Chapter 30

Sarah, Sally, Terry and Rusty came into the common room just as Joyce’s date Andrew arrived. After Joyce introduced him, Andrew handed her a corsage. While Nancy was busy taking pictures of Joyce and Andrew, Rusty slipped into the kitchen. He returned to the common room just as Adam came in with his date Alana.

While the greetings were taking place Rusty took a corsage out of its box then stepped in front of Sarah, placing it in her hands. Sarah looked down at the corsage then at Rusty as tears filled her eyes. “God, I love you so much.”

“I love you more than I can ever express.” Neither noticed that the whole room had become very quiet and everyone was looking at them. They were in their own world as Rusty carefully pinned the corsage onto Sarah’s dress. During this Nancy was taking more photos. Once the corsage was in place, Rusty picked up the second one and presented it to Sally, eliciting much the same response as Sarah’s.

“Sally, I present this as a token of my love for you.” Rusty had to quickly move the corsage to the side to keep it from being squished as Sally wrapped her arms around him.

“I love you, with all my heart,” said Sally softly with tears running down her cheeks. When she released Rusty, she held still as he pinned the corsage onto her dress.

Picking up the last corsage he turned to Terry and said, “To another of the beautiful women in my life, a token of my love for you.” Terry wrapped her arms around him and gave him a very emotional kiss then let him pin the corsage onto her dress.

“I love you, with all my heart,” said Terry softly as he was pinning the corsage in place.

Nancy said, “Once you’ve taken care of the tears and freshened up, can I take a picture of you all?”

“Of course,” said Sarah as she dabbed the tears from her eyes. “You need to take three.” Once they had freshened up she pulled Rusty next to her and Sally moved to stand on the other side. Terry stepped next to Sally.

Joyce and Adam watched with their dates. Andrew said after the first grouping, “Is it my imagination, or do those four glow? Who are they?”

Adam chuckled. Joyce said, “They are very close friends and will be some of our chaperons this evening.”

“They make a lovely group,” said Alana. “Sarah has to be the loveliest tall woman I have ever seen.”

“Yes she is.”

Adam said, “Are you all riding with us? The limo Al brought is big enough for the eight of us.”

“We wouldn’t want to intrude,” said Sarah. As she was speaking Andrew and Alana nudged their dates and nodded when they had their attention.

“We just had a vote,” said Adam with a smile. “You wouldn’t be intruding and we would consider it an honor to have your company.”

“Okay.”

When they reached the hotel, they all thanked Al for the ride. He said, “Call me about a half hour before you are ready to leave.”

“It might be quite late.”

“Not a problem. I expect a call,” replied Al firmly with a smile.

“We will,” replied Joyce and Adam.

“Now, go have a good time.” As they all turned, he winked at Sarah and her friends.

Joyce said, “We’ll introduce you to the Principal then we need to check on preparations.”

Inside when they entered the ballroom, everyone just stopped for a moment. “Wow,” said Joyce, “this looks much better than I expected.”

A voice behind them said, “This is a private function.” Joyce was the first to turn around while Sally and Terry moved to one side, as Rusty and Sarah did the same in the opposite direction. “Oh, sorry Ms O’Connell,” said the man, “I didn’t recognize you.”

“Hello, Dr. Samuels,” said Joyce. “I would like to introduce you to these chaperons. This is Sarah óCeallaigh (O khee-al-lig), Rusty óCearbhail (O Ky-ar-vill), Sally Anderson and Terry Neal. Dr. Samuels is our principal.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you,” said Dr. Samuels as he shook hands with them. “You all are certainly early.”

“We came to check on the arrangements,” said Adam. “Not that anything would be missed but...”

“I can understand that. The other chaperons have just started arriving. Once they are all here, I need to have a brief chat with everyone.”

“We’ll keep an eye out for it,” replied Sarah.

“We have a bit of a surprise for you,” said Joyce. “Our table is just to the left of the dance floor, table number 6. We want you to sit with us for dinner.”

“What about the other chaperons?”

“There are places for them,” replied Alana. “Someone else will inform them where their tables are.”

“Besides,” said Joyce, “we want you all to have a good time. Especially since being chaperons shouldn’t tax your skills too much.”

“We can manage that.”

Sally, Sarah, Terry and Rusty drifted over to where the other chaperons were gathering. It was a few moments before one of them asked Sally her name, with the comment that they didn’t remember seeing her before.

Sally chuckled as she said, “We were recruited by one of the prom committee as they were short on chaperons.” Sally then introduced her friends.

A man said, “I didn’t know they were short of chaperons.”

“Well that is what Joyce told us, and Adam agreed.”

“Joyce?”

“Joyce O’Connell.”

“Oh.”

Sarah said, “Did you see the change in their expression when Sally said Joyce’s name?”

“Yes. Did you do any peaking?”

“Some. Did you?”

“Enough. Many of Joyce and Adam’s classmates must think a lot of them if parents react that way.”

Sally looked at Sarah and Rusty and winked.

Dr. Samuels came over to the group and said, “Good evening ladies and gentlemen. The students really appreciate you taking the time to be chaperons this evening. Once the students enter this area of the hotel, they must stay here until they leave. No student will be permitted to return if they leave here. The area we have is the ballroom, the anteroom and hall surrounding it which excludes access to the elevators or other floors. I don’t expect there to be any difficulties. I would encourage you to dance and enjoy the evening, but we would like you to circulate through all the rooms. If you have a problem you can’t resolve then ask a security person for assistance and contact me. Any questions?”

“Previously, there has been a list of rules. Do those still apply?”

“Yes. As a set list, no. We encourage our students to be responsible for their actions both collectively and individually. Every one of them knows what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior. The one difference between this event and other adult activities is alcohol. It is not allowed at school events, of which this is one. Is that enough guidance?”

“Yes.”

“Now before the students begin to arrive, you might want to introduce yourselves to each other. Again on behalf of the administration and students, thank you for your presence this evening.”

As chaperons, Sarah, Sally, Terry and Rusty were unique in several ways. They were the youngest and the only ones who were not parents. The knowledge that they were friends of Adam and Joyce spread quickly through the other chaperons, many times this was used to open a conversation with them.

They saw Joyce and Adam with their dates mixing with their fellow students while waiting for dinner to be served. The chaperons broke into small groups, and scattered around the room with a few going out into the hall. Rusty and Sarah paired up, as did Sally and Terry, to circulate around the ballroom. All four of them received appreciative looks from many of the students.

As the time to serve dinner approached, the students went to their tables. Several chaperons invited Sarah and her friends to join them. They thanked them and indicated they had already been asked to sit at a table.

Just like in a theater, about 10 minutes before serving dinner a soft chime sounded. When Sarah and her friends reached their table, they found another couple there. The couple immediately stood. “You must be Joyce and Adam’s friends. This is Debra and my name is Bruce.”

“Good to meet you,” replied Sarah. “I’m Sarah.” She then introduced her friends.

“Joyce and Adam indicated they would be back in a few moments,” said Debra.

“So how do you know Joyce and Adam?” asked Bruce.

“It is a difficult to give a simple answer to your question,” said Rusty. “Sally, would you like to take a stab at it?”

“Sure, and hope Joyce and Adam return quickly.” Everyone chuckled. “First we all live where Joyce and Adam do. Rusty and I have worked for their parents for several years. Both Terry and Sarah are recent additions to our staff and also live there. Why do you ask?”

“Well it’s only been recently that they talked about any of you. When they first mentioned you, we thought of you as being their parents’ generation, but we can see that isn’t true.”

“Are we being too nosy?” asked Debra.

“No. Not yet,” said Sarah with a smile.

“What is your relationship to Adam and Joyce?” asked Terry.

“Other than the obvious,” replied Debra, “we are pretty much in the same social group. The six of us probably hang out together the most. There are several others who are close.”

“So you go out as a group.”

“Usually.” Joyce, Alana, Andrew and Adam sat down at the table.

“What are you talking about?” asked Alana.

“How you know, well really how you relate to each other,” said Terry.

“We’re exchanging nosy questions,” said Sarah smiling.

As the dinner conversation progressed, they each learned a bit more about the others. Joyce and Adam’s friends quickly picked up on the closeness between Sarah, Sally, Terry and Rusty. Alana and Andrew had already seen their interaction at the house. They eventually shared a little of what they did for a living, while not providing any significant information.

Sally shifted the conversation toward martial arts skills, yoga and exercises. Debra and Bruce were surprised that both Sally and Rusty were accomplished instructors in their martial arts disciplines. From there, the conversation moved on to discussions of their futures. Adam shocked everyone, when he said he was going to serve in the Army before he went to college. He said he didn’t think he was ready for college and was really interested in Special Forces. Alana, Debra and Bruce were going to college. Debra was interested in computers, or a computer-related field, while the other two had not decided, but both were interested in science.

Once dessert was served, the band began to play as the students began to mingle or dance. The chaperons mostly gathered in different spots around the room to talk amongst themselves. Sarah, Sally, Terry and Rusty circulated around the room in pairs. They enjoyed watching the students interact with each other, as it brought back memories of when they were in school. Although, this time, there was none of the apprehension there was when they were students.

Sarah and Rusty peeked at the conversations some students were having, as they wandered around. They were startled when they came across a conversation between a group of boys. The boys were discussing when to drug their dates. While they were trying to identify the boys, they learned that they intended drug the girls so they would be their submissive sluts.

Once they determined who the boys were Sarah said, “Terry and Sally, we may have a situation developing over here. Can you wander over toward us?” Both were startled to hear Sarah’s thoughts, but immediately moved toward them. When Sally and Terry were near them, Rusty nodded toward a group of boys. With that they moved toward the group. The boys were so engrossed in their planning, that they didn’t notice them until they stepped up between and slightly behind them.

“Gentlemen,” said Sarah softly, “and I am the term loosely, we would like you and your dates to step out in the hall with us, NOW.”

“Why?” responded Edward, who appeared to be the ring leader, in a challenging manner while the other three looked uneasy.

“It’s very simple. All eight of you will join us in the hall for a chat, or we will turn you over to the police. The controlled substance you have in your pocket will put you in jail, which will be a minor problem compared to what will happen to you, if you continue with your plans. The rest of you will likely join him when it comes out what you are conspiring to do.”

“What plans? We were just talking,” blustered Edward. “Besides, you’re just chaperons,” he added, arrogantly.

“Okay, your choice, but I’d hate to see you all end up in jail, before you graduate.” Each placed a hand on a boy next to them and squeezed a nerve, making them wince in pain. “Shall we go?”

“Okay. We’ll get our dates, but we still don’t know what this is about.”

“No? I think you do. However I am sure your dates will be interested in your plans.” The four boys frowned and glanced at each other nervously.

When four girls saw the chaperons escorting their dates toward the door they followed, with puzzled looks on their faces. As they exited the ballroom, the girls caught up with them, and tagged along. No one said a word, as they walked over to an isolated corner of the hall with couches arranged as a sitting area. One of the security people saw the group, and started to come over to them, until Rusty shook his head, no.