"Hey, Billy, how was your Valentine's Day?"
"I hate Walentine's Day."
"Why do you say that?"
"I just do."
"Come here to Mommy and tell me about it. What happened?"
"We had to make hearts out of red paper an' write on them an' put them in everybody's bag. Ms. Smiff gave us the bags."
"And?"
"We went around an' put 'em in the bags but when Susie came to my desk, she looked at me but didn't give me a walentine."
"Are you sure she didn't just forget?"
"No! She looked right at me 'n' stuck out her tongue an' didn't put one in my bag."
"That wasn't very nice of her. Did you make her mad or something?"
"She never talks to me. She won't play wif me at recess."
"Well, Honey, sometimes people aren't very nice and we never know why. How about some Valentine's candy? Here, take three of these little hearts and go play with your toy soldiers. We'll have dinner after Daddy gets home, if he gets home, OK?"
"I guess..."
-----
Five Years Later...
"Alright, everybody, the weather's awful outside and we can't have PE in this weather."
"Cool. Let's do dodgeball," shouted one of the sixth-graders."
"No, today will be something special. Since it's Valentine's Day, Mr. Anderson and I are going to teach you how to dance!"
"Aww, no!" "Do we have to?" "That's no fun."
"Yes, you have to. We are going to teach you one of the simplest dances out there, the waltz. Now, listen to the basic beat:
ONE
two-three.
ONE
two-three. Got it? Now, listen to this music."
"Hear the same beat? Yes? Easy, isn't it? Now, we're going to teach you the steps which go with the music. Line up girls over here and boys there...OK, pair off, first girl with the first boy and on down the line."
A few seconds later a voice of protest was heard from the rear of the room.
"Yes, Sue, what is it?"
"Do I hafta dance with Billy?"
"It's Bill."
"I don't care what your name is, Stupid. Ms. Thompson, I don't wanna dance with Billy."
"Yes, Sue, you have to."
"I don't want his hands on me. I don't know what he's been doing with them! He probably doesn't wash 'em after the bathroom."
"I do, too!"
"You're icky."
"And you're a b..."
"Language, Bill, watch your language," the teacher interrupted.
"Ms. Thompson, I'm leaving. If she doesn't want to dance with me then she can dance with someone else."
"Bill, you don't get a choice in this. You stay right there."
"No, Ma'am."
"Then you take yourself to Vice Principal Wilson's office. He'll decide your punishment."
"Fine! She's the rude one and I get detention. Since I'm getting' detention, then I'm gonna say it. Sue, you're nothing but a bitch!"
"Bill!" screamed Ms. Thompson as he slammed the door closed behind him.
-----
Six Years Later...
OK, Seniors and juniors, listen up!
crackled the intercom during homeroom,
The Junior/Senior Valentine's Dance will be held next Friday here in the gym. We've got a live band called the Central City Cuties and it should be fun. Be sure to get your tickets from your student rep by next Tuesday.
Bill looked around thinking about who he'd invite. His eyes landed on Sue. She was a good-looking girl even though she wore glasses. He liked her long, wavy hair which hung down to her waist, her great figure and cute smile. He couldn't keep his eyes off her when she went outside at PE or when she led cheers at the games. He knew she was way out of his league and even though she had been rude to him in the past, he wondered if he should ask her. He had heard the rumor she'd broken up with her boyfriend.
Once homeroom was over, he got to the door right as she did. He surprised himself by suddenly turning to her. "Hey, uh, Sue, I hear you may not have a date to the Valentine's dance. Care to go with me?"
She looked at him with a barely hidden grimace. "You, Bill? You're inviting me to the dance?"
"Yeah, thought it'd be fun."
"Now why would I want to be seen with you? Your dad ditched you, your mom's a drunk and you have to work as a bagger at LowCostMart. You can't even get a real job at a regular store."
"What's that got to do with...?"
"Nah, it's not gonna be happening. I'd rather watch my fingernail polish dry than go to the dance with you."
Without saying anything, he turned away quickly hoping no one saw him get shot down. 'Still a bitch,' he muttered to himself.
Sue was right. His home life sucked. His dad had disappeared, probably with his secretary, years before and his mom turned to the bottle. If not for his neighbor Dan and his wife Louise, Bill would probably have been in a gang or sleeping on the streets. As it was, he did well in school and already had a full ride scholarship to the university.
On his way home, he decided to skip the Valentine's dance altogether. There was no sense in exposing himself to more ridicule, was there? Graduation was only three short months away and he couldn't wait until he was done with school and could go off to college in the fall. There he was sure he would meet plenty of new friends and be able to forget the misery of his childhood and mean girls like Sue. And once he left his hometown, he swore he would never ever visit or even talk about it again.
-----
Ten years later...
"Hey, Alex, coming to the party with us tonight?" asked Trevor.
"Party?"
"Yeah, Dummy, Valentine's party at the Canteen. Half-priced drinks until eight. Should be a lotta babes there for a confirmed bachelor like you to play around with."
"Ah, probably not. Valentine's isn't my thing."
"Valentine's is everybody's thing! Come on!"
"Nah, I'd rather not. I'm actually anti-Valentine's Day."
"I sense a story behind that. What, someone dump you then?"
"No, it just doesn't bring back good memories."
"OK, so you hate the theme but at least come with Kyle and me and be our wingman, please?"
"You'll owe me big."
"Name your price. I've already promised my first born to someone else," he laughed.
"How about a week at your family's cabin?"
"Sold! I'll set it up. But who will you take with you?"
"Maybe I'll go for a week of solitude just to get away from this pit of a city."
"Whatever, man, I'll set it up with my folks and the place is yours, at least until the summer rush. Now, let's get out of here; the babes are waiting."
Kyle, Trevor and Alex could hear music and laughter from over a block away. In front of the Canteen's door was a line of people waiting to get in. Alex mused at how cold some of the women must have been wearing their short dresses in the sub-freezing temperatures; he was cold enough himself.
"Shit, Trev, it's colder than all get out. I'm not waiting here freezing my butt off."
"Alex, we had a deal. You gotta stay. Let me go and talk with the door guy and see what the wait is."
Reluctantly, Alex stood there with Kyle while Trevor went to the front of the line. A few seconds later, it was as if the gates were opened and the line surged forward. Right as they got to the door, Trevor told them the doorman had been doing a headcount to make sure they didn't violate the fire code.
"We're golden. They'll let in another ten or so and after that they'll let in people only when someone leaves."
Inside, techno-pop music was blasting from all the speakers as the DJ tried to create a frenzy of enthusiasm with the clientele. Bodies gyrated on the packed dance floor, strobe lights flashed and most of the people seemed to be having a great time. Trevor led them through the crowd until he spotted a large table with only half the seats occupied. He leaned over one of the women at the table and spoke in her ear. She smiled and nodded, pointing to the empty seats.
"She says we can sit here. You guys grab your chairs and I'll get us a pitcher."
Alex sat down next to a cute blonde with short, curly hair. It was short on the sides leaving a mop of curls on top and exposing a remarkably attractive neck. 'Who knew necks could be so sexy?' he mused silently.
After he had glanced at her a few times, she turned to him, "I'm Holly. You?"
"Alex."
"You don't look too excited to be here."
"Nah, not my thing."
"What? The noise, the dancing, Valentine's? What?"
"Actually, all three but mainly Valentine's."
"That's too bad. Uh, why'd you even come?"
"I was talked into it. Trevor, the guy going for the suds, wanted a wingman."
"I don't get why you guys need wingmen. Just put yourselves out there and see what'll happen."
"Yeah, I guess."
"Hey, wanna have some fun? Let's you and me dance right away and make them realize their wingman hit it off first."
"Look, you don't have to do that..."
"Maybe I want to. Come on!"
She grabbed him by the hand and half-dragged him to the packed dance floor. Once there, she let his hand go and started to gyrate in time with the music in front of him. He marveled at how attractive she was. Her Lucille Ball hairdo was kind of retro but it exposed her remarkably attractive neck. She had blue eyes and a cute dimpled smile. Although her clothes were fairly bulky, he could tell she probably had a decent figure. He was able to dance with her without totally embarrassing himself and when the music slowed, she reached out to him.
They came together holding each other loosely in their arms and though they were closer, the music was still too loud to talk. At the end of the slow tune, she took his hand and led him back to the table. There Trevor and Kyle were talking to the other two women. Trevor looked up at Alex with a small 'told you so' grin before he turned his attention back to the conversation.
Holly, turning her back on her friends, looked Alex in the eye. "Now, you and I can get to know each other, OK?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"So, here's my elevator intro."
"Elevator intro?"
"Yeah, I tell you everything important in the time it takes the elevator to get to the first stop. Has to be quick."
"OK, shoot."
