PUYALLUP, Wash. — A group of Puyallup High School seniors, dressed in their homecoming outfits, looked back on their fondest memories together, dreaming about what prom could have been.
High school seniors all across the country are heartbroken by school closures due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, cutting their final year of high school short.
Malena Kamel, Meggie Burnett, Hannah Street and Taylor, who asked her last name not be shared, all planned to go to Puyallup High School's senior prom together. It would have been held at the Tacoma waterfront.
"Prom was something we really looked forward to all four years," said Burnett. "We already had everything planned out, so that was definitely really sad."
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Taylor said one of the worst parts was not knowing that their final day in school would truly be their last.
"When I left school in March I was under the impression that I would get to go back and get to say goodbye to all my friends and my teachers, my school... but I don't get that," she said.
Street, dressed for a school dance, remembered homecoming, which was the last time she wore the outfit she had on.
"I thought about all that," she said. "That night that I spent with a huge group of friends and all the fun we had."
When Gov. Jay Inslee's Stay Home, Stay Healthy order is lifted, Kamel said she plans to have a prom of her own in her backyard for all of her friends.
"We are all there for each other, no matter what school you go to even if it's a rival or not," Kamel said.