The New Girl

6

Valentine’s Day

Before Alexa knew it, Winter Break was over, and before she could get into the habit of writing the date with the New Year, the big Valentine’s Day dance was upon her. Lissy, Carter, and Anna were all coming for sure, and Ryan said he might come.

The Valentine’s Day dance was the only one of the three that was like a mini prom, with semi-fancy dresses for the girls and nice pants (at least) for the boys. Alexa and Lissy had gone dress shopping a few days before. There was one dress shop in town, whose owners knew of the Durmon Valentine’s Day dance tradition, so always made pretty but less fancy dresses this time of year.

Lissy found a red-and-purple dress that looked gorgeous on the mannequin but when she tried it own, she realized that it was far from petite. That same dress was too short for Alexa; it barely covered her long legs. There was a pretty sky-blue dress (Alexa’s favorite color!) that was a halter-top with a longish skirt that flowed easily to her lower legs. It fit perfectly! Lissy finally found the perfect dress, after having tried on at least fifteen because hardly any dresses were petites; it was a dress that had been pushed to the back of the rack, which is why she didn’t find it the first time around. The dress was perfectly tiny, and white (which is Lissy’s favorite color) with embroidered roses growing up from the hem of the skirt, and it even came with a thorn-less rose corsage.    

When Alexa and Lissy had gotten dressed for the dance, Lissy came over to Alexa’s room to do her hair and make-up. When she was done, both girls looked beautiful, but Alexa thought that Lissy looked even more so. Juliana said she had piles of homework (that was her story, anyway, truth is, she just doesn’t like the dances for some reason), Nia never goes anywhere without Julie, Rachael was sick, and Kendall and Megs just didn’t come, but Bradley was still there. Unfortunately, so was Leah, and a group of their “popular” friends, two of which Alexa saw making out.

And of course, since it was the big Valentine’s Day dance, about halfway through, the D.J. said it was time for a “change of pace”. A slow song played.

All of Alexa’s friends were currently single, even Lissy, so when the slow song played and nearly everyone paired up, they just stood in a group. Alexa, Maxi, and Kelsey had been talking about their crushes, and when the song started, Alexa shook Kelsey by her shoulders and said, “This is supposed to be when the magic moment happens! Where’s the magic moment?!?” Alexa glanced around and saw plenty of cute guys standing alone, off to the side of the couples. When the song ended, Alexa let go of Kelsey’s shoulders and said, “There goes the magic moment!”

Alexa almost cried when the song was over, and as she hurried into a dark corner, she saw Bradley and Leah making out. Now she really wanted to cry. Bradley had apparently completely forgotten about her and gotten back together with Leah. Valentine’s Day was the worst! She was glad no one could see her in the corner as she began crying. She didn’t know how much time had gone by, but eventually, someone was kneeling over her. It was Ryan.

“Alexa, are you okay?” Even in the dim light, Alexa could see the concern on his face.

She smiled weakly up at him. “Yeah, I guess.”

“What’s wrong?” he sat down next to her.

“It’s stupid.”

“No it’s not. If it was stupid, you wouldn’t be crying.”

He’s got a point there. “Well, it’s just the whole Valentine’s Day thing. I mean, it’s great if you have a boyfriend, but if you’re single, it’s the worst holiday ever! And the whole slow dance thing, where the couples have fun and make fun of the people who are single at the same time, and I just saw my crush kiss his girlfriend, and when the slow song came on, I hoped one of those things that only happen in movies would happen, and, and, and…” She trailed off lamely.

 “Wait here,” Ryan said, hauling himself to his feet. She watched his sky-blue-shirted self disappear into the mob of bodies. By the time he came back, Alexa was standing and her eyes were perfectly dry. He took her hand and led her to the middle of the gym floor as another slow song came on.

Alexa hadn’t realized until they started dancing together how truly gorgeous his eyes are. They were emerald green and flecked with yellowish-brown, and they always seem to be sparkling. His long, maple-brown hair was so shiny, that it reflected the lights as the two danced around, oblivious of the couples around them. When this slow song ended, Ryan lightly kissed Alexa. It was short, but oh so sweet. Apparently these things don’t just happen in movies!

“Veux-tu sorti avec moi?” Ryan said.

She smiled. The eighth graders had been learning French, and Ryan was in her class.  “Bien entendu, je la ferai, Ryan!” He had just asked her out, and she said, “Of course I will!”

“Vous souhaitez obtenir le déjeuner quelque temps?” He asked.

“J’adorerais! Qu’en est-il de samedi?” Alexa replied.

“Sonne bon pour moi!” They now had a lunch date scheduled for that Saturday. “Vous le savez, le François est la langue de l’amour!”

Alexa laughed, “French is the language of love? Well then, it seems fitting, don’t you think?”

“Vous voir samedi, mon amour!” Ryan called as they separated to head to their respective dorms.

Alexa laughed and answered, “Au revoir, vous silly boy!”