Homecoming

"All right Tommy, thanks again for dropping the camera off," Sherry remarked.

It was nine-thirty on Saturday night, the night of the homecoming dance. Sherry had called Tom ten minutes earlier to tell him that they needed the second camera for filming the dance. He’d brought it home after filming football on Friday night, and hadn’t realized that it was needed the next day.

Of course, I’m available to drop it off he thought to himself. I don’t have a date. This is the closest I’ve ever been to a dance.

He waved goodbye to Sherry as she walked back towards the school gym, where the dance was being held. The building stood several hundred feet away, but he could still hear ‘YMCA’ playing from inside.

Whistling to keep himself entertained, Tom headed back for his car. He got in, started the engine, turned on the lights, and backed out of his space.

The winding path of the school’s poorly designed parking lot led him directly in front of the school, where he’d just given the video camera to Sherry. Driving slowly to avoid irritating the school security staff standing guard, he looked with mild interest at a pair of girls sitting on the edge of a planter next to the gate. I wonder what they’re doing? Maybe their dates didn’t turn out well.

Just as he was passing the gate, Tom noticed a familiar figure coming from the direction of the gym. Aware of the suspicious stares of the guards, but not particularly caring, he leaned over and rolled down the passenger side window of his aging Corolla.

"Hey, Kaylee!" he called out.

The approaching girl in the red dress, previously oblivious to the car only a few feet in front of her, looked up. "Yeah?" she grunted angrily.

"Hey, it’s Tom. What’s up? Are you all right?"

She stopped at the window, bending down to see into the car. Perhaps not the wisest decision in the low-cut dress she’s wearing, but she either hasn’t noticed or doesn’t care. Not that it mattered, the light was dim, and the dress was well fit; he couldn’t have seen anything even if he’d wanted to, and at the moment he was more concerned with how she was doing.

"Yeah, I’m all right. Well, not all right, but I’m fine. Er… dammit, you know what I mean."

It wasn’t obvious, but Tom could tell that she was not fine. She was a tough girl, not one to cry or pout, and hid her emotions well, but Tom knew her well enough to see that she was hurting. Something’s happened.

"What’s wrong?" he asked.

"Well, my date turned out… um, that is, things just didn’t go quite as I expected. I just want to get out of here."

"I’m sorry." He truly was. It hurt him to see her upset like this.

Kaylee shook her head and sort-of laughed. "No, it’s all right. Not a problem."

Tommy smiled and patted the passenger seat. "Well look, do you need a ride?"

She paused for a moment.

"Yes, that would be nice."

Tom started to lean over again so he could open the door for her, but she reached in and opened it herself. She slipped in, somehow remaining graceful despite her constrictive dress, and sat down.

As he drove through the parking lot, Tom glanced over at Kaylee a few times. She just stared straight forward, off into space.

When they reached the street, he turned towards her. "Your house is north of here, right?"

"Yeah, but I don’t want to go there either, right now. I’d rather go someplace quiet."

"How about the park off of Eighth?"

"Okay." She turned and smiled at him. "Thanks, Tom. I don’t know how you managed it, but thanks for being here for me."

He nodded. "No problem."