Fanta of the Opera

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The Dance

                It had been a few hours now. Fanta had spent the afternoon preparing for the party with Coco and Eduardo. Fanta was surprised by how much Eduardo new about hair and skin care. It made she slightly nervous. She wasn’t very much into those things. She didn’t want to turn up to the dance looking like a Barbie; she was a rag doll, she wasn’t meant to be very glamorous.

                Eduardo had taken a curling iron to her hair earlier, so her hair appeared somewhat shorter. Thankfully, the curls didn’t make her hair look big. She was also now wearing her new dress. It fit perfectly. Coco has a good eye… she thought to herself.

                It was almost time to head towards the room. Fanta could feel herself become nervous. Why was she nervous? Eduardo must have picked up on this, because she came over to her, putting his hand on her shoulder. “No te preocupes, Fanta. Don’t worry.” he began with a smile, “Señor Wilt will find you very attractive.”

                Fanta blushed. That wasn’t what she was nervous about. She was nervous about talking to Wilt. She was nervous about what he thought of her after Frankie had talked to him yesterday. Coco led the way out of the room, Fanta followed, guided by Eduardo who was behind her, his hand on her back.

                They walked through the halls and up the flights of stairs. As they went, other groups of friends joined them. Fanta could feel her heart racing. She felt dizzy and her palms became sweaty. She began to take slow, even, deep breaths. Chill… she told herself, Everything’s gonna be A-Okay. You don’t need to worry. Wilt’s a nice guy. And he likes you too… she then paused her thoughts for a moment. Well, I hope he still does, she thought with grief.

                They walked down the final hall. They could see the party had just begun. People had food and drinks and were walking across the hall, from one room to the other. The music was loud enough to hear over people’s voices, but served more as background music rather than something somebody would dance to. It puzzled Fanta slightly. This was a ‘Dance’, right?

                As they approached the rooms, the group split up. Fanta was left standing between the two rooms. She peered into both of them. Which one was Wilt in? She couldn’t see him anywhere. She decided to enter the one on her left. She ventured in slowly, looking around to see if there was anyone she recognised. It was hard to see. The light’s were on, but it was very crowded. No wonder they needed two rooms. Three wouldn’t of hurt though, She thought as she continued to shuffle her way through the crowd. She spotted Bloo in the corner with an annoyed looking Mr. Herriman. Fanta couldn’t help but laugh. She watched as they both stood there, completely still. Bloo was mimicking his face almost exactly. He looked very distinguished with his outfit, almost an exact copy of Mr. Herriman’s, right down to the stove pipe hat and the monocle. Fanta approached him.

                Bloo peered at her from the corner of his eye, keeping his expression and stance the same as Mr. Herriman’s.

                Fanta patted him lightly on the head, “Very formal indeed. Well done, old chap. Good show!” she said jokingly, with a British accent.

                Bloo didn’t reply. He just smiled; pleased with himself.

                Fanta walked away with a grin on her face, beginning her search for Wilt again. She looked around once more. He definitely wasn’t in there, so she made her way back to the hall, squeezing through the crowd until she reached the doorway. She walked out into the hallway and waited a moment. What a relief it was to be out of that crowded room. She breathed deeply, and then began to walk to the other room. Thankfully, this one wasn’t as crowded; and there was food there too. She moved her way through the crowd and towards the table. She looked at her options. It was all finger food. She picked up a cracker and brought it to her mouth. It wasn’t very nice. It lacked salt. She turned around and scanned the room with her eyes as she ate the remainder of her snack. Wilt wasn’t there either. Maybe he wasn’t coming? Nah… she thought, Mr. Herriman said that attendance was compulsory. She looked around one more time and noticed Frankie on the right side of the room. She looked bored. Fanta began to make her way over to her.