shrink is doing, tell him it's not working. You got some serious problems."
"Yeah, I know," he said, turning and walking away. "I'll pick you up at seven," he called out over his shoulder.
"No, no you won't!" I yelled after him. "I'm not going out with you. I have to dance tonight." He didn't even acknowledge me.
I was so busy staring at him and wondering what kind of crazy he was that I didn't notice when Sasha arrived.
"Why were you talking to Will Maddox?"
I shrugged. "Is that his name? I had no idea. He just came over here and asked me out."
"What do you mean he asked you out?" Sasha pulled out a chair, plopped down into it, then leaned toward me ready to hang on my every word.
"What part of that sentence is hard to understand, Sasha? I mean he asked me out."
"On a date?"
I rolled my eyes. "Yes, on a date. Why is that so hard for you to believe?" That was actually a dumb question cause it was kind of hard for even me to believe. No one had ever asked me out on a date before. Ever!
"Well, because it's Will Maddox. He never asks girls out. He doesn't have to. Girls throw themselves at him." Sasha leaned back in her chair for a moment and chewed on her thumb knuckle. I went back to flipping through my now damp dance magazine and putting this Will person out of my mind. He was definitely not for me. I had seen with my own eyes how he treated girls. I didn't want to be his next closet conquest. As far as I was concerned, this supposed date with Will was a non issue. It just wasn't going to happen. That was until I saw a spark in Sasha's eye. She was cooking up something. "Do you know what one date with Will can do for your social status?"
"No, I don't know. Who is this guy anyway?"
"He's WILL MADDOX," she said through clenched teeth like I was supposed to know exactly what that meant.
"Sorry, that means nothing to me."
Sasha rolled her eyes. "He's only been at Bridgeton for two years and he's already a legend. He's the star of the basketball team and probably the hottest boy on campus."
"I guess he's kinda hot, but David is hotter." I turned the page of my dance magazine and saw what seemed to be a fascinating article on ballet slippers with arch support.
Sasha stared at me with her mouth agape. "I can't believe you're treating this so nonchalant. This is huge, Sonya, huge! We have to figure out what you're gonna wear."
"No we don't."
"And you're gonna need these," she said, digging into her purse. She handed me some little foil packages.
"Condoms? I don't need these." I crammed them back into her purse.
"You most certainly do need them. They don't call him Will the Drill for nothing."
Now I was even more convinced that I would not be going out with this boy. "Sasha, I don't need them because I told him no."
"You did what?" she screamed, leaping from her seat. When everyone turned their head to stare at her she regained her composure and sat down demurely. "Nobody says no to Will Maddox."
"Well, just call me Nobody ." That didn't come out quite right.
***
Pointe class ran a little over that night. It was supposed to end at seven, but Ms. Alexander kept pushing us full tilt well past 7:15. Not that it mattered really. I had nowhere else to be. It did cut into my time to eat dinner before my next class, but considering I only had seventy-eight cents to my name, I really couldn't afford to go buy a meal anyway. All I needed was fifteen minutes or so to hit up the vending machine down the street. That would have to last me until I got home. My stomach grumbled in protest of the vending machine entrée but I didn't have a choice. I didn't want to bother Ms. Alexander for a few dollars, especially considering she already overpaid me for the cleaning and the side classes I taught. I already owed her too much.
I walked out onto the sidewalk and noticed a very attractive blond boy leaning on a black BMW and
Vicki Lewis Lewis Thompson