"Wake up, sleepyhead!" called Laura. Hamtaro opened his eyes and yawned.

"Why does she always wake me up when I'm having nice dreams?" He thought to himself.

"We're going round Kana's today." She told him. "To get ready for the big dance." Laura blushed. "I still can't believe Travis asked me to go with him, though!" She added. Hamtaro looked at her.

"If you think getting your date was tough," he thought, "You should have seen the trouble I had!" Laura finished getting dressed, and grabbed Hamtaro's cage in one hand, taking the bag with her outfit in her other hand.

"Bye, Mum!" She called, as she went out the front door.

……

A short while later, and she was at Kana's house. She'd put Hamtaro's cage over by Pepper and Oxnard.

"So what time are we leaving?" She asked. Kana thought about this.

"Well, I'd say about 5." She answered. "Dylan went down this morning to help finish the set up, and said it'll be about ready by then." She paused for a second. "Isn't Travis coming over to pick you up?" She asked.

"No," replied Laura, blushing. "He's only getting back into town this afternoon. He went to see his Grandmother, so he doesn't have time to come by. It is a bit out of his way, anyway. I said I'd meet him there. Anyway, come on, lets go change!" The pair dashed upstairs to Kana's room. Hamtaro turned to the other two Hams.

"I thought they'd never leave!" He said. "All set for the dance, you two?" He asked.

"Oxnard's ok, but I need to get round Bijou's in a while." Replied Pepper. "She's got an outfit she said she'd let me wear for the evening." She looked over at Oxnard and smiled. "I'd have my own, but I wasn't expecting to be doing much dancing!" Oxnard smiled back.

"You can dance well, then, Pepper?" Asked Hamtaro.

"Of course!" She replied. Oxnard laughed.

"That's good, because I'm hopeless!" Hamtaro grinned back at him.

"Well I'm not much better!" He replied. Pepper looked at the pair of them.

"You can't go to a Ball not knowing how to dance properly!" She exclaimed. Hamtaro looked a little worried.

"That could be a little problem then…" he started.

"Nope!" Replied Pepper. "Cause I'm going to have to teach the pair of you a few basics!" She smiled. "Let's get started, shall we?" She got out her cage and walked into the middle of the room. Hamtaro and Oxnard did likewise, looking at each other slightly nervously. Pepper giggled. "Look, you two, you can either learn now, or you'll look silly at the ball. And I don't want you showing me up, Oxnard!" She smiled. "Ok, let's see if you can follow my moves."

Pepper began to count a little beat as she followed through a fairly complex pattern of steps.

"Ok, now you two try." She said. Hamtaro and Oxnard set off trying to follow Pepper's dancing pattern, but managed to mess things up completely. When the pair finally managed to untangle themselves from each other, Pepper sighed. "Hmm, this could take a little longer than I thought." She said.

……

An hour later, and Hamtaro and Oxnard had managed to pick up the basic moves quite well.

"Well, I think the pair of you should be just about good enough for this dance then." Said Pepper, and Oxnard smiled at her.

"Aw, thanks Pepper." He said, sweetly. I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't given us some tips."

"Don't you worry, Oxnard," she replied, "Just follow me and you'll be fine." Hamtaro smiled.

"And I'm sure Bijou's an excellent dancer!" He said. Pepper looked at him.

"Oh, yes!" She exclaimed. "I need to get over to Bijou's and get ready!" She quickly hopped back in her cage and fluffed up her bedding, sticking one of her spare neckerchiefs into it. "There, now if Laura and Kana look in, they'll think I'm asleep." She smiled at Oxnard. "Pick me up from Bijou's house when they've left, ok Oxnard?"

"Ok, Pepper." He replied as she slipped out her cage again and out the window. He sighed wistfully.

"Wow," Said Hamtaro. "You really love her, huh." He said. Oxnard stared up at the window.

"Yeah," He replied, "It's sad that she's not around a lot. You and Bijou should count yourselves lucky, you get to see each other every day." Oxnard smiled at him. "You'll have plenty of time to spend with Bijou. Pepper and I just have to be happy with whatever time we get together." Hamtaro looked at his friend.

"That must be hard." He said.

"It kinda is, yeah." Replied Oxnard. "But that just means every time I see her is more special. That's why tonight has to be perfect!" Hamtaro laughed.

"Then I suggest we start getting ready." He said to Oxnard.

……

Kana and Laura rushed downstairs, each dressed in flowery Kimono's and sandals.

"Hmm," Thought Hamtaro. "That's new. It's nice though." Laura and Kana seemed to be in a hurry.

"We're running a little late, come on, Laura!"

"Ok, I'm ready!" She replied, doing up her sandals. "Let's go! Bye Hamtaro!"

"Bye Oxnard!" Called Kana as she slammed the door.

"Finally." Said Hamtaro, fastening his bow tie. He and Oxnard both wore a dark dinner jacket, which Oxnard seemed a little uncomfortable with.

"Oh, I'm no good in posh clothes." He said. Hamtaro just laughed.

"You don't want to go looking a mess, do you?" Asked Hamtaro. "I bet Pepper makes a real effort for you, hadn't you better do the same?" Oxnard grinned back.

"Yeah, you're right as always, Hamtaro." He glanced up at the clock. "Come on," he said, "they'll be expecting us." Hamtaro and Oxnard climbed out their cages, and hopped out through the open window into the early evening. Hamtaro could feel butterflies in his stomach. He was nervous, but happy. Looking back over the past few days, Hamtaro could see that, in the long run, none of it truly mattered. What was important now was impressing Bijou, and Hamtaro vowed to show her the most wonderful night of her life.