Free Starting Over by Barbie Bohrman Page A

off, I straightened my usually wavy, long dirty-blonde hair and put a little bouffant on the top so that my bat ears look like they’re sprouting from the top of my head. The only thing left is to put on my black vinyl boots, and I’m all set to patrol the streets of Gotham.
    We arrive at Josie’s school about a half hour later to find that Carrie and Lorelei are indeed dressed exactly as she is, and they look pretty cute when they’re all together. After I get them to pose for a few pictures, which they are happy to do since I haven’t met a tween yet who doesn’t love an opportunity to make duck faces into the camera, I leave them to their own devices and go about chaperoning the actual dance for a while.
    I’m so happy to see that a lot of the student body have shown up and look to be having a great time. A great time in separate little groups, that is. Because nobody is dancing to the music the poor deejay has been playing. When I was their age, if there was a boom box nearby, it was on, so I have no idea what to make of this.
    I see one of the other moms who had been helping decorate for the last couple of days dressed as Little Bo Peep standing by herself, so I head over to where she is on the far side of the gym.
    “Hey, Maria, you look great, by the way. I love your costume.”
    “Thanks, you too,” she says. “I wish I could still wear something like that. But that last kid tore me up.”
    Okay, I’m just going to ignore that comment. “So are you noticing the same thing I’ve been noticing?”
    “The no dancing, you mean?” she asks. “I think they’re all afraid to be the first one out there and be made fun of.”
    “You think so?”
    “Definitely,” Maria says with a laugh. “Girl, don’t you remember what it was like to be their age?”
    “Of course I do, but if there was a dance at school, we danced.”
    Right then, the deejay of course decides to slow things down. As if this already awkward group of tweens didn’t know what to do with an upbeat tempo, so he wants to take it to this level? This is a disaster.
    “I’m going to go talk to the deejay. I’ll be right back.”
    I take two steps backward on what is technically the dance floor as I’m saying this to Maria, then turn around quickly and run right into Cameron. Literally. Face-first somewhere around his collarbone. He puts his hands on my upper arms to pull me back slowly, but I keep my head down, and that’s when I see what he’s wearing.
    It’s a dark purple jacket with a green vest and a purple dress shirt underneath it. In the pocket of his suit jacket is the joker from a deck of cards. I’m almost afraid to look up, because I know that if I do, I’ll be way too happy.
    “Oh my God, are you okay?” he asks.
    When I don’t answer because I’m still staring at his Adam’s apple, he takes his finger and puts it under my chin and slowly tilts my face up so I can meet his eyes, and that’s when I see the green spray in his hair.
    “Vanessa, are you okay?”
    My suspicions are confirmed; he’s dressed as the Joker. It’s like costume kismet. Out of all the costumes in the world, he had to go and pick this one, and it seems to fit him to a tee. If possible, it makes him more handsome than I already thought he was. Which I know wouldn’t make sense to most women, but I’m definitely not most women.
    “I’m fine, thanks, and I’m so sorry for running into you. I should really look where I’m going,” I say finally. His hands fall away from my face and arm, and we stand there for a second or two in awkward silence. “I was just going to talk to the deejay about changing the music up to get these kids dancing.”
    He smiles warmly, his eyes doing that little crinkle at the corners thing again. “That’s funny, because I was just coming over to ask you to dance.”
    “You can’t be serious?”
    “Why so serious?” he asks with a smirk.
    I can’t help it; I start to laugh, because that might be the most