“I knew you were in there,” I said.

“What?”

“Never mind.”

“So, isn’t your dance tonight? Why aren’t you getting dressed?” Rafe rolled over onto his side so he could look at me.

“I’m not in the mood,” I told him.

“You’re going to bail on the band?” Rafe sounded shocked.

I hadn’t thought of that at all. Rafe was right—I couldn’t just let down Mari, Nanci, and Patti. And Sam. I’d promised to dance with him. If I didn’t show, he’d have spent three dollars on Mr. Bananas for nothing.

I rolled over so that I was facing my brother. “You’re right,” I told him.

My brother grinned at me. “As usual,” he said.

“This is a deep moment, Rafe—don’t ruin it.”

“Sorry.”

My First Middle-School Dance (Will I Ever Forget This Moment?) (I Have No Idea.) (Meh—I’ll Probably Forget It.)

I stood in front of the double doors, breathing deeply. I could hear music coming from the dance on the other side of the wall. You can do this, I told myself. Just walk in.

But I couldn’t make my feet move. Missy had gotten into my head, like a fly that just keeps buzzing around and around until it drives you crazy. I could already hear all the nasty things she would say: “Get out of here, LIMPY! Just DRAG yourself right back out the door. Your dress is totally LAME.”

There was only one thing to do.

I pushed open the doors and gasped. The gym looked incredible. The dance committee had done something amazing with silver balloons and silver netting that hung down from the ceiling. And I have no idea how they got the place to stop stinking of sneaker fungus, but the entire gym smelled like Missy’s shampoo.

In one corner, there was a table loaded with cupcakes and cookies. And at the far end of the gym was a stage with a red curtain. Glittery silver letters spelled out BATTLE OF THE BANDS!

My stomach flipped like an Olympic gymnast. I couldn’t believe Missy had managed to pull off a theme like “Moonlight in Venice” in the gym.

“Hey!” Sam tapped me on the shoulder. “You look great. I really like your dress.” He gave me a huge, dimply smile.

My flipping stomach returned. It was really going for a gold medal.

“Thanks!” I said. He was looking cute too, but I didn’t know how to say so without sounding dorky. So I ended up with, “I like your tie.”

“I knew you’d like it,” he said. It had monkeys on it.

I blushed. He picked out that tie for me! My stomach tried to kick its way past my rib cage. I wanted to think of something to say, but I guess my brain was on a break. So I stood there awkwardly for a moment, watching my classmates on the dance floor. The disco ball sent doughnuts of light spinning around the room. It was kind of like being in a snow globe.