As this new year is now upon us, my thoughts drift towards events of yesteryear. Specifically one of my fondest high school memories. Seemingly at least. Let me explain further.
I was a freshly minted high school student. By luck, chance, and circumstance I found myself propelled at the beginning of the end of my grade school experience. And in a mere forthnight, the first high school dance would occur. Now my social interaction with my female peers was minimal at best and downright disastrous if truly examined as can be read in my other entries. Not that my present is all too different but I digress. My young, naive mind wanted to change this fact and now I had a fresh chance to accomplish this. In middle school, I never bothered with scholastic dances due to my lack of courage and propensity to get caught up in misadventures. For example, I eschewed one such dance to participate instead with a cliche showdown street fight with a rival middle school across town. My attraction towards conflict had severely dampened any pursuit of girls in the past. I was tired of it and decided to draw a line in the proverbial sand. Not only would I act like a typical high school student but I would aim for the teen movie trope of asking my crush out. Yes the fire in my belly gave me the courage to finally approach my Unattainable Dream Girl (UDG).
Ahh, my UDG, even now the thought of her induces a torrent of unyielding butterflies in my stomach. Back on my first day of middle school, I had taken a seat on the last period of the day and eagerly awaited its conclusion. I anxiously awaited the final bell due to being challenged to a brawl by a Fellow School Bully (FSB). It had been lunch period and I set out to establish dominance at my new stomping ground by going after the biggest kid in the jungle. That kid turned out to be FSB and he was easy to find due to being surrounded by crowd of eager underlings who did not wish his wrath. I made a good first impression with FSB by introducing the contents of his school lunch with his face. Shockingly, he was none too pleased and we scheduled to exchange further pleasantries after school. Needless to say, as I sat in my chair and eyed the clock, all I desired was escape from the classroom. That all changed when another adolescent denizen took the seat right next to mine. My utmost attention was still focused on the clock, but a melodic voice that stated "Hello" in such a pleasant fashion tore away my gaze from the digital instrument of time. I then came face to face with eyes as warm as hot cocoa on a winter evening and a gigawatt smile that could power Doc Brown's time machine indefinitely. Cupid sure hit me with a howitzer that day. I could barely mutter a reply back. This trend pretty much continued throughout middle school.
Back to high school me, who set out to finally voice my thoughts. Classes had ended for the day and I sought out the object of my youthful affection. With my lines being carefully recited in my head, I made a beeline for UDG's locker. I was on a mission but my path suddenly became blocked by a familiar figure. I bumped full force into FSB which sent both of us to the ground. I got up first and dusted myself off. As soon as I looked up, I saw FSB's hand shoot towards my face. My eyes widened. He did not swing a fist though, rather it was a piece of paper. After our school yard scuffle back in middle school, FSB and I had become close friends. The paper was an invitation to a gathering of fellow juvenile ruffians such as myself. A Don King wannabe had set up a sweet sixteen bracket of scholastic street fighters and I happened to be selected. Clearly someone had been watching too much anime. Of course, I was an avid admirer of anime as well so I eagerly look forward to such a challenge. However the date of the event caught my eye. It was the same evening as the dance. Without hesitation, I tore up the invite and told FSB that I would be busy.
I shot off, leaving my bewildered friend behind. My feet took me all the way to my desired location, right in front of UDG's locker. The locker's user's back was to me as she was withdrawing books. I meekly murmured her name which caused her to turn and flash me her mesmerizing smile. I froze on the spot. It was rather pathetic. Just moments ago, I was ready at the prospect to engage with a multitude of violent young adults. I had plenty of public speaking experience. I had caught every Pokemon that existed at that point in time (curse you Nintendo for constantly making more). I had faced daunting tasks before but this topped the cake. With UDG, I nervously made small talk about school subjects and weather. Pretty much anything BUT what I set out to say. My mouth spurted out countless stream of words other than asking her out. Time seemed to stand still as we stood there in front of her locker. I kept attempting to stutter out a question but my tongue and confidence just did not allow me to. The conversation was both amazing and horrifying at the same time. Her presence simply made me feel ecstatic but also made me want to run up the nearest mountain range at the same time. In my mind fear finally won out and I bid adieu to her without even once mentioning the dance. With my tail between my legs, I started to trudge out of there. UDG called out my name though before I got too far. I spun my head around to face her again. As my gaze encountered hers once again, she casually said "So do you plan to go to the dance?" This simple question caused my heart to pound with the fury of a 1000 Energizer Bunnies.
"Uhhh...daa..da...ance?" I shakingly stuttered. This caused her to giggle.
Then she replied "Yes, the dance silly. Are you going to be all too cool for school to go?" As the words left her mouth, another blinding smile materialized on her face which left me no choice but to look down. This was it. A golden moment to ask her. My brow furrowed but I could not find the words to answer. UDG then continued to talk amidst my silence, " ...because if you do plan to go. Would you want to go with me? Only if you want to, that is." My mouth was cartoonishly agape in amazement at this proposal.
With every fiber of willpower in my being, I uttered "...Sure...I guess I'll go." Smooth move, Casanova. Never the less, UDG melted me again with an even brighter smile as she started to talk about dance arrangements. We talked for five minutes more until she walked off to go home. I stood there, still by her locker in disbelief with what just occurred. After ten additional minutes of statuesque behavior, I realized I had a date to the dance. In a burst of energy, I ran around the school track at least a dozen times.
Leading up to the dance, I still could hardly believe my luck. It was like a dream come true. My thoughts kept telling myself not to mess it up. But surprisingly, nothing bad happened prior to the dance. The day of the fateful evening arrived and even then nothing awful occurred. I ignored all of the pleas from my supposed friends to participate in the street fight tournament. Instead I arrived punctual at UDG's home, then out to fancy restaurant. Exchanged in awesome conversation with UDG about video games, comic books, and cartoons of which she was an avid fan of as well. It pretty much trumped what I imagined it could be. Even at the dance itself, I found a way not to mess up. In all honesty, I could not dance my way out of a paper bag but UDG took it upon herself to slowly show me some moves. Not really dancing the night away but still quite enjoyable. The music slowed down and the DJ told every boy to find a girl. In mere moments, I found myself in extreme close quarters with UDG, my hands were around her waist as her smile lit up the dance floor brighter than light. We slowly swayed to the song, in simple reverie. At the conclusion of the song, UDG pulled me even closer to her and locked eyes with me. Her mouth then opened but I could not make what she was saying. So pulled even closer to her, now our faces were merely a nose length away. I still failed to hear what she was saying so I closed my eyes to concentrate. I heard her begin to say my name but it was as if she was in a vacuum. Then complete silence ensued. I opened my eyes again to look at her mouth still moving and then quickly shut them again to focus on her voice. Suddenly sound came again but it was not her voice. It was familiar but much deeper.
Confused, I opened my eyes once again to find myself face to face with FSB. He looked concerned and kept saying my name. When he realized he had my attention, he said "Hey homie, you can stop now, you won." I pondered this and realized I was standing over an unconscious teen. I gazed at my hands to find them very bruised and battered. I surveyed my surroundings to find myself amidst a makeshift ring located in a backyard. FSB lifted me up as a crowd of rough looking delinquents shouted in delighted bloodlust. Apparently, I had won the street fight tournament. I did not really desire victory so it seemed my body knew this. I cannot really say what happened, maybe I just whited out for a moment. Or maybe my mind shifted to a place where I rather wished to be. This strange occurrence is still vivid in my memory so I am not quite sure what happened or what to make of it. I am probably just crazy.
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