DANCING WITH MYSELF • EDDIE MUNSON

four

He doesn't know my name... Seriously?

It bothered you more than you cared to admit, Eddie Munson not remembering your name. You'd known the guy since middle school. You talked to him on a near-daily basis... okay, "talking" might be a little inaccurate; mostly you just made snide comments about him under your breath. But he always heard you. You know he heard you because he would always get annoyed and glare at you, just like he did tonight.

Between your sophomore and senior year, you shared a total of eight classes together, and you spent half of them sitting directly behind him. Were you really that forgettable? You expected that kind of treatment from conceited jerks like Andy Hauffman and Clay Howard, but you didn't think Eddie Munson was that self-absorbed.

Now you felt hurt and betrayed... not so unlike Julius Caesar. 

Et tu, Eddie?

You must have been wearing your disappointment on your face because as soon as you rejoined the group, the first words out of Jason Carver's mouth were, "What's wrong? Hey, did that freak do something to you?"

"Hm? Oh... no, that's not..." You saw Chrissy staring at you with a worried expression, so you tried to wave it off like it was nothing. "I'm fine, really."

Jason put his hand on your shoulder, gave it a small squeeze. "You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

He frowned, unconvinced. "Well, you should be careful around that guy, okay? He's dangerous."

You scrunched up your face. "What? Eddie's not dangerous. I mean, yeah, he looks all mean and scary, but he's really just a big geek. It's kind of hilarious, actually..." You trailed off, letting your eyes wander back toward the entrance, where Eddie Munson was standing around all helpless and miserable, looking like a sad little puppy with those big, round brown eyes...

For a second, you felt bad about how you treated him, but only for a second.

You clapped your hands together. "Anyway, shouldn't we be heading in? Get this prom party started? If the future king and queen don't make an appearance soon, the peasants will surely riot."

Jason continued to watch Eddie with a suspicious glare. Then he gave a faint nod to his friends. "Come on, guys, let's go," and he went up the stairs first.

You and Chrissy walked side by side, a few steps behind everyone else.

"What did he want?" she whispered.

"Who?"

"You know who."

"Oh... He just wanted my extra prom ticket."

She gasped, delighted. "And...?"

"And... I flipped him off and told him to go to hell."

Chrissy cringed. "Ugh, of course you did... You know, did it ever occur to you that this might be your Pretty in Pink moment? I mean, think about it: Chance gets food poisoning, so you're stuck going to prom alone, and now who shows up but Eddie Munson, of all people? You don't have a date. He doesn't have a date. I dunno about you, but to me that sounds like quite the coincidence." She smiled a wide, positively sunny smile.

You scoffed. "He didn't want a date, Chris. He wanted my prom ticket. It's not half as romantic as you're making it out to be."

"Well, maybe if you actually talked to him like a normal person..."

"Hey, I talk to him."

"No, you tease him. I know you think that's the same thing, but it's not."

"Well, it's not my fault... The jokes are just there, floating all around me. I have to grab 'em or else they'll die for nothing. And he's such an easy target... everything he does is so over the top. It's like he's begging me to mock him."