the epitome of individuality. I wondered what he was doing at this dance. Jacob Coote and company weren’t the regional-dance type, and when he caught my curious look he smiled knowingly.
“I was ordered to come tonight. Setting a good example, you know. I was promised that if I went tonight I’d never have to go again.”
“And what Jacob Coote does, everyone does at Crook High,” I mocked.
“I have that effect on people.”
“I still find it hard to believe that you’d turn up to one of these things. It’s not you.”
“You don’t know what ‘me’ is all about.”
I excused myself after the next dance and went to the ladies’ room.
“The one dancing with Coote,” I heard one girl say.
So they stared and rolled their eyes and I tried to ignore them all.
“Seven dances, Jose. Marriage next, eh?” Sera said, spraying her hair as well as the faces of people around her.
Anna grabbed my arm, shaking it hysterically. “I’m in love,” she said through her teeth.
“Did you all follow me into the ladies’?”
“He is the man of my dreams. I want to marry him.”
“You dance with him once and you decide that he will be the person to spend the rest of your life with?”
“I know it in my heart.”
“Try dancing with a few other guys and then tell me how you feel at the end of the night.”
Poison Ivy walked in and stood at the mirror next to me fixing her hair. God knows why a person with a straight, shoulder-length, flawless bob would need to fix her hair, but that’s vanity for you.
“Are you and John Barton an item?” Felicity Singer asked her. “I saw you guys pulling up in his car.”
“His father’s car,” she said. “How many seventeen-year-olds do you know with a BMW, Felicity?”
“He’s a great catch, Ivy. Think about it, captain of St. John’s with captain of St. Martha’s,” Felicity went on.
“We’re just friends,” she said in an almost patronizing, smug tone, looking at me and then back to the mirror. “We’re in the same circle of friends.”
We went back into the hall after that and danced some more and surprisingly enough I wasn’t left without a partner all night.
I saw Jacob Coote a few times, but he only stood around talking. I couldn’t bear looking over at John Barton in case Poison Ivy caught me, so I always kept to the other side of the hall. I even danced with Anton Valavic, Anna’s future husband, and almost fell in love with him myself.
But when the dance ended at eleven-thirty and everyone decided to go for pizza and coffee, I felt disappointment settle in.
My mother’s twelve o’clock time limit meant not a second after and I didn’t want to push it this time.
“Robert, I have to be home by twelve,” I told him as a large group gathered around outside.
“I’ll take a taxi with you, Jose,” Lee volunteered halfheartedly.
“Lee, I’ll really be miserable if you have to miss out too.”
“Well, what is she going to do?” Sera asked. I knew she was hoping that nobody would volunteer her because she had a car. “Her mother will go crazy if she’s not home by twelve, although I can understand why. She’s a bit paranoid about what people say.”
“Shut up, Sera,” Lee snapped.
“I’ll take her.”
Jacob Coote seemed to be looming behind us and I could see Sera gasping and palpitating at the gossip that would be created.
So out of spite, I found myself trailing after Jacob Coote, wishing I was with the rest.
When we reached the road, I spotted John Barton and Poison Ivy and cringed inwardly, wondering what I was going to say.
“Good dance, wasn’t it?”
I nodded, knowing that both boys were sizing each other up.
I didn’t want John thinking that I had been picked up at the dance by just anyone, and I could almost hear his mind ticking.
“This is Jacob Coote. Remember, you saw him at Martin Place,” I swallowed. “Jacob, this is John Barton and Ivy Lloyd.”
“Yeah, I’ve seen you around,” Jacob Coote
“I was ordered to come tonight. Setting a good example, you know. I was promised that if I went tonight I’d never have to go again.”
“And what Jacob Coote does, everyone does at Crook High,” I mocked.
“I have that effect on people.”
“I still find it hard to believe that you’d turn up to one of these things. It’s not you.”
“You don’t know what ‘me’ is all about.”
I excused myself after the next dance and went to the ladies’ room.
“The one dancing with Coote,” I heard one girl say.
So they stared and rolled their eyes and I tried to ignore them all.
“Seven dances, Jose. Marriage next, eh?” Sera said, spraying her hair as well as the faces of people around her.
Anna grabbed my arm, shaking it hysterically. “I’m in love,” she said through her teeth.
“Did you all follow me into the ladies’?”
“He is the man of my dreams. I want to marry him.”
“You dance with him once and you decide that he will be the person to spend the rest of your life with?”
“I know it in my heart.”
“Try dancing with a few other guys and then tell me how you feel at the end of the night.”
Poison Ivy walked in and stood at the mirror next to me fixing her hair. God knows why a person with a straight, shoulder-length, flawless bob would need to fix her hair, but that’s vanity for you.
“Are you and John Barton an item?” Felicity Singer asked her. “I saw you guys pulling up in his car.”
“His father’s car,” she said. “How many seventeen-year-olds do you know with a BMW, Felicity?”
“He’s a great catch, Ivy. Think about it, captain of St. John’s with captain of St. Martha’s,” Felicity went on.
“We’re just friends,” she said in an almost patronizing, smug tone, looking at me and then back to the mirror. “We’re in the same circle of friends.”
We went back into the hall after that and danced some more and surprisingly enough I wasn’t left without a partner all night.
I saw Jacob Coote a few times, but he only stood around talking. I couldn’t bear looking over at John Barton in case Poison Ivy caught me, so I always kept to the other side of the hall. I even danced with Anton Valavic, Anna’s future husband, and almost fell in love with him myself.
But when the dance ended at eleven-thirty and everyone decided to go for pizza and coffee, I felt disappointment settle in.
My mother’s twelve o’clock time limit meant not a second after and I didn’t want to push it this time.
“Robert, I have to be home by twelve,” I told him as a large group gathered around outside.
“I’ll take a taxi with you, Jose,” Lee volunteered halfheartedly.
“Lee, I’ll really be miserable if you have to miss out too.”
“Well, what is she going to do?” Sera asked. I knew she was hoping that nobody would volunteer her because she had a car. “Her mother will go crazy if she’s not home by twelve, although I can understand why. She’s a bit paranoid about what people say.”
“Shut up, Sera,” Lee snapped.
“I’ll take her.”
Jacob Coote seemed to be looming behind us and I could see Sera gasping and palpitating at the gossip that would be created.
So out of spite, I found myself trailing after Jacob Coote, wishing I was with the rest.
When we reached the road, I spotted John Barton and Poison Ivy and cringed inwardly, wondering what I was going to say.
“Good dance, wasn’t it?”
I nodded, knowing that both boys were sizing each other up.
I didn’t want John thinking that I had been picked up at the dance by just anyone, and I could almost hear his mind ticking.
“This is Jacob Coote. Remember, you saw him at Martin Place,” I swallowed. “Jacob, this is John Barton and Ivy Lloyd.”
“Yeah, I’ve seen you around,” Jacob Coote
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