Penn saw Dalia. “Please Mama, can I go now, it’s 8:35am,” he asked hurriedly. He wanted to take full advantage of the fifteen minutes before the bell rang. “Okay Penn. Give me a kiss”. He kissed her quickly on the lips. He had already unbuckled his seat belt. Penn grabbed his backpack, opened the car door, and hustled like crazy to get out. You could hear the sound of his metal lunch kit banging the side of the car as he escaped. “I love you,” his mother told him. No response. “I love you Penn.” She repeated it, stressing the words. He would not be leaving the car unless he said it back, and he knew it. “I love you Mama.” The words were dull, even though he loved her with his entire being. He was in a rush. The car door slammed, and she watched him as he struggled to put on his backpack and run up the path to his school. She waited until he rounded the corner, a smile on her face, as she pulled away.

Penn watched Dalia as she played on the structure alone. He threw his bag down on the concrete so it would line up with the others for grade two. He turned and dashed toward the play structure. “Hi Penn. Want to play house and I will be the mom and you can be the dad?” Of course he did.

The bell rang fifteen minutes later and all of the kids ran to the line-up and waited to be let into the school. Dalia was first in line because she always got dropped off first, and Penn was second right behind her. I hope she will ask me to play with her at first recess, he wished. The school door opened. Kindergarten went first, then grade one, and then grade two. They were led into school, little sheep in a herd, one by one.

Penn took off his shoes at the crowded entrance like all of the others. He walked in his socks to the classroom across the hall and two feet away, hung up his backpack on his hook, and slipped on the first indoor shoe. He saw Dalia out of the corner of his eye. He focused hard on tying his laces, desperately wanting to get a seat on the carpet next to her. The last loop was pulled tight. He got up, turned, and started to head to the front of the class. As he ran to the carpet his heart sank. There was Dalia sitting on the floor, and beside her sat Evan. He slowed his pace and chose a seat on the right side, three kids over from Dalia. I hate my laces, Penn thought. He wished he still wore Velcro shoes so he could be faster.

Tonight was the one night out of the whole school year that all of the kids waited for. Especially this night, because it was the last dance before everyone left grade eight and headed for high school. Dalia had several important decisions to make. What will I wear, the pink shirt with my jeans, or the purple one with my navy skirt that Alana loves? Should I put all of my hair up in a ponytail, or just part of it back with one of my headbands? The most important decision of the night had kept her mind busy for the last two weeks. Do I ask Penn or Evan to dance with me?

The gym was loud, the strobe lights flashed, and all that Dalia could see at first were the glow-in-the-dark necklaces and bracelets that everyone was wearing. “Hi Penn,” Dalia interrupted. Penn was talking to Matt, but quickly turned around to face her. She noticed the way he looked at her. It was the same way he always had. It was the same way he did the very first time they had met, in pre-school, when she had helped to put his straw in his drink box for him. It was the same way he did when she had asked Evan and Penn if they would both sit on either side of her when they were at the movie theatre for Alana’s birthday party. It was the same way he always looked at her now. His eyes were the brightest when he looked at her, and she knew that. “Do you want to dance with me?” Of course he did.

Dalia grabbed Penn’s hand, her pace slightly quicker than his, so he was a step behind her as they walked closer to the center of the dance floor. She put her arms on his shoulders, her right hand just above the collar of his shirt so she could touch his neck. He put both hands around her waist. Their bodies moved together back and forth to the music, even though neither one of them heard the sound. Their eyes locked. Dalia liked how Penn smelled, she liked how his hands gripped her sides, she liked how warm his skin felt on her hand, and she liked the way he looked at her. A wave of tingles passed over her abdomen. She liked the way he made her feel.