Steuard Jensen for Prom King

This tale begins at Southeast High School, sometime late in my 11th grade year (that puts it in the spring of 1993). Second semester was inching along, and it was the final day to nominate people for the Prom royalty elections. It was also, of course, the final chance for those who had been nominated to remove their names from the ballot. As one of the most dedicated science nerds at the school, I had paid little attention to the upcoming election, but fate sent me on an errand to the office shortly before it closed that day. While the secretaries were taking care of whatever it was that I needed, I talked to my friend Nick Larsen who happened to be there, and casually glanced around the office. I saw the Prom King/Queen nomination list lying in front of me, and began idly looking at the names to see who was striving for that oh-so-great honor, when suddenly I realized that one of the names there was my own! "Look, Nick," I laughed, recognizing the handwriting, "Kale signed me up for Prom King!" Naturally, I immediately crossed my name off the list as Nick smiled, "That's pretty funny, Stu," or something to that effect. My business in the office completed, I walked back to my locker and headed home.

As you've presumably guessed, the story doesn't end there. Oh, no. Unbeknownst to me, Nick and Kale were both part of a larger plot to get me on the ballot, and moments after I left the office Nick added my name to the end of the list again, and he left the office a few minutes later just as it closed for the day. I don't recall how long it was before I found out that they had put my name back on the ballot, or even precisely how I found out. I do recall that my counselor talked to me at one point and asked if I wanted my name removed, but by that time it would have been rather inconvenient to do so, and having already heard from the ringleaders (Nick and another good friend of mine, Adam Barney) that I would be on, I decided not to spoil their little joke. At any rate, I quickly put it out of my mind until it was forcibly brought back just before the first round election.--