Will You Go To The Dance With Me? (Part 4 of 6)

Mom never succeeded to get me to go to a dance my whole seventh grade year. But in eighth grade, I went to the first one. I learned two things at that dance. Number one: Charmian wasn’t there. Number two: the fast dancing was okay. But slow dancing looked much better. The music slowed down and couples began to pair off to dance. They got out to the dance floor and wrapped their arms around each other and turned slowly to the music. It looked pretty neat to me. That’s when I got my idea to ask Charmian to the next school dance.
It was weeks before I even heard about another dance. But then they announced one near Halloween. I planned out exactly what I was going to say. “Will you go to the dance with me?” And I practiced it over and over, especially in front of the mirror. I had set the time I would ask her as one week before the dance. As the day grew closer, I got more nervous. I still had never said one word to Charmian.
Then the day came. But when I went to band class, I didn’t see Charmian. She must have been sick.
The next day she was at school. I saw her in band. Then we went to lunch. That was going to be the time. I ate my lunch nervously. Then I put my tray in the place where the lunch workers could clean it off. I walked to where Charmian was finishing up her lunch with her girlfriends. I got nearer. I was right up behind her. There was tension in the air for me as I saw all those girls. Wait! This is all wrong. I can’t ask her this question with all these girls here! But I was like a complex machine executing it’s orders and there was no abort button. I stuck my head between Charmian and another girl. I turned my head to Charmian. She looked at me uncomfortably. I blurted it out. “Will you go to the dance with me?”
Every girl at the table was silent. Charmian didn’t know what to say. All the girls were hating me with their eyes. I’m sure some of them were thinking, aren’t you not supposed to date until you are sixteen? Charmian is only thirteen! Others were thinking, how dare you come into our circle and ask a question like that.
Charmian had been placed in a difficult situation. She said, and these were the very first words she had ever spoken to me, “Can I let you know tomorrow?”
“Sure,” was all I said. I bounced away. I had done it! I had asked her! And I was still alive. It didn’t really matter what her answer was, I was just glad it was over.