Mark: Hey, Todd, I've got a topic for us to talk about. Todd: OK.
Mark: Prom.
Todd: High school prom?
Mark: High school prom. Did you go to your prom?
Todd: Yeah, of course, I went to the high school prom my junior and senior year.
Mark: Could you ... well, first, could you just explain like to people that don't live in The States. What is prom?
Todd: Prom is a dance that the girls are really into. Boys too but the girls are really crazy about and it happens in the spring usually a month before school ends and it's a big dance and everyone dresses up. I'm 35 so it was about almost 17, 18 years ago, or 18 years ago and we would wear a tuxedo, which is a very formal suit, a black and white suit with a tie and the girls would wear a very nice dress. I'm sure they don't wear those dresses today. They're probably out of style but it was very formal and you would go to dinner before the dance to a nice restaurant and you'd go to the dance and you would dance basically. Mark: So is everyone allowed to go to prom? Like, 9th graders, 10th graders, or ... ?
Todd: At my high school if I remember right, you had to be a junior or senior. One of the people had to be a junior or senior so a junior could ask a sophomore. That's a ... a sophomore would be the younger student, so an older student, which was a junior or senior, they could ask the younger person, and that was OK, but let's say two sophomores, two younger students, could not go to the prom together. Is it the same at your school?
Mark: Yeah, exactly the same, and in fact, either junior or senior, but prom was generally considered a senior thing. I didn't ... as a junior I didn't go to prom, but when I was a senior I felt a lot of social pressure to ask someone to go to prom with me. Todd: Now did you get the first girl that you asked to go to prom with you?
Mark: I did.
Todd: Oh, that's pretty good. Mark: Yeah, but, you know ... it was just a friend's date. Nothing more than that, but she was a very attractive girl and when my friends found out who I was taking to the prom, you know, they all were like ... Whoa, Mark! Way to go.
Todd: Yeah, I remember my date was ... I don't remember her name but she was nice. Isn't that terrible? I don't even remember who I went to prom with. Mark: You don't remember her name? Todd: I don't remember her name. Mark: Ah, I definitely remember that I went with a girl named Kathy ------- .
Todd: Oh, really.
Mark: Yeah, but ... and that was the only date we ever had. So did you go both your junior and your senior year?
Todd: I did and I don't remember ... I remember the face of the girl I went with my junior year but I don't remember her name either. I'm really bad with names. Mark: But did you have a good time?
Todd: Oh, of course, yeah. It was a good time. I mean, I really enjoyed it. You know, it's the dancing, and having a good time and thinking your cool. Mark: It's just something you have to do. Like you said, it's ... the girls go crazy about it, but I think the guys feel like ... Well, I gotta do this cause everybody does it. Todd: Right.
