What was your high school’s bizarre tradition?

The High School Prom Draft

My snobby rich classmate picked me in the prom draft. The principal demanded I go with him because of his family’s influence.

I went along with it and attended. But then humiliated him and ruined his reputation.

Imagine being picked for prom like a fantasy football draft. Except you’re not a player, you’re the prize.

So I go to this small private high school. Here pretty much everything revolves around money.

If your family doesn’t drive a luxury car, donate to the school, or fly off to private islands for vacation, you’re basically invisible.

Every year prom is a huge deal like people spend months planning it. Parents throw these over the top pre-prom parties.

And you better believe everyone judges everyone else. They judge based on their dates, their dresses, and their arrival cars.

This year things got weird about a month before prom. I started hearing these whispers about something called the prom draft.

At first I thought it was just some dumb joke or rumor. But then it got louder and it turned out it was 100% real.

Basically the most popular guys at school were running this secret draft like fantasy football. They picked which girls they were going to ask to prom.

These dudes were picking girls like we were trading cards. Now I didn’t think this had anything to do with me.

I don’t really hang out with the popular crowd. I wasn’t expecting to go to prom with any of those guys.

But then I found out I’d been drafted. And not just by anyone, by Jason.

If you went to my school you’d know exactly who Jason was. His family is loaded.

I’m talking about private jets, designer everything, and a huge mansion. Basically his family runs the school.

They donate so much money that the administration treats them like royalty. And because of that Jason walks around like he owns the place.

He’s the kind of guy who thinks he’s better than everyone else. This is just because his family has more money than they know what to do with.

One day Mrs Becket, our chemistry teacher, had enough of Jason’s usual Antics. He’d been throwing snide remarks around all class.

He was laughing with his buddies and completely ignoring her lecture. But that day Mrs Beckett snapped.

She told Jason to stay after class. Jason rolled his eyes but didn’t protest.

He stayed behind while everyone else filed out. I wasn’t in the mood to stick around.

But a group of students hung around the hallway. They were pretending to shuffle their books slower than usual.

Maya nudged me and whispered to me. She asked if I thought something would actually happen this time.

We both knew the answer. A few minutes later the classroom door burst open and Jason stormed out.

I didn’t catch everything but I heard Mrs Becket say something like you’re still accountable for your actions. Everyone went silent.

Jason turned, glaring at her through the doorway. He told her she would regret speaking to him like that and spat at her before stomping down the hall.

The next morning though it was like nothing had ever happened. In fact Mrs Becket seemed almost nicer to Jason.

He walked into class with his usual Swagger. He was smirking like he hadn’t just been chewed out less than 24 hours before.

The tension from yesterday was gone. It was completely erased.

It didn’t take long for the rumors to start. Word was that Jason’s parents had a chat with the administration.

More importantly they slipped Mrs Becket a generous donation to her favorite charity. We all knew that was herself.

A lot of people whispered about it but no one dared speak too loudly. That afternoon Jason was back to his old self.

He was sitting at the back of the class, throwing paper wads and making smart remarks under his breath. Mrs Becket didn’t say a word.

She didn’t even glance in his direction when he laughed too loud or interrupted her. And now Jason apparently had the first pick in the draft because of course he paid for it.

Yep he bribed some of the guys running it to get the first pick and guess who he picked me. And I don’t mean that in a good way.

Jason didn’t choose me because he liked me or thought we’d have fun together. He picked me because in his eyes I was a trophy.

I guess I was hot enough for him to show off at prom. Most of the other girls threw themselves at Jason while I knew what he was and didn’t pay him any attention in class.

I never laughed at his jokes or did so much as to offer a pencil when he needed it. And that’s what he loved about me.

He loved the Chase and trust me I knew this wasn’t about personality. Jason had never spoken more than five words to me before this.

Jason was like any typical Rich snobby kid. He showed up to school in his fancy car wearing clothes that probably cost more than my rent.

He’s the guy who casually mentions his family’s vacations to private islands. He brags about how his parents donate to the school like he’s doing everyone a favor.

When he found out I wasn’t thrilled about being his pick he didn’t take it well. Jason started acting like I owed him a prom date just because he chose me in this ridiculous draft.

He’d find ways to bump into me in the hallways and make comments. He’d say things like I can’t wait to see you in your dress or you know we’ll look amazing together at prom.