Raisin Rodriguez & the Big-Time Smooch by Judy Goldschmidt Page A

heartless.
    I didn’t really know where to turn after that. I couldn’t go back to the skybox or even table A-11 without risking the possibility of running into CJ and Dylan. And my heart couldn’t have handled that. Seeing them together and happy would just have been too much. And since my mother wasn’t picking me up for another hour, the only thing to do was head back to my table.
    As soon as I stepped foot inside the hall, I spotted Meatloaf bouncing off the walls. He appeared to be slam dancing. Which wouldn’t have been so weird if everyone else around him hadn’t been praying.
    This was a little too much for Abner’s mom, who was back at the table. She ordered Meatloaf to sit down.
    â€œYou could poke someone’s eye out the way you’re dancing,” she said as she pulled back the elastic waistband of her son’s tuxedo shorts and checked to see what was going on down there.
    Meatloaf sat down and pulled something out of his ears.
    Earphones.
    Which were connected to an iPod.
    Which he waved in my face.
    The iPod that I was supposed to win.
    THE ONE THAT WOULD MAKE CJ REALIZE THAT WHAT I LACK IN LENGTH OF LEG, I MORE THAN MAKE UP FOR IN INCREDIBLY GOOD FORTUNE.
    THE ONE THAT WOULD FORCE HIM TO GET A GOOD LOOK AT ME AS I WALKED UP TO CLAIM IT. IN MY BEAUTIFUL GREEN VELVET OUTFIT.
    THAT’S MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN GALENKA’S. EVEN THOUGH IT’S THE SAME ONE.
    BECAUSE I KNOW HOW TO ACCESSORIZE.
    THE ONE THAT, IF NOTHING ELSE, WOULD CONSOLE ME OVER NOT HAVING MY KISS WITH CJ.
    â€œAren’t you going to ask me where I got this?” Meatloaf asked, smirking a very smirky smirk.
    â€œWhy would I do that?” I asked.
    â€œI just thought you’d be interested, considering how much you wanted one before.”
    â€œWell, things are different now. I’ve gone through some changes. You probably won it in the raffle, so good for you. Now please leave me alone with my suffering.”
    â€œOkay,” he said. “I just thought that maybe you’d want to know that you had the winning ticket for the iPod. Guess I was wrong.” Then he put the earphones back in his ears and started shaking his head to the music. At which point I almost wrapped my hands around his throat and wrung his neck.
    â€œGive it back,” I said.
    â€œMake me!” he said, springing to his feet.
    â€œGive it back,” I repeated as Meatloaf started running around the table. I chased him for a while, but I couldn’t catch up.
    Finally Meatloaf started running out of breath. “I’ll give it back to you if you dance with me,” he said.
    â€œFine,” I said, after giving it some thought. It wasn’t as if I’d really have to dance with him. We’d be doing the electric slide. It’d be more like dancing next to him.
    But when we got out on the dance floor, instead of joining the others on the dance line, Meatloaf grabbed my hand and started twirling me around the dance floor. I asked him to stop, but he wouldn’t listen.
    â€œJust till the end of this song and then I’ll give you your iPod,” he said. In truth, I didn’t mind it so much. He wasn’t such a bad dancer and it wasn’t like anyone else was asking me. So I just went with it.
    Just as the song was ending and I was preparing to claim my booty, I felt myself backing up into someone and then tripping over their feet.
    â€œSorry,” I said, without even seeing who it was.
    â€œYou were seated at the kids’ table?!” a voice said back to me loudly. It was a boy’s voice. And it sounded freckled.
    I quickly let go of Meatloaf’s hand.
    â€œHey, Jeremy. Um, have you met Roger’s cousin, Meatloaf?”
    Jeremy didn’t answer me. He just finished off a sip of whatever he was drinking and raised his glass at Meatloaf. “S’happenin’, yo? Those fourth-grade girls giving you trouble?”
    S’happenin’, yo? He