Madi Endicott

            The fairytale for 16 lucky students from Van Buren High School began Sept. 5 when Mr. Zender came over the loudspeaker and announced the 2013 Black Knight homecoming court. But is life in the palace as easy as it's made out to be?

            Although being on court is “fun and exciting,” according to senior attendant Rachell Resnik, it comes with a lot of responsibilities and can be stressful. One task that Resnik found particularly challenging was creating the sign for the golf cart. Each attendant had to design and construct their own sign that would, in addition to tissue flowers made by the art students, decorate their chariot for the homecoming football game this Friday.

            A princess is not complete without her gown, and the matter of planning colors and deciding on a dress pattern was not the easiest task for the attendants.

            “Picking out dresses was very stressful because we wanted to make all the girls happy,” Paige Sudlow, senior attendant, admitted. In addition to getting colors situated, ordering ties for the boys, and deciding on a dress pattern that pleased everyone, the girls had to schedule a fitting in the week prior to the ceremony and put out around $175 each to pay for their dress.

            “That is far more expensive than any homecoming dress I've ever bought,” Alisa Warren, senior attendant and senior class vice president, revealed.

            For their knights in shining armor, it was a bit less complicated when it came to attire. The boys were in charge of acquiring a simple black suit, whether it was using an old one from show choir like senior escort Ted Simmons, or buying one on sale for $50 in Toledo, which is what Corey Spoon, senior escort, did.

            “It's pretty laid back for us guys,” Spoon stated. “The girls have to do everything.”

            One thing that surprised Drew Patterson, senior escort and class president, was the amount of pictures the court must pose for. The homecoming court met for the first of many pictures early Friday morning on Sept. 20 to have their picture taken for The Courier. Tomorrow, they will slip into their dresses and suits for the formal presentation of the court before the football game where even more pictures will be taken.

The senior girls discuss a dress design with seamstress Ann Burrell            

            “I didn't know I actually had to look presentable for the homecoming game,” Patterson joked. “I mean, I wanted to wear my Avett Brothers T-shirt and jeans.” The court will meet for the final time at Baker's Photography Saturday afternoon before the homecoming dance to have professional pictures taken.

            When asked how she felt about all of these pictures, sophomore attendant and class president Kylie Sturgill shared, “I like getting all dressed up, but it was stressful getting all the [hair and dress fitting] appointments set up. Also, getting ready and having to walk out on the field in front of everybody will be pretty stressful.”

            The princes and princesses must perfect their royal smile and wave as the court is presented four times throughout the entire experience: once at the Powder Puff game, twice at the football game Friday, and one final time at the dance.

            There is a great amount of time and effort involved in being on the homecoming court, which can be stressful; but the overall experience is definitely memorable.

            “The whole month of September is stressful for me because I'm involved with golf, school obviously, show choir, plus I'm on student council trying to plan the dance, so it's a lot to handle,” Patterson stated, but he is glad to have such a special way to start his senior year.

            Warren agreed saying, “I think this whole experience really installed the fact that this is my senior year and being with the other senior girls makes me realize that this is our last homecoming, and it makes me feel like I'm growing up.”

            Sturgill summed up her experience quite simply, saying, “It's definitely stressful but worth it, and I appreciate being voted on to experience this. I think it has been really fun and I'm happy to have the opportunity to represent the grade.”

            Catch all of the black knight royalty tomorrow night at the coronation ceremony as they officially kick off the homecoming weekend.