A row of corsage-laden teens waited breathlessly for the announcement, hanging on every word of the announcer who would soon reveal the prom queen.

The Open Door School Prom, held Thursday at the school, may have been earlier in the day than other proms, but that did nothing to dampen the excitement.

Naturally, that enthusiasm started long before today. Kim Jeffrey said that it was all her daughter, Open Door student Addie Tefft, could talk about.

“As soon as they start talking about it she’s always excited, this is the big day for them,” Jeffrey said.

As Addie and her date Johnny made the grand march out of the gym, they were easy to spot, he was the tall guy with the wide grin, she was raven-haired, in a floor-length black gown to match.

Adorning her hair was a single red rose. Jeffrey said this wasn’t one of Addie’s style choices, but one made by her personal stylist.

Yes, the teens of Open Door got the royal pre-prom treatment, with hair, makeup and nails done by a busload of volunteers from Collins Career Center.

Jamie Edmonds is a junior at the vocational center’s beauty school who was helping at for the first time at the prom. While her cohorts managed hairdos, she focus mainly on making nails look prom-perfect.

She admits that she was initially somewhat nervous about helping out, having never had much exposure to people living with mental retardation and developmental disabilities. She quickly found, however, that they were some of her best clients.

“I’ve enjoyed it, I’ve enjoyed helping out,” Edmonds said. “I was nervous, but it’s been very interesting. They were a lot of fun.”

Edmonds, along with her fellow students, got to see the results of their handiwork as they lined the Open Door sidewalk, exchanging small waves and grins to the grand march of students who had never looked better.

However, all of those niceties must have seemed little more than a fond memory in the gym, moments before the prom queen announcement. At least the setting was transportive; a Far East themed d/cor that would have seemed right at home in any high school gym.

But the time had come, and the announcement was made, and in the celebrations and dancing could commence. In the end, Kimber Brickey may have been named the queen, but from the room full of children’s smiles and parents’ tears, you would have thought they were all named Kimber.