The Music in You

She was driving down the gravel back roads, windows down, 55 degrees; the first time in 6 months that the weather was nice enough to go for a joy ride. Most days, sound of the gravel crunching and the wind blowing would be all that she needed. But today, the silence was killing her. She reaches for the radio.

The intro is unmistakable- everyone knows it and suddenly she is whisked away to another day and another time.

A group of 12 year old girls walk hand-in-hand into spring dance. They had just spent the last 3 hours together- hair, makeup, and gossip. Their silver eye shadow sparkles under the light, they knew who they hoped would ask them to dance, and the butterflies in their hair were placed to perfection. They smelled of vanilla fields and cucumber melon. The ins-and-outs of adolescence had been met; they were perfection.

The school's gym maintained the familiar overkill smell of Cool Water and teenage pheromones. The boys were always there first---lined up against the bleachers (pulled out enough to create one row of seating.) They had already sweat through their button up shirts, that they were too cool to tuck in. Their ties were crooked, acne was raging, but yet- they managed to make the girls giggle and blush. There was a certain sweetness to their awkwardness, that they would inevitably lose, as the years matured them.

They laughed and pointed at the girls, in a desperate attempt to get their attention. But tonight, the girls didn't have time to notice. The familiar sound of the 90's rang throughout the gym, as if it started just for their arrival. They shrieked with excitement, dropped hands, and ran straight to the middle of the dance floor. It was their their time to shine:

Right hand out in front (palm facing down)-

Left hand out in front (palm facing down)-

Flip the right hand (palm facing up)-

Flip the left hand (palm facing up)-

Right hand to left shoulder-

Left hand to right shoulder-

"Move with me, Dance with me," she made eye contact with him while she sang it, smiled a quick smile, and turned back to her friends. It was just a brief second for her. A minor distraction that she almost didn't even notice.

Girls have a way of being fully immersed in the moment when they're together. Dancing, singing, and being preteens; nothing else in the world matters. They have no fears and no worries. They have each other and that moment. They have happiness and they have bliss. It is the unbreakable bond of female friendship that we carry with us into adulthood- it can take over us in an instant. Sisterhood is a love like none other.

Especially when we hear "that song". It could be any song. But tonight, it was THAT song.

But for him, that moment seemed to last a life time. He wondered if the other guys really were cool hanging out on the wall, or if they were just pretending like he was. He wanted nothing more than to be out there on the dance floor. He wanted to be there with her. He wanted to know what it was like to enjoy that kind of freedom and happiness.

"Now, come on, what was I supposed to do?"

He looked up at his friends, "Wouldn't it be funny if we went out there and mocked the girls? We could show them how stupid they look."

The other guys laughed and shrugged him off. He was always the goof of the group- never to be taken seriously. They resumed holding up the bleacher wall, uninterested in his proposal. He stood there, pretending not to care, but the next time she looked over, he grinned at her from the wall---

Right hand to left hip

Left hand to right hip

Wiggle, wiggle

Jump

Clap

The clap brought her back to present moment, in the car.

---And when she looked over at him, he gave her a grin.

Right hand out in front (palm down)

And with that, the silence was less deafening.