Free Almost Eden by Anita Horrocks Page B

silence. “What?”
    “You poor misguided child.” Sadie put a hand over her heart and used her best preacher’s voice.
    No one knew how to tell Jillian that she had about as much chance of going to a Sadie Hawkins Dance in Hopefield as she had of flying to the moon. Then I remembered the old joke Beth used to say all the time before she was saved.
    “I could’ve danced all night,” I sang. “But I’m a Mennonite.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?” Jillian demanded.
    “This is Hopefield, remember?”
    “So?”
    “We don’t dance. Dancing is a sin. Right up there with smoking, drinking, playing cards, going to movies, and just about anything else that’s fun. Haven’t you noticed we don’t have a movie theater in this town even?” Seven churches, but no movie theater.
    For just a minute, I tried to imagine how it would be to dance with Aaron Penner. His hand on my waist, my hand on his shoulder, smiling up into his gorgeous blue eyes. It might happen. Maybe. Like if someone we both knew got married and there was a social after the wedding, and we were both invited.
    As if. The others were already gossiping about someone Sadie had seen parked on lover’s lane. The biscuit conference was going pretty good all right.
    The sun had set a while ago, and the first stars twinkled faintly. We hardly needed sleeping bags even, the night was so warm.

    We waited until it was completely dark, the entire town sleeping already, before we crept out the back gate.
    “That was too easy,” said Joy.
    “Shhh!!!”
    Laughing, wide awake, and breathless, we ran down the alley.
    “Where are we going?” Heather asked.
    “It’s a surprise,” said Jillian. “Follow me.”
    “Not another one of Jillian’s surprises,” groaned Eleanor. She traipsed along behind us, but she wasn’t all that happy about it.
    Jillian led us down the route we’d planned, sticking to back alleys as much as possible. By the time we reached the park, we were all pretty wound up and acting like little kids. We ran for the slides and swings, whooping and hollering at half volume.
    “Over here!” I called. Everyone grabbed a spot on the wobbly old merry-go-round. We ran, pushing it faster and faster and still faster, then hopping on one by one. Iwas the last to jump on and lean out, breathless, letting the night sky spin dizzily around and around and around some more.
    “That was so neat,” Joy finally sighed, when the merry-go-round stopped.
    “It gets better,” said Jillian. “C’mon.”
    We chased each other through the park to the big elm tree close by the fence that surrounded the pool. Deck lights shimmered on the quiet water.
    A shadow moved in the bushes. “You’re late.”
    Heather strangled a scream.
    Aaron stepped into the light. “We thought you weren’t going to show up.” Behind him Mark, Pete, and the other guys rustled their way out of hiding.
    The midnight rendezvous had been the boys’ idea. They’d dared Jillian, Sadie, and me that afternoon, when they heard about Jillian’s party. We just hadn’t told anyone else. The others would never have followed us if they’d known what we planned.
    “Let’s go.” Mark headed toward the pool.
    Naomi looked around nervously. “We really shouldn’t be here, should we? Isn’t there a NO TRESPASSING sign somewheres?”
    Jillian held up her pack. “I brought our bathing suits. We’re not the first ones to ever go for a midnight swim.”
    Joy teetered like she might faint.
    It wasn’t like we were planning on wrecking anything. We weren’t delinquents. And we were all real goodswimmers. Besides which, the guys were climbing the chain-link fence already.
    “I don’t know,” Eleanor whispered. “We’ll be in big trouble if we’re caught. I’m pretty sure there’s a fine, you know–”
    “Stay here then.” Jillian began climbing. “It’s your funeral.”
    In the end, everyone except Naomi and Joy went over the fence. To be honest, I was more than a