East High has an annual tradition called "Twirp". It is essentially our version of the Sadie Hawkins Dance, where the girl asks the boy to go to the dance. And you guessed it, a girl asked Zach to go with her!!!
Zach's date's name was Ciara. Zach and Ciara have known each other since Kindergarten and been attending the same schools, sometimes even sharing the same teachers over the years! Of course, I was promptly told by my son that she was nothing more than a friend!!
As the weeks went on and the dance was drawing near, I learned A LOT about the difference between attending a "small town" school versus attending school in the "city" -- the first thing being about proper dance attire... where I come from, we had high school dances -- lots of them. There were fall dances, Homecoming dances, Valentine's Day dances, Spring dances, and who could forget about Prom?!! Most dances, the girls might have worn a jean skirt or nice slacks with a sweater or blouse, while the boys wore jeans and a shirt, maybe even a t-shirt. Prom was the one time of the year that everyone went all out and dressed to the hilt! Not here in Sioux City!!! You can't tell the difference between Prom and Homecoming here in the city! Girls are dressed in expensive dresses, getting their hair and nails done, boys in tuxes, renting limos... and this happens twice in one school year!?! When I asked Zach about the dress code for this Twirp dance, he told me it was "casual"... (Thank God!!!) Well, Zach and all the other boys basically wore polo shirts with a colored t-shirt underneath that matched the girl's dress, then complemented the rest of the look with their khaki colored cargo shorts and tennis shoes or sandals! The girls... just one (maybe two!) steps down from Prom!!! They still went out and bought dresses, the one rule being they couldn't be long dresses. Some even still went and got their hair and nails done.... I so do not look forward to when Brianna gets into High School... this being one of the very reasons!!!!
With that being said, let's get on to the details of the evening! Twenty kids (10 couples) decided they were going together... GREAT!!! All of them, along with their parents and even some younger siblings, congregated at one house for the "picture-taking ceremony"!! This took over and hour!!! Pictures were taken of groups and individuals... the boys tired of it right away. I think the girls would have been content to keep snapping the pics all evening long!! Once the pictures were done and everyone was satisfied that they got a picture of what they wanted, the kids left with designated drivers and headed to Carlos O'Kellys to eat before the dance. Since the girls asked the boys on this date, the meal was the girl's treat! After the meal, they still had time before the dance, so of course, they all headed to the mall (who would have thought??!!) to show off before the dance. The dance was from 8PM - 11PM, where more pictures were taken... this time by a professional photographer offering packages. Each of the couples ordered a package... the boy's treat! After the dance, the kids went to a small gathering at one's house. Zach was picked up and home by midnight. He says he had a great time! Here are some pictures from the evening!:
