Senior Will Larsen’s feet pound on the concrete as he runs with seniors Easton Volk and Aiden Adkins during cross-country practice. Their arms are pumping, legs bounding, mouths gossiping about homecoming — who’s going to take who? What are their plans? 

The topic of homecoming has been traveling through school. 

What have the ask-out signs said? 

How did the ask go? 

Was it awkward?

Homecoming fever has made its way to the cross-country team — to Larsen.  

Who’s Larsen going to take?

Who would say yes? 

Who does he want to go with?

Volk and Adkins keep mentioning a girl Larsen had considered asking for a couple of weeks now. A girl he works with and has classes with and has been friends for a while. 

Sahira Bhakta. 

Sure, Larsen’s known Bhakta since middle school, but they’ve never been close until the beginning of this year. And Larsen might not have known it at the time, but Bhakta has liked him for a little while, too. 

As they are running, Larsen and his friends go back and forth — debating whether she’s trying to go with someone else, or if she’ll say yes — when Larsen decides to ask Bhakta. 

That weekend, he tells his sister, Sophie Larsen, who’s also really good friends with Bhakta, that he wants to ask her.

Sophie immediately started helping him brainstorm ideas for a sign, and when and how he was going to ask her. The two of them come up with the idea for a “Cars” theme. 

“We’re both “Cars” fans, so that was kind of our thing,” Larsen said. 

Larsen and Sophie get into his 2006 black Toyota Camry, zooming straight to Target to 

get a Lighting McQueen toy car to go along with the sign — then right to Bhakta’s house.

In Bhakta’s room, a movie plays mindlessly in the background as she sits on her bed awaiting a text from Sophie. 

Sophie said she would be coming over to give Bhakta a “sweet treat” because she was thinking about her, a normal occurrence for the two who care so much about each other.

Once they arrive at her house, Sophie sends Bhakta a text saying “here.” 

As her phone pings, Bhakta makes her way down the stairs and to the garage. 

Larsen climbs out of the car and grabs the sign and Lighting McQueen toy for Bhakta. He stands there, only slightly nervous, as the garage door starts to rise. 

Bhakta stands on the other side, waiting for the garage door to inch up. 

Larsen sees the toes of the girl he’s about to ask out to homecoming. They’re good friends, so there’s a really good chance she’ll say yes.

The door isn’t even fully open when Bhakta sees, not Sophie, but Will Larsen standing there — with a sign. She starts jumping up and down and grinning like a little kid.

A boy is asking her to homecoming. A boy she likes is asking her to homecoming.

Yes. Yes. Yes. 

Of course, Bhakta wants to go with him. Of course, she says yes.

Throughout the next few weeks, Larsen and Bhakta start to prepare for the night itself. 

What group are they going to be in? What restaurant are they all going to? Where are they taking pictures?

Everything.

What they didn’t expect was to be on homecoming court, and to be walking partners together. This brought on a whole new level of stress for the couple. The simple planning gets uprooted with court dinners, breakfasts and pictures, pictures, pictures. 

And though it was a bit of work, the couple got everything planned out just right. So when the big week came rolling around, they were ready — sort of.

It was the big homecoming football game — the night for the queen’s crowning. 

Bhakta starts walking toward the edge of the field, down the 50-yard line, arm in arm with her grandpa — Sam Bhakta — as her name gets announced to the stadium.  

Her long, tulle and jeweled navy-blue dress sways with every step. It looks like night as a dress. The dark hue contrasts with the sparkle of the sequins and rhinestones. 

Bhakta didn’t think she would be crowned. She had been chatting about her guesses for the top three — Alondra Haack, Addison Baker and Emily Little — for the past week, but Sahira Bhakta wasn’t on her list. 

As she waits for the other girls to take their places on the field, she fidgets with her dress, her necklace, her hair. 

When it gets to the moment of the crowning, Bhakta knows who she’s going to hear. She knew it wouldn’t be her.

“Your Shawnee Mission Northwest Cougar homecoming queen second runner-up is…Sahira Bhakta!”

Her jaw drops as she looks at her grandpa, who looks back at her with nothing but pride. The crowd cheers for her. Bhakta turns and walks to the front of the row of candidates and gets crowned by junior Lovey Dubbs. 

Larsen came down from the KUGR streaming booth to congratulate Bhakta, hug her and tell her he was proud of her.

“I’m so eternally grateful that I made court… that in itself was a blessing,” Bhakta said. 

Then the night arrived. Homecoming 2024. 

Everyone packed into a mosh pit in the cafeteria, jumping around to Sexxy Red, Travis Scott and Waka Flocka Flame.

When 9:45 rolls around, everyone makes their way to the main gym.

When they announce Larsen, he walks down the middle of the gym, arms linked with his mom — Lindsay Larsen. 

He knew Luke Dent and Easton Volk would get first and second, but it was a battle for third. Larsen wanted it to be him. Wanted to be crowned by Bhakta. 

But he just didn’t know if it would happen.

The crowning starts. They welcome Bhakta to the front to crown the second runner-up. 

“Your Shawnee Mission Northwest Cougar homecoming king second runner-up is… Will Larsen!” 

Larsen is shocked, but also overjoyed as Bhakta walks towards him with the biggest smile on her face and the giant crown in her hands. 

“I was honestly happier I got third over anything else…just because we got to walk together for that five minutes,” Larsen said.