The Way to the Big Time (Wattys 2013)

Chapter 3: The First Dance

ONE MONTH LATER

"Hey, Iz!" Tala shouted, and I ran over to her.

"Your cast is coming off tonight!" I said, jumping up and down.

"I know! And, guess what else?"

"What?"

"I can do all my activities starting Thursday!" I jumped up and down, and she smiled.

"Bye!" she called, as Ester pulled out front of the school.

"Bye!" I called back. After a while, my sisters came out, and we walked home.

"We are home!" Cierra called.

"Hey girls!" my mom called from the kitchen. We went into the kitchen, and stole some cookie batter. We sat down and did our homework. My mom came out with a pitcher of milk, and a plate of warm cookies. The next day at school, Tala looked nice without her cast and crutches.

"Hi!" she called, running towards me. We talked and laughed. Then, she went off to Math Two, and I went to Math. At the end of the day, Tala came sprinting towards me.

"Are you going to the dance tonight?" she asked. I nodded, and she asked if I wanted to come over.

"Sure!" I said

"Ester can drop your sisters off at your house."

"Ok."

I called my mom, and she said that it would be fine. We dropped my sisters off, and ran into Tala’s room. We spent the afternoon deciding what we would wear, and fun stuff like that. When we were finally ready, we admired our work in the mirror. Our dances aren't real formal, but I thought we looked great. Tala had dark skinny jeans and a yellow strapless shirt on. Her makeup was perfect. I was wearing a mini skirt with a tank top and leather jacket. We looked great! Ester gave us a ride, and we walked into the gym. The first slow song played, and the guys walked around awkwardly trying to decide if they should ask someone to dance. Max walked up to us, so I turned my back and pretended to text.

"Um, hey,"  I heard Max say.

"Hi," Tala said, nervously.

"So," Max said, awkwardly "You wanna, um, you know...dance?"

"Oh," Tala said, and glanced at me. I smiled, so she nodded, and followed him onto the dance floor. Too late, I saw Marcus coming towards us. When he saw Max leading Tala away, he sneered, and walked over to Max's younger sister, Emily. I heard them talking, and saw Emily blush. Marcus yanked her hand, and dragged her onto the dance floor. That’s when I realized that Marcus was just a jerk. Yeah, he was kinda cute, but still a jerk. He waited until Max was looking at them, then Marcus kissed Emily full on the lips. She yanked back, stunned. She then hit him on the shoulder, and he shoved her. Max looked infuriated. He talked quickly to Tala who nodded, frightened. Then Max walked straight up to Marcus. I heard him say a few bad words to Marcus, and then the fight started. I saw Marcus fighting, but Max was winning. Max tried to punch Marcus, but he did a flawless back handspring away from Max. Max was surprised, but he only kept trying. Suddenly, Marcus tried a side aerial, the move he just started learning two weeks ago. As soon as he started, Tala and I looked at each other from across the gym, horrified. We knew he had pushed off wrong. He landed right on his shoulder, and his head smacked the ground. Emily screamed, and Max ran over to her. Marcus lay there, limp and unconscious, everyone to scared to move. Finally, one of the teachers came over and called 911. The ambulance came and took Marcus away. Max only had a black eye and a few bruises. The dance was called off. Tala called Ester, and I got dropped off at home. At home I quickly ran upstairs so my dad couldn't see I was wearing makeup.

I fell fast asleep in a few minutes.