MidReal Story
Prom Queen Rivalry: A Tale of Friendship
Scenario: I am Jennie a high school senior. My bff is Mia. I am running for prom queen against Lily.
Create my version of this story
Lily Chen
high school senior, prom queen candidate and Jennie's rival, long blonde hair, ambitious and manipulative.
Jennie Thompson
high school senior, prom queen candidate, friends with Mia, long brown hair, determined and kind.
Mia Rodriguez
high school senior, best friend of Jennie, supports Jennie in the election, short black hair, witty and loyal.
I’ve never been the type of girl who dreamed about being prom queen.
I’m not even sure if I’ve ever been to a school dance, let alone prom.
But when Mia Rodriguez told me that she was going to run for prom queen, and that I should too, I couldn’t help but get excited.
"You’d make a great prom queen, Jennie," Mia said as we walked home from school.
"You’re nice to everyone, you’re smart, and you’re pretty."
"You think so?"
I asked, blushing.
"Of course! And it would be so much fun. We could go dress shopping together and get our hair done. It would be like a fairy tale."
"I don’t know," I said.
I’ve never been the type of girl who dreamed about being prom queen.
I’m not even sure if I’ve ever been to a school dance, let alone prom.
But when Mia Rodriguez told me that she was going to run for prom queen, and that I should too, I couldn’t help but get excited.
"You’d make a great prom queen, Jennie," Mia said as we walked home from school.
"You’re nice to everyone, you’re smart, and you’re pretty."
"You think so?"
I asked, blushing.
"Of course! And it would be so much fun. We could go dress shopping together and get our hair done. It would be like a fairy tale."
"I don’t know," I said.
"I’m not sure if I’d be any good at it."
"Jennie, come on," Mia said.
"You’re the best person I know. You’d be an amazing prom queen."
"But what if I don’t win?"
I asked.
"What if people laugh at me? Or worse, what if they don’t even vote for me?"
Mia stopped walking and turned to face me.
"Jennie, listen to me," she said.
"You would be an amazing prom queen. You’re beautiful, kind, and smart. If you run, I know you can win. And even if you don’t, it won’t matter because you’re my best friend and that’s all that counts."
Mia and I have been best friends since we were kids.
When we were little, we used to have sleepovers every weekend and play dress-up.
We’d put on our prettiest dresses and pretend that we were princesses ruling over a magical kingdom.
I’ve never been the type of girl who dreamed about being prom queen.
I’m not even sure if I’ve ever been to a school dance, let alone prom.
But when Mia Rodriguez told me that she was going to run for prom queen, and that I should too, I couldn’t help but get excited.
"You’d make a great prom queen, Jennie," Mia said as we walked home from school.
"You’re nice to everyone, you’re smart, and you’re pretty."
"You think so?"
I asked, blushing.
"Of course! And it would be so much fun. We could go dress shopping together and get our hair done. It would be like a fairy tale."
"I don’t know," I said.
"I’m not sure if I’d be any good at it."
"Jennie, come on," Mia said.
"You’re the best person I know. You’d be an amazing prom queen."
"But what if I don’t win?"
I asked.
"What if people laugh at me? Or worse, what if they don’t even vote for me?"
Mia stopped walking and turned to face me.
"Jennie, listen to me," she said.
"Lily Chen is prom queen now, but she’s going to step down at the end of the year. And when she does, there’s going to be a vote to decide who will take her place. You should run for prom queen because I’m going to run for prom queen. And we’re going to win together."
I wasn’t sure about this at first.
Mia’s always been the popular one — the one with all the friends and the boyfriends — and I’ve always been the quiet, shy one who spends most of her time in the library reading books or volunteering at the local animal shelter.
But Mia was right about one thing: Lily Chen is the current prom queen, but her term is almost up.
It didn’t come as much of a surprise — Lily’s always had a bit of a bad reputation around school.
They say that she’s slept with half the football team and that she’s been caught stealing from the school’s lost and found more than once.
I don’t know how much of that is true — or if any of it is — but I do know that Lily has always seemed more interested in partying than in being prom queen.
She’ll probably be leaving town as soon as she graduates and heading off to some big city to live with one of her boyfriends.
"Yeah," I said.
"I guess I could run for prom queen. But why does it matter so much to you?"
"It’s not about being popular or getting a crown," Mia said.
Mia’s words stuck with me on the long walk home from school that day.
We don’t live that far from campus — just a few blocks — but I couldn’t stop thinking about what she’d said: We’re going to win together, she’d told me, and when we do, we’re going to use our power to change things at school.
I’d thought a lot about power and popularity over the years — especially in middle school when I first moved to this town and didn’t know anyone yet.
I’ve always been really close with my family because my dad’s job requires us to move around a lot and I don’t have any siblings, so I’ve never had to make new friends before.
It was really hard for me to make friends when I first moved here, and there were lots of nights when I’d go to school dances and sit by myself along the wall because nobody wanted to dance with me.
I was always the last one to get picked for group projects, and on the rare days that I’d forget my lunch at home, I’d spend all of lunch break sitting by myself on a bench outside and hoping that somebody would notice me and invite me to join their table, even though it never happened.
I don’t think that I’ll ever forget how lonely and isolated and invisible I felt when I was in middle school, and I don’t think that anybody else should have to feel like that, either.
That’s why Mia’s idea about using the power of prom royalty to change things at school really resonated with me.
We could make sure that nobody else would feel like I did when I was new here, and we could make our school a more inclusive place for everybody who goes there.
"Thanks for walking home with me," Mia said as we reached her house at the end of the block.
"Of course," I said, as we walked up the driveway to her front door together.
"So… what do you think?" she asked as she unlocked the door and held it open for me to walk inside.
"Are you ready to run for prom queen?"
