Stand Up

Chapter 13: Prom

I held onto walls and tables inside the room. I slowly walked, right, left, right, left. I stumbled a few times, like a baby just learning to walk. I stopped and got a chance to look around.

Balloons were on the ceiling and tied to tables and chairs. A disco ball hung from the ceiling, spinning slowly. Some people were sitting at the tables talking and others were breaking it down on the dance floor. Music a being played and there was a DJ on the stage. An upbeat song was filling the room.

I spotted Haley sitting across from Mark at one of the small round tables. Greg had pulled up a chair and was sitting with them. Haley saw me and began pointing, with her mouth open. Mark and Greg quickly turned to face me. I looked down at my legs, then back up and smiled in their direction. Greg came running up to me.

"Whoa! What happened to you?" He looked down at my legs. "You're standing up!" He looked back up at my eyes. I smiled even wider.

"I know." I giggled. "Isn't it wonderful." I walked a few steps to the right, then back to where I was, showing of my legs. I could now walk!

"Oh my gosh! Isabel, wha-" Haley had run up to me and was now completely shocked. Mark was speechless beside her.

"It's great. Look at me! I feel like a whole new person!" I grabbed Greg's hands. I held on to them tightly and smiled ear-to-ear.

"Come on, let's go sit down together." Greg suggested. He began to walk over to the table, when I pulled him back.

"Sit down? I've been sitting for months now. I'm going to dance!" He smiled a came to dance with me. I danced to an upbeat song. I stumbled a couple of times, but I was okay. That's what you get when you just learned to walk less than thirty minutes ago.

Finally, when I'd grown tired of dancing, I sat down at one of the tables, with Greg across from me. He looked so handsome tonight. His suit and tie looked perfect on him, I knew it would. He looked charming. I glanced at Haley.

She was on the dance floor. She was dancing like no one was watching. That's what I liked about her. She didn't care what other people think of her. She's just being herself. She wore a tangerine dress that suited her perfectly. I had to admit, Mark has good taste in women's dresses. Haley had her curly red hair flowing down. It flopped around with each step.

Mark was very dashing. He was wearing a fancy suit and tie just like Greg. He seemed to be enjoying the night. But there was one person I was forgetting. Who was missing?

Kate. She wasn't here. I pulled out my phone and texted her as fast as I could. She couldn't miss this night. She said she was going to stay here until prom. Did she already leave to go back to Minnesota? She would at least come to prom. Wouldn't she?

I looked around more when I spotted Jordan. He was sitting at one of the tables all alone, watching people dance. He was wearing a tuxedo just like all the other guys. I couldn't help but feel bad for him. Right before prom, he hears his date talking bad about him. I would be devastated if Greg did that to me.

Kate walked in, almost if she had read my text in the parking lot. She looked around the prom. She didn't smile. She was so close to having a date to the prom, and she blew it. Kate looked at me and smiled. She swiftly walked over to me as I stood up.

"Isabel! You're standing! It's a miracle!" She gave me a big hug that almost toppled me over. I laughed.

Kate apparently didn't have a lot of money to buy a real prom dress. She was wearing one of her old dresses that I've seen her wear before. It was solid peach color. I had to admit, it wasn't bad, it just wasn't the prom dress. I felt bad for her. She didn't get to be a princess for one night of her life because of a few words she said.