Nothing could have prepared me for what transpired at prom, even though my son was made fun of for his weight for years. I felt he was finally receiving kindness when the school’s most popular girl invited him to dance. She then made fun of him in front of everyone. Everyone was shocked by what my son did next.
Mason, my seventeen-year-old son, was softer-spoken and heavier than the boys who ruined his life.
His friends had been tying unsightly pictures to his locker for months, and they had shared jokes in group conversations that always seemed to come back to him.
He would say the same thing each time I attempted to intervene.Please don’t, mom. I’ll take care of it myself.”
He would say the same thing each time I attempted to intervene.Mason, how do you handle it?” One evening, I asked him. “You don’t get much sleep. You seldom ever join me for supper anymore.”
All he had done was smile, the kind of smile that comes from knowing something you don’t.Mom, believe me. Just a bit more time.”
He had been crouched over his laptop after school for weeks, clicking and typing while creating something I was never permitted to view.
When someone knows something that you don’t, they smile.
He would gently click the screen shut each time I entered.”School project,” he would usually say.”For what class?” I once inquired.You’ll see.
It was a good thing he had a project, I reassured myself. I said a lot of things to myself.
When prom night finally arrived, I saw how mistaken I had been about everything.
With a quiet little click, he would shut down the screen.
Mason had arrived by himself. Not a single girl had consented to accompany him.
He was now sitting in a navy suit at a corner table, painstakingly swirling a cup of punch that he was not sipping.
I saw a flash of a silver outfit with sequins at the snack bar.
The captain of the cheer squad is Brielle. Throughout the season, I had heard the rumors from other parents in the bleachers. Brielle who might destroy a reputation with a single Instagram story, Brielle this, Brielle that.
After giving Mason’s table a quick glance, she leaned in to whisper something to the females next to her.
I had no idea what would transpire a few moments later.
Not a single girl had consented to accompany him.
I saw Brielle whisper once more, nod, and then bite her lip in that well-honed manner that attractive females employ when they are going to do something they believe to be brilliant.
Behind their hands, her buddies giggled.
One of them, a more reserved girl who I knew to be Hannah, gazed at the ground.
After smoothing the silver fabric down her hips, Brielle got up and began to move. Not in the direction of the dance floor. Not in the direction of the punch bowl.
directly in the direction of Mason’s empty table.
I saw Brielle nod after whispering once more.
My stomach constricted.”Please, just let him have one good night,” I muttered to myself.
As Brielle got closer, my son looked up, blinked twice, and his face froze in shock.Brielle tilted her head and murmured, “Hey, Mason.” “Wanna dance?”
Mason paused. “With me?””With you,” she grinned. “Hurry up. before the song’s conclusion.”Just give him one good night, please.”
He slowly got to his feet and grinned for the first time all night.
My throat hurt. I reminded myself to take a breath.
Brielle put one hand on his shoulder as they moved to the middle of the floor. Mason remained courteously at a distance.
The other students stopped dancing around them.
I was aware of it before I wanted to acknowledge it. The phones. Raised at chest height, six of them had illuminating screens.
He grinned for the first time that evening.”Why are they filming?” I whispered to the woman next me.
She gave a shrug. “Kids film everything now.”
I wanted to take her word for it. I did, in fact.
I observed Brielle murmuring something into Mason’s ear. He gave one gentle shake of his head and continued to dance.
With their shoulders trembling with laughter, her friends by the punch bowl covered their mouths.
I sensed that something was going to happen, but I had no idea how catastrophic it would be.These days, they film everything.
I felt something tighten inside of me.
I forced myself to halt after taking a step forward.I muttered to myself, “Let him have this.” “Just let him have this.”
As the music approached its last notes, it slowed. Then all of the faces in the room could be seen when the lights brightened just enough.
Brielle took a step back.
I was devastated by what she did next.
I started to move forward, then I stopped myself.
The gym walls echoed with Brielle’s theatrical, throw-your-head-back laugh.
Mason’s grin vanished in slow motion.He questioned, “What’s so funny?”Between chuckles, Brielle whispered, “Oh my God.” “Did you actually think I wanted to dance with you?”
There was laughter in the room. A youngster whooped somewhere behind me.”I lost a wager,” she uttered more loudly. “My penance was to dance with you. Like, the most severe penalty they could imagine.”Did you genuinely believe that I desired to dance with you?
Mason simply remained there, tears welling up in his eyes as the other students pointed at him and laughed, their phones still out and recording everything.
I forced my way through the throng.”Mason,” I said as I got to him. “Honey, look at me.”
He gave me a glance. “Mom.””We’re heading out,” I said. “At this moment. We’re going to leave when I speak with the principal.”
I believed the evening was over. I was mistaken.
Mason simply stood there, tears welling up in his eyes.No, I’m alright. He said, “I just need five minutes.” “I’ll return immediately. I swear.
I looked for the youngster who used to weep into my shoulder after school on his face. I was unable to locate him.
I should have known that something had changed based on the expression on his face.”Five minutes,” I muttered.
After giving one nod, he turned and left.
I would have followed him if I had known what he was going to do.I’m alright. I only need five minutes.
Brielle was already giving a girl in a silver outfit a high five behind me.She shouted, “Did you see his face?” “Oh my God, I’m dying.”
Something prevented me from marching over there and saying all I had been suppressing for months.
I realized it too late. Mason had not appeared defeated by the way he had left. He had moved with a purposeful gait.
I looked around for him.
He was making his way to the DJ booth.
He had moved with a purposeful gait.
A tiny black USB drive was cradled between two fingers in his right palm.
In my chest, my breathing stopped.
My fingers hurt from holding on to my purse so tightly. Brielle was still smiling, flipping her hair, and giving the girls who had recorded everything a high five across the gym.
The music then stopped.
Everybody turned to face the stage as the gym fell into an odd, ringing hush.
What transpired next would reveal much more than a cruel trick.
Brielle continued to laugh, toss her hair, and give the females who had recorded everything high fives.
Mason’s shoulders were square, his face serene in a way I had never seen before, and he held the microphone in one hand.
The big projection screen behind him flickered on.Mason said, “Pardon me, everyone,” without trembling. “This will only take a few minutes.”
Brielle’s grin faded. “What is he doing?”
Those students will never forget what transpired next.
