The Guidance Counselor - Chapter V (Patreon)

Going to a dance sickened me with these mixed emotions of excitement and dread. I couldn’t tell which was more intense – the prospect of actually talking to a girl this time or the loneliness I would feel should I fail miserably.

The parking lot of a school dance is filled with bustling excited voices waiting to get in. I stared through the van window as my mom dropped me off. Being 17 is weird. It’s a liminal state where you are old enough to drive but not past midnight until around six in the morning. They let you party but of course not with alcohol but at the same time it’s an open secret that us kids are smuggling that shit anyway and are probably blasted already once the doors open. To be honest, there are probably worse things that my classmates were already hooked on in there.

So, it feels really weird being dropped off by your mom, who is beaming with innocence, while you werethinking about how you’re hoping to get laid and then later on wait to be picked up by your mom after the dance. It was enough to tempt me to ask my mom to turn back home. But I was already stepping out of the car when I thought that and was already telling her that I’d see her later.

I loitered in the darkness by a tree like a creep until the doors opened and they let everyone in. I arrived without coordinating with anyone, so I didn’t want to stand in line like a loser not interacting with anyone. Better to just slip into the crowd and wander.

Ms. Johnson was right -the crowd was filled with obscured faces. It took me a hot minute to recognize Tom Rizzo dressed as a Spartan from 300, helmet included. Of course, he fucking would. V from V for Vendetta was one of the most popular costume choices that year, followed by Jack Sparrow. And then the girls were a sea of typical “hot and sexy” costumes like scantily dressedcats, angels, devils, and witches.

It didn’t take me long to realize that my Phantom outfit stood out. That was an old-school costume. I bet you nobody even saw the play, much less read the book.

Anxiety gripped me. The world slowed as I took in every detail around me – the people chuckling, the fluorescent lights bearing down on me, the losers hanging out by the far side of the wall talking about video games. I had nobody tointeract with. What the hell was I doing here? This whole thing had been a split-second decision. I retreated to a safe place I knew was always there – the vending machine down the hall past the gym. There, it was dimly lit and away from the commotion. Hardly anyone went there. I could have a moment to breathe and think about what to do.

The gym was already packed to the brim with people dancing. I passed by the chaperons – mostly mothers from the Parents Association but also a few teachers….including…

Ms. Johnson.

She was checking a girl’s purse before she let her into the gym. I stared dumbly for a second too long and she looked up at me. She was dressed in a tight form-fitting witch outfit, complete with a conical hat. She let her hair down. With her cute doe-eyes, she looked like she was taken straight out of my imagination for my character Mimi the Witch (sans the redhair).

It took her a split second to recognize me. She smiled, and said, “I see you made it, Mr. Gallagher.”

“Hi, Ms. Johnson.”

My eyes wandered.

Oh my god. Those curves. I never noticed them like this before.

I wanted to reach out and feel those curves, those hips, those cheeks.

“Going in?” she said, stepping aside to let me pass.

“Uh. Yes.”

The urge to impress her overcame me. I stepped through the threshold without thinking.

“Have fun!” Her voice trailed off before the music drowned her out.

My heart pounded. I turned around because I wanted to talk to her again, maybe say something smarmy or witty, but half a dozen guys dressed like1950’s greasers were already getting in my way. The elbow room was getting smaller, and it looked like they were going to give me a hard time asking about why I was holding up the space, so I moved forward deeper into the crowd.

Aside from a few Halloween lights by the doors and the obvious costumes, it felt justlike the last dance I went to. Loud contemporary party music and people grinding on each other. Just mindless grinding. Everywhere. I glided through the crowd thinking that I would look less awkward if I moved with a purpose.

I did a lap around the entire gym, making my way back to the door that Ms. Johnson was guarding, except this time she wasn’t there. Someone’s mother was there instead. I grimaced and stepped back to where the bathrooms were to take a breath of fresh air. It was the only pocket of fresh air really in the entire gym. I had started to feel nauseous smelling sweat when I was in the center of the crowd.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed an attractive girl texting on her phone. She was dressed as a sexy pirate – bandanna across her head, a faux corset, faux boots. Looked vaguely like Jack Sparrow but also it didn’t really matter. She looked tan and had a long ponytail that reached past her shoulders. I tried not to stare too much. She was a bit on the thin side but had a noticeably shapely ass. She kept looking up from her phone with a look of concern and then went back to texting.

After a few more seconds of awkwardly standing there, I called out, “Are you looking for someone?”

She didn’t hear me at first, but then realized that I had said something. She leaned forward and shouted, “What?”

“I—uh…are you looking for someone?”

“Yeah!”

“Who are they? Maybe I know them.”

She opened her mouth to talk but then stopped when a text caught her attention. She turned away from me and texted furiously.

Well, that’s the end of that conversation.

Ms. Johnson still wasn’t back at her post.

The night started to feel like a bust.

Before I took a step towards the exit, the girl called out to me. “Hey! You go here, right?”

“Yeah. What’s up?”

She stepped closer to me. She smelled of a heavy perfume. Her look told me she didn’t want anyone else hearing. “Do you know where the back entrance is? I got a friend waiting for me there.”

I had no idea what this was about, but it was my time to shine. I nodded and said I could show her. The area with the vending machine was on the way tot he back door. They typically fenced off the rest of the hallway that led down to the back entrance during school dances. However, security was never really tight. If one really wanted to, one could slip past the makeshift steel fence after making sure nobody was looking.

Ms. Johnson wasn’t out there, and I thanked God for that because I didn’t want to have to explain myself next time I saw her. Instead there were mothers checking more purses and so they were easily distracted as we walked behind them. The party music faded into a muffle as we approached the vending machine.

“Oh, but there’s a fence thing,” the girl said, disheartened.

I shrugged. “It’s alright. There’s no alarm or anything.”

“You mean you’re going to sneak past? Won’t we get in trouble?”

There weren’t any security cameras there anyway. Most of them were concentrated at the front entrance. We also wore costumes anyway, so it wasn’t like they would catch a good look at us.

I made some noise as I pulled aside the fence and let her go first, then I slipped past.

“Just down here,” I said.

The hallways we passed by were nearly pitch-black, save for the bright red exit signs.

I pushed open the back door and we were greeted by the cool autumn air.

Waiting for her was a black muscle car revving, blaring Fall Out Boymusic with teenagers laughing inside. It suddenly dawned on me what was going on. Sometimes the seniors picked up girls and other friends from the back entrance having snuck on the school grounds through back roads, wanting to avoid the watchful eyes of chaperons at the front door. A school dance was also the perfect cover for underage students to go off to a nearby town or friend’s house and party it up, and then return back in time for the dance to be ending and be picked up by their parents having no knowledge of where they went.

“Awesome!” the girl said. “Thanks so much!”

“Y-yeah. You’re welcome.”

She started towards the car, then stopped and turned around. “Nice costume by the way. VERY classy. You wanna come join us?”

The invitation startled me. I stood there dumbfounded for 5 whole seconds, and another 5 whole seconds realizing that she was patiently waiting for my response after the first 5 seconds of silence.

“Uh. Yeah. Where you going?”

“The docks over in Red Bank. Come on!”

The excited clamor muffled from inside the car beckoned to me. The girl motioned her hand at me drawing me closer, as if saying, “Come on, we won’t bite.”

I held my breath and walked up to the car.