Proposal Time

“Quickly, people.” Willie gathered the Lonely Lovers Club together.

Sandra, Ginko, and Maria slowly settled into the school desk chairs. Ginko stretched out and yawned. Sandra scrolled through her phone. Maria actually seemed to pay attention to Willie.

The club may appear relaxed, but this was no time to kick their feet up. The Lonely Lovers were about to enter the most stressful time of their year. The romance hormone levels at the school were about to reach an all time high.

It was time for the school dance.

“Everyone, you know what time of year it is,” said Willie. He stood like a teacher at the front of the classroom, except he was about to give a lecture on high school drama. “The school dance is only a few weeks away. It's our busiest time of year. I need you to clear your schedules and put your thinking caps on. We can’t afford to slack on the proposals.”

One of the most critical parts of the school dance was asking out your date. The way you ask someone to the dance is just as important as who you ask. And these so-called proposals were no joke. Students would soon be running around with cheap grocery store flower bouquets and posters featuring poorly written puns. Plus, with every year the stakes are raised. Last year, students got dates using fireworks, singing choirs, and sometimes even live animals.

Basically this was what the Lonely Lovers Club did any average week. But that makes it all the more important for Willie. If the Lonely Lovers Club is unable to create the best and greatest proposals, then their reputation would be ruined. With only a few weeks until the dance, it was time to get started.

“We already have two requests so far,” continued Willie.

“Woah,” said Sandra. “People really are desperate.”

Ginko replied, “we’re called the Lonely Lovers Club. You can’t really expect anything else.”

“Whatever,” said Sandra. “I’m just not looking forward to how annoying Willie is going to be for the next month.”

“I’ll have you know that this is no cake walk for me,” said Willie. “I will be under an immense amount of stress to help new lovers.”

“And that’s exactly what I’m talking about,” Sandra scoffed.

Willie let out a deep breath. People falling in love was something Willie was always interested to see. And the school dance was a perfect way to accelerate new love. A school dance is one of the most important moments in a high schoolers life. But with all the chaos in preparing for a dance, it’s easy to get lost in the confusion. It was important for Willie to guide young lovers to a happy night. And Willie would need all the help he can get. This was no time for Sandra’s attitude.

“When you don’t know who you are going with to the dance life can be very stressful,” said Willie. “It is important for us to unite true loves now more than ever.”

“So what are these two requests?” asked Maria.

“Right,” said Willie, getting back to business. “First we have Gus Belrose. Gus is a second year student. He wants to ask one of his friends to the dance but does not know if he will say yes.”

“He?” Ginko asked for clarification.

“Yes,” said WIllie. “The target is Adam Kersey.”

“Aww,” said Maria. “They’d be cute together.”

“Indeed,” continued Willie. “Our mission is to create a proposal for Gus that’s so exceptional Adam has to say yes.”

“Easier said than done,” muttered Sandra.

“Naturally it will be a challenge, but you know our goal. As the Lonely Lovers club, this is our area of expertise.”

Sandra was quick to point out the negative, but Willie knew there was more going on inside her head right now. Sandra was a member of the Lonely Lovers Club. As much as she loved to torment and distract Willie from his humble undertakings, Sandra was happy to help with these requests. She was probably already thinking of ideas for Gus and Adam. The school dance was one of her favorite events of the year. And the proposal was a vital part of that.

But gosh, why does she have to doubt so much, Willie thought. He wondered if she only liked the school dance because of all the drama. Sandra always had to know the drama. Willie was not even sure if Sandra knew how to dance. But she was certainly in on all of the rumors. In fact, she may have only joined the Lonely Lovers Club to get an inside scoop on the latest love interests.

Maria’s curious face pulled Willie from his thoughts. Maria asked, “So what's the other request?”

“The other request comes from Miles Vitali. He wants to ask Rena Lockhardt.”

“Never really liked her,” said Sandra smugly.

“Why not?” asked Ginko, prodding her.

“Too popular,” she said. “I don’t get why.”

“Most kids are popular for no reason,” said Ginko.

Maria interjected, “well Miles is kinda popular too, so I think it might work out.”

“Oh yeah,” said Sandra. “Regardless of why she’s popular, we can definitely put together a proposal for them.”

Sandra sat up straight when she mentioned the proposal. Just like Willie suspected, the gears must have been turning in her head. She was already thinking of a plan.

“I think we should split up the work,” said Willie. “Sandra and Ginko can help Gus. Maria and I will do Miles’ proposal.”

“Now hold up,” said Sandra. Of course she had something to say. “I don’t know how guys' brains work. I want to set up Miles and little miss princess.”

“I thought you didn’t like her?” said Ginko.

“Yeah, but I never said I didn’t understand her. I know how a girl’s mind works,” said Sandra. “And quite frankly, you don’t know how a girl’s mind works. I want Maria as my partner.”

Willie looked up to the ceiling and took a deep breath. At this point, was there really any point in arguing with her? “Okay fine. Whatever. You and Maria help Miles. Ginko and I will help Gus.”

Sandra gave Maria a fist bump, which did not seem femine to Willie. He hoped to see some evidence of ladylike behaviour after Sandra claimed to know how a girl's mind works. But for now it did not matter since Sandra seemed to finally be giving Willie a break from her snarky comments.

“Girls rule, boys drool,” said Sandra.

“Oh for crying out loud,” Willie said to himself.

“I bet we can come up with a better proposal for Gus than you can for Miles,” said Ginko.

“Is that a challenge?” asked Sandra, standing up. “You’re on.”

“Oh no,” said Willie. “Can we please just focus on making a good proposal?”

“Oh we will,” said Sandra. “We’re gonna make it so good it will blow your socks off.”

Sandra grabbed Maria’s arm and pulled her up. “C’mon, Maria. We have some butts to kick.” She stuck out her tongue as she left the room, still holding onto Maria who tried to give a wave goodbye.

Silence.

“What now?” asked Ginko.

“Let’s find Gus,” said Willie. Finally he could hear his own thoughts. It was time to refocus his attention where it was needed most.

“It’s time to make love come true.”