Succubus

Chapter 6: The Big Dance

Chapter 6: The Big Dance

Homework was a black and white topic among Bridgeton students. Some of them viewed it as a way to escape, as though good grades would invite a state college to come in and save them. The rest thought homework was a waste of time.

Tara had been in the first group for the beginning of high school. She had an abundance of free time to work on things, and she hoped her labor would bear social fruits in college. Now that she was firmly in her second year she could see that most of the school's graduated cum laude society still lived in Bridgeton.

Tara decided that she may as well shift into the indifferent group. It would free up time to go out and make new friends. She hit an immediate roadblock because she panicked every time an unfulfilled deadline approached. She was always drawn back to the public library to finish her assignments. So Tara's grades remained constant, even if her motivation didn't.

The school library was somehow smaller than the town library. Tara was sitting in the corner, collecting dust, as she made notes for an essay about George Washington. She didn't know it but she was about to be disturbed.

Barb Hoover had made her main goal in life to overcome the stereotype of her given name. Barb did not wear glasses and her hair was bright blond. Every week her nails were a different color, and she got mad at her boyfriend when he didn't notice. The only "Barbish" thing about her was that she was one of the few people on earth who still read the newspaper. She sat on her back porch when her mom was done with it and pretended she was a classy professor somewhere in Europe.

Barb materialized from behind a shelf and sat down next to Tara.

"T, we have an emergency."

Tara's brain went on vacation. No one had ever called her by a nickname before. A nickname implied that Barb knew Tara's real name, and Barb was a girl with inside connections. Nothing fun in Bridgeton happened without Barb's direct involvement.

"The school dance is next week, so I'm going to be incredibly busy."

It was the first Tara was hearing about it. Normally she found out about dances from the posters on the wall, and by then most people had partnered up.

"Can you help me with this Thomas Jefferson essay? I'll get you a spot on the planning committee if you do."

Tara heard the words "get you a spot" and she transformed into a private in WWI. She was ready for the fight. Barb had a whistle in her mouth, and Tara was ready to climb right out of that trench and learn what a machine gun was.

Tara spun her notes around and Barb took a picture with her phone. Two hours of work absorbed in half a second.

"I appreciate it T. I'll text you what the plan is later." Barb vanished just as quickly as she'd appeared.

Tara took a break from working to feel happy. For once in her life she was in. The movie moment had come, all she had to do was check all the boxes for a memorable night. The second half of high school was finally looking up.

Tara remembered that people went to dances in pairs. Someone had to ask her to go with them, that was how it worked. Tara tried to remember the names of boys in her class, and whether any of them had ever remembered her name.

Homework couldn't be done while distracted, so Tara decided to pack up. She descended from the school's second floor down through the front door. Outside the air was crisp and the sky was gray. The other people out on the streets at four in the afternoon were middle aged dog walkers. Tara pulled her scarf around her face and headed toward home.

Charles happened to have a dog, and that week was his turn to walk her. Both of them stopped when they saw each other and Tara wondered if he could recognize her through the scarf.

"Hi Tara," Charles said.

"Hi Charles," Tara sighed.

Charles's dog walked right up to Tara and began sniffing her hand. The dog was medium sized with gray fur and floppy ears. Tara couldn't resist and began scratching the dog's ears and rubbing her back.

"What's her name?" Tara asked.

"Anette," Charles said, happy that they finally had something to talk about. "Do you want to walk with us?"

Tara realized she was being honey potted, but Anette's ears were really soft. "Just for a few blocks."

Tara allowed Anette to lead them away from her house. She was fine with that choice because she wasn't sure Charles needed to know where she lived.

The sun began to set, and the clouds above them began to turn pink. Soon Charles and Tara could see their breath.

"Are you going to the dance?" Charles asked.

Tara looked at Charles sideways. "You're in middle school, how do you know about that?"

"My neighbor told me about it."

"Yes, I am going to the dance. Barb invited me."

"Woah, you know Barb?" Charles asked. "Are you going with anyone?"

Tara realized she was flying a little too close to a spider web.

"Yes, I have someone I'm going with."

"Oh, who?"

"He lives across the bridge in the city. We met online."

Charles deflated like a bouncy castle after a party. "Well I hope you have a good time."

They'd ended up on Charles's street. He led Anette through the fence door and took the leash off her collar. They watched as the dog ran laps around the house.

"Hey T," someone called from next door.

Tara and Charles turned toward the neighboring house. On a covered porch that wrapped around the house was Barb. She folded a newspaper and uncrossed her legs.

"Hi Barb," Tara said in a soft voice.

"How's planning for the dance coming?" Charles asked.

"Pretty good. T helped me out today, isn't that right?"

Tara managed a small nod. She wondered how close Charles and Barb were, and whether she'd said anything damning that Charles could repeat.

"We were actually just talking about the dance. Who are you going with?" Charles asked.

Barb gave him a good natured grin. "I'm not telling you. That's my business."

"So I still have a chance?"

They both laughed. Tara wondered how a middle schooler was somehow cooler than she was.

"T, do you have someone to go with?"

Moment of truth. Tara decided to lie.

"Yep, he lives across the river."

"Good for you. Hardly anyone here gets to bring a guest. I can't wait to meet him."

Charles's dinner time was coming up, which gave Tara the excuse she needed to leave. The walk home gave her time to wonder how she could set up a new life somewhere else. Hitchhiking hadn't been popular since the 1970's, but Tara was desperate enough to try and bring it back.

Back home Tara pushed the food around her plate while a hundred bad scenarios played out in her head. She'd be, "The girl with the no-show date," or "The girl who lied about having a date."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Tara's mom asked over dinner.

"Not right now," Tara mumbled.

"Remember, there's no problem that isn't fixable."

Tara felt like she was always testing how true that statement was.