That One Moment...

Chapter 19

Day 75 - The Autumn Dance

As they stepped into the gymnasium Sarah was surprised to see the twinkle lights and fall colored balloons that hung from the rafters. She had not know what to expect, since she had never made it to a dance before. If the dance committee could put together this much in a week, she assumed the more formal dances would be crazy. No wonder the admin had tried to tone this one down.

Crazy was a good word for the last week. Not only was she entering a school dance with someone way out of her 'league', but she was also now an athlete herself. Sarah had made both the first cut and the second for the girl's basketball team. She wasn't a starter, but she was on the team. She would now be juggling school, work, practice, and actual games. None of this had been in her ideas of what school would be like this year...well, except school... Now, she had to deal with her parent's anger that she would never make it into a "decent college" if she had so much on her plate.

Sarah felt Ryan put his hand on her back to grab her attention, leaning down to whisper, "You ready for this?" For a second she had forgot where she was. As she looked up and saw the number of stares directed their way, Sarah was reminded of Monday morning and what had led up to it.

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Sarah had been a ball of nerves Friday night after realizing that Ryan had actually asked her to the dance. She had tried to call her sister for advice, but she hadn't picked up. Instead, Sarah kept thinking about the events of the day and what they might mean. Finally, she had left a quick message:

NOT AN EMERGENCY, BUT I AM FREAKING OUT ABOUT SOMETHING

She could not keep her mind from scrolling through various scenarios and getting worried about why Ryan would have asked her to the dance? She had already told him that she was not part of his social group, that she was out of place...but really, no one had listened when she mentioned this. None of her new friends had really let her go back to being a loner nobody. Were they just playing with her? Was this a set-up like that movie Carrie?

Of course, her mental struggle led to Sarah just laying in bed all night doom scrolling her phone. Chris had talked her into starting some social media accounts, while Abby had helped set them up. Now, she was anonymously looking through accounts and dreading what might be happening in her life. After such an amazing evening of working herself into a doom spiral, it was hard to get up the next morning.

Sarah heard her mom come downstairs at some point. She heard her mumble something along the lines of 'this again?' before she more loudly asked if Sarah had work or something else she needed to get up for today. There were of course chores to do as well. "This is why I haven't fought you about working and trying out for a sport. You haven't had one of these pity parties for yourself lately."

"Sorry mom. I do have to work later. I will try to drag myself from this pity party soon and do some chores first."

"It isn't like your life is that bad. Especially lately, we have let you alone. You didn't even notice that your dad has been drinking less and more active. The doctor recommended he cut down on salt also. He has been retaining some extra fluids around his middle lately."

"It's called a beer gut." Sarah mumbled quietly, but more loudly stated "I will try to be around more if that is what you all want, but I really assumed that me being scarce kept the peace. I did notice there has been less yelling."

"You have been difficult, especially since your sister left. You used to just blend in, but now you keep talking back." Her mom sighed some, "I assume it is the regular teenage angst hitting you. Just get your chores done and don't slack at school on top of being more trouble at home."