First Dance

I've been listening to a lot of "old" music lately—that is, music from my youth, which would be the 1970s and '80s. Some of it is stuff I never would have considered purchasing because I wasn't a big fan of the band—Boston, for example, the Eagles, Queen... or because I considered it more my parents' music than mine—like Cat Stevens, Jethro Tull, Simon and Garfunkel. But now that I'm quite a bit older I'm enjoying these strolls down memory lane. "Running With the Devil" by Van Halen always reminds me of hanging out in the auditorium during lunch in junior high, when we were allowed free reign of the record player. "Cat Scratch Fever" and "In the Air Tonight" (Ted Nugent and Phil Collins) remind me of my sister playing them over and over and over again (on cassette tapes!) on our driving trip up to Victoria, B.C.

And then there are the songs that remind me of school dances. Foreigner's "Waiting for a Girl Like You," REO Speedwagon's "Keep on Loving You" and Journey's "Open Arms." Ahh, the sappiness, the hormones, the innocence...

I remember my mom dropping my best friend and me off in front of the gym. I wore wide-legged cords with a skinny metallic belt and a shirt that didn't reveal my scrawny arms, and I carried a big denim clutch. This being most seventh-graders' first school dance, most of us stood around the perimeter, eager and scared. I certainly didn't have the guts to ask a guy to dance, but would a guy ask me? And if he did, what should I do? Our P.E. teachers had prepped us with some social dancing lessons, but I didn't see waltzing or square dancing as a realistic or "cool" move.

I don't remember what song played for my first dance, but I do remember the boy. Well, sort of—it was either Doug or Jason, who were cute, popular twins in my class. I couldn't believe D/J asked me to dance. I think I even said "no" at first (dumbass) because I was so nervous. But my friends encouraged me, and I did. I followed suit of the other kids on the dance floor and put my left hand on his right shoulder and my right hand on his left shoulder. His hands were on my hips. We swayed side to side, bodies arm's length apart. I don't remember having any conversation during the dance, and probably was even too nervous to make eye contact. It was the first time any boy had touched me like that (as opposed to punching, for example) and I didn't know how to handle it at all.

Do schools even have dances any more? If they do, I imagine the age of innocence has already passed. How sad.