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“Are you okay?” Sadie asks.
“It’s fine.”
“Seriously. If you need to go, it’s okay.”
“I’ll be okay. Just give me some more things to do so I can stay busy.”
“Okay,” she says but doesn’t seem completely convinced. “Why don’t you help take tickets at the front doors? People are going to start showing up.”
I wander across the gymnasium to where the ticket table is set up. Another student is already there. I sit next to them and wait awkwardly for the next few minutes as a line begins to form. When the clock finally speeds up and hits six, we start taking tickets.
It doesn’t take long for the gymnasium to boom with music and voices. My skin crawls, but I keep taking tickets. One after the other, because it’s all I can do.
After about thirty minutes, the line slows with only an occasional student trickling in here and there. I head back inside, braving the loud music to try and find Sadie. She’ll know what else needs to be done.
The gymnasium is full of people dancing in the center of the room under colorful flashing lights. I scan them, trying to pick out Sadie, but she isn’t dancing. On the other side of the room, she’s adjusting the photo booth.
I try to find a clear path toward her, but it’s packed. The shortest and easiest path is right through the heart of the dance floor.
My fingers dig into my skin, and I stagger forward. I weave through the crowd, trying to avoid bumping into anyone, but it’s nearly impossible. There are shoulders and hands flying around me, tossing me around like a ping pong ball. My pulse skyrockets as the room spins. I lose my sense of direction. I look back and forth, trying to spot Sadie, but she’s disappeared. The music becomes too loud, hammering against my brain. My stomach twists into a thousand knots. Beads of sweat form on my brow, and my face heats up.
Caleb is singing, but his voice isn’t relaxing me this time. It’s making my gut fill up with guilt.
I need to get out of here. I’m drowning.
I’m drowning in a bright and loud sea of people.
I cover my eyes with the palm of my hands, blocking out the flashing lights, but that only makes the music more intense.
The music changes. It loses its vocals first, then the guitar and drums fade too.
I pry open an eye to see Caleb jumping off the stage. He pushes his way through the crowd as Jimmy and Sean yell at him, demanding to know what’s wrong. The crowd watches Caleb as he moves forward.
He stops in front of me. His face is full of worry as he takes off the headphones he has around his neck and puts them on me. They cover my ears and immediately, the sounds are muffled, and I feel like I can breathe again. Caleb becomes the only thing I see.
He takes my hand and pulls me away from the crowd. He doesn’t stop until we’re in the hallway outside the gymnasium.
No one else is in sight.
“Are you okay?” he asks.
I nod as my stomach settles, and my pulse slows.
He lets go of my hand, and I hold my breath, dreading the moment he walks away again. Instead, he rests his back against the wall.
I do the same, inches away.
We’re quiet.
On the outside, I’m calm, but on the inside, it’s taking everything I have not to run into his arms. If I did, would he hug me back?
Jimmy runs into the hallway but stops when he sees us. “Caleb, you have to come back. We just started.”
Caleb waves him away. “I know. I will, but I need a minute.”
Jimmy rocks on his heels. I can tell he wants to steal Caleb away from me. “We’re ruining the dance right now.”
“Just play through some of the songs without vocals.”
