Winter break had come to an end, and school was back in session. Alvin and Brittany were less than delighted, as usual. Theodore didn't mind school, except for those who are constantly insulting him for his weight. Eleanor was looking forward to basketball season, Alvin was too, but because his grades weren't up to standard, he wasn't allowed to make the team this year. Simon and Jeanette were both looking forward to the new semester, as it was also time to prepare for the district science fair. For most kids, the science fair was a drag, a ten hour day from seven in the morning, to five in the afternoon, with three sets of three judges walking around, observing everyone's projects, giving points based on the project itself, how the project is presented, how the students explain the project, research, so on and so forth. Then there's the ceremony at towards the end when awards are given out to the top three students for their projects. Simon and Jeanette loved every minute of it, and the previous year, they came close to winning third place, sadly, had to disqualify themselves when Jeanette accidentally tripped over someone's misplaced bookbag, and landed right on top of their project, which was a working model of a city, showing the difference between an environment consumed by gas and oil powered vehicles and traditional energy, and an environment with electric, and solar-powered vehicles, and energy using LED lights. Only one set of judges got to see their project before Jeanette accidentally ruined it. It was a bad day for her, not necessarily because she ruined their project, but Simon actually lost his cool with her. Simon did eventually apologize for blowing up on her later the following week.
"I couldn't wait for 'science fair season'!" Simon exclaimed, as he grabbed his science text book from his locker.
"Neither could I." Jeanette agreed, as she waited by Simon's locker.
"I just hope we get to be partners again this year." Simon said, shutting his locker.
"Yeah... that'd be nice..." Jeanette mumbled.
"What's wrong?" Simon asked.
"Nothing." Jeanette responded.
Simon smirked. "You're not still thinking about what happened last year, are you?"
Jeanette didn't respond. She quietly exhaled through her nose.
"Don't sweat anything, Jeanette," Simon said, placing his hand on her shoulder, "things will go better this year... I have a good feeling."
Jeanette paused slightly, before she slowly shrugged, and revealed a small smile. "Yeah... me too."
The bell rang.
"Holy smoke," Simon shrieked, "we're late!"
Simon and Jeanette raced for their science classroom, at the other end of the hallway. Meanwhile, inside the classroom, other kids were taking their seats. The science professor was too busy going over his class list for the new semester to realize that Simon and Jeanette were late, so they quickly, and quietly took their seats.
"Alright, everyone..." the professor began, gather everyone's attention, "it's time to prepare for this year's annual school system science fair..."
The professor was met with a room full of moans, and groans.
"It's not required of you to participate," the professor added, "but if anyone is interested in extra credit... especially if your grades are currently slipping. So, if you're interested in earning extra credit, then I encourage you to fill in the sign up sheets."
After the bell rang for class dismal, Simon and Jeanette were the only ones who walked up to the professor's desk for sign up sheets.
"You two interested in participating?" The professor asked, as he handed them their sheets.
"We always do." Simon said.
"Every year since we've been in high school!" Jeanette added.
"So will you two be working as a team?" The professor asked.
"Yes." Both Simon and Jeanette responded at once.
"Well then..." the professor said, taking back the forms, "you'll need this instead..." he handed them a single form for the two of them to sign, clarifying that they'll be working in a group, and therefore, will require to contribute to the project equally for a share of extra credit.
The science fair was scheduled for a weekend in March, shortly before spring break. Whenever they had free time, particularly weekends, Simon and Jeanette worked like the devil on their science project, which was a rather crude, yet natural oil-spill cleanser that Simon actually planned on working on in his spare time, well before the science fair came up. During the fair, Simon explained how the cleanser worked, while Jeanette played the role of the guinea pig, covering herself in oil three times that day for the three sets of three judges, while the cleanser went to work on her, without irritating her, or harming her in anyway. Simon and Jeanette did very well for themselves, they won first place at the fair, and both got extra credit in science class for their project. All the while, Jeanette kept feeling something for Simon more and more. In fact, now that the kids had just had their sixteenth birthday, Dave, and Miss Miller said they were old enough to date. Every year, the weekend before school starts back from spring break, a formal dance party is held in the school gymnasium. Live entertainment, refreshments, even the occasional dance instruction for group dances.
"So, you goin' to the dance?" Brittany asked Jeanette.
"Yeah, I'd like to." Jeanette responded. "Why? Aren't you?"
"Nah," Brittany said. "That dance is for losers."
Jeanette smirked. "How about you, Eleanor?"
"Eh," Eleanor responded, "it's not really my thing."
Jeanette shrugged. "Well, Miss Miller is taking me shopping for a new dress tomorrow."
"Who are you asking to the dance?" Eleanor asked.
"Why?" Jeanette asked.
"Curiousity". Eleanor responded.
"Oh..." Jeanette mumbled, "no one... in particular..."
"I bet she's gonna ask Simon!" Brittany agged.
"Maybe." Jeanette said, annoyed.
"Are you going to ask Simon, Jeanette?" Eleanor asked.
"Maybe." Jeanette responded.
"Jeanette's gotta crush on Simon!" Brittany continued to agg.
"Maybe I do..." Jeanette said.
"You know what your problem is Jeanette?" Brittany asked. "You have no taste!"
Jeanette gave Brittany a rather sour look.
"That's not nice, Brittany." Eleanor commentted.
"Well, come on!" Brittany replied. "Simon's nothing but a nerd!"
"So?" Jeanette asked. "I happen to like that about him."
"Of course you would," Brittany said, "you're on the nerdy side as well."
"Stop it, Brittany!" Eleanor snapped.
"It's alright, Eleanor," Jeanette assured her, "I know I'm a nerd, but I'm proud of who I am."
The following afternoon, Miss Miller took Jeanette shopping for a new dress.
"Jeanette?" Miss Miller asked.
"Yes, Miss Miller?" Jeanette asked, as she looked over a lavendar-colored dress, that caught her attention.
"Have you actually asked Simon to the dance, yet?" Miss Miller asked, knowing Jeanette was beating around the bush.
"Well..." Jeanette began blushing, "I uh..."
"Jeanette, you're running out of time." Miss Miller pressed, as Jeanette sighed. "The dance if two nights away, you can't wait until the last minute to ask him."
Jeanette nodded. "I know... I just can't seem to get up the guts to ask him, though..."
"You've got nothing to lose." Miss Miller said. "Worst he can do is say no."
Jeanette knew Miss Miller was right. So saying, Jeanette payed Simon a visit, later that afternoon. Because of the success of their oil cleanser, Simon was trying to come up with a solution that could cure the mange. Jeanette offered a helping hand, but because her mind was set on helping Simon with his latest, scientific endevour, she forgot to ask him to the dance. That is, until, Dave called down into the basement.
"Jeanette?" Dave called.
"Yes, Dave?"
"Miss Miller just called," Dave said, "it's time for you to come home."
"Oh, okay!" Jeanette headed for the staircase, but she paused for a minute. "Uh... hey, Simon?"
"Yeah?" Simon responded, still working on his formula.
"Um, I was just... wondering... would you like to go to the dance Saturday night?" Jeanette asked.
Simon didn't realize that Jeanette had feelings for him. In fact, he thought this was just a friendly invitation, rather than her asking him out. "Ah... no, I think I'll pass... the dance doesn't really sound like my kind of thing..."
Jeanette stood there with a blank expression on her face. With that, she ran upstairs, slamming the door behind her.
"He said no?" Eleanor asked.
"He said no." Jeanette said, with tears in her eyes. "He probably doesn't like me."
"Aw, he doesn't not like you, Jeanette!" Eleanor tried to reassure her big sister. "Simon has to like you, you two have been best friends for a long time!"
"I know..." Jeanette sniffed. "I meant... he probably doesn't like me the way I like him..."
"Ah, you're too good for him, anyway!" Brittany said, trying to cheer her little sister up. "Forget Simon, there's plenty of other guys you can ask to the dance!"
"But Simon's the one I wanted to ask," Jeanette reminded Brittany, "I wouldn't even think about asking someone else." Jeanette sighed. "I'm going to have a miserable time."
"Well, you don't have to go..." Eleanor said.
"I already got my new dress," Jeanette reminded her, "I can't not go!"
"Then take it back," Brittany suggested, "it looks awful anyway!"
"It was on sale..." Jeanette told her. "No refunds, no exchanges." Jeanette's head met her pillow, as she sighed once more. "I kind of wish you girls were going... maybe then I could still at least have company that night..."
Silence.
"Well..." Eleanor began, "I'd come... but... I don't really have anything to wear that's formal..."
"And I still say that dance is for losers!" Brittany boasted.
Saturday afternoon came, and Jeanette spent a great deal of time in the bathroom. While she was in the shower, in fact, Simon came over.
"Oh, hi Simon." Eleanor greeted him, as she answered the door.
"Hi, Eleanor," Simon greeted her, "is Jeanette busy?"
"Oh yeah," Eleanor responded, "she's in the bathroom."
"Oh, I see, I just came over to see if she'd like to visit the new ancient civilization exhibit at the museum with me today."
"She's getting ready for the dance tonight." Eleanor said, looking puzzled.
"Oh, is she going?" Simon asked.
"Didn't you know?" Eleanor asked.
"No..." Simon said, looking confused.
"Didn't she ask you to go with her?" Eleanor asked him.
Simon paused for a minute. Suddenly, he remembered a couple of nights ago, when she asked him if he'd like to go.
"Oh, that..." Simon said, "well... she asked if I'd like to go... but... I wasn't aware she... that is to say, I didn't know she was... I mean... oh boy, did I blow it..."
Simon walked home, his face completely red in embarrassment. When Simon walked into his room, the look on his face didn't go passed his brothers.
"What's the matter with you?" Alvin asked.
"I unwittingly reject Jeanette, and I didn't even realize she asked me out..." Simon said.
"Whoa!" Alvin said, dropping the iPod that was in his hand. "A girl asked you out?!"
"Not just a girl, Alvin..." Simon began, "Jeanette... a very special girl..."
"What's so special about her?" Alvin asked, thinking there wasn't anything special about such a nerdy girl as her.
Simon didn't respond, he just simply shot Alvin a nasty look. Simon sighed, as he dropped to his bed.
"When did Jeanette ask you out, Simon?" Theodore asked.
"I think when she came over the other night," Simon said, "she asked me if I'd like to go... but I thought it was just a casual, friendly invitation... I had no idea she was asking me out to the dance... I feel so terrible!"
"Ah, you wouldn't want to go to the dance with her, anyway." Alvin said. "She'd cramp your style."
Simon wasn't amused.
The afternoon wore on, as Jeanette continued to ready herself for the dance, and finally, with a half hour to spare, she was ready to go.
"You look pretty, Jeanette." Eleanor complemented her sister in her new dress.
"Thanks, Eleanor." Jeanette said. "Well... see you girls later..." Jeanette left the room, and began walking for school.
Simon finally came to a decision. "I'm going."
"Where?" Theodore asked.
"To the dance." Simon responded.
"What?!" Alvin shrieked.
"I'm going to the dance with Jeanette," Simon said, "while I still have the chance to do so..." Simon quickly jumped in the shower, then later grabbed his favorite, navy blue suit from his closet, before he headed over to the Millers' house. When Miss Miller answered the door, however, he met an unexpected fate.
"Oh, Simon," Miss Miller greeted him, "what are you doing here?"
"I'm here to take Jeanette to the dance." Simon said.
"Well, I'm afraid you're a little late," Miss Miller said, "she already left a while ago... by herself."
Simon groaned. "I blew it again..." Simon mumbled, as he headed for school.
Like she predicted, Jeanette was miserable at the party. An animated, live disc jockey, fun party music, and the hype that filled the gymnasium offered no interest to her. Jeanette basically spent most of her time at the punch bowl. Drowning her sorrows in one cup, after another. Finally, after her eigth cup, Jeanette had to go to the bathroom, so she raced into the girl's locker room, when Simon arrived at the party, to look for Jeanette. There were several kids in the room, so trying to find Jeanette among all of them wasn't going to be easy. Meanwhile, one kid, named Rodney, but goes by Rod, met up with his friend, Tom, at the punch bowl.
"Not a bad selection, huh?" Tom asked, nudging Rod with his elbow.
"Heh, you're tellin' me!" Rod said, taking a swig of punch. I probably already danced with each girl in here at least once.
Just then, Jeanette came out of the bathroom, and was heading for the punch bowl, but when she saw the two boys there, she changed her mind.
"Say now..." Rod said, noticing Jeanette, "I hadn't seen her tonight..."
"Who?" Tom asked.
"The little four-eyes there..." Rod replied, "I think... I think that's the girl from my reading class..."
"The one who read that two-hundred page book in two days?" Tom asked.
"Yeah..." Rod said, taking another sip of punch, before leaving the bowl.
"Where are you going?" Tom asked.
"I haven't danced with her..." Rod said. "I want to give all da ladies a taste of the Rod..."
"He said, with his double-entendra." Tom mumbled to himself.
There were a few tables with chairs set up at one end of the gymnasium, where the kids could take a break, if they wanted, to chat with their friends. All the tables were empty, so Jeanette took a seat, and took a look at her little heart-shaped watch. The party wasn't even halfway over, and the kids weren't permitted to leave until the party was officially over, and their parents, or whoever was driving them, had arrived.
"Wanna dance?" Rod asked, catching Jeanette off guard.
"Huh?" Was her response.
"I said, you wanna dance?" Rod asked again.
Was Jeanette imagining things? Did a boy just ask her to dance? "You... you want to dance... with me?"
"Why not?" Rod asked, offer her his hand.
Jeanette didn't want to dance, but she didn't want to be rude either, so she accepted his offer, and they began to dance to the music.
"So, "Rod began, "aren't we in the same reading class?"
"Oh..." Jeanette said, as she suddenly remembered where she saw him before, "yeah... um..."
"Rod?" Rod told her.
"Right, Rod... second seat, third row..." Jeanette pointed out.
"Yep. You're... Jeannie, right?" He asked.
"It's Jeanette, actually," Jeanette said, "but sometimes, my sisters will call me Jean, or Jeannie."
"You here with your sisters?" Rod asked.
"Uh, no, no..." Jeanette said, "they didn't want to come, this wasn't really their thing."
"Oh well, at least you're here." Rod said.
Jeanette chuckled. "Thanks, I think."
Simon continued looking around for Jeanette, until, finally, from across the room, there she was. Dancing with someone else. Simon felt even worse now. But, he decided once they were through dancing, he'd ask her when she's free, and they would probably dance the rest of the night together. The thought of that perked Simon up, as he made his way through the crowd, until, a rather nerdy girl, nerdier than Jeanette, approached him.
"Hi! Want to dance with me?" The nerdy girl asked, through her braced teeth.
Simon knew he shouldn't be rude, and that he should be a gentleman, so he accepted, and began dancing with her.
"What's your name?" She asked him.
"Uh, Simon... Simon Seville." Simon told her. "You?"
"I'm Nora Jenkins!"
"Well... nice to meet your acquaintance." Simon said.
"Yeah, you too!" Nora replied.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Rod was enjoying dancing with Jeanette.
"Say," he said, "you're quite the dancer." He complemented.
"Well," Jeanette said, blushing, "I took lessons when I was younger... to try to help me overcome my clumsiness."
"I see it worked like a charm." He said.
"I don't know..." Jeanette responded, "the instructor said she was most happy about seeing me finish the class..."
An awkward pause followed.
"Let me put it another way..." Jeanette began.
"You don't have to." Rod said, with a smile, making Jeanette smile, a little.
They continued dancing for a while, but pretty soon, Jeanette was ready for a break.
"I'm getting thirsty again..." she said.
"Come on," Rod said, escorting Jeanette to the punch bowl, getting a cup for her.
"Thank you." Jeanette said.
"No problem." Rod said, getting a cup for himself.
When Simon saw the two weren't dancing anymore, he was ready to ask Jeanette to dance, but Nora caught up with him again.
"Hey!" Nora called out. "I just requested 'Sweet Home Alabama'! Let's dance!"
Simon screwed a smile on his face, as he began to dance with Nora, again. At the punch bowl, Jeanette and Rod finished their punch.
"Shall we continue?" Rod asked.
"You still want to dance with me?" Jeanette.
"Sure!" Rod said. "I think I kinda like you!"
Jeanette smiled, and happily continued dancing with Rod. Simon saw this, and felt like he lost her. She seems rather happy dancing with this other guy. Simon realized he made a mistake, but now, it looked like he was too late in fixing it. He lost the girl he secretly admired, and didn't even know she admired him as well. Finally, the party came to an end, and Jeanette was a little sad. She spent so much time moping, the time she spent dancing with Rod seemed to fly by too quickly.
"Um... I had a great time..." Jeanette said, blushing.
"Yeah, me too." Rod said. "We should get together again, soon!"
"You mean that?" Jeanette asked.
"Yeah! Hey..." Rod pulled out a piece of paper from his jacket pocket, and a pencil, and wrote down his number, before handing it to Jeanette. "Gimme a call sometime, huh?"
Jeanette smiled. "Sure!
Simon sighed, as he watched this happened. He slowly, and sadly, left the building, even though all the kids were ordered to stick around, and help with the clean up. Jeanette helped with the sweeping, while Rod, and Tom, gathered up the chairs from around the tables.
"You sure did dance with that little four-eyes a long time." Tom commented.
"Hey, she was the best one I danced with tonight." Rod said.
Tom laughed. "Man, I think she's into you."
"They all are," Rod bragged, "they all are."
"Seriously, she's all googly-eyed over you!" Tom said.
Rod looked around the gymnasium. He saw a few of the other girls he danced with, most of them were simply chit-chatting with their own friends, while cleaning, but Jeanette was absolutely grinning from ear-to-ear.
"Yeah... maybe you're right..." Rod said.