fun exercise in making every word count though.

Lily and Claude really like each other (10 points). I actually hate it when Sims meet a good match so young though - especially Sims like Lily, because I imagine she'll want to date around, and certainly go off to college. And with Claude's grades, I don't see him going anywhere. Drama is coming, lol! :D