A World of Her Own

Chapter 16

Liora felt guilty for taking Jason away from the dance. She demurred, not wanting to take him away from his other friends. "Oh, it's okay. I don't want to make you leave. After all, this might be your last high school dance." Jason smiled. "That's okay. It's kind of crazy in there anyway. Too many people." He left her in the hallway and went inside to grab their jackets. In a few moments he was back. He helped her into her jacket and then they headed outside into the night air. It had cooled considerably and Liora was glad she had brought the jacket. They headed to the SUV.

It was still early and Jason suggested that they go to a local coffee shop before going home. The dance wouldn't be over until 10 anyway. The air was warm when they walked in, wrapping around Liora's shoulders like a cozy blanket. She quickly took off her jacket. The coffee shop was quiet, with the music turned down and only a few patrons inside. It was a welcome change from the hectic atmosphere of the dance. They went up and ordered, Jason getting hot apple cider and Liora a hot chai tea. They took a booth in the corner, where it was private. Liora looked apologetically at Jason. "I'm sorry for taking you away from the dance."

Jason shook his head. "It's not a problem. It was too crazy in there anyway. All the flashing lights. And just too many people. My parents were right to keep Christina home. Some of those kids get kind of wild. They think these dances are their chance to bring out their inner pop star so they start trying all sorts of sexy dance moves. And a lot of the boys get really forward and flirtatous with girls they don't know, dancing too close to them and stuff. That wouldn't be a good atmosphere for Christina. And I had to give a couple warning looks to some of the guys I saw who looked like they were about to make a move on you. This is much better. We can actually hear each other."

"Well, kind of," Liora said ruefully. Her ears were still ringing from the loud music. Jason looked at her sympathetically. "Your ears are bothering you?" "Well, yes," Liora replied. "But I'm glad to get out of there. I hope the youth group party won't be as noisy." Jason shook his head. "Well, the music can get pretty loud at the youth group parties too but there are a few different rooms. We can always find a spot that's quiet."

They sipped their drinks. Jason was preparing for the big tennis tournament at the end of the month. The season was drawing to a close but they had done well enough that they would be in the state conference in November. It was a good way to end his high school tennis career and he hoped they would win the conference. They avoided the topic of him leaving in January or her transferring, keeping the topic of the conversation light. Jason told her a little bit about the youth group party that would be happening next weekend but he was keeping his costume a surprise. Liora also decided to keep hers a secret. It wasn't quite finished and she hoped it would be ready by next weekend. They talked until they noticed the coffee shop employees cleaning everything down and closing up. One of them looked over and smiled. Jason waved then looked at Liora. "She goes to our church but I can't quite remember her name. She graduated a couple years ago." Liora glanced over at the girl. She dimly remembered seeing her in the halls when Liora was a freshman. The girl smiled at them again and then went back to her work.

They threw away their cups and headed out the door. It was slightly after ten pm and Jason drove her straight home. He gave her a hug. "Thank you for coming to the dance with me, Liora. I had fun. I hope you did as well." Liora smiled at him. "Thank you for inviting me. And I did have a good time. It was better when we got to the coffee shop but I did enjoy the earlier part of the dance." Jason smiled at her. "I promise after next weekend, there won't be any more parties for awhile." He gave her a final hug and Liora headed inside. 

Liora spent all of Sunday holed up at home. She had several tests to prepare for and a few class projects to work on. Jason sent her a short text, just to say hi, but then she didn't hear from him. She knew she wouldn't see much of him that week. They both had lots of tests and projects that were due. And Jason was meeting with his tennis co-captain for lunch almost every day that week to go over strategies for their upcoming matches. They were determined to win the conference this year.