An Excerpt From: FROM DREAMS TO REALITY
Copyright © BARBARA GOODWIN & DOUGLAS PENIKAS, 2009
All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing, Inc.
Sid Foster had been at this school for two months. As he walked through the hallway he thought about how he had to fit in—again. He studied the kids who passed him by. Some ignored him, others stared at him and a few boys even sneered at him. The girls glanced at him with interest—some smiled, some giggled and one even winked. With a sigh Sid wished he didn’t have to lie to them.
As he walked along the hallway during lunch he saw Melissa Manning. He knew who she was because she sat in two of his classes, History and Geometry.
Melissa stood trapped with her back pressed against her locker while her boyfriend, Darren Renton, leaned in close. Uh-oh. Looks like an argument, Sid thought. Darren waved his hand and pointed his finger in her face. Melissa said something and tried to push Darren away. He pulled back his arm as if to slap her. Sid approached them and pretended to stumble, tripping Darren in the process. Darren’s ankle gave out as his right foot twisted under him.
“What the—” Darren said. He grabbed onto the lockers to keep from falling to the ground.
While Darren struggled to remain standing, Sid gently moved Melissa out of range from Darren’s raised hand. Her textbooks spilled to the concrete floor with a clatter.
“Oh, sorry,” he said, not sorry at all. There was nothing worse than a bully. Sid bent down to help Melissa gather up her scattered books and ignored Darren’s glare. The books were quickly retrieved and handed back to Melissa. As he looked up at her the light in the hallway highlighted her face and Sid caught his breath. She’s gorgeous.
“Thank you,” Melissa whispered. Two red spots showed on her cheeks. Sid thought she might cry but she averted her eyes a moment later.
After giving her a quick nod to say you’re welcome, he left. Sure that he had saved her from Darren’s abuse, Sid walked to his next class. Melissa’s beautiful face swam before him and Sid wondered if Darren treated her badly all the time. If he did, why would she put up with it? Sid heard them continue their argument and knew it had accelerated when their voices reached his ears as he walked down the hall.
According to the boys in class, Melissa was the prettiest girl in school. After seeing her up close, Sid agreed.
Shifting his backpack on his shoulders Sid forced away thoughts of Melissa. She was way out of his league.
* * * * *
As he walked down the hallway he heard music and girls’ laughter. Sid passed a classroom and glanced inside. There were a bunch of kids practicing some dance routines. He stopped and leaned on the door frame to see what they were doing. Four groups worked on different dances. One did the steps to a jazz number, another worked on some hip-hop moves. They could use some work, Sid thought but it wasn’t up to him to help them. A third group stretched and a fourth group—all girls—were doing ballet moves. He sighed, then turned and walked to his last class of the day—History.
The class he passed must have been dance choreography, the advanced dance class at school. The moves the kids were doing were too good for the beginner’s class. As Sid wandered into History he wondered what it would be like to be in that class.
Sid loved to dance. It took him away from his troubles. But he’d learned from past experience that telling others he danced only brought him misery.
Mr. Bell, the History teacher, started talking about the Civil War even before the start of class. Kids strolled in, slammed their books on their desks and settled in. At each new school Sid had to play catch-up on homework assignments—he always seemed to start a new school in the middle of the semester. He also had to figure out how to fit in with the students. Today it annoyed him that he couldn’t hear Mr. Bell. Finally the class filled up and the kids settled down.
Sid watched Melissa come into the room and take her seat a few chairs back from him. She looked upset. Her lips were turned down in a pout and her eyebrows had lowered over glistening eyes. She must have felt his eyes on her because she flicked a glance at him. Sid turned away and pretended to search for something in his backpack. He didn’t want Melissa to think he felt sorry for her and he didn’t want her to become too interested in him. He knew that nothing could come of a friendship between them, she was better off with her own kind.