You Can't Break Her

Chapter twelve: part six | July

July 2002
Bayhollow, Ontario

At the civic centre where I lived they held a dance for preteens from 7pm - 9pm and a teen dance from 10pm - 12pm.

My first dance was about six months earlier and a last second invite from Renee and Ruby. I was made up by my sister and her best friend and obviously ordered to change into something nicer than the sweater and pj pants I was wearing at the time.

As soon as I asked my mom seemed worried and she was not alone, I was terrified. A banquet hall overflowing with rowdy preteens chugging sticky liquids and acting cool in front of their friends, it doesn't get much worse than that in my mind.

I had been to a few and had a good idea of how to handle myself. I showed up alone which made it so much harder, there was no way to act like I didn't care what anyone thought because I did care but I had no distraction.

I walked into the dark room and realized that Matt was the only person I knew. The group he was talking to was full of people I didn't know. One guy gave me a once over in my jeans and band t-shirt and returned to tonguing the ear of the girl that was seated on a chair next to him.

"Matt, can I talk to you?" I pulled him over to the lineup for the canteen and pulled out some change to get a water. "I don't know any of those people. This is so uncomfortable." I stepped forward in line and played with the coins between my fingers.

"They go to my school, they're nice. I promise." His eyes glittered even in the dark, it was fascinating and reassuring.

"Okay, I'll give it an hour but if they suck, you owe me big time!"

He hugged me and whispered, "Deal!" We hadn't dated in a few weeks but I still loved him.

I drank half of my water and convince Matt to dance with me when Dirrty by Christina Aguilar a came on. A slow song was next.

"I promised to dance with my friend, Shelly." He pointed back to his friends.

I nodded and moved to chairs that were at the edge of the action but where there weren't too many butts in my face. I slouched in an orange plastic chair and watched Matt pull a short and skinny girl out onto the dance floor.

When the song ended they parted ways and Shelly walked directly at me, her shoulders were back and she looked like she wanted to fight. "You should leave Matt alone." She stopped in front of me.

Her shoe touched mine and I felt caged in. I stood up and was looking down at her from a foot away. "What did you say?" I was well aware of what she said, I was giving her the chance to apologize or back off.

She backed up a few steps and walked away. I watched her go back to Matt and shout for a few seconds. She came back with a can of pop and poured it on me when I didn't think to check her hands. I pulled her foreword by her shirt, my instant reaction was to get her away. I lifted her up and tossed her into the cluster of tables and chairs behind us.

I saw security coming from the back of the room and I wasn't sticking around to see what they thought of my snap reaction. I ducked and weaved through the crowd and waited for the bouncers attention to focus on the demon that tried to baptize me with Pepsi.

I made it out front and waited around the corner at the library. As the time my parents were suppose to pick me up got closer, the girl that I made seem like a rag doll and a man appeared in the entrance.

Shelly looked frightened and I didn't blame her, I had no limit and if she would have come back at me it would have been much worse for her."That's her," she cried and pointed at me.

"Excuse me," her father said and they approached me. "Do you know what you did?"

"I reacted to her pouring a drink on me because I danced with my friend."

He looked at her and back at me. "We could charge you with sexual assault."

"What? How?" That was not how I saw this conversation going. "I only grabbed her shirt."

"You grabbed her chest." He looked around and back at me. "What were you trying to do? Are you crazy?"

I shook my head. "She had a problem and she got too close. I held back until she took it too far." I looked to her. "I'm sorry, I thought I grabbed your shirt but don't pour things on people. That was rude and I did nothing to you."

She nodded and her father turned them around and they left.

My dad showed up and we went home. It was hard to come down from the adrenaline of the interaction but I think she may have gained some respect for strangers that night.