A Soldier's Heart

The Spring Dance (Beth)

For the first time ever, I had a chance to go to the spring dance at our high school.

I really, really hoped that Travis would invite me. I would say things like "Are you going?" or "Who do you want to take to the dance?", hoping he would get the hint and invite me. He just kept saying he hadn't decided yet, and then one day he said he was taking Marina Coulson.

I should have expected it. Marina was the prettiest, most popular girl in school, and she knew it. She was always hanging around Travis, batting her eyelashes and cooing at him. I know for a fact she turned down other invitations, waiting for Travis and in the end she got him. I hated her. And for a few minutes I hated Travis. Then I thought she probably trapped him into inviting her somehow, and I didn't hate him any more but I hated her more than ever.

I ended up saying yes to Bob Jackson. Everyone called him Bo, but when he came to pick me up I introduced him to Pa as Bob. It sounded classier.

I had a new dress I bought with money I saved out of the grocery money and some Pa gave me for myself. It was real pretty, made from a soft material in shades of peach and pink. It wrapped around and tied at the side with a big bow. The top was cut lower than anything I ever had, and I knew Pa wouldn't let me go out like that, so I covered it with a shawl.

As soon as we got to the dance, I took the shawl off, and left it in Bo's car. Bo looked at my chest and smirked.

Inside the gymnasium, people were clustered around the punch table, talking and joking. The chaperons were sitting in chairs at the side of the room, talking to each other and not paying much attention to the kids. A few couples were dancing. Marina and Travis were among them. She was wearing a tight, red dress that showed off her blonde hair and fair skin. Her lipstick was red, too, and there were bits of it on Travis' cheek and his collar. I hated her more than ever.

Travis came over to us, with Marina stuck to him like a leech. He looked so handsome I could have just ate him up.

"You look lovely, Beth," he said. My heart swelled all up. Marina pouted. She dragged him away before I could even say "thank you". They started to dance and I swear she pushed herself up against him so close her nipples stuck out her back.

Bo put his arm around me and led me to where the dancing was. He held me real tight and I let him, because I wanted to make Travis jealous a little, but I didn't like it when Bo's hand started sliding down my backside. I grabbed his hand and put it back up on my waist and he just snickered.

A little later Travis asked to dance with me and Bo had to dance with Marina. I was so happy, snuggled as close to Travis as I dared, with his arm around me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Bo's hand sliding down Marina's backside, and she hauled off and slapped his face. The music had just stopped and the slap sounded real loud. Marina came stomping over to Travis, and he smiled at me and shrugged, squeezed my hand, and then let Marina drag him away again. She made a face at me over his shoulder as they started dancing.

We danced for a while, and then Bo said we should get some punch. A bunch of kids were drinking punch, then rolling their eyes and pretending to stagger before going back for more. Bo looked at me and grinned, then poured a big glass of punch and handed it to me. He got one for himself too. The punch was fruity and I was thirsty, so I drank it pretty fast. Bo poured me another one, and I started to drink that too. I noticed the kids across the table nudging each other and smirking. I didn't know what they were carrying on about. I finished that glass pretty fast too.

Bo took me back to the dance floor. They were playing fast music now, and everyone was doing all kinds of crazy motions with their arms and their feet, sometimes their whole bodies. Before long I was feeling hot and dizzy.