Chapter 79

Back in the throws of the Waterfall Room, the students of Peach Creek High School had completed their dinner, and separated back into their individual cliques. The majority of the students had spent the last few minutes on the dance floor, moving to the sounds of several popular line dances commonly played at social gatherings, as several wall flowers flocked to the punch bowl.

Double Dee and Marie, neither being talented nor fond of line dancing, were one of several individuals mingling on the side lines of the dance floor. Kevin and Nazz had joined in on the festivities, both seamlessly carrying out the applicable dance steps in formation with most of the other teenagers; however a certain lovable oaf and his goofy girlfriend seemed to have different plans. Ed and May, due to not being familiar with the dance moves, were having a hard time keeping up with their peers; this coupled with the fact that May, not being accustomed to wearing a ball gown or any fancy dress, constantly tripped awkwardly, stumbling around the area of dance dance floor as if she were drunk. Nevertheless, the two free spirits were in their own little world, giggling and enjoying each others company despite their mishaps.

Eventually, the DJ decided to engage the crowd, calling the students to form into a circle while cuing up a funky beat. He then offered the opportunity for those with "funky feet" to come into the center of circle to show off their "mad dancing skills"; an obvious attempt to bring some excitement to the crowd.

As the circle began to form, Ed and May remained in their own little world, jumping up and down chaotically to the beat of the music as they giggled. Unfortunately, just as the DJ completed his request, Eds right shoe managed to become ensnared in the long red tail of Mays ball gown. This caused the slim boy to lose his balance, and unfortunately fall into the circle as he attempted to maintain his footing.

Mistaking Ed's presence in the circle as a sign of agreement to his little fun-filled deal, the DJ immediately placed his spotlight on the tall, red headed boy. Ed remained momentarily still, standing awkwardly as he stared in the direction if the stage, seemingly deep in thought.

To everyone's surprise, Ed slowly but surely began shrugging his shoulders, alternating between left and right to the beat of the music; this was soon followed by him swinging his hand back and forth, pointing his index finger in the air, emulating disco dancers he had seen on television as he cracked a smile.

Soon, Ed broke loose of his remaining stiffness and began moving his shoulders to the beat as the students standing in the circle began clapping. He then began executing various dance moves similar to those commonly performed by Michael Jackson, including the moonwalk. Sensing the end of his routine, the DJ decided to provide an "assist" by throwing a rose into the air, just as Ed fell to his knees and began sliding towards May. The dopey boy caught the flower in mid air, and presented it to his girlfriend just as he came to a stop.

May smiled and blushed as the entire student body clapped their hands, whistling at Ed's display. Near the punch bowl, Double Dee and Marie provided their own support, clapping their hands as both teenagers displayed smiles.

"Well it appears Ed and May are having quite the stellar evening," said Double Dee, "Ed's seemingly savant-like tendencies never cease to amaze me."

"Yeah," said Marie, "I never knew Ed had moves like that, I'm glad to see they're enjoying themselves, despite everything that's happened."

Marie's smile transformed to a frown as Double Dee turned his attention towards Eddy; the boy was currently leaning up against the wall. His right foot was planted flat on the floor, while he crossed his left foot in front of him; the toe of his shoe being in contact with the floor. His arms were folded as he stared towards the floor with a somber expression, paying no mind to the events occurring on the dance floor.

Double Dee sighed.

"Unfortunately Marie," said Double Dee, "The only thing to do at this point is to trust in the spirit of the season. The situation appears to be out of our hands, at least for now."

The boy turned back towards his girlfriend, holding his hand out towards her.

"Would you like to dance?" asked Double Dee.

Marie hesitated, momentarily maintaining a frown prior to mustering up a smile of her own.

"Let's kick it," said Marie as she took Double Dees hand, allowing herself to be escorted out to the dance floor.

Unbeknownst to the remainder of the Rethink Avenue clique, fate had seemed to take quite the positive turn; as Double Dee and Marie began their trek to the dance floor, a lavender Buddy scooter, carrying the newly reformed best friends Lee and Lindsay, had just turned onto the cross street, it's destination being a return trip to the waterfall room.

Lindsay piloted the scooter from the front, her blonde hair waving in the wind from underneath her purple helmet. Behind her, Lee sat with her hands wrapped around her abdomen. She had regained her composure and had donned her typical winter outfit; a green coat, blue jeans, and black high heeled boots. Her red hair, styled into freely hanging silky curls, flowed in the wind as well, held back from her face by a green head band.

As the scooter traveled down the street at a respectable thirty miles-per-hour, Lee decided to engage Lindsay in conversation over the loud knock of the two stroke engine.

"Pretty sweet hook-up ya got here Liz," said Lee.

"Thanks," said Lindsay, "It was my moms, my dad gave it to me when I turned fourteen, and I've been using it in secret ever since. He extended the wheelbase for my mom back when she bought it to fit her frame, so that her legs didn't have to be all scrunched up and look like she was driving a clown car. I guess it's a blessing that I'm freakishly tall..."

"That's the fifth time today I've heard ya refer to your height as freakish," said Lee, "You might be tall, but your proportions are amazing, and your face is a pretty as can be. You know how many girls would love to have those kind of attributes?"

"I guess," said Lindsay with a somber expression, "But, what guy is ever gonna want a six foot tall Amazon Woman?"

"Well, you're sitting here talkin' to me aren't ya?", asked Lee, "I'd say that's substantial proof that your dad had no problem falling in love and being attracted to a woman who was a foot taller than him. And look at me, my mans a whole head shorter than me, and the thought about the height difference never even crossed my mind. He's a great guy, and I know he's crazy about me. That's all that matters."

Lindsay activated the left turn signal and steered the scooter onto the home street of the waterfall room, electing to remain silent as she revved the engine for the final leg. As she did so, Lee playfully rolled her eyes as she leaned forward with a sly grin.

"But if you're that hung up on height," said Lee, "There's always Rolf."

Lee giggled as Lindsay rolled her eyes.

"Ugh, whatever," said Lindsay, "Alright, he is a really nice guy when you get to know him. I mean, I don't understand anything he says for the most part, mostly because he speaks in proverbs and metaphors, but I don't doubt he's genuine in his actions."

As the scooter approached the venue, Lindsay turned the handlebars slightly to the right in an attempt to pull the scooter between two parked cars as she continued speaking.

"And I don't know what it is," said Lindsay, "But there's something sexy about the whole "farm-boy" thing. And after seeing him up close a few times, he is kind of cute."

Lindsay applied then brakes, stopping the scooter adjacent to the curb. Using her leather high-heeled boot, she placed the kick stand in the down position, deactivated the engine, and placed her feet on the ground. As she removed her helmet, Lindsay proceeded to whip around towards Lee with an angry, yet playful expression.

"If you tell ANYONE I just said that, I'll kill you," said Lindsay.

Lee giggled slightly.

"Uh Oh," said Lee as she stepped off of the scooter, "I think Lizzy's got a little crush on Rolfy-Boy."

Lindsay elected not to respond, glancing towards the concrete sidewalk as her cheeks began turning red.

"Confirmed," said Lee as she giggled and ran her fingers through her hair, "Don't worry, remember our oath we pledged all of those years ago? What happens between L&L, stays between L&L"

"Whatever," said Lindsay, as she glanced back towards Lee while unwrapping a piece of chewing gum, "Why don't you just focus on getting your man back for now?"

The two girls shared a smile. After a brief display of their "best friends forever" pinky promise, Lee turned away from the scooter and began walking towards the building.

"Keep the motor running", said Lee, "I'll be out in a few minutes, then we'll head to your house for our sleepover."

As Lee placed her hand on the door handle, she turned back towards Lindsay.

"Oh, and try not to think about Rolf too much," said Lee, "It's a long ride back to your house, and wet pants are pretty uncomfortable in the cold."

Lee laughed heavily as Lindsay adopted an expression of anger, while simultaneously blushing once again.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" yelled Lindsay in a playful manner as she threw the balled up gum wrapper in Lee's direction.

Lee giggled as she opened the wooden door, and disappeared into the interior of the building. Once Lee was out of sight, Lindsay proceed to remove her cell phone from her pocket. The blonde girl then adopted a genuine smile as she leaned against the scooter, using her thumb to scan various internet articles on investing as she awaited Lee's return.