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Show 100. XV "Why are you so quiet?" JD asked Gayle as he parked the VW the night of the Christmas Dance. She touched up her lipstick, the color of the new velvet dress, in JD's car mirror. "Oh, I'm just preoccupied, that's all. We leave so early and I still have some piking to do." "You seem sad," he touched her cheek. Gayle frowned. "Well, I'm not. Let's go in." They walked hand in hand down the long corridor and past the cafeteria. At the door of the gym, JD leaped a foot, gripping Gayle's hand so tight she winced. The strobe lights inside, flashing red and green, had attacked JD on sight. "My God!" he thought, holding tight to Gayle in his panic. Then his eyes adjusted to the dark and he could see the band setting up their equipment. Quickly he checked around: the streamers, the refreshment tables, the gold wreaths on the wall. It was all there and he was clinging to it - the solid, familiar paraphernalia of the school dance. He started trembling, somewhere inside. He couldn't help it. He hadn't expected to see his UFO sitting smack-dab in the middle of the gym! By the time he'd muttered some dumb cover-up to Gayle, she was already assessing him with a cool eye. He reddened, disgusted with himself, then hurried to help her off with her wrap. "Your hands are like ice!" she complained. "Sorry about that," he bent down and kissed her on the top of the head, holding her coat hard against him so she wouldn't notice the shaking. When he came back from the coat check, JD found Gayle in earnest conversation with Garth. "Unstable," he heard her say just as he arrived. Garth looked up quickly. "Hi there JD! This is a pretty extravagant dance for Red Butte Consolidated, huh?" Garth put his hands in his pockets and surveyed the false ceiling sparkling above the gym floor. "It's elegant!" Gayle agreed, completely composed. "Say," Garth turned to JD. "What about that scholarship portfolio? Chic got his in today. You're the last one." "I'll have time during Christmas," JD said apologetically. "I've been so darned tied up." |