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Hey, anybody could rent a limo Bob Pennell photo North Medford High School students Cynthia Gomez, 17, and her date, Nicholas Balken, 18, leave Cynthia's house in style on their way to dinner and the school's prom. By Jessica Smith Nicholas Balken didn't pick his prom date up in a limo. Or a hot little sports car. Or a horse-drawn carriage. Yet when 18-year-old Balken met his date Friday night at her west Medford home, there was no mistaking the couple's prom ride -- a 35-foot-long, 8-foot-wide, 44-seat yellow school bus. Balken's choice likely is the most unusual in North Medford High School's prom history, but it made perfect sense to the senior wrestler. "I wanted it because it was the biggest," Balken said simply as he and his date, Cynthia Gomez, 17, a sophomore, settled into their seats. The bus, which Balken rides to and from school each day, came equipped with a driver and chaperone, both employees of Laidlaw Education Services. The company provides buses for local school districts. "We're with him every day and he was so excited about the prom. He talked about it all the time," said driver Diane Christensen. "So we had to make certain his prom went well." Christensen and bus monitor Tammy Sites volunteered their time to drive Balken and Gomez to dinner at the Four Seasons Restaurant at Rogue Valley Mall -- where there was no problem parking -- and the prom at the Rogue Valley Country Club. Although the chaperones wanted to keep a respectful distance from the couple, Christensen and Sites also were on hand to help the teens, who are students in North Medford's special education program. Aside from the bus, prom night 2000 was no different for Balken and Gomez than it was for other teens. A jittery Balken pleaded with his chaperones for "just a few minutes" to steady his nerves before knocking on Gomez's door. "I gotta calm down," Balken said, resting his head on the back of a bus seat and clutching the cellophane box that held his date's rose corsage. "OK, I should go get her." After a few timid steps, he was at Gomez's door, helping her with her wrist corsage while friends snapped photos. Half an hour later, the couple sat down to dinner, looking forward to the big dance -- and their grand entrance. "I'm just so proud of Diane and Tammy for doing this," said Laidlaw manager Stew Hedges. "When they came in to tell me, they were all excited and giddy like a couple of teenage girls." "We love Nick. He's a great kid," Christensen said. "We want him to have a great prom." Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA