Shy Girls Social Club

by Kailin Gow

  “Not if you have a notoriously bad reputation for screwing things up,” Tempest said with a smirk. “Like say, a formal dance that’s gets put on once a year, and the teachers’ reputations depend on it. Not to mention their popularity with parents and the school board.” Tempest’s smile became knowing as she said it.

  “What are you talking about, Tempest?” Lacey demanded.

  “Oh, you’ll find out.”

  Lacey shook her head. “Well, until then, how about you leave us alone. My friends and I have a dance routine to work on.”

  She walked away from Tempest, but she couldn’t resist a glance back. She had obviously said the right thing, because even from where she now stood, Lacey could see that Tempest was fuming.

  “What was that about?” Sandy asked as she returned to the group.

  “Oh, nothing,” Lacey said. She wasn’t about to mention what Tempest had said. She was obviously just trying to cause trouble. “Now come on. We have a dance routine to choreograph, and I definitely want it to be better than Tempest’s.”

  Chapter 8

  For the next week and a half, Lacey, Penny, Valerie and Sandy met up every day after school to work on their routine. They would either practice in the gym in moments when it was empty, or they would find a quiet space around the school to work on the movements.

  It was hard work trying to find the right balance between moves that would impress people and ones that would encourage them to join in, but it was good fun working with the others, and by the middle of the second week, Lacey was starting to think that they might have a routine that might actually be good enough to win the four of them the competition. They had even gotten to the stage of practicing in what they would be wearing on the night of the dance – sparkly tops with skinny jeans and boots.

  She was lucky she did not have any run-ins with Tempest since the bathroom incident. But just when she thought of her while she and her friends were practicing in the gym, the popular girl and her cronies who formed her team, came sauntering in. Maybe Lacey should have had the sense to stop things there, but she and the others needed as much practice as they could get with the dance only three days away. Yes, Tempest would probably try to claim the space for her own choreography, but Lacey had found it first, and she wasn’t going to give it up just like that. Starting the music up again, she, Penny, Valerie and Sandy started to dance.

  To Lacey’s surprise, Tempest didn’t try to interrupt. She didn’t call out or jeer or do any of the other things Lacey might have expected. Though Lacey could hear her and her friends whispering and giggling to one another. In a lot of ways, it was worse than outright insults would have been.

  Finally, the music ended. It didn’t take Tempest long to make up for her previous near silence.

  “So that’s what you’re planning for the dance?” Tempest demanded. “What do you think, girls?”

  She looked to her friends, and they burst out laughing right on cue.

  “A baby could have done it better,” one of them said.

  “And those costumes… yuck!”

  Tempest smiled. “Oh, I don’t know, it’s good in one way. At least we know no one is going to get in the way of us joining the dance troupe.”

  “Like your routine is going to be so great,” Valerie shot back. Apparently, she was feeling brave.

  “I would be happy to show you,” Tempest said, and whispered something to the others in her group. They smirked and sniggered their way to their starting positions, but it was only when they turned on the music Lacey and the others had been using that Lacey realized what Tempest was doing.

  She and her friends copied the dance routine that Lacey, Penny, Valerie and Sandy had been performing. Or at least, it started out that way. Quickly though, it turned into a parody, the movements exaggerated until they became almost grotesque. Tempest turned in an almost perfect performance, every movement Lacey had done twisted just subtly out of shape so that it ended up looking ridiculous and childish. She and the others in her group made it about halfway through before breaking down laughing.

  “No, wait,” Tempest said. “That’s not ours, is it? That’s far too awful to be ours. Now, how did ours go?”

  They started into a second routine, and Lacey had to admit that it was good. Very good. For all her talent for meanness, it seemed that Tempest had some talent when it came to dancing too. Her team came to a halt and looked around as though expecting applause to have sprung up from somewhere.

  “Well, Lacey?” Tempest asked. “What do you think? After all, I’ve told you exactly what I think of your little routine.”

  Lacey just shook her head.

  “Oh, well, that’s not very nice, is it? But then, it’s not like I actually care about what you think. Oh, and don’t try stealing any of our moves.” Tempest and her friends stalked out of the gym, laughing among themselves at how much fun they had managed to have at Lacey and the others’ expense.

  Penny was the first to speak, her voice coming out very small. “It’s not really that bad, is it?”

  “You saw them.” Sandy sounded like she was on the verge of tears. “They made what we were doing look awful.”

  Valerie nodded. “We’ll never make the dance troupe at this rate. We’ll need to change our whole routine, and our costumes, and-”

  “We only have three days, Valerie,” Lacey pointed out, even though she found herself largely agreeing with the other girl. Whatever confidence she’d had before in their routine, it was gone now. “What can we do in just three days?”

  “I don’t know,” the other girl admitted.

  Lacey sighed. “I think that we should go home for now. Maybe things won’t seem so bad in the morning.”

  Penny shook her head. “I bet they will.”

  Even so, they left the gym, walking dejectedly past a group of popular older kids.

  “Lacey?” Lacey looked up as she recognized Landers’ voice. He’d broken off from his group and come to talk to her. “How are you? I’ve hardly seen you since you came for dinner.”

  “I was in the newspaper classes,” Lacey pointed out. As bad as she felt, the fact that Landers was there talking to her seemed to lift her.

  Landers smiled. “That doesn’t count. Did something happen for me to see so little of you?”

  Lacey shook her head. “Not exactly. My friends and I have just been so busy practicing for the dance every day. I’m sorry I didn’t find time to talk to you.” Lacey managed to return Landers’ smile in spite of how she felt. “I really enjoyed spending time with you and Sean.”

  “Good,” Landers said, “because there has been something I’ve been wanting to ask you.”

  Something he wanted to ask? Lacey struggled to think what it could be. He didn’t want the cliques article in early or something, did he?

  “Lacey, will you be my date for the dance?”

  That was one thing Lacey hadn’t been expecting. In fact, for a second or two she could hardly believe her ears, so that she stood just staring at Landers. It was only when she realized what she was doing that she managed to respond.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely,” Landers said. “So, will you go with me?”

  Nervousness briefly threatened to overwhelm Lacey, but she managed to force it back. “Yes. Yes, of course I’ll go to the dance with you. I would love to.”

  Landers let out a sigh of relief that made Lacey’s smile widen. “Great,” Landers said. “For a moment there, I thought I might have to take Tempest.”

  Lacey couldn’t help a frown at the mention of the other girl’s name. “Don’t even joke about it. You know that she actually threatened me and told me that I shouldn’t come anywhere near you?”

  “No,” Landers replied. He shook his head and let out a deep breath. “I didn’t know that. I can’t believe what a piece of work she is.” He reached out for Lacey’s hands. “I hope you know that it is through between her and me. It’s you that I want to take to the dance, Lacey
, not her.”

  Lacey thought for a moment about how nice that would be. About what it would be like to show up on Landers’ arm for the dance with everyone watching her. Even the “with everyone watching her” part of that didn’t dim her enthusiasm for it. Though one thing did.

  “Landers,” she said, “I don’t know if I even dare show up to the dance.”

  “Because of Tempest?” Landers asked. “If you’re worried about her threatening you, then-”

  “No. I mean, I’m worried because of Tempest, but not about her threatening me. Thanks to her, the dance routine that the others and I are supposed to be doing is in ruins.”

  “These are the ones with the spot on the dance troupe as a prize?” Landers asked. Lacey must have looked surprised that he had heard of it, because he laughed. “Hey, I’m in journalism, remember? I’m supposed to find things out.”

  “Well, with only three days to redo it, I don’t know if there will be time. And without that,” Lacey added, “I might as well not show up. The embarrassment would just be…”

  Landers nodded. “I get it. Wait here for a moment.”

  He went back over to his group of friends, talking to an attractive senior girl with long wavy brown hair and green eyes who was dressed very stylishly. Lacey had the feeling that she vaguely recognized her from somewhere. They walked back to Lacey together.

  “Lacey, this is Kelly. I know her from the school council. She’s also the head of the dance troupe.”

  So that was where Lacey had seen her before.

  “Hi, Lacey,” the older girl said. “Landers told me that you’ve had to change your routine, and that you only have a short time left.”

  Landers smiled. “Kelly has offered to show you a few moves. You know, enough so that you can find some inspiration.”

  “I mean, obviously I can’t do this for you,” Kelly said, “but I would be glad to help.”

  “You would?” Lacey could hardly believe her luck. “That’s amazing.” She looked to where Valerie, Penny and Sandy were waiting for her further down the hall. “I should get the others. Thanks, Landers.”

  Landers nodded. “My pleasure. Look, I know the dance is only three days off, and you’ll be busy with practicing and all, but I’d love to see you again. Tomorrow? I’d love to catch up with you on the cliques assignment.”

  “Sure,” Lacey said. “I’d like that.”

  She headed over to the other girls who were now talking to Kelly, and thought about how great, but also how busy, the next few days could be. She still could not believe Landers asked her to the dance. As she glanced back at Landers, though, she saw one of the guys in his group laugh and slap him on the back. A sudden wave of uncertainty hit her.

  She did not have time to voice it though, because Kelly was ready to start. She showed them a few basic moves that looked surprisingly impressive.

  “The trick is to keep it simple so it’s easy to follow,” the older girl said. “But add the right moves, and the right music, and it looks great! Now you try.”

  It only took Lacey and the others a few attempts to get the hang of the moves, though they kept practicing, wanting them to be perfect.

  “That’s it,” Kelly said, “you’re doing great.”

  They kept working, and soon Kelly was satisfied enough that she said she could leave them to it. Before she left though, she had one thing to ask.”

  “So what’s the name of your group? I want to look out for it at the dance.”

  They still didn’t have one, of course. For several seconds, all the four of them could do was look at one another blankly. Finally, Lacey knew she had to come up with something. Anything.

  “How about Shy Girls…”

  Then Penny said, “Social”

  Valerie and Sandy finished it. “Club”.

  “Great name,” Kelly said, “The Shy Girls Social Club…love how that is a contradiction in itself, an oxymoron.” She snapped her fingers. “Before I forget, Lacey, Landers told me about you, how you’re doing a story on cliques. He said to feel free to talk to you about how I feel about it. I’d love to get interviewed for that story.”

  “Sure,” Lacey said, though the thought of Landers made her think back to when she saw his friend slap him on the back. “I guess.”

  “Hey, what’s wrong?” Kelly asked.

  “Do you think a guy like Landers would really be asking a girl like me out to a dance?”

  Kelly looked her over and shrugged. “Why not? You’re cute, very cute, and from what I can see you’re sweet, smart, friendly…why shouldn’t he?”

  “His guy friends could’ve set him up to ask me out on a dare…”

  Kelly laughed. “You have to have some faith in Landers. He’s not that kind of guy. I know. You should know, too. Have you seen him around his brother Sean?”

  “Yes,” Lacey said, now unsure how close Kelly was to Landers.

  “Well, that speaks volumes. Plus he dumped Tempest. Look, I’m dating Landers’ friend Frank, so I’m close enough to know that if Landers asked you to the dance, he meant it.”

  “You’re pretty cool,” Lacey said, “for being in the popular crowd and all.”

  Kelly actually winced. “Yes well, things are rarely as simple as all that. I mean, look at you. Anyway, I’ve got to get going. Good luck with the dance.”

  Chapter 9

  Thanks to Kelly’s help with the dance routine, Lacey found herself feeling a lot more confident about the whole upcoming event. She could cope with the thought that everyone would be looking at her and the others when she knew that the dance they would be doing in front of them was a good one. Far better, she felt, than their original effort. It just went to show what the right combination of effort and knowledge could do.

  Lacey met the others at the lockers as usual, and found that Penny, Valerie and Sandy were every bit as excited about the next day’s dance as she was. They started discussing changes to their costumes, how they would have to wear shorter dance skirts under the longer dresses they would wear for the dance, and probably shorts under that. With the main routine settled, the small details of their costumes seemed a lot less problematic. Talking it through then was less about panic than about simple excitement at what was to come, and time passed quickly.

  Penny seemed even more excited than the others, hardly stopping talking the whole time. When Lacey asked her about it, Valerie groaned.

  “Oh no. Here we go again.”

  “What?” Lacey asked. “Did I ask the wrong thing?”

  “She’s only been through this like a dozen times before. Apparently, Samuel has asked her to the dance.”

  “Isn’t that great?” Penny asked, apparently undeterred by Valerie. “I mean, he just walked up and asked, just like that. I sort of thought that he had a crush on me, and I’ve always liked him, obviously, but I wasn’t really sure until he asked. I mean, he wouldn’t ask if he didn’t like me, would he?”

  “No,” Lacey said, thinking back to the way Landers had asked her out the day before, “I guess he wouldn’t.”

  “I wonder what it will be like.” Penny said. “Do you think he’ll kiss me? I hope he’ll kiss me. If he doesn’t, do you think I should make the first move, or-”

  “Penny, slow down a bit, would you?” Lacey smiled as she said it.

  “He’ll certainly not be able to kiss you if you’re too busy talking,” Valerie teased.

  “Well, I think he’ll definitely kiss you,” Sandy put in. “He’d be stupid not to. Besides, it’s what boys do at dances like this.”

  Lacey hadn’t thought of that. Would Landers kiss her? It was almost too much to hope for, even after he’d asked her out. Even after that moment on her front porch. She could almost imagine it, but she didn’t want to. That was a sure way to just end up disappointed if he didn’t.

  Thoughts of Landers reminded Lacey that she would be seeing him later in their newspaper class. She should probably have some more stuff on the cliques by then. Lacey knew
that she couldn’t afford to fall behind with her article just because she had other things to do. Especially not when it gave her a chance to discuss things with Landers.

  “Lacey? Earth to Lacey?” Valerie waved a hand in front of her face.

  “What?”

  “You just drifted off for a moment there.”

  “She was probably thinking about Landers,” Penny guessed.

  “Well, she would, wouldn’t she?” Sandy pointed out.

  “Yes, but thinking about some boy so much that she ignores her friends?”

  Valerie snorted. “This from the girl who hasn’t been able to get through a sentence without mentioning Samuel all morning?”

  Thankfully, the bell for their first classes went before Penny could retort. Lacey sometimes found it strange how much her two friends loved to argue. They sometimes seemed to pick more holes in one another than even Tempest did. Lacey knew Penny and Valerie didn’t really mean it, though, whereas Tempest just liked to jump up and down on other people’s feelings.

  The first classes went by in a rush for Lacey, thanks to the lingering effects of her excitement about the upcoming dance. It probably also helped that at least part of her was planning what she would do to get more information for her piece on the cliques. She would start by interviewing Kelly, since she had already promised to do that, but then, Lacey suspected that she should try to fit in a few more interviews at lunch, so that she got as many different views as possible.

  At least, she would have those views if people agreed to speak to her. Cliques were designed to keep people out, weren’t they? What if people just refused to say anything to her when she asked? Lacey shook her head. That was the wrong attitude. If they didn’t answer, she would simply keep trying with someone else. Eventually, persistence would pay off.

  When lunch came around, Lacey headed to the cafeteria and sought out Kelly. The head of the dance troupe was at the heart of a knot of other senior girls, several of whom Lacey recognized from the dance performance. For a moment, Lacey found herself a little nervous. Would Kelly still want to talk to her with all her friends around like that?