Julia twisted her hair into a tight bun, but let her bangs hang loose on her forehead. She had put on extra make-up for the occasion and looked even more beautiful than usual in her long, emerald dress.

"Wow, Julia, Paul is going to be stunned!" I said as I watched her put on coral lipstick.

She grimaced, looking at her reflection in the mirror. Then she turned to me and made a face.

"He'd better not be. I'm counting on him to win the dance contest. He's a fabulous dancer, didn't you know? Oh, and his father is letting him borrow the Porsche for tonight! Aren't you excited, Sharon? This is going to be the best dance ever!"

"Yeah," I replied unenthusiastically.

While Julia was getting excited over the dance, I was not looking forward to it at all. Julia had the chance to attend the dance with her boyfriend. I, for one, was going to the dance with a stranger.

Yes, Julia and Paul were now an item. After their date to the movies, they couldn't let go of one another. Julia had told me everything about how their make-out session at the drive-in. According to Julia, Paul's car was perfect for making out, because it was big and luxurious. It wasn't as good, however, as his father's Porsche, which was part of the reason why she was so excited about the dance.

I stepped in my dark blue dress that matched the color of my eyes. I had bought the dress for the dance long ago, before I even knew whom I was going with. Had I known, I would have spent all my allowance on a dress like that. I wasn't really willing to impress Paul's cousin.

I didn't get it. Nobody had asked me out to the dance. Ted Kilbourne and Tom Black, from whom I had been expecting an invitation, said they were bringing dates from Stamford because, and I quote, "Stoneybrook girls were prudes." At some point, I would even have gone with Patrick Thomas, but he asked out a girl named Elizabeth – I didn't know her too well. So, once again, I was going to be alone while everybody got together.

Julia had noticed my problem before I even had the chance to tell her about it. I was going to keep it a secret and pretend I was sick on Halloween night, so that I wouldn't have to face the humiliation of admitting that I didn't have a date. But Julia hadn't seen things my way.

"Guess what?" she had cried in the halls of SHS some day. "I told Paul about your problem and we found a solution!"

Hurrah, I had thought. Now everybody knows that poor little Sharon doesn't have a date.

"Paul's cousin is going to be in town for the weekend. His name is Nick and, according to Paul, he's handsome! It's all set up already. We're going to prepare for the dance together at your house and Paul and Nick are going to pick us up there. So it's a group date!"

I didn't have a choice, did I? No, of course not. For all the following week, I had been trying to persuade myself that the dance wouldn't go so bad.

It wouldn't have gone so bad... if I hadn't found out at the last minute that Nick Prezzioso was a sophomore. He was handsome, I suppose, and the girls at his school (I think Paul told me he was attending a private school somewhere in New York) were probably crazy about him. But he looked so young!

Trying to hide how miserable I was, I climbed in my car. Nick, of course, couldn't drive, and Paul's Porsche could only sit two people. Another thing Julia had forgotten to tell me. She waved happily at me from the passenger seat of the Porsche. I let Nick inside my own car, started up the engine and wished for a heart attack that did not come. What came was a verbal attack, on Nick's part. He told me about his being the captain of the football team and the big football scholarship that would practically be his in three years. Football, football, football. That was all he could talk about.

In the parking lot, Julia grabbed me by the elbow and whispered in my ear excitedly:

"So, how do you like him? He's pretty cute, isn't he? He's the captain of his football team and he's only 15!"

At that very moment, I vowed to kill Julia McGregor as soon as we got home.

"I know. He told me. About a thousand times."

As soon as we entered SHS gymnasium, Julia dragged Paul to the dance floor. I suppose she wanted to give us the chance to get to know each other... or maybe she was just very eager to be crowned queen of the night.

Nick and I just hung out around the food table. With any luck, nobody would notice that this child was my date. I just had to make sure not to talk to him too much.

"So, hmm... Sharon, how do you like the last Beatles record?"

Apparently, Nick was feeling very awkward for asking this question as an introduction to a "I'd-like-to-know-you-better" type of conversation. I guess he had said everything he had to say about football.

"I don't know. I don't really care for music."

I shrugged. Nick went back to drinking his punch. I stared at the couples dancing. They all looked happy. Ted and Tom were fooling around, trying to touch their dates' behinds. Patrick and that Elizabeth girl were dancing cheek on cheek, even though it wasn't a slow song. Paul and Julia were having a blast, twisting and dancing, and a few fans of them made a circle around them, watching.

"Want to dance?" Nick asked.

"Nah... My shoes are killing me. But you can go if you like."

"No, I think I'll stay here."

The guy didn't get the message. But it was OK. Nobody was looking at us. Nobody... except a small girl. I knew her name, because she was third in rank after Julia and me when it comes to clothing. She was a Freshman, but she was very popular... among every grade. Her name was Madeleine. Rumors said she was Stoneybrook's most spoiled child. I found it hard to believe, since I saw Julia every day.

"I think I'll go freshen up," I told Nick. "I'll be right back."

I took my time. I put on lipstick, checked my mascara, washed my hands. All in all, it took me at least fifteen minutes. When I came back, Nick was talking to Madeleine, their heads so close they were almost touching each other.

"Sharon, do you mind if I dance with Madeleine?"

"No, go ahead," I said, trying to hide my relief. I would just have to go sneak a call to my dad so he could come pick me up early.

"I'll make it up to you."

"It's okay," I shrugged.

The band began to play a slow song. I closed my eyes, dreaming. I wished there were some stranger in the room who was as bored as I was. He would find me so beautiful that he would come to me and ask me to dance. We'd go over to the dance floor, start dancing, my head resting on his shoulder... and then, when the band would play the last note, he would touch my chin, raise my head to his and give me the most wonderful kiss I would ever get...

"Sharon?"

I jumped and opened my eyes. I had recognized the voice. It was Richard's. So much for dreaming about the perfect guy...

"Would you like to dance?"

I don't know what had gotten into me.

"Yes," I said.