Pat Tompkins
to Dance: 8th Grade, 1974
she wondered why the new dress her mother had sewn wasn’t attracting any boys . . . she wondered if she would be a wallflower forever. . . she wondered why she’d thought the hairstyle she’s copied from the latest Seventeen would look good on her . . . she wondered if anyone had noticed the sweat stains under her arms . . . she wondered if she’d say yes if that awful Kirk Zimmer asked her to dance . . . she wondered why girls put up with letting the guys do the asking. . . she wondered why even Cindy, the fat girl, got to dance . . . she wondered how long she could keep from crying . . . she wondered why she was the tallest person there . . . she wondered why so many songs lied