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A Thousand Ways to Stay Sorry Ch. 7. Why Me?



As I got ready for the dance, I couldn't help but laugh at the clothes my dad let me borrow. He had in his closet, an old pair of ZCALVARICI pants that were blue and black stripes. The way they fit was pathetic looking and I couldn't help but keep laughing every time I looked at myself in the mirror. They were wide in the hips and tapered at the bottom near my shoes, which happened to be a pair of Nike Cortez I bought at Footlocker downtown.
My issue was with the shirts. I couldn't decide whether I wanted to wear a collared shirt or just a t-shirt and a hooded sweatshirt. Also, finding a shirt in my dad's old clothing that matched was also an issue.
However, I had it narrowed down to a few that looked as though they would match slightly well, and I was also counting on the dance to be rather dark anyways.
My dad actually had his prom tuxedo from his high school prom, but I wasn't trying to go all out formal at a middle school dance.
It was a light blue tuxedo, complete with a frilly button up collared shirt, and a silk, light blue bow tie to match. Although, his tuxedo was somewhat humorous to me, I actually considered going to the dance in the tux. The only problem with the tuxedo was spending a lot of money for shoes that I probably wouldn't wear that often.
In the end, after going through boxes of my dad's old clothes, and his closet all week long, I finally had my outfit. I decided on the ZCalvarici pants, a white Polo collared t-shirt, the Nikes, and of course, a white Champion hooded sweatshirt, just in case it got cold later.
I was a bit nervous about the night. After the embarrassing bullshit that Andrew had done to me in front of Missy, it took a lot of guts, and hours of practice in front of the mirror of what I would say to her. When I finally worked up the courage and approached her to ask if she still wanted to go with me, it was to my surprise that she answered excitedly with a, "yes!"
For the first time, I noticed how beautiful and blue her eyes were. Her eyes were big and as blue as the summer sky, accented by long and full lashes. My heart skipped a beat and I could barely breathe. Her full pink lips and perfect teeth smiled at me and I couldn't speak or even think of anything to say. I forgot everything I practiced saying to her, and I think that, even had I remembered, I was caught breathless and stuck on stupid. Missy Parker was beautiful, that was all there was to it.
So as the day grew closer to dusk, and the dance grew closer to its opening, I became more and more nervous. I couldn't wait to see Missy, yet I couldn't help but worry that I was gonna make an ass of myself.
At school, the whole week leading up to the dance, it seemed like everybody was talking about Andrew as well. There was just something about his demeanor that made everyone wonder what was going on. Rumors spread that Andrew had a date for the dance.
Of course there were a lot of mean, and some funny rumors as well, about who or what Andrew might show up with. I, however, was a little nervous and suspicious about how Andrew was acting. We all knew he was definitely coming. No doubt about it. He had bought two tickets, so he was definitely bringing someone as well.
One thing was certain, whomever he was planning on bringing to the dance, was not from our school. So the mystery was certainly an intriguing one, to say the least. Yet, this change in Andrew, although it made me suspicious, it certainly made life a lot easier at school for the last couple of weeks, anyway.
The notification sound on my phone let me know that I had received a text message, and my heart fluttered a little. Missy and I had been flirting through our text messages and late night FaceTime calls, all week.
I would say some of the dumbest things I may have ever said, trying to sound cool. Missy would giggle whenever I said something stupid and call me a dork, but the way she would say it melted me. At first I was embarrassed. I didn't know what to say or how to save face, but she quickly eased my mind by saying, "I think it's cute when you're being a dork." Then she would giggle some more, and my heart melted at the sound of her squeaky, cute little voice.
I read her text and my heart dropped. I couldn't believe what I was reading. The message read;

...Please don't be mad at me. I can't go to the dance with you tonight. I am so sorry, Tommy. Please forgive me. I can't explain, but I promise I will make this up to you. ❤️ Missy.

I was devastated. I couldn't believe that this was happening.
I tried to send her a text back to ask her why, but the message came back;

...message blocking active...

I tried to call her as my heart raced and ached, but it went straight to voice-mail.
I fell back onto my bed and moaned aloud, "What is going on!?"
A lump formed in my throat, and I wanted to cry. I was being stood up! How embarrassing! How could she do this to me?
I rolled over, stuffed my face into my pillow, and started sobbing uncontrollably. Not only did I just have my first girlfriend, but I just had my first breakup as well. I couldn't help how I was feeling. So I cried myself to sleep.
The dance was in one hour. I wasn't going to be there, and it was for the best. I looked at my phone, and my text messages were full. I couldn't believe what I was reading.


© Kinga77