By the time they arrived, Ken had already mentally checked out.
He went through the motions, his mind elsewhere. He had already made some adjustments to Mika's training plan specifically for Steve to try out over the next couple of weeks, or at least until his anger had subsided.
"Smile for the photo."
As they entered the venue, there was a backdrop with a sign which read "Prom 2019" on it. Steph and Steve dragged him and Sarah forwards, to which he was forced to have his photo taken.
Even at the best of times he didn't like such things, but now he was in a foul mood. Thankfully, the person behind the camera didn't single him out since there was a long line behind them.
After walking into the hall, they took in the atmosphere. The decor was formal, with a DJ booth and dance floor on one side of the venue. There were tables and chairs on the other end, as well as what seemed to be a buffet.
"I'm going to get some food."
Both Sarah and Ken called out at the same time, causing them to look at each other weirdly. It was then accompanied by a scoff from the former, before she walked off first.
"Can you guys get us a table? We'll go mingle first." Steph asked politely.
Ken let out a sigh, following after Sarah a moment later. He was hoping that he might be able to eat alone and avoid his hostile "date", yet it seemed it wouldn't be that simple.
'Maybe I can sneak off after the dance.' Ken thought, already planning his escape route.
Feeling slightly depressed, he grabbed a plate and began to help himself from the buffet. There was a large spread of meats, seafood and even rice which seemed to lift his spirits a little.
After piling his plate as high as he could manage, he spotted Sarah, or rather her large back from afar. Letting out another sigh, he walked towards the table she'd secured and put his plate down.
He glanced at her food, only to have his eyes widen in response.
Looking down at his own plate, he secretly compared. Ken had thought that he'd placed as much food as practically possible on his plate, yet upon seeing Sarah's it was clear that he lacked the experience and efficiency of this woman.
Without a word, he sat down and began to dig into his food. Mouthful after mouthful, he shoveled it in, hoping to drown himself in the carnal pleasure of eating in order to escape his predicament.
Upon finishing his food, he looked up and saw Sarah was gone. Letting out a sigh of relief, he sat back in his chair and debated getting another plate of food since it was so delicious.
Yet before he could get up, Sarah had returned with another plate, towering at the same height as the previous one.
Once again, Ken's eyes widened in both surprise and appreciation. He had thought that he had a large appetite, yet this woman was putting him to shame.
Sarah's gaze lifted, yet upon seeing Ken's face, her features softened slightly. She had been expecting to see a look of disgust, or even a mocking expression, yet they were not present.
But it was not enough for her to speak up. She silently tucked into her food once more, ignoring him. It was only for a brief moment, but Ken saw this change in her attitude and was suddenly curious.
Without a word, Ken decided to get another serving, returning a few minutes later. This time he sat right next to her, almost causing her to let out a yelp in fright.
"Alright, what's your deal?" Ken asked casually, not even glancing at her. Without waiting for a response, he started digging into his second plate of food.
Taken aback, she was silent for a little while.
"You ruined it…" She said in a small voice.
"Hmm? Ruined what?" Ken asked in utter confusion. He had only properly me the girl today, so how could he have ruined something of hers.
Sarah sighed, her face turning slightly red in embarrassment. "You ruined my prom date with Steph…"
'Eh!? What does she mean?' Ken's mind raced, trying to understand her meaning. However, after his shock wore off, the answer was rather evident.
She had a crush on Steph, there was no other explanation.
Now that he came to the conclusion, her behavior towards him was rather understandable. To Sarah, he was the one who had stepped in and allowed Steve to take Steph to prom.
If he had declined, then none of this would have happened.
Ken massaged the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming along. Here he was, thinking that he would be the white knight, allowing Steve to get a date, while also being a proxy date for Sarah so she wouldn't be embarrassed.
But the actual situation was so much different than he had imagined. Instead of being the savior, he was in fact, the villain, as far as Sarah was concerned at least.
"I'm sorry…" He said eventually. He had no other words to comfort her, especially after what he'd done in this situation.
"It's fine. It's not like she would go for me anyway… I mean look at me." Sarah replied, gesturing to herself.
Ken agreed, but he couldn't exactly say it out loud. If he wanted the night to be somewhat pleasant, there were other ways to go about it.
"Have you tried dieting and exercise?"
Sarah sent a glare his way, causing a cold sweat to roll down his back.
"Oh thank you for your wise words, why didn't I think of this sooner?" She retorted sarcastically, digging into her food once again.
'Well, I deserved that.' He commented inwardly.
'Mika, Can I use the training plan function on Sarah?'
[…Why would you want to do that?]
Ken almost choked on his saliva, not expecting Mika to be so blunt. But when he thought about it, the Major League System was related to baseball, why would it care about anything outside of that?
Eventually, he got confirmation from Mika and pulled out his phone.
"What's your number?" Ken asked, typing away.
"W—What? Look man, I'm not attracted to you at all." Sarah replied, her face turned up in disgust.
Feeling his ego crack, Ken did his best to remain calm. "I'm going to send you a tailored training plan. The exercises will be low impact and will significantly reduce the chance of injury. As long as you follow my training plan and don't exceed a certain amount of calories each day…" He paused, raising his gaze.
"I can guarantee that you'll be able to find a proper date for Senior prom."