Picture this: you're an English medium student, you just gave your O/A levels, and you have very little time before the pressure of the next academic year settles in. And most importantly, it's prom season. Who wouldn't want to throw an extravagant party with all your classmates and spend an amazing night filled with music, dancing, good food, and the works?

Luckily for me, most prom stories in Dhaka share some key elements - all of which I have carefully combined to create the ultimate epic prom manual. Now whether or not you want to call it a how-to or a survival guide is up to you.

Always pick a hotel in a posh Dhaka neighbourhood

A Dhakaiya prom is not complete without the venue being at a five-star hotel in Gulshan or Banani. With regional elitism now being trendier than ever, the last thing you want to suffer through is the misfortune of having to attend a prom anywhere in Dhaka South. Whether or not your school is in the area does not matter, so long as you get to flock to the heart of Dhaka city to enjoy this one night out and away from all your coaching centres, you can proudly proclaim that you have had a conventional American high school life.

Take your friend to prom as a pity-date

We've all seen and dreamt of the movies and the promposals that are so vehemently stuffed in front of our faces by Netflix teen-dramas. As you inch closer to prom, suddenly dates are all everyone will be talking about. You may find yourself wanting to use prom as an opportunity to ask your crush out, but always remember to cut a deal with a friend, who is in a similar situation, that if the both of you were to find yourselves without a date, you two shall go together.

Make a sport out of building your perfect outfit

For girls, begin prom shopping a month early. A few of the factors that you need to think about when buying your perfect prom dress are: whether or not the tailor will be able to make it in time, whether or not aunties will pass spiteful comments when they see pictures of you in it, and whether or not it is the same colour as everyone else is wearing. This is optional, but some of you may even find yourself taking your own measurements at home - all thanks to the advent of making customised dresses online.

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Cinderella: An MUN Story

For boys, it is imperative that you somehow manage to buy your suit in the morning of the day of the prom (based on a true story). Even if you cannot do that, nothing screams convenient more than being able to wear your fathers' old suits and be crowned Prom King. Men continue to attend the met gala in the plainest of suits, so don't worry, the bar is very low for you.

Convince your parents to pay for the ticket

Normalising the concept of prom amongst parents is still a mere dream. You may need to explain to them why exactly you need to spend more than BDT 3000 for what sounds like, to them, a night of debauchery and Western practices (which it certainly is NOT). This is arguably one of the tougher steps of this manual, so tread lightly, and prepare a careful rhetoric as to how you are going to convince them.

Thank the organisers

Never ever forget to show your appreciation to those who burnt the candle at both ends to give you a night you will never forget. Throwing a prom takes an immense amount of hard work and determination, so the least you can do after you're done slow dancing to break-up songs is thank the organising committee for giving you one of the best nights of your life.

Koushin Unber thinks horror movies with zero jump scares are the best. Send her incredibly esoteric memes at koushinunber27@gmail.com