Saturday
15/9/1964
-Eleanor Calder-
Today Fizzy finally managed to get me to go to the Civic with her. We had been delivering the papers with her boyfriend on our bikes all day. I really didn't want to and I didn't like her boyfriend Liam anyway. They didn't seem to really like each other, she was always going to the drive-in movies with a different boy every Friday night. She and Liam had gone last Friday to see the new film. It was a thriller, he didn't flinch once and she wouldn't stop talking about him since. Now she was forcing me to go to his work with him, but she promised me that we would spend the money we made today on something fun tonight so I just went along, wobbling along behind Liam and Fizzy on one of Fizzy's ol bikes with the autumn breeze blowing hair into my eyes and my skirt up.
When we had finished delivering papers Liam kissed her on the cheek goodbye, promising to call her at her house soon, and then we rode back to Fizzy's house for the surprise. Fizzy snuck me into her older sister's bedroom and she raided her drawers in order to find something 'grown up' for us to wear.
"What if she comes in?" I asked Fizzy. I had always been a bit scared of Fizzy's older sister Mary and was nearing towards the door to avoid her catching us and yelling. "Won't she kill you?"
"No. She's out with mum, quickly choose something before she gets back." she said as she held up a dress she thought I might like and I shook my head, implying that I didn't.
I knew Fizzy wouldn't give up her case until I did what she wanted so I just went and picked out the first nice dress I saw that I thought might fit. It was a red and white polka dotted dress without straps.
As soon as I chose it, Fizzy ripped it from my hands and examined it. "Yes!" she told me with excitement, grabbing what she herself had chosen and leading me back to her room where we got changed.
The dress fit pretty nicely, I was taller than Mary so it was also a bit shorter. My father would never let me out in this but there was no way I was going back into Mary's room to choose something he would.
Fizzy had chosen a floral patterned dress which I really liked but she kept complaining that it made her look flat and that no boys were going to ask her to dance.
"Dance?" I asked.
"Oh yes, we're going to the Civic Centre." she told me while trying to zip her dress back up after putting on one of her sister's bras and stuffing it so she didn't look so 'flat.'
Every Saturday evening there was a dance on at the Civic Centre. I had never been before but knew Fizzy and Mary went all the time. It was how Fizzy met all her dates. I'd heard stories of it from Fizzy and denied offers to go with her countless times.
"I don't have any shoes that will fit you, we could quickly run back into Mary's room and steal some, she has about the same size foot as you." Fizzy said, examining my feet.
"How about these." I suggested, holding up the ballet flats I had been wearing all day.
"No! I refuse to let you out in those. C'mon if we go now we'll have enough time to not be caught." Fizzy was now putting hot rollers in her naturally dark brown hair which at the the moment, had a lighter tint through it.
"But these are fine. Plus, I can't dance in heels." I knew I probably could, I had always been a good dancer, but I was just scared of Mary catching us.
"What size foot are you?" Fizzy asked me.
I checked the inside of my shoe before answering "Around a six I think. Please don't get anything too high." She had already run off so I had to yell that last part, I think she ignored it anyway.
Within a minute, Fizzy came back into her room, two ridiculously high heeled pairs of stilletoes in her hands. "Try these." she handed me the shoes and I slipped them on, attempting to walk around on Fizzy's carpet. She was still trying to do up the buckles on her pair of heels as I wobbled around trying to get used to the unusual sensation.
•••
"How am I expected to dance in these things?" I complained as I stumbled around the streets behind Fizzy who was used to walking at these great heights.
"Come here, I'll teach you." she took my hand and there I was, receiving a dance lesson in the middle of the street from my best friend.
"Can't we just go roller skating or something, why would I want to dress up to go sit on a bench alone all night?" I complained. I was scared that no boys would want to dance with me because I was a clumsy fool in these heels and my hands were too clammy for them to hold. They got all sweaty when I was nervous or hot.
"Oh you won't be sitting on a bench tonight. You are really pretty, El. There are so many boys who would want to take you out." We had almost reached the entrance to the dance hall.
"Not as many as you, Fizzy. They never want me because you are there and you have curly hair and clear skin." I argued.
"The reason no one asks to take you out is because you won't even look at them, they think you will reject them!" she said as she opened the door for us and we stepped inside.
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