Unlike every other 17 year old girl in existence, I had never received a flower before. Bouquet or single petal, no one had given me one. My birthday was always during the holidays so people used that excuse to never get me anything; I never had a flower to call mine. Sad, I know. Boo Hoo to me.
All throughout school until my final year I had never received a flower. I began to doubt I would ever get a petal to represent the friendship between myself and another. I'd see all my friends receive flowers from their friends; I've even given out a few! But none returned the same curtesy to me. None, until I received a single red rose in the most cliché way.
I forgot all about my 'lack-of-flowers' dilemma all through my final year of Year 12. I became focused on my studies and drowning myself in YouTube videos. I fell into a routine; get up, complain, go to school, complain, lunch, end of school, watch videos, dinner, dessert, complain about no more dessert, and then bed.
When my church offered a week long study camp in the freezing cold month of July, I had to take it. I was falling behind in studies and I knew I had to do something. So, I forked out $482 and drove with two friends to Port Hacking and was swarmed by a whole new atmosphere.
It was stress-free. There were large paddocks, sunshine, and so much food! It was heavenly in my eyes. The fresh cooked bread woke me up in the mornings with the crisp crackle of bacon. If there was any perfect breakfast in my eyes, it was a bacon sarnie. The crunch, the smell, the taste, it was instantly a great day. It still is.
I was part of a group that was assigned to help serve out the glorious traditional breakfast. I was behind the counter with a scratchy hairnet and stiff gloves with a huge smile on my face as I inhaled the bacon. Little did I know that something else was going on as well...
By the time I sat back at my table with my plate of bacon, everyone else was finished. I was mid-bite when I caught a few people on the table staring at me with weird looks. My best friend was next to me drinking his orange juice innocently, one of the leaders was opposite me with a weird smirk, and one of the other girls further down the table was trying to hide her grin. I frowned but just as I was about to confront them on their suspicious ways, I heard silence from behind me.
Turning, I spotted one of the boys on the other table, Jake, standing with a deck of cards in his hand. He flicked his thick dark hair behind him and smirked with a sense of cheek. Jake's eyes, dotted with a green haze, were flying across the room as he brought the breakfast to silence. One word was going through everyone's heads.
Proposal.
One thing that the study camp factored in was the 'Proposals'. It was a tradition, supposedly. I mean, I expected only one proposal in my life which would be with my future husband, but now I'd have two. The tradition was; for the last night dance, all the boys would have to ask the girls to the dance, called a Proposal. Of course there were conditions; it had to be extravagant, a leader must bear witness, and it had to be in public (no being a chicken bitch).
So when Jake stood up in the breakfast hall, all the girls were alert and wondering what was happening. They were quietly whispering to each other and trying to narrow down who it could be... I wasn't – I had a mouth full of bacon and I wasn't going to rush. It was bacon!
He'd brought silence to the sandwich hall, announcing he needed a volunteer for his card trick. At this point, I thought he was faking it and was just playing us all. I mean, a card trick? I enjoyed them, yes, it was a secret love I had. But to ask out a girl to a dance, how was he playing it??
I was tempted to volunteer as tribute but another girl beat me to it. Genevieve, one of the camp leaders, drew out a card from Jake's shiny deck and revealed a Jack of Hearts. Jake hadn't seen the card as Genevieve showed it around the room. The 'Ooh's!' were real.
The Jack was placed back in the deck and shuffled lazily. He was still smirking. I was pretty much certain that it wasn't a Proposal; I was just thinking about how cool it was that he knew a magic trick.
"Alright." He whipped out a card from the deck. "Is this your card?"
"No."
"...Damn." Jake said and the hall erupted laughter. He smiled, shaking his head and before looking back up with a flick. "I'll tell you why; because my card has found its way to a very lovely lady."
The 'Ooh's' intensified and my heart stopped when I realised it actually was a Proposal... and my mouth was still full of bacon. I looked around at all the girls, who were also looking around, trying to see who the 'lovely lady' was.
"Would all the ladies just check underneath their table...for a card." Jake instructed, tapping underneath the table with a smile.
All the girls, even those who had a Proposal already, were checking under the tables. There were more boys than girls on this camp so some girls were lucky enough to get two Proposals... I just found them mortifying. I wasn't looking forward to my attention over a dance. I checked my table either way.
I swore mentally when I felt a card strapped under the table in duct tape.
The girl next to me had stolen my excitement and was squealing and pointing at me. Everyone cheered as I held the card in my hand and I reluctantly turned to Jake... who was still smirking. I looked at the Jack of Hearts in my shaking hand before looking back up at the lad in front of me.
"That is the Jake of Hearts." He announced confidently and everyone started to hoot.
Oh God.
I couldn't hide my smile but I could attempt to stop it from revealing the chunks of bacon still wedged between my teeth. I quickly but subtly chewed through the bacon; it had gone cold like my stomach. I was not ready for this!
"Now..." Jake began as the clapping and hooting died down and I stared at him with embarrassment. My face was as red as a tomato; I'd never been so embarrassed in my life but I couldn't stop listening.
"I'd really like to go to this...'date night' with you..." He gestured with his fingers. "...I'd really like to go with you but before, cause you don't really want to go with a complete stranger so I just want to let you know a few qualities about myself."
Everyone around let out a few more laughs while I tried to get the remains of the bacon down. I was now extremely aware of the camera pointing my way to capture Jake's Proposal... and all the more aware of how I looked. I had my hair tightly pinned back in a braid that had no chance of escaping any time soon, my face clear of make-up but not the dreaded spots... overall I just looked terrible... and I was on camera. My cheeks were flamed as I swallowed the last of the bacon but not as flamed as the words that flowed out of Jake's mouth.
"First of all, I find English accents super sexy..." He started but I'd lost it. I burst out laughing, thankful for the lack of bacon. My best friend next to me started to cry as he tried to catch a breath between seeing my expression and hearing Jake's words. I attempted to shut my lips to stop the dorky tooth smile I always seem to inherit but it was no use. I was looking terrible no matter what.
After he listed the amazing qualities he possessed, Jake asked me to the dance and I of course said yes. That was the part of the tradition that couldn't be wavered; the girls must say yes no matter what.
On the night of the dance, I was sitting with the friends I'd made at the table. We had just finished joking about how I should be the voicemail for one of my friends because of my 'super sexy' accent when Jake had knelt in front of me on one knee. I thought the Proposal was over! However, I spotted the rose he had bitten between his teeth and stilled.
Jake removed it from his mouth with a smirk and handed it over to me. Part of me thought how unhygienic it was that he'd bitten a rose but the larger part of me had already formed the dorky tooth smile.
"I saw this rose and thought of you." He said and handed me the little red rose. I took it graciously setting it on the table.
"You have a way with words Jake." I'd replied, giving the lad a hug before continuing with my night... more importantly my meal.
Who knew I'd receive my first flower, a red rose nonetheless, by a man on one knee who'd only days before stopped a bacon breakfast to ask for my hand in a dance? Absolutely no-one.
Because no one was crazy enough to make me rush through the perfect breakfast... unless it ended with the perfect flower.
Fun fact, this all actually happened - please laugh at my friend's embarrassment xD