Friday, October 01, 2004

Short Story

“LAST DANCE”

It was the summer of ’86. Life was simple back then. It was Prom Night. I hadn’t spoken to my crush or even had the guts to go near her. I had one last chance to talk to her before leaving high school. Everybody was busy taking pictures with their high school buddies, some were crying, some laughing. Me? I was standing right there, a couple of feet in front of her. “Damn! When will my damn guts enter this stupid body and give me the nerve to talk to her…?”
“Excuse me…”
“Huh?” I was taken aback.
“You have been staring at me for the last ten minutes. Is there something wrong?”
Stunned by these words, I sheepishly replied, “Sorry, I hope I didn’t offend you.”
“Yes, you did.” The sharpness of her look killed my train of thought. I didn’t know what to say. “Guts! Where are you?”
“If I’ve caused you any trouble, please forgive me…”
“Now you’re talking.”
“What? I don’t understand…”
“You’ve been staring at me like that ever since the first day of school.”
“Sorry but I didn’t know it has been that long.” Holocaust seems inevitable. If there was a God… Help!
“Is there a problem here?” S***. Scott. Her boyfriend. Now I will really get it. I just closed my eyes and waited for my brains to splatter on the floor.
“He just asked me for a dance that’s all.” She said and turned to me. “Didn’t you?”
Wooh. Wait a minute. Hold everything. Am I hearing it right or is it just my wild imagination running overtime? The thickness of my saliva was running down my dry throat.
“Didn’t you?” She asked with a very distinctive tone. And then I got it. She had this big fight with her boyfriend. She just wanted to get back at him. Well, she’s not getting it now. And what if I stared at her since Day One. It’s my turn now.
“Uhm… I just wanted…” It was cut short. She kissed me. Plan B? There was no plan B. Not only will my brains get splattered all over the place but my body will be hanged on the flagpole by tomorrow dawn. Heeelllp!
I woke up the next morning with a tinge of nostalgia. I got the last dance… with the prom queen. My prom queen. I still stared at her till this very day. Every morning, sleeping soundly right next to me like a newborn baby. With a smile on her face, she looked at me with a sigh. Thoughts still kept bugging me for the past ten years we’ve been married. “How did she ever get that fat?”

A short story by Pen
Nov. 9, 2001

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