Pink Carnation

It was a crisp, cool mid-October night; the signs of summer slowly giving way to fall. The moon shined bright on Chesterton High School where the gym was full of students celebrating the big homecoming victory. Sarah had introduced Mike to her group of friends and they were all hitting it off. Mike had met Sarah that night at the homecoming game. He was finally coming out of his shell. Mike's freshman year was awkward at best, and he did not make as many friends as his parents told him he would. He never could find his niche.

He went into his sophomore year with a newfound determination to enjoy school, but it had been no different from last. Until that night. Maybe it was meeting Sarah, maybe it was the new car he finally saved up enough to buy, or maybe it was because he was wearing his favorite argyle sweater. Whatever it was, Mike was finally enjoying the company of his classmates. There was a freeness, a sense of confidence that Mike had never felt before. All he wanted was to fit in, and it seemed as if this was the night he had been waiting for.

The first slow song of the night came over the speakers and Mike tried to get enough nerve to ask Sarah to dance. She looked at him, he looked at her, but neither said a thing. She was so beautiful with her curly brown hair and her yellow dress. What if she said no? The song came and went without Mike asking. He told himself he would ask her to dance to the next slow song. Feeling a bit overwhelmed, Mike went to get Sarah some punch. As he was filling her cup, another slow song started playing. Mike was ready to ask Sarah to dance, and he grabbed a pink carnation from the centerpiece on the table to give to her.

As he was heading back, a student busted through the double doors in the gym and shouted, "Hey guys! There's a bunch of cops and an ambulance out here! I think there's been some sort of an accident!"

Everyone ran out to see what was going on except Mike. He sat the punch down and stood there holding the pink carnation waiting for Sarah to return. But, she did not return.

Mike decided to go see what was going on. As he left the empty gymnasium, he saw a bunch of students mulling around the parking lot. About a half block down the road, he saw the lights of the emergency vehicles and approached the scene. As he got closer, he saw the back of Sarah's yellow dress and she was facing the wreckage. He tapped her on the shoulder; when she saw him, she screamed and ran. Mike then saw what she was looking at; his new car smashed into an old oak tree. He looked over at the ambulance and saw a gurney being loaded into the back. A jolt knocked an arm of the body down, and as it swung, Mike saw the sleeve of his argyle sweater.

Without a word or expression, Mike walked back to the now dark gymnasium, delicately picked up the pink carnation, and patiently waited for Sarah to return; where he continues to wait to this day. Every year during the homecoming dance at Chesterton High School, strange sightings occur. From ghostly visions in the gymnasium, to pink carnations appearing out of thin air, Mike is there waiting for Sarah to return; holding a pink carnation, ready to ask her to dance.