It is 8 p.m. on a Tuesday night in April and you and your two friends are together at your house. One of your friends had received a text earlier that day saying that you were getting promposed to tonight, so you are sitting in your house preparing. Soon you hear the slamming of car doors and the footsteps of a group of people approaching the door. The doorbell rings and outside is a group of people and a big white poster asking you to prom.

This year, the WHS class of 2022 will be having its senior prom on Saturday, April 30. This is one of the few senior proms that Wayland has ever hosted since Wayland traditionally has junior proms. This is also the first time prom is being held off campus since 2019. Along with most aspects of prom going back to normal, the annual promposal season has also returned.

“I am really excited to go to prom because it’s the senior prom and it will be a fun experience,” junior Marcos Whelton said. “I will be able to hang out with a lot of the senior guys and I am looking forward to seeing what prom is like.”

The annual promposal tradition usually consists of a student arriving at their prom date’s house with a poster that has a clever phrase. To allow more students to enjoy these promposals, they are posted on a promposal Instagram account: “Wayland Promposals.”

“I like seeing my friends on the page because it makes me happy for them since they get to have fun at prom,” sophomore Giovanni Sebastianelli said.

Every year, the same Instagram page is run by a student who is sent photos of promposals after they happen. Next, they are posted on Instagram, and other students can like and comment on the post. This page keeps students up to date and allows them to see who everyone’s prom dates are. This year, the promposal Instagram account is being run by senior Ali Baron. Since the start of the account in 2017, there has been over 390 promposal posts.

“I get to see the promposals first before everyone else does, I immediately post it and caption it with an emoji that usually has something to do with [the promposal],” Baron said. “I really enjoy seeing the pictures.”

Each year, the job of running the account is passed down to the grade below. Baron is not sure who has run the account before her since most people try to keep it anonymous. Next year, there will be both a junior and senior prom for the 2023 and 2024 classes. The dates of prom were forced to move due to the pandemic, so now both proms will be in the same year. For the Instagram, one student will be running it for the junior and senior class.

“I do know who I am going to choose for next year, but they would like to be kept anonymous,” Baron said.

Each year, seniors can ask other seniors or juniors to prom. One junior that was asked to prom this year was Sophie Stowell, who was asked by senior Tom Balicki. Balicki arrived to Stowell’s house with a kitten in one hand and a poster in the other that said, “I would be kitten if I said I didn’t wanna take you to prom.”

“I knew that the whole family wanted a cat and I thought it was the perfect opportunity,” Balicki said. “I came up with the idea just a few hours before.”

Balicki is commonly looking for things on the Facebook marketplace so, when he found a kitten in Framingham, he, his sister and his mom immediately went to go pick up the kitten after they found it. The cat is now living with the Stowell family and has been named Milo.

“It was exciting going to get the cat because I knew I would get to spend a lot of time with it too,” Balicki said. “My mom and I expected [Sophie] to cry, we were surprised when she didn’t.”

Balicki might have been the only senior to ask someone with a live animal, but many others brought gifts to their promposals. Senior Alfonso Alvarez asked senior Jenna Garber with cupcakes and flowers. Senior June Kim asked junior Will Morris with an entire box of donuts.

“I have been looking forward to prom since the promposal,” Stowell said. “I have enjoyed looking for my dress, and I am excited to spend the night with my friends.”

This year’s senior prom is taking place at the Hyatt Regency Boston. Students will take buses into Boston and the event will be from 7 – 11 p.m. Seniors and juniors have been awaiting this day with a lot of anticipation.

“I think prom is super fun because we all get to dress up and have a fun night all together before we graduate,” Baron said. “I am looking forward to spending time with my friends and dancing.”