Popping the (Prom) Question

A student at Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville enlisted the chorus to pop the question in song. A young man at Archbishop Spalding High School in Severn wrote "PROM?" in whipped cream atop a gelatin mold for a young woman whose wisdom teeth had just been pulled.

"A few weeks ago in the cafeteria," said Natalie Franke, 17, a Spalding senior, "the entire football team came into my lunch and began to chant 'Prom, prom, prom,' and then one of the boys asked his girlfriend to prom. I also have a friend whose date sang her an Elton John song in the middle of the hallway."

Jennifer Burpoe, senior class president at Washington-Lee High School in Arlington County, wrote a piece for the student newspaper listing 11 novel ways to pop the prom question. Her column is gender-neutral, in view of the growing share of girls who tender invitations to boys.

"Take them on a scavenger hunt leading them to places that mean something to the both of you," she wrote. At the end of the hunt, "write 'X marks the spot' on a poster and place it over your head." Other tips: Make a T-shirt with the person's name on the front and "Prom?" on the back; have a barista at a coffee shop write out "Prom" in caramel or foam; or spell it out in candles in the person's back yard, taking care that it has been mowed, so you do not set it on fire.

"If someone were to ask me out that way, I would definitely say yes," said Burpoe, 17. "Girls love to talk about how they were asked."

Staff writer Theresa Vargas contributed to this report.