It’s amazing how you can fall in love with a person you never noticed before.
I enjoy being around Danielle. I like the way her hair bounces when she dances and I like the way her teeth are all out when she smiles and I like the way the color never leaves her freckled cheeks.
The dance is loud and chaotic and the crowd of students presses against me, leaving no room to breathe and leaving nothing untouched. Lights flash and glare at my eyes and I barely know where I am going. The music pounds against my ears so hard that I feel like my brain is convulsing and sweat clings to me like a blanket wrapped around my body. My hair sticks to my forehead and my glasses are askew so the world is tilted in my eyes but none of that matters because Danielle is smiling as she holds my hands, leading me to dance with her.
“Having fun?” she asks and it’s a miracle that I can even hear her.
I grin and nod vigorously. The world is mass of tangled limbs and horrible smell and she is smiling.
At me.
The music suddenly slows down and then we both stop at the same time. I clean my glasses on my handkerchief and through my blurred vision, I see our student body president, Sarah Bell, walk up the stage in a wonderful looking red dress which shows off her figure. Somebody else is with her but I can’t see properly.
All around me, I can hear students mumbling, “Wow, she’s amazing” and “Who’s that again? She looks beautiful” and as I continue to clean my glasses, not minding these noises, I feel Danielle take my hand in hers and I give her a weird look.
“What?” I ask. She still looks blurred.
“Nothing,” she says.
I push my glasses to my face and stare at her. Her eyes are wide and her lips parted. I can label the look as awe or fear but there is nothing to be awed at so she’s scared.
I frown and turn to the stage where Sarah Bell is adjusting the microphone. She does look beautiful but I don’t get why people don’t know her. She’s the student body president, after all. Then my eyes trail to the girl standing next to her and my breath stops in my throat.
Because I do not recognize this girl and that’s the problem because she is so beautiful. She has long brown hair which parts at the side and which waves and curls near her shoulders. Her eyes are light brown and so innocent looking and I can see them even from a distance. She has a long nose and pink lips. I can see that she’s not overdoing her make-up. Her skin is fair and she is wearing a light blue knee length close fitting dress which makes her brown eyes pop.
And she is so beautiful.
“Whoa,” I mutter and my breath finally escapes me,“Who’s that?”
And to my surprise, a friend of mine, Aidan, claps me on the back and stares hungrily at the girl on stage.
“That’s Kayla Carlos,” he tells me. Aidan is Indian and therefore, has a dark complexion and a really long nose. He gives me a wide grin. “Ain’t she a beauty?”
I am no longer aware that Danielle is still holding my hand but she awkwardly withdraws it. I turn to Aidan, giving him a look.
“I don’t think I noticed her before,” I say.
“Well, that’s you and the entire student body!” Aidan says and he cracks up, “Oh, boy, I bet that once this dance is over, people are going to be killing for her phone number.”
He’s right and I think I’m one of those people. I look back to the stage and see that Sarah is already talking about this year’s plan for the school. I didn’t even realize that she was talking a while ago but then I stare at the girl again and Sarah’s voice fades away.
