With the exception of the proms, this was the last school dance of the year. And there I was; manning the soda sales table as I had for the majority of the other dances, raising funds for some club that I was hardly involved in. It’s hard to say that I had been stuck with the position, since, really, I had volunteered. But it wasn’t that I actually wanted to do it; it was more of a kind gesture. Either way, I pretty much precluded any and all chance for myself of being able to enjoy the dance as a social gathering, much less be able to ask Betty to dance.

It’s not as though I had really planned to do the latter anyway. Betty was a beautiful, popular senior. I was a not-so beautiful freshmen, who went largely unnoticed. The chances of putting together a couple like this were about as unlikely as the chances of bringing together Romeo and Juliet’s Capulets and Montagues for a picnic. Still, I dreamed.

As Betty walked past my table with a friend, I couldn’t help overhearing the discussion. “I can’t believe you like him.” said the friend, Megan, with a smile.

“Oh come on, why not?” Betty answered.

“It’s just that I thought you were never going to get over Billy...”

“Look, that was tow years ago. I’ve got to move on.”

“Well, it sure took you long enough...”

“So, anyway, will you ask him for me?”

I hardly even know Ryan Green. I cant just go up, and ask him to dance with you.”

“Oh come on, you said he was in your chemistry class...”

“Look, if you want to dance with him so bad, why not just ask him yourself?”

“I’ll be too nervous...”

“You could always get Lisa to do it. She’s buddies with him.”

“But if I tell Lisa it’ll be all over the school that I like him in two seconds.” She stopped and sighed, as she brushed one of her long, curly blond strands of hair from her face. “Oh well, I guess it wouldn’t be so bad.”

An obese student interrupted my eavesdropping, by slamming down a dollar bill in front of me, and demanding a coke. By the time I had served him, and completed the transaction, Betty and Megan had already walked too far away for me to hear any more.

Naturally, what I had heard did nothing to improve my mood. Ryan Green was another senior, who had just moved in to town at the beginning of the year. Promptly, he had become the school’s star football player, and won the unofficial title of most popular guy in the school.

I was selling a few more sodas, and still reflecting, when I saw that Betty had reappeared next to my table, this time, talking with Lisa. Once more, I listened in.

Betty started, “Well you see, Megan has this really big crush on Ryan, but she’s way too nervous to ask him to dance herself. So, Megan was wondering if you’d do it.”

“I understand. No problem.” Lisa said quickly, with a smile.

“Hello?” a tall student, with blond hair said, as he tried to get my attention to buy a soda. Once more, I missed the end of the conversation, but had heard enough to know what was going on.

A short while later, Lisa stood next to the table again, this time with Ryan. “So anyway, that girl, Megan, has a thing for you. So will you dance with her?”

He thought for a moment, and the said, “Sure, why not.”

I couldn’t believe that this was happening. I had know that Lisa wasn’t particularly bright, but could she have really missed the whole point of Betty’s request? I knew that I had to stop them. “Hey guys...” I started. They both turned to me. However, before I continued, I realized that revealing what I knew would reveal my eavesdropping, which wouldn’t exactly help my personal situation. So, after a moment, I mumbled out something about the teachers not wanting them to stand too close to the soda table because of radiation poisoning. It really didn’t make any sense, but, despite this, and their funny looks toward me, it did at least make them leave, which prevented me from making an even greater fool out of myself.

Not long after those happenings, the first slow song of the night began. This time, I couldn’t hear what was being said, but it was made clear enough what was transpiring as Ryan began to dance with Megan.

It was about halfway through the song, when Betty first saw Megan and Ryan. She leaned against one wall, and watched until they stopped dancing. Unfortunately, they had stopped moving, as they started kissing, leading Betty to run into the nearest ladies room, with a tear resting on her cheek.

It was much later when Betty came to me, to buy a soda. Megan and Ryan had been sitting together nearby, and so, at this point, Megan stood to talk with Betty.

“Guess what?” Megan began excitedly.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Betty said sarcastically, “ Maybe you’ve betrayed your best friend, and started spending some quality time with Ryan Green.”

“Look, it’s not like that.” Megan said “He asked me to dance; I just said yes, and it grew from there.”

I wanted to break in so badly, and tell them about what I had seen, and yet, I still couldn’t. They continued bickering for a while, until they both just stormed off.

As the final slow song started, I saw the new couple stand, and begin to dance once more. Betty sat alone. I looked down at the metal box, where I had been holding all of the money from the soda sales. Then I looked at Betty. Then I looked back at the box, and then back at Betty again. Finally, I made my choice. I abandoned the table and money, and made my way toward her.

It wouldn’t come out easily, but somehow, I managed the words to ask her to dance. “I’m sorry, but no.” was her reply.

With my head hung low, I walked slowly back to the table. But then, when I was only about two or three feet from my destination, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned, and there was Betty again.

“I guess that if you really want to dance, it wouldn’t really hurt.” she said. They weren’t quite the emotional, romantic words that one would really hope for, but I would settle.

And so, we began to dance. I’d like to say that it seemed like it lasted forever, but it really wasn’t like that at all. Still, I won’t knock the situation; I was lucky to be there anyhow.

When the song ended, I returned to the table. Naturally, all of the money had been stolen. “Oh well,” I thought to myself, “I guess it was worth it.”