“ Look, everyone’s here,” said Dawn.

  Graham peered over Dawn’s hands. Dawn’s chest rose and fell with each breath, sharper this time from the stress she was under from the scrutiny of an entire cohort.

 Dawn was sure many of them were surprised to even see her in a dress. She had eschewed dresses all her life for the simple fact that she believed she couldn’t carry the look.

 It took quite a bit of coaxing from Jessica to even get her to wear one. Dawn wouldn’t say it to her but she really loved how the icy blue hue brought out the best in her hair.

 “ And they’re all looking at me.” Dawn was none too pleased with being the focal point of the dance. She really preferred being a wallflower than the centrepiece of any event. Nothing ever good happened when she was the latter.

  “ Maybe they like what they see?” Graham asked suggestively.

  “There really isn’t much.” Dawn tilted her head away from the piercing stares of strangers and to the familiar comfort of Graham.

“I’ll sit here while you go get us some drinks. I’m not very good in tight spaces,” Dawn said to Graham as he hopped off her palm.

 Crossing her legs together to prevent anyone from seeing more than they ought to, she leaned back and watched the rest of the school. It was the role she felt she was intended to play, that of the outsider observing society. There was no place for someone as freakish as her.

 *****

 While Dawn sat back, Graham leaned on the hard leafy green table while he poured himself a drink. It was nothing unique or worth salivating, just your run of the mill chemically sweetened syrup mixed in with water.

 He poured some for himself and Dawn, his nerves on edge as he hoped no one would approach him.

 “Graham!”

His shoulders hunched instinctively, sweating pouring out of every pore as he swiveled to face George. Behind him was Edmund, his knuckles white as snow, glaring at Graham like an enraged Grodar, a large ape like creature native to the forests of Home. Thankfully he didn’t smell like one, Graham could still remember the sour acidic odours his body gave off after gym.

 “ I was beginning to think you wouldn’t show up,” George smiled, Graham . This came as a big surprise, not because George was so jovial about seeing him, George and Edmund always enjoyed bumping into him. No, this time it seemed that Graham had nothing to do with it.

  “ O-oh,” Graham stammered, trying to look for the right words. His mind and tongue would not give it to him, leaving him to stare up at George, mouth hanging open like the trunk of a car.

 “ Relax Everly,” George smacked him playfully on the back. Graham stumbled , nearly spilling the drinks as they sloshed about their  plastic confines.

 “Sorry George, I got to go,” Graham gestured at Dawn, watching him like a hen watching her chick. In particular, she kept herself focused on George and Edmund, still a little sore over the peanut incident.

 “ Of course, wouldn’t want to keep Dawn waiting.”

 George stepped to the side like a gentleman, allowing Graham to pass.

“What the hell was that about?” Was George losing it? He had never been this nice to him, not even after Graham got him an A in Calculus, pulling his E+up to a more respectable C.

 He turned back and winced as George gave a friendly wave, nearly gagging on it.

“Well George, you accomplished nothing.” Edmund poured himself a drink but not for George. He would have to get his own.

 “No, I was being nice. She’ll come to me once I win over her best friend.”

“At the rate you’re going you’ll be in a retirement home once that happens.”

He spat into his cup, the beverage too sugary for his own taste.

“Ugh...are they trying to give us diabetes?” He threw his cup to the ground and stomped on it, pancaking the white plastic cup until it could be flattened no further.

*****

“ Did they give you a hard time?” Dawn sipped from her cup, enlarged to her scale.

“No, Edmund was still doing his best impression of the Grodar but George was nice, almost too nice,” Graham couldn’t shake the feeling that George was planning something. Graham wouldn’t put it past them, both of them were devious devils. He swirled the bright sickly green liquid, taking another gulp and swishing it in his mouth. There was no nutty flavour about it, so Dawn wouldn’t be gassing the school again. That was a relief.

 “ What’s wrong?” Dawn broke the silence, apprehensive over Graham’s answer. Neither of them bought George’s story, his track record suggested anything but goodwill to the pair.

 “ Oh nothing, just wondering how we’ll dance later,” He looked up at Dawn with a thin gentle smile on his lips, Dawn only now realising the issue. She had been so caught up in going to the dance , the act of dancing had not even been considered.

   She curled up her fingers, unrolling them. Graham was no bigger than her thumb, she would crush him if he tried the traditional way of holding a girl. She looked up, exasperated over another restriction imposed by her body. She really wished that shrink ray would hurry up and be invented.

  “ I’m sure we’ll find a way,” Dawn smiled back at her friend. She considered letting each of her fingers-thumb included-have their turn with him but Graham wasn’t a good dancer, he often got tired after several minutes. A slow dance then.

 Both stared wordlessly at their surroundings, watching as students from each year and even alumni arrived, helping themselves to the food and drinks as the clocked ticked towards the inevitable opening of the dance floor.

 It arrived, in the form of an announcement from Principal Baldrick, his bald spot covered through some strategic combing. A notoriously hairy man, he took great effort to hide his body from public view, especially after people joked he had escaped from the Wildlife Sanctuary’s Kuranku section. The Kuranku was a large creature resembling the monkeys of Earth.

 Baldrick did not take to the comparison very well but shaving was not an option, the hair grew back within days.

  “ Ladies and gentlemen of Adder High,” His small voice amplified by the school’s sound system.

 “ Another year, another dance. We all deserve this break from our studies,” He paused as students applauded and cheered their approval.

 “ Which is what the annual Adder Dance is for, a chance for us to let our hair down and be merry with our friends.”

Again, he paused for applause.

“ The rules are the same as last year and the year before that. No fighting, no intoxication, no smoking of any herbs on school premises, no pushing, no shoving,” Baldrick looked up, extending each finger as he recalled each and every restriction had piled on over the years, some as an afterthought.

 When he was finally done, students from all corners flooded the dance floor but although Graham wanted Dawn and himself to be in the middle of it, Dawn pulled back on Graham  and held him close against him.

 “What’s wrong?” He noted Dawn looking a tad sullen.

“ Nothing,” She shook her head.

“I just don’t think this is a good tune for me.”

“Okay,” Graham’s smile broadened, if she wanted to wait , he would wait with her. Her hand was comfortable enough to wait on as it was.

Songs flew by but Dawn held back , nerves getting the better of her each time. It took a good hour and a half plus some very gentle coaxing from Graham, who insisted they do at least one dance here.

 “ You look very pretty when you dance back home, I’d like to share that moment. Its always just you twirling about , lets make it a duet.”

 Dawn blushed, hers cheeks flushed with colour, did Graham really think she was pretty?

“Is it because I’m a good dancer?” Dawn was grinning from ear to ear, Jessica could have called her divine and it wouldn’t even come close to this. For some reason Graham could.

“ Because you look happy, you’re really adorable when you’re happy, that radiant smile makes you more divine than our moon.”

 As cheesy and cliched as it was, Graham meant every word, not even a beating by George and Edmund would get him to recant .

“ I do?” Her smile grew two sizes.

“Yeah, so lets dance and show everyone the true Dawn.”

If that was enough for him, it would be enough for her, Dawn thought.

“ Lets.”

Her confidence on the ascendance, Dawn stepped  towards the dance floor until the petite figure of Mrs Meeks got between her and the floor, a good metre or so from Dawn’s  crystal blue slippers.

“ Sorry Ms Martel, I really am. But I can’t let you dance.” She looked even more glum than Dawn did, brows furrowed as she frowned. She looked at Dawn, wishing she could help but she couldn’t, they had discussed this before the dance and they knew it was best.  Her eyes were flooded with guilt and from Dawn’s disappointed look, it really hurt her.

 “ W-why?” She couldn’t understand why.

Everyone had stopped what they were doing, heads turned to watch the little standoff between Dawn and her form teacher. Despite the size gap, Mrs Meeks wasn’t afraid of Dawn, she knew Dawn’s demeanour well enough to know what Dawn was capable of.

“ Sorry dearie. It isn’t safe. I wanted to tell you but wasn’t sure if you wanted to,” Her voice tinged with guilt and regret. But it was necessary given Dawn’s history of being a klutz.

“ You could have just told me not to come,” Dawn spat out. Why did it have to be tonight? She had crashed so hard. Just because she gassed the school and nearly crushed someone didn’t mean she would cause an accident tonight.

 She gritted her teeth, right fist bunched up. She was not some force of nature, destroying lives. Just living in a world too small for her. She wanted to stamp her foot, crack the floor, just let them know her pain.

 “ Don’t,” Graham mouthed to her, caressing her palm. Dawn’s fury subsided as she flittered between her teacher and him. Not to mention her own mother, the disappointment she would if she knew her own daughter let her emotions best her.

 “ Can’t I at least get one dance? Everyone could take a breather, do whatever they want,” Dawn pleaded with Mrs. Meeks. Just once, make an exception for her. Let her feel like a normal girl.

 Mrs.Meeks shook her head, “ Sorry. Rules are rules. We let you come because it isn’t illegal for you to be on school premises.”

 “ Alright, thanks.”

Dawn walked off, defeated. She wanted to go home but with Graham in her hand, she didn’t want to end it prematurely.

*****

“I can’t believe it,” Dawn sat down, dejected about the whole thing. She sat next to the wing housing her classroom while Graham sat on the roof, level with her face.

 “ Oh Dawn,” He wanted to say something comforting but this was a different kind of disappointment. The words clogged in his throat as he tried to verbalise them. He swallowed and resorted to petting her on her cheek.

Dawn reciprocated by leaning in just a little closer, his touch was comforting against her smooth cheek.

 “ I don’t know what to say. Do you want to go to my place?’ Dawn watched the rest of the school dance. The same thought from earlier played in head; It was her role in school, an observer. No matter what she did, she would be consigned to watch from the sidelines. She had asked for homeschooling but Jessica had said they could not afford a tutor and she wanted Dawn to experience the full thing.

Dawn had, and it sucked badly.

“ I don’t mind but... “ He knew why he didn’t want to go, like Dawn he wanted to experience what the rest could.

 “...You want to dance?’ Dawn finished his sentence for him. She sighed, her warm mint scented breath washing over him.

 Graham answered with a downward tilt of his head.

 “ We do hang out at my house a lot. I understand why you would want to try some place new,” She thought about the places they could dance. Thanks to her, there weren’t many to consider. There was one however, that stood out.

 “ I know a place. And its big enough for me to dance without stepping on someone.”

“ Good, lets dance then,” Graham chuckled as he climbed on to Dawn’s hand.

“ Will there be lots of people?”

Dawn shook her head, braid swishing back and forth like a horse tail.

“ You’ll see…” She had her smile back, the idea just felt better and better by the day.

Turning her back to the school, she went to that very place. A place where no one could tell her she couldn’t dance, where she could get her feet loose and shake it as long as she wanted.

********

“Edmund, she’s going!” George yelled over the loud techno dance music, Home and Earth having similar tastes in music.

 “ Oh heavens why is he still so obsessed with that strumpet?” Edmund looked down at the petit willowy girl he had in his arms. She didn’t seem to mind him and they had a few dances but George would only damage his chances with the girl.

On the other hand, leaving her would do it too. Still, he told himself, he could always return later.

“ Sorry my petal, duty calls. I’ll be back, just need to help my friend there. He’s not right in the head,” Edmund whispered.

 “ You go my sweet prince. Return quickly, for your princess needs you!”

Edmund melted , her gesture may have been overly dramatic but he loved it.  Letting go, he rushed over to go.

 George was about to speak but Edmund placed his hand over the latter’s thin lipped pot hole.

“ No, don’t explain. I know what you want. You want to go find Dawn, confess your love to her don’t you? Nod if I got it right.”

George nodded, Edmund releasing his hand.

“ Good, lets move. Dawn Martel has legs like a giant long legged  thing, we’ll be miles behind if we don’t hurry,”

George smiled and applauded him, “ Thank you old friend. I’ll never forget what you did for me.”

“ I know buddy, now lets go.”

With that, both of them ran off towards Dawn, hoping they could join her little session.