The Dance
Everything was perfect. The tables were off to the side with foam balls covered in white glitter. After all, this is a Snowball Dance. There were more foam balls and blue balloons hanging from the ceiling to appear as if the sky was that much closer. Christmas lights filled the room is random areas, shining and making everything seem so magical. The room was glowing in this bright yet dim setting. The stage was surrounded by Christmas lights so the musicians could read their music. Light blue and silver streamers covered the room top to bottom.
Students were already dancing and enjoying the night of dressing up. Looking good for that one guy that you know is out there, just waiting for him to ask you to dance. It happened to me, though I wasn’t really waiting or looking for him. I was working and making sure that this semi-formal dance was a success and that nothing crazy happened. After all, I was the student government president. Everything needed to move smoothly.
Saturday nights were often the times when strange and unusual activities happened, some even illegal. This being the case, there was always one or two that got caught drinking or smoking. Though this night was definitely strange and unusual, it was not from drinking and smoking. It was dancing.
I am not the type of person to be at a dance. I refuse to dance and everyone that knows me can tell you so. I don’t remember a time when I liked to get out on the dance floor and dance. I had to two-step with the old native grandpas when I was little, but that was out of respect. Then I was just a kid, so I wasn’t expected to dance well at the time. I just find dancing something that I am not really graceful at. I am not exactly comfortable with showing off my body, and dancing seems to be the sport to do that.
I took my post at a seat near the front of the stage and was jamming out. Next thing I knew, I was being asked to dance. It wasn’t even my boyfriend who asked me; it was his roommate, Trent. Apparently I looked sad and needed cheering up. Trent had this look on his face as if he needed to dance with me. I couldn’t say no. I told him I would if there was a really good song. It had to be a song that I knew and liked well enough to even think about dancing to. In truth, I was intimidated. Trent is six foot five and still growing while I am five foot one. I am never going to grow another inch, unfortunately. He was the tallest in the school; I was the shortest. We had math together, but that was different. How was I supposed to dance with a giant? There was nothing like this in the movies that I had watched. Not even a brief page in a book to describe how to dance with a guy more than a foot taller than me.
The musicians started playing “Landslide”. I turned to face my ultimate humiliation, to nod and go down in history as the girl who danced with a giant. Trent stood and guided me to the center of the dingy dance floor. My eyes were even with his bottom ribs. I couldn’t look him in the eyes; it was terrifying to think of what I was doing. Slowly raising my arms to his high waist, I noticed my fingers falling. I was trying to follow his hips so that my fingers could rest there but that proved to be difficult since he was dropping to his knees. Finally, his arms were around my waist and my hands were around his neck. I thought I was going to choke him.
Everything started blurring into a pool of surprise, shock, and tears. The floor was moving and I was standing still. I felt like I was tripping, getting ready to fall to the ground. Trent’s arms held onto me tightly, so it wasn’t even possible to fall. There were flashes of light from various cameras, laughter, and admiration for this guy to dance on his knees. Students and staff were whistling at us. I closed my eyes to try and block them out. The euphoria hit me as I realized that this was the only time that something this cool could happen. Smiling like I had won the lottery, I opened my eyes to see what was going on around me. The lights whirled by as I spun in circles trying to capture a glimpse of someone I recognized. Someone who could tell me that this was just a dream that wasn’t real. My friends were starting to dance around us. They looked at me a longing, wishing that this was their dream too. The teachers were looked dazed as they thought of their high school dances.
I couldn’t look at my boyfriend. I was scared to see what his expression was to see his roommate and I dancing. The song ended and I said thanks as I walked away with a smile on my face. My friends rushed to me and showered me with questions. The victory was mine. Actually, it was Trent’s, considering he insisted that I dance with him. However, I will always remember this night, for it was only the beginning of our relationship.
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