Another set of slow songs
and this time Amy sat out
with me. “He looks bored,”
she said, motioning vaguely
towards the dance floor.

“Who? Martin?” Even Martin
had been asked to dance. I
was feeling lower than low.

“Well, yeah. Him too. But I
mean your guy.”

“Derek?”

“No. God! I’m going to start
carrying a chart,” Amy
warned. “Pietr.”

“Oh. I hadn’t noticed.”

“You don’t lie as well
as you think you do,” she
said with a sniff.

“Ugh.”

“Oh. Sarah doesn’t look
too happy.”

I peered out onto the
dance floor. Amy was
right. Sarah looked even
worse than just unhappy—
she looked mad. She looked
straight at me, still
stretching to hold onto
Pietr’s shoulders.

My heart fell into my
stomach and started jumping
around like a fish fresh
from the stream. I was the
first to look away.

“That can’t be good,” Amy
whispered, still watching.

I tried to look mesmerized
by the floor. “Is she still
glaring at me?”

“No. She’s talking to him
again.” Amy leaned forward
in her chair, following my
lame ploy that there was
something absolutely fascinating
about Junction High’s gym floor.
She kept up the spy game. “Nope.
She’s mad.” She poked me. “He’s
not trying to dump her now—not
at the dance?”

My heart stopped. “No--” But I
wondered. Every time my dad had
wanted out of something, he
screwed it up so badly my mom
just quit asking him to do it.
“Is he stepping on her feet?”

“What? No.” Amy just looked at
me. “Sometimes I just can’t
follow your line of logic,” she
admitted.

“Way better that way. He won’t
break it off tonight. I told him
he couldn’t.”

“Okay. I definitely don’t
follow your logic,” she confirmed.

--Whoa, here it comes--

“It’s winding up again!” Amy
shouted, as if I’d gone deaf
since her last statement.

--That funny feeling again,
winding me up inside--

Pietr was before me, pulling me
onto my feet.

“Dance with me,” he said.

Sarah was behind him, glowering
at me. I hesitated.

Amy grabbed Sarah and headed to
the dance floor. “Fast or slow?”
she called.

Pietr had me by the wrist. I
followed.

“I don’t know!” I yelled to Amy.

But on the dance floor couples
quickly formed and someone shut
off a set of lights as a hint.

“Slow,” Amy groaned, dragging
Sarah back to the chairs.

I tried to go with them. I did.
But Pietr already had me by the
waist.

“Stay,” he commanded.

“Fine. You’ve probably already
doomed my friendship with Sarah
anyhow by neglecting her during
this dance,” I said, resigning
myself to reach up and rest my
hands on his shoulders. “She’s
going to be jealous.”

“I thought I always
stated the obvious,” he said,
pulling me closer.

I couldn’t help it. My eyes
scanned the room. Nope. No
rulers in sight.

“Who are you looking for?
Derek?” His eyes narrowed.

I chuckled at the idea of
Pietr, the popular and
handsome—definitely handsome--
new guy, being jealous of
where my attention went. I
leaned my forehead against
his chest and sighed. “You
wouldn’t understand,” I
whispered.

“No,” his voice rumbled
in his chest, deep and loud
with my ears so close.
“You’re right,” the words
reminded me of Hunter’s
growl. “When it comes to
you liking Derek, I can’t
understand.”

I just closed my eyes and
tried to not think of
anything but being close
to Pietr, right then and
right there.

Sarah was almost between
us at the song’s end.

“He insisted on dancing
with his guide,” she
explained, giving me
her broadest smile as
she put a hand on his
arm. Possessively. “He
said proper courtesy is
very important to people
of his background.”

I backed up, and forced
my eyebrows to stay level.
“Thank you for the dance,
Pietr,” I said, watching
Sarah the whole time.

Amy put her hands on my
shoulders and began to
guide me away. “My mom’s
in the parking lot,” she
explained over her shoulder
to Pietr and Sarah. “You two
have fun!”

We slipped our shoes on
and headed outside. “So,”
she said as soon as the
school’s doors closed
behind us. “Do you think
someone with Sarah’s type
of head trauma can ever
really return to what they
were like before the accident?”

I was frozen, not by the autumn
breeze playing with the hem of
my skirt, but by the possibility.
“I don’t know.”

“Well, we’d better hope not,” A
my pointed out dryly. “Because
if the old Sarah ever shows up
in that cute little package you
call friend she’s gonna’
kill you.”

I hung my head, knowing Amy was
right. Because of the original
trio of Jenny, Macie and Sarah,
Sarah was the smartest. And the
cruelest by far.

**You voted on the song
for Pietr and Jessica to dance
to, and you got it. Now, if you
want to see how I would have
written it if the two top songs
had remained in a tie, go here.
…And…
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