Wind Warrior by Jon Messenger

the fast pace of
the music currently playing left him very self-aware.
    The song that was playing ended as they
reached the center of the dance floor. The flashing multi-colored
lights shut off and the room was cast into a dim glow. From the
speakers around the room, a gentle melody began.
    Sammy slipped her arms around his neck and
laid her head on his shoulder. He slipped his hands around the
small of her back and she let herself sink into him as they
danced.
    Xander wasn’t sure how long the song
actually lasted. It couldn’t have been more than three or four
minutes, but it felt like a blissful eternity while they shared
their moment on the dance floor.
    When the song finally ended, they both
seemed satisfied and walked back to the table. Someone had walked
around the room during the slow dance and lit candles in each of
the centerpieces. The Wonderland decorations became hauntingly
beautiful in the dim candlelight. Patterns danced on the faux
trees. The cardboard smoke rings from the caterpillar’s pipe seemed
to sway in an unseen breeze.
    Before Xander could admire the ambiance for
too long, Sammy nudged him to get his attention. Following her
gaze, Xander frowned deeply. Jessica was walking purposefully
through the crowd, followed closely by a stocky football player
whom Xander only mildly recognized.
    Jessica’s expression told him that her
civility would be kept to a bare minimum. After the amazing evening
he’d had thus far, the last thing he wanted was a confrontation
with her.
    “ Let’s just leave,” Xander
offered.
    “ No,” Sammy said adamantly.
“There are some things that probably need to be said before we
go.”
    Jessica and her date stopped at the far edge
of the table. The rounded table offered just enough distance
between the two couples that physical contact was an impossibility,
though Jessica’s spite knew no such bounds.
    “ That’s an awfully cute
dress,” she said wickedly. “Did you make it yourself?”
    Sammy stared at her but didn’t reply. Xander
felt like the temperature in the room had suddenly been turned up
by a few dozen degrees. Sweat began beading on his forehead and he
was glad he had an undershirt to catch the moisture beginning to
roll down his back.
    “ You know what?” Jessica
continued. “You don’t have to answer that. I’d rather you didn’t
talk right now and let me say what I have to say. I don’t know who
you are. I don’t even know your last name.”
    Xander frowned slightly. He was on a date
with Sammy and he just realized that he didn’t know her last name
either.
    “ But since you’ve shown
up,” Jessica said, leaning across the table as far as the space
would allow, “you’ve caused me nothing but trouble. I happen to be
president of the largest sorority on campus. If I wanted to, I
could make your life a living hell. And you may think to yourself
that no one is that petty—but you’d be wrong .”
    She leaned back a little, having said what
she needed to say. “Now, is there anything you’d like to say before
I walk away from here? An apology, maybe?”
    Sammy nodded softly. “Your dress is on
fire.”
    Jessica looked down in horror as a small
flame ignited the end of her sleeve. She screamed and her date
grabbed the nearest drink and threw it on her. The cranberry juice
soaked the entire front of her dress, staining the white apron.
Jessica’s wrath toward Sammy was immediately forgotten as she
stormed furiously away, her date trailing further and further
behind.
    “ That was the best rebuttal
I’ve ever heard,” Xander said in awe. “I don’t even think she
realized she’d leaned across the candle.”
    “ I certainly wasn’t going
to tell her,” Sammy joked, though the humor felt
strained.
    “ Are you okay? That was a
little harsh, even from Jessica.”
    Sammy nodded. “Do you mind if we just get
out of here? I don’t really think I want to be around when she gets
back.”
    “ You got somewhere in
mind?” he asked.
    “