Well, everybody, it’s that time of the year again. As we made our way through spirit days and picked our football game outfits, many questions were looming. What dresses would everyone wear to the dance? Who was going with who? And yet, the most important question this time around was: Will we ever have a normal homecoming week again?

Of course, like any other year, the Dubs had the normal nerves about the week, especially for the dance. Shipping services became our worst enemies as they struggled to deliver countless dresses to stressed teenage girls. Some even fell short. Sophomore Ellie Winslade’s dress never even came, adding to her frantic week. “I’m really sad my dress never came,” she said. “It was so unique and I haven’t been able to find anything else.”

Life at NAHS never comes without surprises, and we got quite a few this year. One of the biggest? Our homecoming game was rescheduled for a Monday. Sophomore Reagan Lerner was enraged by this news, as her favorite part of the week is the football game. “There’s no way I’m going to a game on a Monday,” she said. “I have too much homework, and it really won’t be worth it to go without my friends.”

The thing the Dubs were most excited about this year was our first homecoming dance in three years. Or, maybe not. The threat of Hurricane Ian proved to be too much for the school to handle, so the dance was canceled. Junior Lydia Dukes was not happy with this news, especially since we didn’t even get a drop of rain in the end. “This was supposed to be a really exciting weekend, and I was so ready to dance,” she said. “But, of course, it was canceled even though there wasn’t anything to worry about!” 

It’s hard to know that our big week was wrecked by a couple of ‘what-ifs’. But, at least we’re all safe. Life goes on, and we still made the best of the week. As for the dance, I guess the third, err, fourth time’s the charm. Happy homecoming-ish, Dubs!