“Aww,” her friends echo. “So cute!” She smiles and looks down at the bouquet of flowers in her arms. He exhales in relief. Prom has a hodgepodge of different meanings amongst juniors and seniors, but its meaning can vary among freshmen too.

“Prom is nothing,” Ashley Zhong (9) said. “I don’t not like prom. I think it’s really boring. It’s interesting how people ask each other and that’s fun, but I don’t get why people make a big deal out of prom because technically, it’s just a dance,” she said.

On the other hand, Michael Zhao (9) thinks prom is a senior’s last memory of high school.

“Although a lot of people feel like it’s a romantic thing, I feel like it’s just a final reunion of the entire grade,” he said.

Freshman Kavya Ramakrishnan believes that prom is a place for imagination. Because of the elegant gowns and fancy decor, she thinks prom is “every high schooler’s kind of fantasy, and like a dream night for them.”

Similarly, Cordelia Larsen (9) thinks that prom is “our way to have a night to pretend that we’re grown up, to pretend that we’re older.” Her ideal asking is simple, at least as an underclassman.

“Maybe junior and senior year it can be something bigger like a guy holding signs or singing part of your favorite song,” she said.

Freshman Panny Shan agreed with Cordelia.

“It doesn’t have to be super elaborate,” she said. “Simple is okay as long as there’s thought because it is the thought that counts.”

Panny’s perspective of prom so far is through the eyes of a helper, holding signs and cheering.

This year’s prom, themed “Midnight in Paris,” will take place on May 17 from 8:30 p.m. to midnight.