By RACHEL SAUER
The Daily Sentinel
The thing that never gets said about high school dances, since they carry so much cultural baggage and bloom-of-youth expectation, is that they’re much more fun with friends.
With a friend as your date it’s OK to bust your most freeform moves on the dance floor, to ditch the high heels before the blisters rise, to eat all the chicken nuggets at dinner, to fumble the corsage because it’s a gift of long-standing affection rather than luvvvvvv.
So, one day not long ago, while she was volunteering in his special education class, Preslee Bunch asked Seth Dunham if he wanted to go to Central High School’s Winterfest dance with her. They’ve been friends since last year and have an easy, jokey camaraderie.
Of course Seth said yes, absolutely yes.
Which is why Saturday afternoon found Preslee, 15, upstairs in her bedroom, seated and obediently holding still while her friend Sydney Corra twirled locks of Preslee’s chestnut hair around a curling rod.
“You guys are gonna have so much fun,” Sydney said, and Preslee smiled in agreement, careful not to nod. “Seth is the dancing king.”
He and Preslee met when she began volunteering with the CHS special education program, something that has become her passion.
“If you’re ever looking for me,” she said, “look in the special education room.”
She and Seth, with his easy smile and passion for sports and outgoing nature, just bonded. Winterfest was going to be so fun. She borrowed a strapless turquoise dress from her friend Sierra and Seth’s mom, Beverly Mullen, experienced a miracle Saturday morning in trying to match that color.
“I feel like God told me to go to Sears Outlet,” she explained Saturday evening, kind of joking, kind of not, “and the perfect turquoise tie was there.”
So, while Seth did the much easier guy-getting-ready routine, Preslee tilted her face up while Sydney applied foundation and bronzer. Together, they considered the colors in Urban Decay’s Naked 3 palette and extolled the virtues of an eyebrow game that’s seriously on-point. Preslee sat on the counter in her bathroom, her feet in the sink, so she could lean close to the mirror and apply mascara.
Then, a flurry of turquoise chiffon and glinting silver heels and several spritzes of Victoria’s Secret Noir Tease, and a few selfies for Snapchat.
“Gosh, I look so good!” Preslee said, kind of joking, kind of not, beautiful as she carefully walked down the carpeted stairs in her Grand Junction home so her father, John, could ooh and aah.
After stopping by Mesa Manor so her grandma, Louise Salazar, could see her in her formal, she waited with her best friend, Atiera Kennick, at Atiera’s Orchard Mesa home for their dates to arrive. They took a few selfies and started at every sound on the cul-de-sac.
“Is that Seth?” Atiera asked, peering out the living room window.
“No, it’s Cade,” Preslee decided, meaning Atiera’s date, Cade Price. “Or Seth. Is it Seth?”
“It’s Seth,” Atiera confirmed. “No, Cade.”
This went on for about a minute. It should be noted that these are excellent students who earlier in the day earned a superior rating for their viola and cello duet at the District 51 Solo/Ensemble Festival.
Anyway, it was Cade. Seth arrived soon after, and the crush of parents and aunts and siblings taking pictures while boutonnieres and corsages were put on was almost overwhelming. It was a relief to climb into the big white van in which Tilisa and Brian Clement, Atiera’s mom and step-father, would ferry everyone to dinner and the dance.
Dinner was at Dos Hombres, where Seth tucked a napkin into the collar of his shirt and Preslee into the sweetheart neckline of her dress. Seth had the chicken nuggets. All of them.
And then to the dance. Pictures and more pictures, yes yes, but what about the dancing? The music revved up at 7:30 p.m., and it was loud and it was dark and colored lasers flashed and Preslee soon abandoned her high heels.
About two hours in, when Usher’s “Yeah!” began playing, Seth did a slinky little swimming move, sliding over here and over there. Preslee, seeing that he’d wandered, dragged him back to their group, and they danced the night away.
