The Fifteenth Year

May: Part 5

Saturday, May 7, 2005 (continued)

Dear Friend,

Once we arrived at Raley Field, I gasped. Limos were everywhere, you could see twinkly lights all inside the box seats platform where we'd all be, and so many people in dress attire flooded inside me at a fast rate. You would think this wouldn't be unusual for me to see growing up in California, but the truth is, I've never been to LA. And I felt like I just walked into Hollywood tonight.

"You ready to go inside and shake your tailfeather with me?" Jason asked mischievously. 

I laughed, because that happened to be the song that was playing. I could hear Nelly and P. Diddy singing distinctly from the entrance.

"Let's do it," I answered, grabbing his hand as we made our way through the crowd into the beautifully decorated building. Fancy tablecloths and candles covered round tables, food was in a giant buffet line, and music pumped from loud speakers inside. The hardwood floors that faced the big windows of the boxes overlooking the baseball field were filled with people dancing, grinding, and kissing.

We danced ridiculously to this risqué song and laughed our butts off. Buddies of Jason's high-fived him and changed his name and were even nice to me! Some of their dates knew that I was younger and out of place so it was sweet of them when they reached out to me saying they liked my dress and asked who I have as my teacher.

"Hey! Cassie! You made it!" hollered a voice behind me.

I turned to see Jason's good friend Chris Hayes fist-bumping Jason. His date stood at his side.

"Hey, Chris," I said. "It's been a long time. Jason's birthday, right?"

"Oh yeah! That was a goodtime, man. Jason got hit in the face. Classic." He shook his head in disbelief with a laugh. "Well, we were just on our way to the refreshments. Catch you guys later?"

"Good to see you, dude," Jason responded. "Gym after school on Monday?"

"You know it," he hollered as he wandered off with his date in tow. He raised a fist and shouted loud enough to be heard over the music and make me jump, "Go Lions!" And you know what? People cheered.

At one point Al Dower walked by with a bandage on his nose, groaned at the sight of us and walked off with some unsuspecting honey on his arm. Poor girl doesn't know who she's with, evidently.

During a slow dance to Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together," people were jeering in our direction as Jason swayed gently with me. Suddenly it wasn't just fun, people were faced with an undeniable reality that I wasn't so much a date as I was in fact Jason's younger immature girlfriend and he was slow-dancing with me. The looks we got I wish I could forget about. And then something was said that made the hairs on my arms stand up. Someone made some comment about how we were the squares that didn't get a limo therefore we didn't get a room. A few people snickered, others laughed.

"The locker rooms are certainly going to be generating talk of me come Monday..." Jason said, but that didn't stop him from dancing with me and resting his cheek against the side of my head.

I groaned. "Jason, maybe coming here was a mistake. Everybody is laughing at us."

"Babe, I told you. You're worth waiting for. I don't care who knows it."

"You're just saying that to be sweet. If I offered myself to you, you'd totally take it."

He scoffed and gave me a sidelong look. "Don't be so conceited, Wallace. I would turn you down."

I laughed. "Really?"

"Absolutely. Who says I want you? Yeesh. Wat to be presumptuous. You'd get hot potato dropped. Especially since you seem to think so highly of yourself."