With Manhattan High School’s Sub-Deb Dance right around the corner, high school students are scrambling to find dates to the dance. However, what should start as an easy “You down?” turns into a marathon with the “promposal.”

For those who aren’t aware of the term “promposal,” it consists of a series of steps one needs to follow in order to successfully ask out their preferred date. While no ask requires a promposal, it has become a norm in today’s high school school system.

Step one is for one to decide who they want to go with to the dance. Simple enough, right? Well, step two makes things a little more complicated.

Step two is check your closet for some markers and poster board, because it’s time to get artistic. Asking someone to go to a dance isn’t as simple as writing “Prom?” in big, bubbly letters on your poster board. Instead, you need to dig deep into your brain and think of the cutest and most unique way to ask your date. If you didn’t know anything about boys, one of the first things you might learn is that anything artistic and creative is especially hard for them.

Step three is to get your wallet and go shopping for some candy or a little toy plushy to give to your date along with the poster. The saving grace of step three is that you can buy yourself a KitKat or plushie to make yourself feel better about the upcoming step.

Step four, the final step, involves going out of your comfort zone; it is time to ask your date. With all your hard work, they have to say yes, right? Well, the answer to that question, and maybe your ask, is no. While promposals put a special twist on the usual prom ask, your date has permission to say no just as much as they want to.

If your date says no, then it’s time to start from scratch and go back to step one. If your date says yes, then you are only out $1 from the candy and a weekend from the poster making.

Ultimately, promposals are just another thing to complain about in the life of a high school student. However, they make what should be a fun event, stressful and monotonous. While it is nice to receive a pretty poster and some yummy candy, a good and simple question never hurt anyone.