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'Dance Fever!' blasted on the television set. Tootie and Cindy were sitting in front of it looking like they were too bored to change the channel. Denny Terrio, the host, was schmoozing the audience with his 'jive talk', but in reality he just looked like a jive turkey.
"'Dance Fever!'? Why?" I asked.
"It's not a bad show, you get to see some good dancers. What we're really doing, though, is waiting for 'Soul Train,' which comes on next," Tootie answered.
"Yeah, that's what we really want to watch!" Cindy added.
"Oh," I replied. I'm not really into those types of shows. I can't really dance, and neither Pop nor R&B is my cup of tea. I had a hard time staying in rhythm with Ralph, and especially with Cindy, during the ballroom dance. Speaking of Ralph, we went on a date to a folk concert downtown in Peekskill Square the other day. It was great. He gave me flowers, paid for our date, and even opened the door for me when we got in the cab. He's such a true southern gentleman.
The contestants on the 'Dance Fever!' were dancing to 'My Sharona' by 'The Knack,' and Tootie and Cindy had gotten up to join them. Mrs. Garrett came down the stairs and stopped to give them an audience. She smiled and laughed, amused at the duo boogieing down to the music. Tootie finally noticed that they had a spectator.
"Hey Mrs. Garrett, do you wanna dance with us?"
"Oh, no thank you Tootie. These old knees would lock up if I even attempted to, as you youngsters say, 'get down'."
They laughed as Mrs. G left to do some cleaning. Sue Ann came down a few seconds later.
"Hey, what's going on?" she asked me.
"Nothing, just watching Tootie and Cindy 'boogie down,'" I snickered, remembering the phone conversation she had with Scott. Sue Ann didn't find it a bit amusing.
"Oh, stop it! I'm sure you don't know every slang word there is."
"No, but not knowing what 'boogie down' means shows how 'country' you are," Tootie chipped in teasingly, having overheard our conversation. "Marie Osmond may be a little bit country, but, girl, you're totally country!" Apparently Cindy had told her about the phone conversation, but she quickly came to Sue Ann's defense as she realized that that had been a mistake.
"Come on, leave her alone. If we were in Kansas they would probably laugh at us for not knowing how to milk a cow," Cindy reasoned with Tootie and gave Sue Ann a reassuring wink. Sue Ann smiled in return. "Hey Sue Ann, I bet you can't 'boogie down' like we can!" Cindy challenged in a teasing voice.
Sue Ann, of course, accepted the challenge without hesitation. "Oh yeah? I'll show you two."
She joined the two dancers on the makeshift dance floor in front of the television. She wasn't as good as Cindy and Tootie, but she made me look like Mick Jagger. To be clear, I don't think Mick Jagger really knows how to dance at all since all he does is strut up and down the stage, flapping his arms like a chicken.
It was rather interesting to watch Cindy and Sue Ann. It looked like some sort of 'can-you-top-this' competition. They each have a strong competitive streak, so I wasn't very surprised that that's how it went, but it did make me a bit worried that it might cause problems if they ever get into a relationship.
While they were dancing, Cindy grabbed Sue Ann by the arm and pulled her closer. I was glad Tootie was too busy dancing to pay attention to those two. Anyone could tell by the way they looked at each other that there was undeniable chemistry between them. Cindy was doing her best to keep Sue Ann close, and after they finished they continued to stare into each other's eyes until Tootie interrupted the moment.
"Hey, Cindy, check out this dancer. He's far out!"
That ended the moment for the two blonds. I was torn between thanking Tootie and smacking her.
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Later on, while I watched "CBS News with Dan Rather," I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. I turned around and saw Nancy. She appeared to be in a rather gloomy mood.
"What's wrong, Nancy?"
"Nothing," she answered, avoiding looking at me directly. I could tell she was sulking by the fact that her shoulders hung low and her voice was weak. These were all the signs of someone feeling sad, according to the body language book.
"I don't think you're telling me the truth. Your body says otherwise."
Nancy looked at me with surprise, "Yeah, you're right."
"Is it Roger...again?"
"No, not this time," she chuckled forcefully. "This one has to do with Blair."
"Blair? What happened?"
"She hasn't been hanging out with me ever since she joined 'The Group'," she whined.
Lately, I've been hearing about this 'group,' fronted by the fast and snobby Tumpy Barksdale. It's a secretive clique of all the so-called 'cool girls,' but no one is really supposed to know about it.
"'The Group?'"
"Yeah, 'The Group.'"
I listened to her carefully, as something told me I might hear something interesting.
"She's been talking to me less ever since she joined, and it's mostly about 'The Group' when she does. It also hurts that 'The Group' won't accept me."
"Really? Did Blair tell you why?"
"She said she doesn't know why and that she tried hard to get me in, but they wouldn't budge."
"That's not cool."
"That's so true. I thought Blair was my best friend, but apparently she's not. 'The Group' seems to mean more to her than our friendship."
If Nancy is right in saying that Blair considers 'The Group' more important than their friendship, which I have a hard time really believing, then there must be something about 'The Group' that would make Blair neglect her friendship with Nancy. I just don't know what it is yet. Hmmm, I need to look deeper into this, but for now I think I'll watch my future husband, Dan Rather, on TV. He's such a stud!
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After the news I decided to indulge in my favorite pastime and read a book. No, it had nothing to do with body language, expression, or anything like that. I read, 'If They Come in the Morning: Voices of Resistance' by Angela Davis, a world-renowned black feminist. Of course, she prefers 'Sister,' so I'll call her that instead.
Just as I was getting into it, I once again heard someone coming down the stairs. I turned around and saw Blair this time. She was smiling, and it seemed very genuine for once. Blair smiles a lot, but most of them don't reach her eyes. This one did. The book stated you could gauge someone's happiness by the aura they give off when they are truly happy. Her body was loose, her posture more relaxed than usual, and there was a certain bounce in her step. It was like she was on Cloud Nine.
"So, Blair, what 'Man-of-the-Week' are you going out with tonight?"
Blair looked at me and gave a phony laugh, "Ha ha ha, I'm not going out with anyone this week."
"Seriously? You mean, you don't have a date at all?"
She hesitantly answered, "No, I'm not going out with any boys, and I probably won't for a while."
The admission took me by complete surprise, so I could only stare and blink at her for a bit. My mind worked overtime to process this, and I couldn't help wondering what was REALLY going on here. For Blair to not have a boyfriend would be like a Big Mac missing its "Special Sauce"...there's DEFINITELY something wrong. Why am I even thinking about McDonalds? They make the most toxic food on this planet and use too much styrofoam packaging.
"Really? Okay, did you fall on your head or something?"
Blair laughed, "No, silly, I just realized I can be happy without a man. I really need to take a break from the dating scene. Just because men want me doesn't mean I have to go out on a date with them."
I couldn't argue with her that since she had a valid point. But since when has Blair ever shown any feminist tendencies? It wasn't like her at all. "That's true indeed. So, then what's really making you happy?"
"Well, the whole thing feels liberating! I'm rather enjoying not being tied down by anyone."
I hummed softly to myself as I realized she was saying that she no longer has to put on the masquerade she's been living. Well, Blair, you're not fooling me one bit. I bet my bottom dollar you are seeing someone in 'The Group.'
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That weekend, Greg and I went to Peekskill Park and spent the day doing our favorite activities... playing checkers and debating.
"Those evil men hate anything that isn't Islam or anything that isn't Arab. They're jealous of our freedom, that's why they went after our embassy in Tehran!" Greg argued. I quirked an eyebrow and thought, 'How naïve he can be?'
"Are you kidding me? That's so ridiculous! They don't hate our freedom. The reason why they took our embassy hostage is because they are sick and tired of us screwing them over. Ever since 1953, when the CIA got rid of their democratically elected government, they've built up their resentment of us. Their government wanted to nationalize the oil industry and return it to the people instead of having it continuously exploited by the US. We replaced their government with a pro-US government. The Shah was nothing but a puppet for the US."
"The Shah was there for the people! They grew a lot under his rule!" Greg rebutted.
"Yeah, right! The only growth he contributed to the country was the expansion of his and those foreign oil companies' bank accounts. The people are finally fed up with the way the country is run. That's why they're revolting right now. They're sick and tired of being exploited."
"Exploited? If it weren't for us they would still be living in the 15th century! They didn't have anything before the Shah arrived. They modernized under him."
Before I could answer I noticed that there was only ten minutes left before the Eastland-Winstonhusrt field hockey match began. Cindy was the start of the team, and I always enjoyed watching her play.
"Shoot! I'm going to be late for the game!"
"What game?" Greg asked.
"Eastland is playing Winstonhurst today."
"Oh, cool. That sounds fun."
"We're leading the conference, and Cindy has a chance at the highest goals scored."
"Cindy's playing?"
"Yep!" I knew that would peak his interest.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" He quickly stood and pulled me up by the hand.
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We got to the game four minutes into it. The score was still zero to zero. Cindy was on the field. She didn't see us until twenty minutes later when she heard us calling out her name. She waved back.
"Go kick some butt!" Greg shouted. Cindy just giggled.
"Greg!" I scolded.
"Hey, I'm just trying to encourage her, what's wrong with that?"
"Greg, she'll do just fine," I huffed. Sometimes I can't believe him.
We watched the game until halftime. The score was zero to two in favor of Winstonhurst, and Cindy clearly looked disheartened. She came up to see us during halftime.
"Hey there," she said, and waved weakly.
"Hi, Cindy," I replied, trying to sound cheerful.
"Hey there, good looking!" Greg said smoothly. Cindy just smiled and chuckled. "So no goals yet?"
A bit disappointedly, she told him, "No, unfortunately not. But I'm not surprised. Winstonhurst is second in defense. Hopefully things will change in the second half."
"Well, I'm sure you'll score," I smiled encouragingly, not sure if it would really make a difference.
"I hope so. I want to take the lead in scoring, but it won't be easy to score against Beth Shoemaker. She leads the conference in blocked goals."
"Well then, good luck. Score a goal for me," Greg smiled confidently.
"Okay!" Cindy exclaimed with renewed vigor as the coach announced they were about to start the second half. She ran back to join the team.
Cindy was finally able to break through, scoring three goals and leading the way to a five to three victory. She was ecstatic.
We waited for her to emerge from the locker room. Surprisingly, Sue Ann was loitering around the door as well. She had been at the game the entire time, but we hadn't noticed her.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" I asked.
"I was watching the game. I came to see Cindy play," she informed me in her 'matter-of-fact' tone. "I mean...she is my best friend," she added defensively.
"But we didn't see you," Greg said.
Sue Ann laughed, "That's because I was sitting behind you guys. I'm rather surprised since I was making quite a bit of noise. I guess you didn't recognize my Midwestern accent in cheer form," she joked and smiled.
"Well, I guess not," I responded. I still couldn't figure out why we didn't know she was behind us the entire time. Cindy finally exited the locker room and was surprised to see all of us.
"Wow, I didn't know I have a fan club!" She joked.
"Well, you are an exceptional athlete!" Greg poured on the charm. "It was because of your awesome skills that the team won the game."
I heard Sue Ann groan softly.
Cindy chuckled, "Well, it wasn't easy at first, but then I noticed Beth was getting tired, so I went after her."
"It seemed to work," Sue Ann smiled.
"Yeah, thank goodness. Now we can focus on the next game against Peekskill High."
"That's cool. I hope you win. So, are you doing anything right now?" Greg asked.
"Yeah, Sue Ann and I are going to hang out a bit. We're going to a friend's party," Cindy answered.
"It's someone I know from back home in Kansas," Sue Ann offered by way of explanation. "Let's go, Cindy, I don't want to be late," she said impatiently to her companion.
"You and time," Cindy groaned, rolling her eyes. "Okay, let's get going."
I could see the disappointment on Greg's face as the two of them left. The crooked smile and confident stare was gone. He just looked sad. I could tell he was really into her.
"Come on Greg, you'll get to see her again on your date. In the meantime, let's finish our game of checkers. Remember?" I said cheerfully in an attempt to brighten his spirits.
"Oh... yeah, let's finish our game...," Greg finally smiled, "...since I'm winning," he teased.
"Oh brother...," I groaned.