I'm not much for dancing. I can't dance and I've never really gotten into it as far as wanting to take it to another level and learn ballet or jazz dance. When I got to high school, I missed homecoming. Coming from an elementary/middle school that was relatively far away from my highschool, I didn't know anyone that would ask me to go to a dance with them. And I wasn't interested in any of the guys that I had gone to school with before. So when it was around Sadie's time, I resolved to ask a boy to go with me. I really wanted to go-- I didn't want to spend high school sitting around and wishing something would happen for me.
English class was my favorite. Even today when I walk by that classroom on my way to lunch, I take in the familiar floral scent of potpourri. I take a quick peek into the classroom and see the floor to ceiling bookshelves filled with new books and old books, the lamps that cast a home-y glow when the overhead fluorescent light was off. It's still by far my favorite classroom.
I was usually the first one into the classroom. I didn't have very many friends as a freshman, so I had no one to stop to talk to. I just crossed the commons and went up the stairs, purposely trying to be first. It was like a game.
My teacher told us that we were getting new seats, so she took out the new seating chart and told me where to go. I was right by the door.
I sat with two boys and two girls (well, one, since the other girl wasn't there a lot of the time). Everyone was excitedly babbling about going to Sadies (I think it's a freshman thing, since they never seem to know what's going on...) and our table was not the exception to this. One of the guys at my table was going around and asking if any of us were going. The other girl at my table (the one that was in the classroom consistently) said she was going with a group of friends and they were dressing up as the Powerpuff Girls from Cartoon Network. I said I wanted to go, but I hadn't asked anyone yet. The other boy said he'd go if someone asked him, but he didn't think that anyone would want to ask him.
I'm terrible at putting the pieces of a mental puzzle together, so I didn't even think to solve this problem. The the boy that had asked if any of us were going passed a note to me across the table.
"You should ask the Guy to your right to Sadie's."
I think I whispered something really insensitive back like, "I don't know if I want to."
The bell was going to ring in five minutes, so everyone was up and moving around-- being generally social. I saw the boy that was sitting next to me. I really wanted to go and this boy was going to be my big chance. I took a deep breath and walked up to him.
"Do you want to go to Sadie's with me?"
"Umm... sure."
After that, everything fell into place. We went to Sadie's and had a great time! We danced, we went on hayrides, we talked a lot... it was great fun. Admittedly, it was weird holding this boy's hand, but it was either that or kiss. I remember really wanting to kiss, but that was because I liked the idea of kissing, not that it was going to be with this boy. We just weren't ready yet.
After that night, we became good friends. We talked a lot and sat next to each other whenever we could. Soon he started walking with me to my bus and we talked until the last possible minute until I absolutely had to get on the bus. My bus driver began to notice how much time I was spending with this boy.
A couple months later, our interations caught the eye of some of our peers and we began to get questions.
"Are you together?"
"Are you two going out with each other?"
We'd always stare at each other with blank looks because neither of us really knew how to answer or ask the other The Question. One day, another girl came up to us and asked us the same question and we came up with the typical answer of, "Umm..."
"Well, do you like her?"
"Yes!"
My heart fluttered-- cheesy but true.
"And do you like him?"
"Yes!"
"Then you two are a couple!"
We were all smiles after that.
We were walking to my bus when I turned to him and asked:
"Are we really together now?"
"Only if you want to be," he said smiling.
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Author's Note: This is a true "How They Met" story.
