Chapter 9

Leave the Past Behind

A few weeks had passed. I hadn't seen as much of Melanie as I had hoped. In the little time I had with her, we mostly just worked on her school projects together, watched Quidditch games, and I occasionally got into fights with Terry Cocksboro. I always lost, but I didn't care. Just fighting him was so fun that it never mattered if I won or lost.

Professor Quirrell was in the hospital for a while. He had been poisoned at some point, possibly from something he ate. Was the pudding really that bad that day? I wasn't sure, but that was the cause of illness. Eventually he became healthy again and returned to Hogwart's. That was nice. His substitute was a real hardass and made us work a lot. I really missed Quirrell while he was away.

Melanie and I never got any word on her father. He probably just forgot about us and went back to his self-absorbed ways. I was glad he didn't come up again. He seemed like such a prick. Melanie doesn't need a dad that doesn't love her anyway. She needs someone who really cares about her, someone like me.

Spring break was coming up. After the big dance, I was going to go back to my house and spend my spring break with my family. Melanie said that she could go too. Somehow, I think her dad just didn't give a damn about her as long as she was still attending classes. She told me that he got real pissed over Quirrell for some reason or another. Maybe they were close friends? I don't know, but powerful wizards do tend to stick together.

I was in my final remedial class with Trelawney. She was going on about some bullshit about fortune telling. I think it was called bibliomancy, where you flip open a book to a random page and use that as hints toward your future. What a crock of shit. I tried it out once with a book on geology. My page described lead. What the hell does that say about anything? Divination was a bullshit class and Trelawney was a bullshit teacher.

"…Well, it looks like we're done. You may all go now. Enjoy your spring break, everyone."

I was ready to kick back and go home, except there was that huge dance I was going to go to. I agreed with Melanie to meet her with Alice and Zack outside the dancehall slightly before it started. I was going to go take a shower, maybe freshen up a bit, and put on my normal clothes, the ones that I wore when I was at home. I wasn't about to go to the dance in a uniform twice in a row!

After I was done, I met Melanie outside of the dance hall. Like me, she was out of her uniform and in what appeared to be her normal clothes.

"So, where's Alice and Zack?" I asked.

"They said they'd be here by now." Melanie said.

"Maybe it's for the better. Zack's a bastard and he'll probably do something stupid tonight."

Melanie gave me a smile.

Like what?"

"I don't know. Maybe get smashed on spiked punch? Or maybe start a fire when he tries to smoke. Actually, my money's on fire."

Alice arrived next. She was wearing that horrible ballroom dress that was too big for her. She was in high spirits that night.

"Hey, you two! Tonight is going to be so much fun!"

"Alice?" Melanie said.

"What is it, Melanie?"

"You do know that's too big for you, right? I don't want you to fall."

She snapped at Melanie.

"Yeah? Well, I think you're a nerd."

She covered her mouth once she realized what she had said.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I did not say that, Melanie. You're a nice girl. I did not mean any of that, not one word."

Melanie laughed.

"It's okay, Alice. We all know you're on edge."

"Oh. Thanks. I mean, I've been looking forward to this night for months, even weeks now. I don't want it to be ruined by anything."

We waited for that bastard Zack to get there. The doors opened and people started walking in.

"Let's just go. We can party without him." I said.

"No! He's my date. We can't go to the dance without my date." Alice said.

"He's a moron and a pervert and…"

My words were interrupted. I heard a voice from across the hall.

"It's Zack time!"

I looked over and I saw Zack. He was wearing a lot of horrible neon colored spandex. I could see the outline of his balls, it was so tight. He ran over to us with a big stupid grin on his face.

"What do you think? Cool, right? This is how sexy people dress."

"You look like a retard." I said.

"Hey! That's hurtful!" Zack said.

Alice cut in.

"No, Zack. Sarah's right. You look like an assclown. Get that shit off and wear something respectable."

Zack stomped his feet.

"No! I am sexy, damnit! I am a sexy man beast and I can wear sexy clothes like this!"

I entered the dancehall and the first song started playing. It was a popular dance song, but I liked it. It was funky and made me get up and move.

"Sarah, is that dancing?"

"Yeah! It's fun! How about it, Melanie?"

"You look like a chicken having a stroke."

I stopped and thought about what I was doing. It was like an angry and violent chicken dance.

"You don't have to dance good to enjoy yourself." I said.

I took Melanie over to the punch bowl and poured ourselves some cups. I tasted it and smiled.

"Oh. Someone did spike it already!"

Melanie took a sip too.

"I don't feel it."

That's right, I forgot. Alcohol doesn't seem to affect her.

"Well, I guess I'll enjoy this more than you. That's okay. I dance better when I'm shitfaced."

"Are you sure? Consuming alcohol actually reduces one's coordination." Melanie said.

I chugged down the rest of my punch and took another.

"No, you got it wrong! When you dance like you're having a seizure normally, it means you're beautiful when you're sloshed. If you dance like a pro, that's when you'll suck when you've had too much to drink."

I drank my punch cup in a matter of seconds.

"Damn. This stuff is weak. What did they spike it with, white wine?"

I started to go back to the dancefloor, until I heard Alice. She was shouting at Zack, who was bouncing up and down while playing air guitar. You could see his nuts jiggling in that tight spandex. I had to laugh. There was a crowd of us staring at him. I think a few students took pictures.

"Zack, stop! You are embarrassing me!"

Zack turned to Alice.

"Not now, love. My song's playing!"

He got down on one knee and did some kind of crazy air guitar move. I'm sure it would have been cool, had he actually been playing a real guitar.

I turned to Melanie. She was smiling.

"He's got cute bollocks." She said.

"I know, doesn't he? They're so cute and small how they dance like that."

I heard Alice screaming.

"Zack, you assclown! We're leaving!"

"I'm not leaving. I'm not done being sexy."

She slapped him in the face.

"We're through, then. Goodbye Zack, and fuck you."

She started to leave. Zack realized that he had made a mistake and went after her.

"Wait Alice, I can explain!"

She made a fist at him, like she was about to fight.

"Piss off!"

She ran outside. Zack followed her.

"Did… Did they just break up? Over Zack being an embarrassment?" Melanie said.

I shrugged.

"She's broke up with people over stupider shit. I think one time it was because he sneezed on her."

"Really? She'd let something as trivial as that get between her and her boyfriend?" Melanie said.

"She's a fucking weirdo, but then again, she thinks I'm pretty weird herself, so I'm not one to talk, now am I?" I walked over the punch bowl and drank another cup.

A slow song came on. I took Melanie by the hand.

"So, how about one last dance before I'm absolutely plastered?" I said.

"I'm not sure." Melanie said. I took her by the shoulders.

"Aw, slow dancing is easy. You just put your hands on my ribs and try to stay in step. Even a monkey could do it."

She put her hands on my body and we began. I tried to move slow to make it easy on Melanie, but she kept stepping on my feet. I also occasionally stumbled a little. I didn't want to admit it, but that spiked punch was getting to me.

We were near the end of the song when Melanie spoke up.

"Sarah, this sucks."

"What? No, this is romantic." I said.

"No, I mean, I'm stepping on your feet, you're too drunk to notice, and we move like a schizophrenic troll."

I laughed.

"That's part of the fun, Melanie. Here, the song's almost over. We can stop then."

Melanie nodded. She stepped on my toe and giggled.

"Sorry." I wasn't sure if that was a joke or if she really was that bad. Either way, we weren't beautiful dancers.

Once the song was over, I took some more punch.

"Right. One more for the road. After that, let's go to the forest."

"Why the forest?" Melanie said.

"Because the water closet is probably infested with idiots like me who had too much to drink. Well, that and Moaning Mertyle. She's probably laughing her ass off at how many idiots she gets to see today."

I took Melanie toward the forest and saw Zack. He was curled up in a ball and crying like a toddler who lost a toy. His spandex was off and set aside next to him. I think he might have been naked. I whispered to Melanie.

"Ignore him."

He noticed us and shouted.

"Sarah! Sarah, you're my friend. Come help me!"

Melanie started to turn to him, but I stopped her.

"Don't make eye contact. If you try to speak with him, you'll only make it worse." I said.

"That… Are you sure?"

"Positive."

Zack cried out again

"Don't leave me alone! I don't want to be alone! I… I need you, Sarah! Melanie, please! Either of you! I am so fucking pathetic!"

I whispered to Melanie again.

"Just ignore him."

"Isn't that a bit cold?" She whispered back.

"No. Just trust me. Talking to him will only make it worse."

Once we were away from Zack, I found a nice spot under the tree and bent over. Melanie started to turn away.

"Hey now, you can watch. I don't mind. I never was the modest type." I said.

"Are you sure?" Melanie said.

I pulled my panties down from under my skirt.

"It's not a big deal if you get a glimpse of my fanny. I won't care."

I pissed on the tree. It was pretty strong too. Maybe I had more to drink than I realized.

I pulled my panties back up and had to lie down. Melanie sat down next to me.

"So, how about your parents? They know I'm coming too, right?"

"Yeah. They'll probably like you. You're smart, hardworking, and don't go around looking for fights. You're like the daughter they wish I was."

"Oh, don't say that, Sarah." Melanie said. She climbed on top of me.

"Hey, I thought we'd do something special as our last day before spring break." She said.

"What is it?"

She gave me a sly smile.

"I was going to save this for the dance floor, but I guess that kind of fell through."

Melanie leaned down from on top of me and kissed me. She gave me a long, slow, beautiful kiss. I think this was the first time she had kissed me since the day I met her father. She punctuated it by many smaller kisses before stopping.

"What do you think? Was I good? I practiced on my hand for weeks."

I laughed.

"What?"

"You don't do that?" Melanie said.

I smiled.

"You're funny, Melanie."

I leaned forward to kiss her again. I think we made out for a good hour. I wasn't sure how much time had passed while it happened.

"Well, I have to go pack my bags." I said, getting up.

"You haven't packed your bags yet?" Melanie said.

"I haven't had a lot of time."

She laughed.

"Even I packed my bags."

"Well, it's okay. I didn't want to stay out late because we're leaving early." We left for our room for the night.

"See you tomorrow, Sarah."

"Later, Melanie."