Free Over the Moon by Diane Daniels

was that? Shouldn't it be Pine
Mountain? It wasn't a valley and a mountain. It didn't make sense
to me, but then nobody had asked for my opinion. The people who
named it were probably the same ones who named Hurricane.
    To the east there were a number of purple tabletop plateaus supported by huge lion's paws in rainbow colors. You could see all the
way to the jagged, rocky spires of Zion National Park. It was a very
imposing and impressive view.
    The food looked expensive. I wished I wasn't too nervous to
enjoy it. It was pretty, arranged artistically on the fancy china. It was
almost a shame to eat it. I pushed it around with my fork.
    Tim and Jordan talked a lot about sports and school. Tiffany
made amusing comments. I was happy to listen and nod occasionally. I tried to laugh convincingly at their jokes. Most of them were
actually funny, so it wasn't too hard. I had to force myself to pay
attention because I wanted to zone out and think only of how wonderful it would be to finally dance in Andrew's arms. I was glad no
one could read my thoughts.
    At last, it was time to head back to Hurricane High for the
dance. We were late. I searched the parking lot for Andrew's car. It
wasn't there. My mood fell as I noted the fact that he might not be
here tonight. He could have changed his mind. The gymnasium had
been transformed into a jungle with lots of fake trees and plants. The ceiling was covered with vines and giant, white gardenias made
from crepe paper. There were even a few monkeys hanging from the
fake vines. I love monkeys, but whoever decorated this had gone a
little over the top with the rainforest theme. I almost expected to see
some tigers and gorillas hiding in the corners behind the silk plants.
I looked suspiciously around the room. There they were. The tigers
were part of the table centerpieces. They were cute and fuzzy stuffed
toy tigers. I couldn't help laughing when I spied them. I shouldn't
have been surprised. This was the home of the Tigers. The only
gorillas I could see were on the dance floor with their dates.

    The dance floor was crowded, and it was difficult to see in the
dim lighting. Jordan escorted me to the middle of the room. As we
danced, I combed the sidelines for Andrew. I couldn't find him anywhere. I bit my bottom lip. What if he had decided not to come? I
wouldn't blame him if he had, but I really wanted him to be here. I
didn't want to waste all this irresistibility on Jordan.
    Jordan wasn't a bad dancer, but I was uncomfortable in his
embrace. It just felt wrong. I tried to make polite conversation. My
mind kept wandering, and my eyes kept searching. He liked to talk
about himself, as most boys do, so I asked a few questions and tried
to listen, or pretend to in a convincing manner. I'd just have to serve
my time in dating hell and try to make the best of it.
    After we had been dancing for what seemed like almost forever,
Andrew walked in. I gulped. He could have walked off the cover
of GQ in a lightweight navy suit with a silver shirt and a tie that
matched the color of his eyes. He seemed to have an aura of light
around him, and it was impossible for me to see anyone else when
he was in the room. He smiled and waved at me. I felt queasy and
slightly dizzy as I watched him make his way to the edge of the
room. He found a folding chair and leaned back against the wall.
Again, his eyes found me in the crowd, and I felt his magnetism
pulling me to him.
    Abruptly, the music stopped; the lights flickered and then went
out. A few girls screamed. Someone shoved me to the floor. It must
have been an accident. Why would anyone do that on purpose? The lights came back on again in a matter of seconds. I tried to get up
from my awkward position on the dance floor. My ankle twisted, I
felt a sharp pain, and I went down again. I blushed to my beet-red
level ten on the mortification sliding scale. I felt like everyone in the
room was staring intently at me.