Chapter 16

The posters for the Christmas Dance littered the hallway. I mean literally. Some bright soul on the organizing committee had thought it a brilliant idea to paper over the senior lockers with the posters. Students in a hurry to dump their winter clothes and get to the washroom to add an extra layer of makeup or sneak a smoke just threw the papers on the floor. It was like it had snowed indoors. Only this snow wasn't melting. Instead the custodian walked through the halls with a garbage can on wheels and muttering things that would have really upset Mr. Hand if he was around to hear them.

I tossed my coat and boots in the locker. I had mostly trash proofed it by duct taping over the air vents in the door. It was probably safe anyway, Chastity was way too busy with her new boyfriend. All I knew about him was that his name was Rickard, and that someone thought he was a dich.

Every time I turned around the two of them were exchanging saliva. I would have wondered if I were being stalked, but it wasn't that big of a school. I figured I was safe enough. I had other things on my mind - mostly Marilyn. I was trying to figure out a way of asking nem to the Christmas Dance. It was a sure thing that no one was going to ask me. I couldn't imagine anyone asking Marilyn either. We were the perfect couple.

All I needed to do was work up the nerve to ask before they stopped selling tickets. Tomorrow. I had worked on my 'speech' all night and had it saved in triplicate on my tablet.

"I want all your written work handed in tomorrow," Mr. Sheldon said. "There will be no extensions and no excuses." His hand knocked on my desk. "Pay attention, Petunia!" I looked at him and gave him my best 'I'm paying attention' look. He just shook his head and went back to his desk. "In January when we return you will have a chance to present your projects to the class. Sixty percent of your mark will be from the written work and forty from the class presentation."

I went from Civics to gym where we were going to get put through our paces again to see if we'd toughened up any. We were finished our three weeks of calisthenic torture. Miss Philps had set up stations around the gym and assigned us partners. Mine was a blond bombshell named Lizza who had been third runner up in a beauty pageant just the week before.

"Come on, come on," she yelled at each station. "One more, you can do it!"

The funny thing was that I could. I mean I was still sweaty and exhausted at the end of the class, but this time I had done sit ups, push-ups and the rest. Lizza was impressed.

"I watched you the first day," she said, "and you were hopeless. I wish I could improve like this. I'm totally plateaued." We handed in our score sheets to Miss Philps and hit the showers. Lizza simply dropped her clothes and walked into the shower. I mentally shrugged and followed her. I made sure to look away from the mirror. It was the first time I'd showered with the class since Chastity had hurt her leg and the rest of the girls had punished me for looking. Chastity had returned class within a week of that fall. It wasn't nearly as bad as she had made it out to be. Nobody talked about that day - not them and not me. Chastity was staring at me as I showered. I turned my back on her.

Lizza was showering and talking nonstop about some boy she wanted to ask her to the dance. I was stunned that she didn't have a date yet. I was sure that all the boys in the school would give up an arm to take her to the dance. The problem she had was that everyone but the guy she wanted had asked.

I had never considered that beautiful people had their own problems. I felt just a little ashamed. I dried off and dressed. It was time for lunch, and it was also time for me to suck it up and ask Marilyn to the dance.

I pulled up my the speech and took one last look. It sounded pathetic. I would have wiped it right there and then, but Marilyn was at the table and had a pile of papers. Ne pushed them over to me as I sat.

"Just take a look and let me know what you think," Marilyn said. I put my tablet on the table and pushed it out of the way as I skimmed through nir civics paper. When I finished I reached for my tablet, but Marilyn was looking at it with a strange expression on nir face.

"What did you think of my paper," ne said after pushing my tablet back to me. I reached for my tablet and opened a new document.

Looks great

"Good," Marilyn said, and went back to lunch. We ate in awkward silence. We usually ate in silence. It was too much bother to keep wiping my hands to respond to Marilyn. Today though there was something that we should be talking about and we weren't.

"Let's go for a walk," Marilyn said and stuffed nir books and papers in nir bag. I put my tablet in my vest and we headed through the halls.