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| Dressed for the Ball Barbie |
My first ball was the soccer dance for a team of twelve-year-old boys. My across-the-driveway neighbour asked me. I was so excited, I left him standing outside while I screamed in joy and jumped around our kitchen. Poor guy, I know his mother made him ask me.
My mother took me to Jacobson's to buy a suitable dress. It was blue wool with pretty embroidery and it was as itchy as can be. I wore a slip that almost solved the problem. I remember nylon stockings and I wore my everyday shoes, solid brown Oxfords with scuffed toes and wear marks on the sides from my roller skates.
The dance was in the school gym on Saturday afternoon. Our gym lights had two settings, off and glaring. The chaperones chose the less romantic of the two.
There were refreshments, sandwich quarters, cake squares and very sweet beverages.
They played dance music on a record player and we stood morosely for a while. Some of the boys horsed around and then some girls bravely danced together. "Twist and Shout" was popular and as long as I ignored my date I was fine. Spending time with him was just too awkward. He lived next door for Pete's sake. How would I face him in the morning if I accidentally touched him while we were dancing together?
Finally realizing this group of kids were too young for a sock hop, one of the parents suggested a variation of Blind Man's Bluff where the blindfolded boy repeated "Rachel, where are you?" and the blindfolded girl answered "Here." A game! my competitive instincts were raised. I am proud to say I found him in mere seconds. I think the idea was that he would search for me while I eluded him but I decided that shortest time was the goal and I wanted to win.
I waited several years before I went to my next dance. It wasn't much better.
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