Choose a Book, Get a Promposal By Alice Gelber Choose a Book, Get a PromposalLook, who doesn’t love a good, old-fashioned, butterfly-inducing promposal? Whether with an original ballad, a classic cardboard-and-sharpie sign, or a romantic bouquet of red roses, a promposal is a seminal moment in our adolescent lives. But the question is, which type of promposal is right for you? Well, I have the perfect metric. You choose your favorite book; I’ll give you a promposal.Your beau interrupts your AP Lit class, and you’re a little annoyed because it’s your favorite class, and you don't want the teacher to get mad at you. But then, when you see the bunches of red roses, all is forgiven. They come towards you with a box of chocolates, and everyone and everything else in the room melts away. Inside, truffles are surrounded by two custom chocolates, one with delicate pipping spells out the word YES, the other spells out the word NO.A stranger hands you a mysterious envelope. In it, a riddle. It’s confounding, and you ask your crush/coconspirator to help. They love a mystery, and yet they’re not being very helpful with this one. The riddle, you discover, leads to a puzzle box. Inside the box is a key. But a key to what? You find that it opens a secret room in your school. When you open the door, you find your crush/coconspirator inside. They grin, holding up a classic, “go to prom with me?” sign written in an unruly but elegant hand.Your ideal promposal is no prompsoal. (You’ll still go, obviously, but you won’t enjoy it. You won’t enjoy it when you're locked in your soulmate’s arms on the dance floor or when everyone stares because you look gorgeous, and you have the perfect dress on). Nope, it’s just not your thing. And, oh god, what if they try to make you prom queen?! You’ll just die of mortification. Luckily, you’re immortal.You’ll have not one promposal, but two! And your two suitors will duel it out, naturally. It might not come to deathly blows, but it’ll come close. And, of course, you’ll be a little indignant that your suitors are fighting over you like you’re some common damsel in distress. But the winner of the duel does have this little half grin you can’t seem to resist…A horse-drawn carriage arrives at your doorstep, empty. Intrigued, you get in. You are led to an off-the-beaten-path garden covered in ivy and moss. A fog machine adds a hazy texture to the air. Your suitor appears from beyond the mist, holding a bouquet of aubergine-colored flowers and gallantly gets down on one knee before asking you to the prom.You and your best friend have plans to meet at the mall. You both want to look at prom dresses even though you haven’t been officially asked…yet. You wait for your friend on the upper level, overlooking the atrium. Suddenly, the lights flicker. What’s going on? Then, over the loudspeakers, your favorite song starts playing while people start streaming out of the shops below and start…dancing? Is this a flash mob? You spot your bff, swaying with the crowd. Your crush is in the middle of the group. When the final notes of the song come to an end, the dancers form themselves into five groupings. From above, the groupings form the word, PROM? Your crush smiles, all dimples and shinning eyes, and shyly waves at you, waiting for your answer.Your sweetheart takes you to your favorite restaurant. You’re a foodie, with sophisticated tastes and a refined pallet. But you also just love food and how it connects you to memories and community. So, things are off to a good start. Just before dessert your date disappears and is kind of gone for a while…While you’re waiting, the restaurant lights flip off, leaving just the candles on the tables flickering. You wonder why the lights haven’t come back on. Is this a black out? Then, your date walks towards you from the back, gliding through the candlelight, their favorite guitar slung over their shoulder. They strum lightly, then begin singing. It’s an original. An ode to you. When the song is over, they declare their love and asks if you’ll go to the prom with them.Choose a book!
