Cookie Mashed Cafe

Cookie Mashed Café

Is quite known for its delicious mashed cookie dough treats and other sugary delights. They serve unique desserts, ranging from peppermint ice cream to organic green tea cakes and bubblegum poppers, all of the newest and slightly weird snacks and dopamine-inducing consumables you could find right at the heart of their quaint, and spacious café, but they were also known for another thing,

Prom-posals.

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Ah, prom.

That time of the year, where most Senior and Junior high school students think will define their entire future and further pave their romantic escapades. As if being crowned for Prom Court will have Ivy League universities suddenly have some sort of miraculous epiphany and send you acceptance letters with a ready scholarship, all because you were wearing a shiny little plastic toy on your head, which eventually will be passed on like some sort of religious ceremony.

Bitter? Not really, I could honestly give two turds about prom mechanics and their hierarchy.

But I am getting tired of having to see extremely large and distracting prom related proposals plastered everywhere like a campaign for vaccines or against a rare, easily acquired disease.

Weird analogy, having to compare prom to a deadly disease, which honestly, is kind of like that. That weird excitement people get even when half of their inner circles have already told them who’s going to be asking them, and all that unnecessary effort just for a single night and then going back to your couch potato ways the day after, and I know romance media has everyone convinced that your life will alter after prom or homecoming, but I will be the first one to ruin that, it never usually does.

It’s just a night, just flourished with extra set designs, basically a very formal and expensive stage musical, ’cause lots of dancing and sing-alongs are involved, and then most of the kids book hotels to either bang or slop on their beds because they’re all wasted.

But enough rambling, I think all of you wanted to read mushy, fluffy stuff from this entry right? Well, I don’t have much to spare since I don’t get too saucy or any all sauce related stuff with romance and relationships, my friends are the ones who do that. So, yeah, this basically going to be me talking about my friends and their prom proposals. Maybe. Enjoy.

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“Natalia Elise Wunder, would you give me the courtesy of being your pat-partner, to prom?”

That stuttering mess is Robert Harrison, Chicago National State High School’s boy wonder, he’s only a junior but he already surpassed Aiden Rogers in being team captain, good thing Aiden was a cool sport and didn’t let his seniority pride get in the way of “pure athletic marksmanship”, or whatever that’s supposed to mean.

And boy wonder was just asking one of my girl-friends (note hyphenated area for relationship reference), Nat here to, you guessed it, prom.

And being the school’s most popular athlete, Robby was naturally immune to people looking and him doing mildly to very stressful actions, but he seemed to look like he was about to undergo constipation, especially with him sweating bullets profusely, his hand visibly shaking while holding a bouquet of purple lilacs (they were Nat’s favorite flowers), and him constantly flexing his fingers on his jean leg. Plus his smile was starting to mirror the Joker’s.

I glanced at Nat and I crap you not, she had stars in her eyes, her hands clasped neatly on her chest, and she had that perfectly shaped O on her brightly glossed mouth, which I know she kept applying because Georgie Henry kept yapping about how Robby had this huge surprise for Nat, which was truthfully, impressive.

The moment lunch started, all of the junior football stars (because none of their senior teammates shared Aiden’s cool sentiments wanted to help Robby), lined up in front of our table and simultaneously sang “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction of course, and as much as I love them (1D not the other boys), that was really cheesy. Nat thought otherwise though, because she fluffed her already bouncy brown curls and pointed her feet (no idea why), and covered her mouth with both hands in pretend shock.

The boys then proceeded to rip their shirts one by one, each boy spelling out: PROM?

Then boy wonder steps out and we’re back to him being a nervous sack of potatoes.

I look at Robby and his nervous smile and Nat and her star spangled one, and then the rest of my friends who were all sporting happy yet jealous expressions, and then the rest of the cafeteria where everyone were nonchalantly spectating the entire thing happening. The only person who was as uninterested in this as I am, was probably Mrs. Myers, the cafeteria lady, she’s been here for twelve years now, so she’s seen this happen over and over again. How I would hate to be her.

Glancing back to the situation, I rolled my eyes, “Are you going to answer or are we going to wait until fourth period?” I asked directly. Nat seemed to snap out of her reverie and viciously nodded her head, standing up and putting her arms around the now shocked Robby, the entire cafeteria then burst into a chorus of cheers and applause and I shook my head and finished my fries.

After that entire charade was over, we all headed out of the cafeteria, and my friends, especially Nat, who wouldn’t stop smelling the bouquet, kept talking about how dreamy Robby was and how dedicated he was in putting in effort into the whole proposal and blah, blah, blah.

As Vivian, one of my other friends, was about to start another round of compliments to shower Nat and say how she was really jelly of Nat, another group of guys, from the AV Club (It said so on their matching lavender shirts, nerdy and plain, stereotype much?) blocked the hallway leading to the classrooms and then proceeded to recreate some scene from Marvel’s Infinity War, then someone from the neon lighted fighting stepped out from a corner, wearing a Spider Man outfit (which was also body hugging, which also meant his “parts” showed, and that kind of ruined my entire afternoon), as he stepped in front of a stunned Viv, and held her hand, he said something, but none of us really understood so he took off his mask.

And I don’t know whether to laugh or to roll my eyes, of course.

“Vivian Barbara Sanders, will you attend this year’s promenade with me, Garrett Field, and also be my Mary Jane and embark with me on my journey?” Gary announced in what might be his “macho voice”, while puffing out his chest and holding up Viv’s pale and small hand.

Vivian let out a small squeak and I groaned, “Just say yes already!” I exclaimed, glancing at the large clock hanging in the middle of the hallway, signaling that we only had fifteen minutes left before class began.

Viv immediately let out a squeaky yes and Gary, including the male AV Club members, yelled out their glee.

After a few moments of Gary professing his “undying passion” to Vivian, I eventually had to drag her out of their nerdy fantasy talk. We had Professor Callahan for English Literature and we already had two warnings for being late, and I am not about to have a “tardy” on my attendance sheet.

When we finally sat on our respective chairs, both Viv and Nat had their heads up in the clouds while Olivia, pouted and crossed her arms, which made her look like a small China doll, because she already had very strong Eastern facial features, she was also very short, a genetic mishap on her part because her older brothers and father were about as tall as a lamp post, while she and her mother were, as she would prefer “fun sized”.

Professor Callahan entered a few minutes after and immediately handed out our quiz results, I got an A minus, incorrectly spelled a few of the paraphrased terms, but I was chastised, at least it wouldn’t drop my GPA into a B. And I was aiming for Yale or Georgetown, and I needed to be Valedictorian to earn a scholarship.

And we only had this class left since our Biology professor took a couple months off because she was reaching her pregnancy due date, and I thought I wasn’t going to have to see anymore prom proposals for the rest of the afternoon, but I was very, very wrong.

In the middle of Professor Callahan’s reading of Beowulf, someone knocked on the door, and all heads immediately went to the sound, Professor Callahan pursed his lips and sighed, “Who is it?”

Nobody answered, only more knocking replied. Professor Callahan put down the novel and went to open the door, as soon as he twisted the knob, a bright arraignment of colors entered the room, scaring the middle aged teacher, and he stood by the side clutching his chest.

I then realized this was actually the entire Basketball varsity team huddled in front of our room, holding peonies (Olive’s favorite flowers, I could tell, they were a distinct shade of pink). And I rolled my eyes as they were chanting something in Chinese (It sounded like Cantonese, but I couldn’t really tell, it just sounded similar to Olive’s when she spoke to her mom), it was some type of poetry I guess. But they all had really serious expressions, so I couldn’t tell if it was romantic poetry or a eulogy.

Anyway, Elliot Sanchez, school’s Basketball MVP and second most popular athlete, stepped out holding a large unrolled scroll that had large Chinese letters imprinted on them, and I’m guessing Olive’s name was part of it because she let out an audible gasp, and she immediately stepped forward and hugged Elliot, to which he responded by hugging her closer to him, and as usual, the entire room roared with cheers, but the rest of his teammates just…clapped. Like, they could have done something more exciting than this.

Which, I agree, even if I am really getting annoyed with watching these time dragging ceremonies.

But Elliot and his team eventually left and Olive joined Nat and Viv in their Cloud Nine. I let out a long breath, the same time Professor Callahan went back to reading the passages with an annoyed expression, and I could have mirrored him, but he might misinterpret it and give me detention so I remained stoic all throughout class.

When the bell rang eventually, I shot out of my seat and looked at my three best friends, they were huddled together in one corner and probably gushing, forgetting that we were supposed to hang out at the New Wing Bowling Alley today. Guess that’s crossed off the list, I huffed and turned around, they could all swallow their dates if they wanted to for all I care, I’m going home and watching Shane.

As I aggressively tore open my locker, a small piece of paper fell out.

I picked it up and unfolded it: CMC in 10 min? By the window, C U.

The heck is this? And CMC? And really, couldn’t have been bothered to correctly spell out ‘see you there’? What in the world.

And I know, I should have crumpled up the note, threw it in a bin and took the first ride home, I should have done that. But fifteen minutes later, I’m standing in front of West Chicago’s most notorious romance café, and whether or not I’m going to regret this decision, I guess I’ll have to find out since I’m already here.

A small bell rang when I opened the door, and the friendly waitress wiping the front counter smiled at me, “Welcome, what would you like to order?” she asked politely.

I glanced at the menu board above and was about to order a croissant with butter caramels and a mocha latte, but someone else cleared their throat.

“He’s with me Stace”

I looked over at the person and I swear, my eyes almost bugged out from my head. What is he doing here? And what does he mean he-

“Oh Aiden, he was the one you told me earlier? You can be very vague and slightly cheesy you know that right?” Stacy, apparently, said with a knowing smile. I suddenly grew nervous, what was going on here? Or better yet, what was about to go on?

I gulped and faced the senior football quarterback, I gave him a questioning look and he just returned it with a half-smile and gestured with his hand to come over. I let out a shaky sigh and walked to where he was seated, near the windows.

“So, you’re probably wondering why I invited you out here” he said in a steady voice, though I could notice him slightly fidgeting his thumbs.

I narrowed my eyes, wait the turd. Oh heck, was he…no. That’s impossible, he didn’t have his teammates here, and he didn’t look like he had some kind of banner to hold up or any bouquets, and I knew he was bisexual, but I thought he had a thing with Jill Harper? Miss Head cheerleader that Jill, they would have made the perfect cliché if he actually went with her.

But I was curious, “Yeah” I dragged the y and looked at him warily. What did he bring me all the way here? I mean, it’s only a ten minute walk from school, but I could have gone home already.

“Well, I guess I’m just going to get with it already, Russell Stuart, will you go to prom with me?” he asked in a direct manner, like how I would. And it took me a few seconds to process, but when it did, my eyes widened once again, and they almost, almost! Bugged out, but they stayed put, and I suddenly felt my mouth go dry, but I was determined not to let him see my surprise. I was quite known for my stoic expression, and I am not going to crumble in front of him.

It took me a few seconds to regain my composure too and he had a very patient yet expectant look at him, and as I was about to answer, Stacy just strolled by our table and placed a large plate with a pancake and the words “PROM?” written using chocolate syrup.

My jaw dropped and I could see Aiden’s cheek tinge a light pink, he dropped his head slightly, his blonde fringe covering a part of his face, and Stacy laughed.

“Don’t be so embarrassed A, you told me to bring it over when you said the word prom, now you’re acting all hesitant, something wrong with him?” she directed her question at me. I blinked a couple of times and shrugged. I was utterly speechless to even form a small worded reply.

“I’ll leave you two then” she said with a wink and went over to another table.

“Well, that happened. Now, what do you say?” Aiden said after a couple of moments. His cheeks were still tinged with pink but he had this expectant look on his face and I cleared my throat.

“This is really flattering and all, I mean, you even made a quick request and a really simple one too, and…” I trailed off. I really, honestly, seriously had no idea what to say to him. I wasn’t planning on attending prom but I didn’t want to turn him down either. This was so hot seat.

He must have noticed my internal conflict though, because he rummaged in his bag and brought out a slightly crumpled piece of paper.

“I knew you were going to be hesitant, so I kind of made this a few days ago, when I was thinking of ways to ask you, I even asked my buddies in the team for ideas, but all of them were either too expensive, embarrassing, or dangerous, so I just used my brain. Sorry if it’s a little difficult to read” he said with a cheesy smile and shyly rubbed the back of his neck.

This time, I felt my cheeks burning, I slowly opened the note and saw that it was actually poetry:

The soft wind breeze

Gently passes by me

Framing every piece of my body

Every inch, every part, every curve like your silhouette

Like the sea

As I wade my arms and dip

I feel the waves slowly pass by

And the color of its serenity, like your eyes

In the very heart of your complex mind

In the deepest recesses of your soul

Is someone I yearn to know

Is someone I plan to see

Maybe Prom would be the beginning of our story?

By this time, I was completely awestruck, it seemed like a simple and harmless poem, but to know he made it and even asked for help from his friends and they supported him, and he made this all by himself, my heart just couldn’t help but swell.

I glanced back at Aiden, clutching the note on my chest, and I smiled softly at him. His blush reached down his neck and I chuckled, if I didn’t have a crush on this cheesy and humble boy before, I could most probably start now.

I sighed and picked up a fork and took a piece of the pancake before popping it into my mouth, Aiden watched my every movement, even when I swallowed slowly and placed the fork down.

“Okay” I said after a while.

His eyebrows shot up, “What?” I giggled, gosh I actually made a giggle, and shook my head, “I accept. I’ll go to prom with you silly” I repeated with a smile.

His features slowly rose and a wide smile etched on his face, his dimples on full display. He put both of his hands on the back of his head and laughed happily.

After a while he looked back at me with a happy gleam in his eyes, “Yeah, cool. Okay, cool. I guess, this is the start?” he asked tentatively.

I raised a brow, “Slow down Romeo, I only said yes to prom. We’ll have to see how it goes so don’t get your hopes up too high” I scolded him. And we both laughed, and ate the pancake, and then we talked, for a really long time.

So yeah, I guess this was the start.

I hope you have a happy life, and someone might ask you out, even unconventionally, even if it’s unexpected. Don’t be scared, the scariest experiences are sometimes the ones worth remembering.

Russell Stuart. Xo