Free High and Inside by Jeff Rud

Matt had ever been to a girl, not counting his mother. Her hand felt warm in his, and he hoped his fingers weren’t too sweaty. He and Andrea moved around in a circle, looking at the other dancers and not saying anything to each other.
    When the song was over, Andrea stepped back and said, “Thanks.”
    Matt nodded and said, “Yeah.” What a stupid thing to say, he thought. Why hadn’t he said thanks too?
    Principal Walker and the parents were already turning up the lights and volunteers were beginning to pick up the soda cans.
    Phil came up to Matt, Andrea and Marcia at the edge of the dance floor, but Matt realized that he hadn’t seen Jake and his cousins since they had gone outside.
    â€œMarcia, do you know where Jake and those guys went?” Matt asked.
    Marcia looked at Andrea and then back at Matt. “You better ask him yourself,” she said. She didn’t look happy.
    Andrea grabbed Matt’s right arm gently. “I have to go now,” she said. “My mom said she’d pick Marcia and me up outside at 10:30 and it’s past that now. Thanks. I had a really good time tonight. I’ll see you in school Monday.”
    â€œI had fun too,” Matt replied. He felt like he should say more but what exactly? He waved to Andrea and Marcia as they headed toward the gym door.
    â€œMattster!” It was Jake. He had been in the back corner of the gym with Cody and Vance and some older kids. “Where are the girls?”
    â€œThey left,” Matt said. “Where’d you guys go, anyway?”
    Vance, a strange smirk on his face, piped up. “We just went for a hike.”
    â€œYeah,” said Cody. “A nice long hike.”
    What were these guys talking about? Matt thought. He was just about to ask when Jake said, “Sorry guys, we’ve gotta go. My mom and dad are picking us up outside, like ten minutes ago.”
    Matt and Phil said goodbye to Jake and his cousins and watched them walk away. Then they headed to the coat check to pick up their jackets. “You guys are the last ones here,” said the ninth-grade girl working the counter. “But I’ve got this one left too. Do you guys know who it belongs to?”
    Matt recognized the red coat with the black lining immediately. It was Jake’s. “That’s my friend’s,” he said. “I’ll get it to him.”
    Matt and Phil walked up Anderson Crescent together in the cool of the spring evening. It was nice to get some fresh air after being in that sweaty gym all night, and the nighttime hush was a relief to their ears. “What did you think of the dance?” Matt asked.
    â€œIt was good,” Phil said. “That DJ had some killer speakers. My dad sells those downtown, they’re like $3,000 a pair.”
    They were already at Anderson and Seventh. Phil only had a few blocks left to walk to his grandmother’s store. “I’ll catch you later,” Matt said, smiling at his buddy. “See you Monday for sure.”
    The lights were on in the living room and Matt’s mom was on the sofa with a cup of tea, reading the Post. She looked up as he came in. “How’s my dancin’ machine?” she asked.
    â€œIt was pretty fun,” Matt said. “I’m not much of a machine, though.”
    Matt told his mother all about the dance, leaving out the part about hanging out with Andrea for the night and especially the part about slow dancing with her at the very end.
    â€œI’m tired, though,” he said. “And I’ve got hitting practice again in the morning with Charlie.”
    Matt was still carrying Jake’s red jacket when he reached his room. He shoved it into his baseball equipment bag. That way he would be sure to remember to return it to Jake at Monday’s game. Matt undressed, carefully hung up his clothes and jumped into bed. He was really tired, but something was bothering him. Just what had