It was a good thing that no one else was downstairs. I was running so fast that…well, let's just say that I only run faster when there's a tornado bearing down on me.

I raced out of the house, crossed the street, got inside the gates, and ran up to the Palace doors. And the whole time I never looked back. Once, inside I slammed to door, ran upstairs so fast I thought I'd faint, bumped into Kathy, didn't even bother to say anything, and raced to my room.

I slammed my door, threw my guitar case against the wall, and plopped down on my bed.

I was so confused. Didn't know what to think or feel. Mostly I felt stupid. I felt like I'd rushed things too fast. I mean, I've known Lilia since I was seven, but even during all those centuries, I never once spoke to her. I didn't really know her.

Imagine you're a teenage girl, and the guy who's lived across the street for half your life never spoke to you and avoided you. Suddenly, he almost kisses you. Twice in the same week. I knew I'd blown it. She'd probably never speak to me again. I wouldn't blame her.

At that moment, Kathy knocked at my door. Then she opened it. "Spiny, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing."

"Well, you came in running so fast you almost busted your legs and…what happened over there?"

"Nothing happened. At least nothing you need to know about."

She closed the door behind her and sat down beside me. I was laying down on my pillow. "What happened, Spiny? You can tell me."

I sighed. "Won't tell anyone?"

"Promise."

I sighed again. "I almost kissed her on the lips. That's what happened."

I heard her gasp. "You did?"

"Uh-huh. Then I kissed her on the cheek and that's when I started running faster than Road Runner from Looney Tunes."

She nodded, obviously thinking. "How'd she react?"

"How should I know? All she said was that she loved the color of my eyes. Said they were the most beautiful shade of blue ever."

"She's right, you know."

"Oh, please! Don't start with that."

She stood up and walked around a bit. "You still going to take her to the dance?"

Funny, I hadn't thought of that. I just shrugged. "I don't think she'll ever speak to me."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I just do."

"You never now, Spiny. Maybe she wants it this way. Maybe she does wants to be rushed."

Then she left, leaving me to my thoughts. Maybe she was right. Or maybe not. I decided to sleep early that day.

I tried my best to dream of anything but Lilia. I mean, a guy can't spend his whole life thinking about girls.

Thankfully, I had a dream in which I had just been given a giant steak the size of a tree. Took me two months in the dream to finish it. Had to crawl around on my belly with a skateboard under me.

The next day was Saturday. I decided to sleep late. Larry insisted we go down to the Spy Room. But I practically ordered him to go without me. I slept that day until noon. I'm not kidding. Like I said before, being a King is not for anyone. It really does wear you out.

Anyways, I slept till noon that day. Oh, it was just great. I love sleep. Just to sleep in that great bed, do nothing but rest and dream, and just, you know, sleep.

I finally woke up and did my exercises. Then I went to the bathroom to splash water on my face. To wake me up faster. Then I walked out my room and downstairs. I grabbed a quick cheese sandwich and some juice.

I decided to go on down to the Lab to see what Larry had been up to. Oh, did I mention Darla also works with us? Yep. She's our Technical Assistant. Anyways, when I walked in the Lab, I saw…huh?

Larry was wearing some strange jacket. Had little white and red circles all over it. The circles were all wired to some device in Larry's hand. Motion sensors, maybe. Anyways, "Am I interrupting?" I said, walking in.

"Just in time to see Thomas Edison making his new light bulb," said Darla.

"Well, I wouldn't put it that way. I mean, I am a genius," said Larry. That's the trouble with him. He doesn't know when he's being insulted, especially with sarcasm. He seems to think everybody likes him. Oh well.

"What's with that?" I said, pointing to the suit.

"It's my 153th invention: The Boogie Suit."

I shook my head. "A what?"

"Here, I'll show you."

He handed me a…seemed like a remote control. Had a movable needle. Had different kinds of dances written on it. I pointed it to where it said Disco. I personally like disco. You know, The Bee Gees, John Travolta dance, things like that.

Anyways, I pointed the needle to that option, and he started dancing…you know…like John Travolta. Then I pointed the needle to Salsa. And he started dancing Salsa. Then to Waltz. Then to Ballad. I think you get the idea.

Anyways, I turned it off and said. "Well, I do have to admit it is pretty smart. But, aren't you going to look just a little funny? You know, wearing a jacket with all those circles and wires connected to it?"

"Already taken care of," said Darla. "He's going to spray paint them the same color as the jacket. And the wires too."

"Pretty clever, huh?" said Larry.

I nodded. "Yeah, it really is. But, what if it starts malfunctioning? I mean, you know, electrical modern gadgets are not always predictable. Remember the toaster I bought Patty a few months ago and it ended up making croutons for our salads?"

He looked off into the distance. "I thought there was something in the salads that reminded me of burnt toast."

I sighed. Darla punched him on the shoulder. "Oh, come on!"

I shrugged. "But, yeah, go ahead and try it. It's worth a shot."

I turned to Darla. "You going with someone to the dance?"

"Well, actually, I was wondering if I could just tag along you and your sisters. You know, sort of as the third wheel?"

Third wheel was not what I had thought of, but, "Sure. We can go as a group date."

"And that way, we can all dance with each other's dates."

I nodded. "Sounds good."

"Can I dance with Lilia?" said Larry.

I jumped at that. "NO! I mean, uh, that is…well, I'd just like to have her to myself, you know."

He grinned and raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

What more can I do? I just ignored him. That's the second-best way to deal with him. The best way is to beat him up real bad. Which I sincerely felt like doing, but didn't because of…well, I just didn't feel it would straighten him out.

I said to him, "Is this all you wanted to show me?"

Darla said, "Pretty much, yeah."

I nodded. "Well, then, I'll just go and work on my guitar lessons." I tried not to think about what had happened you-know-when at you-know-who's house.

I was almost inside my room, when I heard…music? From the girls' room? The door was half-way open. I peeked inside. Kathy was there…dancing to some music on her portable CD player…dancing with an over-sized stuffed Panda bear?

I knocked. She turned to me and said, "Oh, hi. What's up?"

"Um, may I ask what you are doing?"

"Oh, that." She set the bear on her bed. Then she went to turn off the music. "Practicing for the dance. I, uh, I want to be ready. Aren't you?"

I shoved my hands into my pockets. (In human form here.) Then I exhaled. "Pretty hard when I don't have any stuffed animals or a CD player."

She laughed. "Come on. Want me to teach you?"

"Sure." I mean, I did need to know how to dance.

"Now, the first thing you need to know is the beat. The drums are your cue for when to move your feet. Except for slow songs, but we'll get to that later. Anyways, you need to recognize the type of beat the song has."

She played a pop-rock with a moderate beat. "Here, look." She took my left hand and hers and put my right hand on her waist. Then she started to lead. "See, move your feet to the beat of the drums. You have to listen good at the beginning."

I tried to analyze the drums in the background of the song. One two, three. One two, three. After Kathy stepped on my a few times, probably 'cause I wasn't going fast enough, she said, "There you are. Now, just keep going. Keep going, you're doing good."

Well, I got the hang of it. Then we did a really fast one. Phew! The song was so fast, I was gasping for breath at the end.

After…gasp!...resting…choke!...for a little, she decided to play a slow one. "Gotta learn to dance those slow, romantic, dreamy ones." Let me tell you, slow ones are easy. To dance. "Now," Kathy said, "I know Lilia, and she will probably want you to more or less hold her closer." She got nearer to me and put her head on my shoulder. "Like this, okay?"

When we got done, she turned the music off, she said, "Get the idea?"

"Yeah, I got it, but I think I'm going to lose it the minute I go knock on her door."

She shook her head and laughed. "Spiny, Spiny, you need to relax. It's just a dance. It's not a fraternity event or something."

I looked down. "It's just that…well…I want to make a good impression. I get nervous around girls. I never know what to say."

She crossed her arms. "Spiny, you're talking to me."

"You're my sister."

"What about Patty?"

"She's my cousin."

"Darla?"

"She's a tomboy."

"Kylie?"

"I can't stand her!"

"Rebecca?"

"Blech!"

She exhaled. "Okay, okay. But you know, that's all practice. So you can learn how to treat a girl."

I nodded. "Guess you're right." I looked down. Sort of thinking. Then I looked back up. "Well, thanks anyways. For the dance lessons. And the suggestions." She smiled and came to hug me. "Anything for my very nervous-yet very cute brother." Then I started to leave, feeling good.