Dancing Alone For the Night

Chapter 1

mitsume10 JenifferAnn
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It was always the same thing with Mom and I- nothing ever changed.

We'd sit in front of the TV on the one piece couch we owned and eat our dinner over long dialogue.

Today, we had the TV on so not much words were being exchanged between us.

Truth be told, Mom is my best friend- actually, my only friend. Being the laughingstock at my school, it isn't everyday you see people coming up to me asking to be my friend.

However, I can't beat myself up over it, I'm quite fine with it. The last friend I had suffered so much humiliation by our peers because of me that she left town.

"I heard there's going to be a huge dance at the highschool next Friday", Mom announced, breaking the silence.

I took my eyes off my plate of mashed potatoes and looked over towards her.

I nodded. "It's a masquerade ball."

"You should go. It sounds like it'll be fun."

"No, Mom I don't want to. It takes a lot of planning and money."

"Don't worry Penelope, it'll be okay. I'll provide the money, I got a new job- a better one."

I sucked in a deep breath and stared her in the eyes. "No Mom, I don't want to go." I released the air and leaned back into the couch.

"Why don't you want to go. Is it because you think I won't be able to offer the right amount. Look honey, I know I don't have much to give you all the time, but let me make it up to you. I've been-"

"No Mom, I don't want to go. It isn't because of our situation. I won't have fun over there. I don't have any friends to dance and joke around with. I'm the laughingstock of the school, if I go to the ball, they'll only humiliate me even more. I don't belong there, Mom", I admitted, cutting her off.

She opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it again. I could tell she was trying to come up with the right thing to say.

"Look", she finally replied, "Don't allow people to punish you. You need to show them that whatever they say or do, it has no effect on you and going to this ball will be the perfect way to show them. It doesn't matter if you have friends there to dance with you or not, all that matters is that you're having a good time there. I don't want you to miss out on this ball just because you allow yourself to take in the negative words of your peers. Listen to this: whenever a person says something cruel or unkindly to you, it doesn't say anything about you. It only says a lot about them."

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"Hurry and get prepared Penelope, we've got a long day ahead of us. The ball's tomorrow and we need to go buy your costume!"

"I'm coming, Mom. Let me just finish washing these dishes and-"

"No Penelope, I have to go to work in a few hours so we need to leave at this moment."

I dried my hands with the towel and raced out the door towards Mom's old gray car.

As we rode in the car with the radio blasting Mom's favorite song, I leaned against the door and watched as everything outside go by in a blur.

We came to a halt, and a man carrying a small child crossed the road.

He reminded me of my father. Mom used to always show me photographs of him holding me as a little girl. They were always ones with him smiling, never angry or sad. They never showed the times where he was in bed suffering with his cancerous disease. I guess that's another thing pictures usually lack- the bad times.