Guilt And The Prom
Wandering around an open air mall in the San Diego area this past Saturday, happily working my way through a box of Good & Plenty, I passed a sign outside a tuxedo rental shop that struck me as a bit odd:
If I’m interpreting this sign correctly, the two people at either end are happy couples anxious to make their way to an unforgettable, magical senior prom evening. But the cat in the middle, the one circled in red….what’s his story? The phrase “third wheel” instantly comes to mind. Apparently dateless, did he bribe his way into this particular clique with promises of free booze and pot?
Perhaps he holds absolute power and sway over this small group who, for years afterwards, will harbor deep-seated guilt over having been controlled by this simpleton because he happened to stumble upon them during their most terrible, guilty moment of their young lives. By their reckoning, should their loathsome, twisted secret ever be revealed, their lives as free men and women would surely be forfeit.
And so, when I take a second look at this ad, I no longer see the gleaming faces of youth eager to tackle the challenges of whatever life has to throw at them. Instead, I see the silent cries of the wicked desperate anxious to put this tortuous evening behind them, pack up whatever meager possessions they own before the sun rises very next morning, and silently crawl out of town to take refuge in the world’s deepest, most secret cave. Forever.
Of course, it could be that I’m reading too much into this placard…
