Cinderella's Halloween Night

Recently our local radio station had a discussion about Matric Balls (end of High School Dance) and it reminded me of my disastrous Matric Ball way back in 1984.

It was not so much the function itself that was a problem, but everything else that had lead up to that moment, and the subsequent ending.

For many months I knew what I wanted to wear and had designed my own dress which was going to be made by a friend's grandmother.  It was going to be a long black satin dress with a bit of white trim.  My partner was a mystery until basically the very last minute.  I just did not have the courage to ask the one person I would have loved to have gone with me.  Instead I asked a number of other guys and their subtle let-downs did a hell of lot for my confidence going forward.  From thereon out I just did not feel good enough and decided having a boyfriend was not what I needed.

Anyway getting back to my dress and who was going to go with me.  I discussed with my mother what I wanted to wear (big mistake).  She soon got me to change my mind about the colour of the dress and said it was not appropriate for someone who was still a virgin to be wearing black.  Yes at age almost 19, I was, apparently not so common today or even so I got to learn back then either.  It was my choice and which almost came to an end on the night of my Matric Ball.

I eventually gave into my mother (as usual) and redesigned my dress which was now pink and white satin.  I picked up the courage to ask a friend's brother to accompany me. In hindsight, I should have asked the friend, after all we were friends for a long time, and I think he was disappointed I did not ask him.  I had my reasons though, he had already dated two of my friends and I was not going to have him add my name to his list.

To cut a long story a little shorter, the big night arrived.

I wore my pink and white satin dress, cerise stilettoes (even though they were not high) and bag to match.  I had told my partner what I was going to wear.  When he arrived to fetch me the following sequence of events occurred:

Disaster No. 1. 

Partner arrived wearing a white tracksuit with a pink and white T-shirt underneath. (10 out of 10 for matching me in colours).

Disaster No. 2

We left, he hurrying down the stairs to his car and me following shortly after, losing my balance on the last few steps and falling and picking myself up because Mr was already in his car.

Disasters No. 3 & 4

We get to the school hall and are shown to our table.  We are served champagne and the idiot knocks my glass with champagne over onto my dress. When I look down to wipe my dress, I discover that there is black grease mark across my dress, where the seatbelt must have been.

Can this night get any worse than it already is, I thought.

Of course it got worse.

At the end of the evening, instead of going off with my classmates to some after-party, I was taken for a freaking "ride" and Disaster No. 5 was about to go down (on me).

Mr decided that he was going to succeed in getting me to kiss him, so he drove me just a few blocks away from where I lived and parked in front a nearby church's parking grounds and proceeded to recline my seat.  Before he could make another move, I told him to stop whatever he had in mind and take me straight home.

That my dear readers, was the night of my Matric Ball.

I am of the view that, it does not matter how wonderful or exciting life can be, disaster follows me.  But guess what, without the drama, my life would be pretty boring.

Enjoy the journey.  The road is not always made of asphalt.  Sometimes there are potholes.