Back to Fan FictionThe songs in this story and the characters that have obvious names that are a part of "The Nanny" do not belong to me. Some of these characters and themes are based on real experiences in my life. (You can tell which parts I made up! Lol) I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it!
by
Casey
(SingC25@aol.com)
Francine Joy Fine was 16, a sophmore at Hillcrest High. The year was 1973, and she sat in her 2nd period English class writing a letter to her friend Val. She was paying no attention to the announcements blaring over the intercom. One particular announcement actually captured her interest, however. "Winter Formal is to be held on February 22. Boys, start asking!" Fran looked up from her letter. She crumpled it up when she realized she’d have to talk to Val in person about this Winter Formal dilemma. She sighed and gazed across the room at John, the guy she had been crushing on all year. She had fallen in "love" with him when they were assigned a project about themselves and he had admitted to loving to shop. He was also on the football team, tall and buff. Plus, according to her sources, he came from money. Meanwhile, he was going out with a gorgeous cheerleader. Fran knew she had no chance with him. Wow he was cute. And funny, she might add. But she could never pursue anything with him. She was friends with his girlfriend’s sister. Finally, the bell rang. She almost hadn’t heard it because her head was full of thoughts about John.
She dashed out of the classroom…well, as fast as she could anyway in her platform heels. Plus, if she went too fast, besides breaking an ankle, her Farrah Fawcett wings would get all screwed up. She passed the lunch lines and spotted a blonde head turned in the opposite direction trying to make her way through the crowd without getting run over by all of the people rushing to their lockers and the lunch lines. "Hi sweetie!" Fran yelled. Val spun around. She would knowher best friend’s voice anywhere. Come to think of it, anybody would know Fran’s voice anywhere. "Fran!" Val called excitedly. They gave each other a quick hug and headed toward the never-ending lunch lines. "I’m starved." Fran announced. Soon the 2 were chatting about Winter Formal. "We don’t have dates." Val sighed. "Unless…"
Fran looked over at her hopeful friend. "Oh Val, I never pictured going to Winter Formal
with you." Val looked crushed. "Really? Ya never had that fantasy?" Fran rolled her eyes. "No Val." Val folded her arms. "Uh, neither have I." The 2 giggled. Val started again. "What? Ya have a better idea?" At that moment, they reached the window. They paid for their food and headed out toward the quad. Val knew the answer to her question. Neither of them had any ideas.
They continued chatting until the bell rang for break to be over. With all the noise, the bell could barely be heard. Fran shrugged. "I guess I better get going or else I’m gonna be late for drama." Val nodded her head and proceeded to walk with Fran to her class. The juniors surrounded the island in the center of the quad. Fran stopped dead in her tracks halfway to her drama class. Val took note of her friend’s breathlessness. "WhatsamatterFran?" Val asked as if that were all meant to be one word. "Who-is-that?" Fran paused after each word gasping to catch her breath. "Who?" Val wondered. "Ee ee ee!" Fran squealed as she pointed in the direction of one of the most gorgeous guys she had ever seen. Val’s jaw dropped. "Wow." Fran’s eyes moved up and down his body remembering every detail about him. Jet black hair that did the most terrific little flippy thing in the front, piercing green eyes, gold skin, the perfect height, wearing a black jacket.
Val tugged on her friend’s arm trying to pull her out of this daze. "Fran-Fran…Fran! The bell is gonna ring again already!"
"Oh, Oy. Wait…that-that girl talking to him….she’s in our PE class…um….Catherine. Boy, I gotta talk to her."
Val finally managed to tug her away from her stationary position. "Oy Fran. The tardy bell is gonna ring in like, 5 seconds."
When Fran got to her drama class, her mind was completely occupied with thoughts about the mystery man. She wasn’t even flirting with Josh. The tall swimmer she liked. So now she had her heart set on 3 guys. This was getting interesting. She was pretty sure that Josh liked her too, but figured he was too shy to make a move. That was the sort of thing she usually thought about all period, but not today. Mr. Mystery Man’s face kept flashing through her mind.
"Fran…Fran…" Josh tapped her on the shoulder. She felt a tingle go down her spine. She shook her head. "Huh?" Josh looked a sort of disappointed. "What’s wrong? You’ve been so quiet this whole time." She smiled. "Me? Quiet? That’s a laugh." She giggled. "Sorry, I was just thinking."
"Well you’d better think on the way to your next class. We’re both going to be late." Josh informed her.
"Are you kidding?" Fran asked, "The bell rang already?"
"Yup."
"Damn."
Science class was particularly boring, especially since they all thought the teacher was an idiot. Well, they thought worse of him than that but if their parents ever found out what they really called him, no one would ever see the light of day again.
During all of her 4th period, Fran found herself thinking of possible names that could have been the mystery man’s.
M ystery Man:
For some reason the last one seemed to stick. He looked like a Maxwell, but then that probably wasn’t his name. She’d only guessed 9 names, why would one of those be his name when there were, like, infinity names.
At lunch, Fran & Val walked around the campus chatting about all three of Fran’s crushes and Danny, the senior who thought she was cute and kept trying to meet her, but had never managed to find her. They soon decided to sit down over by Val’s locker, and Fran pulled a Rice Krispie out of her pocket. They watched people walk by, and suddenly Fran’s head turned quickly to Val. "There’s Danny! He’s still been trying to meet me. Oy." Val put her head in her hands and tried not to laugh at this very awkward meeting. "Hi, I’m Danny." He introduced himself, reaching out his hand. Fran raised her body off of the floor to reach his hand. "I’m Fran." Danny started to speak again. "I’ve heard a lot about you…and well, I just wanted to say hi." He turned around and walked away. "Bye!" Fran called after him. Val exploded with laughter. "Well, that was supremely awkward." She said. Fran gasped. "Oh my God!" "What? What?" Val asked, startled. "You know what supremely means?!" Fran joked, nudging Val in the ribs.
Her next class was PE. Joy. She hated PE. And they were going to be conditioning for the State Testing, which meant getting weighed and measured. "Ha." She laughed out loud. "There is no way in hell I’m stepping foot on that scale." Val nodded her head furiously. "No WAY." Sylvia, (Fran’s mother) had told Fran that she’d write a note that said "None of your damn business," but Fran had forgotten about that this morning. Oh Well, she thought they’d probably just have to give their weight since there were so many of them, so there wouldn’t be enough time, I’ll just lie.
She sat on her square on the hot black asphalt, her butt burning through her polyester daisy duke running shorts. She soon started talking to Jocelyn, the girl who sat to her right. "Oh Man," Fran started, "I saw the most gorgeous guy today." Jocelyn wanted to know his name. Fran didn’t know, and that was part of her problem. Jocelyn told Fran that she would talk to Catherine. "No!" Fran demanded, tugging on Jocelyn’s arm to pull her back to her seat on the floor. "What if they’re together? I don’t want her to think I’m after him." Although I am…she thought to herself. "I won’t tell her it’s you who wants to know." She insisted. "Calm down. Catherine is my friend. Jocelyn had her way. In a way, Fran was relieved that she didn’t have to talk to Catherine. Frankly, she found her a little intimidating. Val gazed across the 5 squares that separated them, and noticed the goofy grin on Fran’s face. "You’re in such a good mood. I love it." She smiled. Fran giggled as Tracey, the girl on her left took her seat. "Hey, what’s doin’?" She greeted her. "Hi Tracey. Fran smiled. "Guess what?" Tracey studied her facial expression. "What?" she asked. "I saw the most gorgeous guy today." "Really?" Tracey asked, already interested in what Fran was going to say. She got totally wrapped up in her story telling. She had started to describe him in detail right before Jocelyn returned. "His name is Freddy, and he’s a junior." Fran looked confused."Freddy?"
"Yeah, he was wearing a brown jacket right?"
Fran looked up, trying to read the internal notes that she had taken that morning at break. "No, it was black."
"Black? Are you sure?"
Fran looked up again. "Uh-huh."
"Ya want me to ask again?"
"No, that’s OK, thanks."
Fran turned to Tracey again before the teacher shouted those ever dreaded words, "Take a lap." "Oy." Fran grunted as she brought her body off the floor. "Val…" she called. "What love?" they started to run, and Fran began to tell her what she had learned. Her voice vibrated as her feet repeatedly made contact with the hot asphalt, "Jocelyn talked to Catherine, she says his name is Freddy, and he’s a junior, if he was wearing a brown jacket." Val looked over at her, "If?" Fran tried to draw in a deep breath, but all she got was an extremely shallow one. "That’s the problem…It- was- black." She paused between each word gasping for air. They finally reached their squares again.
Tracey turned to Fran, wiping sweat off of her forehead. "A black jacket?"
Fran looked up. "Huh? Oh, yeah."
"Well, the way you described him, he sounded like this guy I know. He’s a junior, and Maxwell Sheffield is his name if I’m thinking of the same guy you are…"
"Maxwell." Fran smiled to herself.
"What?"
"Oh…nothing…wait a minute!" Fran’s eyes widened. "Maxwell Sheffield…as in…Jocelyn’s BROTHER?"
Tracey nodded. Of course Jocelyn would assume it was a different guy. Why would someone be describing her brother as the most gorgeous guy they had ever seen?
"… so, how do ya know him?" Fran asked.
"I, uh, well, my friend was seeing him in the beginning of the year. Maybe ya know her…Heather-"
Fran’s heart sunk. "Biblow?" You could hear the shakiness in her voice. Again, Tracey nodded. "Oy." Fran whispered. "What?" Tracey kept trying to figure out what Fran was saying under her breath. "Oh, um…are they…are they…still…uh…"
"Seeing each other?" Tracey read her mind. "I don’t think so. They might be, but if they are, they’re not together. They’re just dating. She’s a real sweetheart."
A SWEETHEART? Fran thought to herself. What a lie. Yeah, if ya like 2 faced lying tramps. Although she did feel happier, at least they weren’t together. There were a few problems, however. He was a junior for one…and, now that she thought about it, if he went for the likes of Heather Biblow, she wasn’t his type at all. She was the kind of girl that older men found attractive, High School boys weren’t as drawn to her, although she was gorgeous, her big, chocolate eyes, porcelain skin and beautiful dark hair. "Thanks for the info Tracey." Fran said as she walked over toward Val’s square, a half smile on her face.
"You were so happy a second ago. What happened?" Val asked. Fran explained everything Tracey had just told her. Val clasped her hand to her head. "Oy." They had to devise a plan. Fran pretended that she was Lucy and Val was Ethel.
That night, Fran called Val and shouted excitedly into the phone "I’m going to Winter Formal with Maxwell!" Val almost dropped the phone. "WHAT? How?"
"He just doesn’t know it yet." Fran finished. She could hear Val cracking up at the other end of the phone. "I thought you were serious." "I am." Val lost it again. "What? What’s so funny?" Fran asked, her own voice cracking with giggles. She knew what was so funny. "You." Val laughed. They thought of all the pick-up lines they could.
"Hi Maxwell. I’m Fran." Oy, what a loser…
"Do ya got a cigarette?" Yeah, turn on…
"Max, this may sound incredibly stupid, but I love you, and I’ll do anything to make you love me." Wow, I’m afraid of me now.
"I love your shirt." No, really…ooh, I’m convincing…
"Max, you’re never going to believe this, but I had this incredibly weird dream, and you were in it." *snaps fingers* that’s the one I’ll use!
The 2 finally agreed to have a sleep-over, Fran would take Val to school with her tomorrow. They had to discuss this matter further. Anyway, Fran had just redecorated her room. Her Aunt Frieda had just married a guy who dropped dead a few weeks later, leaving her rich. She took her shopping, and Fran ended up getting gold silk sheets and gorgeous decorative pillows with a scarlet comforter. She hadn’t gotten to show off her new room yet, & she really wanted to. So maybe her fancy room looked a little out of place in her family’s tiny apartment in Flushing, but nonetheless, it did look pretty.
Val got there within 10 minutes. Together, they picked out an outfit to impress Maxwell tomorrow. They picked a sparkely silver tank top with a draped neck-line, a black mini skirt, and silver platform heels first. She put it on, and decided that it made her look like she was trying way too hard. They went through her closet 50 million more times, and her floor had turned into an aurora of bright colors and sequins. They finally decided on a brown halter top that wrapped around her neck like a choker, with aqua, orange, yellow and white overlapping polka dots. To go with that shirt, they chose a fringed jean skirt, a gold chain link belt, and yellow platforms. "Hoo-ha! Fran, these sheets are class +!" Val exclaimed running her fingers over the silky smoothness of Fran’s bed. "I know…aren’t they gorgeous?" They stayed up late watching "I Love Lucy" and a few newer episodes of "Three’s Company." Fran had a thing for John Ritter. Chrissy reminded Fran a little of Val, but she would never say that to her face…OK, maybe she would, but only if she said something really stupid…
Fran gave Val a makeover that made her look 25, and Sylvia kept making snacks and desserts all night, of course, she ate most of them…but what little food Fran and Val were able to grab was very good. In the morning, Val decided that she didn’t want to wear the clothes that she brought with her, so she raided Fran’s closet for something in her size. She finally settled on a tank dress with diagonal green stripes that met at the seam in the middle of the dress. She wore her own green platform heels and borrowed a matching plastic headband from Fran’s vanity drawer. "Val! We’re trying to get him to look at me, not you!" She laughed when she saw how adorable her friend looked in her dress. Fran did Val’s hair for her, and Val did Fran’s hair.
That day in drama, Josh seemed to be paying special attention to her. She flirted back, half -heartedly. Apparently the outfit had been working. She strutted down the hallway, her beautiful dark hair blowing in the wind. She felt as if she were one of those girls in the commercials…their shiny perfect hair flowing in the breeze as she she struts her stuff down the sidewalk in slow motion as one by one, all the men turn their heads. She loved that she felt pretty today. She was going to need that extra confidence if she was gonna work up the nerve to actually talk to Maxwell.
Science went by slowly, as always, and she got busted for laughing with the guy sitting next to her. Her teacher assigned her a lunch detention. Is it my fault my voice travels? No one else in here gets in trouble as much as I do. She thought to herself as she pulled her compact out to check herself before lunch. Stephanie, (her friend) called her name, and she turned around. Stephanie wore way too much make-up, as did Fran, but Stephanie may have topped even her in that category. She wanted to use Fran’s make-up…she’d left hers at home. "Great." She sighed aloud after the make- up had been passed to Stephanie and the teacher stuck a paper with ‘5 minutes’ scrawled across it to her desk. "The day I actually have to get something accomplished at lunch, I have to waste 5 minutes in here." Soon, (Yet somehow not soon enough) she was out of the classroom.
Val, Fran and Stephanie stood in the lunch line waiting when Fran whispered, "There he is!" "Who?" Val asked. "Mr. Tastycakes!" Fran giggled. "Who the hell is Mr. Tastycakes?" Stephanie wondered. Fran rolled her eyes. "Ugh. You guys are so slow. Maxwell!" The 2 girls understood now. "OH…" they laughed. Their heads whirled around as he walked to the window in the line next to them. Fran reached her cupped hands out in front of her. "Oy, what a tush!" She laughed. Her friends tried to hold in their laughter as he turned around and started to exit the lines. Fran looked as if she were about to drool…or faint…or…something. Stephanie saw the dreamy look on her face and spun around to him quickly. "Hi, I’m Stephanie. She introduced herself to him. He reached his hand out to her, but Val pushed Fran in front of Stephanie, "And this is Fran." Stephanie said. Fran shook his hand. "Hi…I’m Fran." Oy! Schmuck! She already said that. What do I say? What do I do? Oh My God…I love you? No…uh…uh…uh…her thoughts were coming at her a million miles a minute. "Nice to meet you." Maxwell said. "You too." Fran gave him a million dollar smile, and received one back. Her heart melted, before she realized that they still had a tight grip on each other’s hands. Maxwell had a smile on his face and a gleam in his eye. What a fantastic body…he thought as his eyes moved up and down her body, and she could feel that. The heat rose in her body. His hand was so warm, and her hand was tingling. There was a grumble in the pit of her stomach that she hoped he didn’t hear. "Well…I guess, I’ll uh…" he let go of her hand awkwardly, "See you around." He finished their short, yet electrifying conversation. It may have been short in reality, but it went in slow-motion for both of them. He walked away, leaving Fran with a goofy grin on her face. The brief encounter had reminded her of that Streisand song… "He Touched Me". The entire song played over in her head.
He Touched Me
By: Barbra Streisand
He touched me, he put his hand near mine
And then he touched me
I felt a sudden tingle when he touched me
A sparkle, a glow
He knew it...it wasnt accidental, no, he knew it
He smiled and seem to tell me so all through it
He knew it, I know...
Hes real, and the world is alive and shining
I feel such a wonderful drive towards valentining
He touched me; I simply have to face the fact
He touched me...
Control myself and try to act
As if I remember my name
But he touched me...he touched me...
And suddenly nothing is the same!
cause he touched me...he touched me...
And suddenly...nothing, nothing, nothing is the same
She was in a daze. She just met the most gorgeous guy she had ever seen, and now she had Stresiand and her entire orchestra playing in her head. Her daze broke as she heard Streisand finish the song at Nothing, Nothing is the SAME…. "Oh, thank you Stephanie! I owe you big time!" She exclaimed as she rushed over for a hug. "No problem sweetie." Fran realized that even though she had had a lunch detention, her lunch outside was well worth the wait.
It was now Friday, and Fran, Stephanie, & Val wanted to have a sleepover to discuss that
week’s events. It was to be held at Fran’s house, because Stephanie wanted to see Fran’s new fabulous bedroom. When Sylvia reached Fran’s school and began to get out of the car, Fran’s mouth dropped open. "No!" she yelled. At that moment, she had remembered that her mom had come straight from her jazzercise class in her thong leotard and leggings. Phew…Fran thought to herself as Sylvia shut the door. The 3 girls slid across the backseat.
"Should we go shopping?" Stephanie suggested.
Val turned to her. "For what?"
"Winter Formal dresses."
Fran gazed down at her feet. "But I don’t have a date."
"So?" Val shrugged. "We could go as a group."
"Uh, speak for yourself." Stephanie snorted. "I’m going with my boyfriend.
Fran loved to shop, and agreed to go, but she didn’t think she’d actually end up buying one.
They an around the May Company and Macy’s like wild women, grabbing every pretty dress they could find in the store. "These are so expensive." Val sighed in front of the full-length mirror as she pulled the tag out of the arm-pitt of the dress. Fran nodded. "Do ya wanna go to Lohemann’s? Sylvia was outside the dressing rooms waiting until she heard her daughter say the name of her favorite store. "I thought you’d never ask." She said, speeding into the dressing rooms. "Ma," Fran started, "Ya know me better than that."
They must’ve brought every single dress in the store into the dressing rooms with them. Val came out in a powder blue, off-the-shoulder dress that came to a V at the waist with a fluffy bottom. She looked just like Cinderella at the ball. Stephanie looked pretty in every dress she came out in, but she fell in love with a pink, long dress that had a vneck and somewhat puffy sleeves. Fran couldn’t make up her mind on which dress she wanted. She too, looked perfect in everything she tried on, although she didn’t seem to think so. She looked in the mirror. The long red silk dress she was wearing wasn’t in fashion, but she sure did look fabulous. And she knew it. Her eyes moved up and down the mirror, examining the plunging neckline. It Criss-crossed right below her bust line, and above that seam was completely covered in red sequins. Her shapely legs were shown off by the semi-high slit up the side of her left leg. The silky material clung to her hips and tiny waist-line. This was it…this was the dress she had to buy.
Back at her house, Fran showed them her dress. They kept begging her to put it on, but she wouldn’t. They would see it in February.
"So, who would you most wanna go to the dance with if you could go with anyone in the world?" Stephanie asked as they played Truth or Dare. Val looked up shortly. "Uh…Erik Estrada." The 3 girls exploded with laughter, and Val turned to Stephanie. "What about you?" "My boyfriend." She answered quickly. Fran and Val rolled their eyes. "Shut up. Anybody in the world? And you pick that schlub? Oy." Fran laughed. "Get a life." Val giggled." "You first." Stephanie answered plopping Val on the head with a pillow. Val slapped her playfully. By this point tears were coming out of the corners of their eyes because they were laughing so hard. Suddenly, Fran was the only one still laughing, and Stephanie & Val were staring at her. Fran stopped laughing, and brought it to a short giggle. "Wha-at?" She asked, stumbling over the word, still shaking with laughter. "And you Missy?" Stephanie pointed a finger at her. "And…?" Fran pretended to be confused, when in reality she knew exactly what she wanted. "You know…" Val poked her in the stomach. "Ok, Ok, I do. But do you, Val? She rolled her eyes when Val shook her head ‘no.’ "Oy…" she mumbled. "Well?" Stephanie studied her expression inquisitively. She shook her head. This was all so confusing. Josh is so sweet, so cute…so…tall…I like tall men. If I go with him…it’s quite likely that I end up a girlfriend…Fran’s thoughts were all farchaced. She didn’t know what she wanted… John is so…buff…and funny…and if I went with him I would be ‘going with’ a football player whose strength would probably crack her back every time he hugged me. Oy… Danny… I could guarantee myself a boyfriend…a dorky boyfriend at that. Or, I could go with Maxwell... the one that made her heart melt every time she passed him and saw him smile…the guy who simply shook her hand and had sent sparks shooting through her body. The other 2 girls sat waiting. "Uh-Uh…" Fran stammered. "I have no flipping clue." The only guy I can eliminate is Danny. I DON’T wanna go with him. Now, if this was in real life…I could eliminate John too, but it’s not. So I can’t." Val and Stephanie glanced at each other. "We know ya wanna go with Maxwell." They said in unison.
"Huh? I dunno—"
"You do." Val said. "I know you better than anyone.
Stephanie giggled. "You think your eyes are capable of lying? I saw your blood all rush to your head when he shook your hand. I could feel the sparks when your hands met. I read your mind Frannie."
"All of what I was thinking? You could see it all?" Fran looked down, embarrassed, especially if she had read the deepest darkest corners of her mind. Her thoughts about Maxwell were not meant to be known.
Many days, when Fran was home alone, she would put on her dress and red lipstick and lay on her bed, imagining going to the dance with Maxwell. Her mind reeled, yet she felt calm and relaxed. His face flashed through her mind.
It was finally February… and Fran was so excited… 22 more days until the dance. Everyone was excited. People buying dresses… planning beauty appointments…
Fran could do her own hair, and she would do Val’s and Stephanie’s hair too. She wanted to go to beauty school instead of college, and she was already pretty good at doing hair.
The night before the dance, all the girls spent the night at Fran’s house again. The hung their dresses on her closet door. Oh Val, you’re gonna look just like a princess… and Stephanie…your dress looks like something right out of a beauty pageant! Of course, so do you…Fran thought. Stephanie was the type of girl to be in a beauty pageant…long blonde hair, way too much make-up, perfect figure, and Stephanie knew it too… "So when are we going to see you in your dress Fran?" They asked, interrupting Fran’s thoughts. "Tomorrow." They looked disappointed, "PLEASE…" they begged. Fran shook her head, a smile on her face. "It’s a surprise." The 2 girls looked at her. "But we know what the dress looks like! What’s the difference if we see it off of you or on you?"
"There’s a difference…as a matter of fact, nobody has seen me in it yet. No, come on, I made it this long, why would I wanna break this now?"
Val and Stephanie exchanged a glance. "We’ll bug her all night. Maybe she’ll crack." Fran rolled her eyes. The 3 of them ran around Fran’s room, putting their little essentials in their fancy pocket books. Val’s was a dainty silver satin handbag with a metal handle and clasp at the top to match her silver pumps. Stephanie’s was a pink sequined classic handbag…a long skinny rectangle with a gold clasp at the top, which matched her dress, and she was going to wear white pumps. Fran’s was matching to Stephanie’s style, with red sequins and a silver clasp, and of course, her pumps were red.
The next night was frantic getting ready. Val and Fran had decided that they were going as a ‘couple’ and Stephanie’s boyfriend was coming to Fran’s house later so they could all go together.
Stephanie wouldn’t let Fran do her make-up, but she did Val’s and her own and all of their hair. Val looked so sweet in her blue dress. Fran put her hair in a French roll, with a few stray curls dangling in her face and over her ears. Val borrowed Fran’s faux pearl earrings and matching choker necklace. Stephanie wanted her hair down. Fran curled and teased it to Heaven, and put a gold headband in it. She also let Stephanie borrow her gold hoops. Stephanie looked in the mirror and smiled at her reflection. Her make-up was already on. Come to think of it, Fran had never seen Stephanie without her make-up on. She looked pretty, but she looked like she belonged on a corner of a street somewhere. Fran didn’t have her dress on yet. Stephanie and Val went out to the living room to watch TV while they waited for Fran. Fran curled her hair and put it into a beautiful up-do, and let stray curls dangle in her face too. She applied her make up, and slipped her dress carefully over her head, so as not to mess up her hair, or schmear any make-up on her dress. Her Diamond chandelier earrings pulled her whole outfit from gorgeous to va-va-va-voom! She checked herself one last time in the mirror and swiped another layer of red lipstick on and tossed it in her purse. She stepped out of her room and everyone seemed to freeze. Sylvia looked as if she were about to cry. My baby is all grown up. She thought to herself. "Oh-My-God!" Val and Stephanie exclaimed. "You look…" The door opened and there stood Stephanie’s boyfriend with his jaw to the floor. Stephanie closed his mouth for him when she reached his spot on the floor. "Hey. I’m your date." She laughed. "She’s…well, she’s Val’s date." Val and Fran exploded with laughter. Stephanie’s boyfriend draped his arm around her shoulders and Morty, (Fran’s father) walked out of the kitchen. "Oh no." he said. "No daughter of mine is going to a co-ed dance dressed like that." Fran rolled her eyes. "Daddy!" Sylvia raised an eyebrow at him. "Oy." Her father snorted as he gave her a big hug. "Don’t get into too much trouble OK?" He warned her. "She won’t." Sylvia said, grabbing hold of her daughter’s hands. Fran stood awkwardly in front of her friends. She just wanted to leave now, before her dad started crying too. Sylvia was bawling. Stephanie whispered something in her boyfriend’s ear. "Well…" He started, "The taxi is waiting. We’d better go." Fran drew in a breath of relief and mouthed ‘thank you’ to him. "Bye Ma, bye Daddy." Fran waved as she swayed out of the house, followed by Val, and Stephanie and her boyfriend.
The taxi ride was fun. They laughed and talked the whole way there. The school was crowded. Fran saw many-a-sparkle in the dark night. The girls all glimmered, covered in sequins and corsages. Mark, (Stephanie’s boyfriend) slipped a corsage onto Stephanie’s wrist, and Val and Fran rolled their eyes. They watched all the people walk by. Stephanie admired the dresses, and Fran studied the hair-dos. Val was just kind of in a daze, and Mark was bored out of his mind. "Damn!" Mark exclaimed, more loudly than he had meant to. Did I say that out loud? Stephanie turned to him. "What?" "Nothing…." He answered and gazed at the floor. Fran knew what his outburst was about. Heather Biblow had just walked by. "Oh my god…" she whispered to Val. "Look at her. Short black sequined dress… 50 miles of cleavage… hair teased to the sky…" "Wish you were her?" Val asked. "…yeah." Fran hesitated. Maxwell followed close behind her, although, you would think a guy would be all over her. He looked gorgeous. Black suit and pink shirt with a green tie…it brought out his eyes. Fran detected a box shape in his jacket. She thought it was probably Heather’s corsage, but wait, she was already wearing one, a pink rose one. Hmmmm…
They decided to head for the gym, and Fran didn’t see Josh there at all… John was there though. Holding his girlfriend tight. Ew. She looked beautiful. Stop it. Fran told herself. She and Val stood over by the food. They watched as the couples slowly made their way out to the dance floor for the first slow song. "Fran, do ya…" "Not really Val…I kinda wanna watch. Not that I don’t LOVE dancing with you." She giggled. Val laughed. "I was gonna ask if ya wanted a soda." "No, I need a beer. Better yet a dozen beers." She said taking note of how Heather was hanging all over Maxwell… but Maxwell didn’t see interested. He was looking around the room. It looked as if he were looking for someone.
Fran looked to the side, and saw Danny out of the corner of her eye. Oy…"Val! Hide me! Hide me!" She whispered, in a panic. "What?" Val asked, just as Danny reached them. "Too late. Never mind Val." Fran rolled her eyes. "Hi." She greeted Danny. Danny smiled. "Would ya like to dance?" Fran smiled and forced out a weak, "Sure." They danced, and Fran made sure she kept comfortable distance from him, although he was trying to get closer, she could feel him pushing on her arms. "You look really hot." He said. "Ew." Fan whispered. "What?" Danny asked, trying to make out what she said over the music and chatter of all the people. "Um, thank you." She said. The song ended. Thank God. Fran thanked Danny for the dance and started to head back toward Val. She heard footsteps following her, and whirled around to find Danny still there. "Uh…" She looked at him inquisitively. "I thought we could hang out, babe." He said. Babe? Ew! I know he guy 5 seconds and already he thinks he can call me babe? What is this? "Listen, I have to use the restroom… Maybe we could talk later." She said tugging on Val’s arm and pulling her to the bathroom with her. She told her what was happening, and she SO didn’t want to dance with Danny anymore.
Out on the dance floor, Maxwell tapped Danny on the shoulder. "Yeah?" He spun around on his heels. "You were dancing with a girl…you know her?" "Yeah, Fran, she’s a hottie. And… ya know, she wants me." Maxwell cocked an eyebrow. "Really? You know anything else about her?" Danny looked down and rocked on his heels, "Well, I get all my info on her from my friend. He’s in her drama class." "She’s an actress?" Maxwell asked. Danny looked confused. "I guess, hey listen pal, I gotta go look for that sexy thing right now so, uh, I’ll see ya around." Maxwell rolled his eyes. "Uh, yeah..." He shook his head in disappointment. Why would she like a guy like that? He was vulgar and perverted. He thought that it was wrong to talk about a woman like a piece of meat as Danny had. But then look at my date. What am I really doing? Heather flashed a sexy smile in his direction and he gave her a half smile back. She strutted over and pressed herself against his body when the new slow song started to play. "What is with this? You are so out of it babe. Are you fooling around?" Maxwell shook his head. "Me? Never!"
Fran was still in the bathroom with Val, she felt like she was going to cry. This really wasn’t turning out to be the night of her dreams. Here she looked so gorgeous, and she knew it, and the only guy that was interested in her, was interested in pretty much any girl he could get his hands on. Val tried to comfort her, and helped Fran un-rumple her dress and fix her make-up. Stephanie walked in at that moment. "I gotta pee." She announced. "Thanks for sharing Stephanie." Fran’s voice quivered. "What’s wrong sweetie?" Stephanie asked. Val explained, and Stephanie leaned over and gave Fran a hug. Every guy here has been staring at you! Honey, my own boyfriend thinks you look hotter than me!"
Fran wrinkled her nose and rolled her eyes before she let out a short giggle. She began to dust herself off, and Val suggested that they go back out to the dance floor. "Wait. I’ll come with ya, but I gotta pee first." Stephanie said. Fran shook her head and looked in the mirror. Her hair was almost exactly the same as it had been when she left the house, but a few of the curls that dangled were going limp. She reached in her pocketbook and brought out a little bottle. "What is that?" Val asked. Fran sprayed the little bottle all over
her head. "Miniature ‘Aqua Net’, see?" She informed Val, handing over the bottle. Val examined it and placed it back in Fran’s hand before Fran sprayed it on Val’s hair too. Stephanie came out of her stall laughing. "You and Hairspray Fran…" Fran smiled and spritzed the bottle in her direction playfully. "Actually, that’s not a bad idea," Stephanie said stepping in front of Fran as she sprayed all over her head. "Oy Steph!" Val laughed. "Ya head is like a rock. Feel ya hair!" They all cracked up and wiggled out of the bathroom.
Fran stood by the snack bar again with a new found confidence, thanks to Val and Stephanie. Danny started to walk toward her and she looked away. "Hey babe." He nudged her in the ribs. "Ya wanna dance?" He asked. Fran looked toward him, "Uh, no thanks." Inside she couldn’t believe how good it felt to turn him down. She woulda thought she’d feel bad. He raised his eyebrow, "Hey babe, I thought we were doin’ great… I thought ya liked me. Come on let’s dance." He said, grabbing her arms. "No, I don’t want to." She struggled to free herself from his grip. Danny spun around when someone tapped him on the shoulder. "Yeah, whaddaya want?" He asked. "It was Maxwell. "I believe the young lady said she doesn’t want to dance with you." Fran’s heart melted, and a huge smile replaced the frown on her face. Val saw what was happening, and rushed to her side. "Are you OK?" she inquired. "Fine." Fran said. "I’m Fine. Now shoo…Maxwell is saving me, I’m the damsel in distress and he’s my knight in shining armor." Val wrinkled her nose as she shook her head and walked away. Soon, Maxwell had gotten rid of Danny, and saw that he had headed toward Heather. He didn’t care. He looked at Fran and smiled comfortingly. "Are you Okay?" He asked. Fran nodded. "Thank you." She was forever grateful to him. "No problem…you look…gorgeous." He complimented her. She looked down. YES! Aw…he is so SWEET! "Thanks…so do you." He smiled. "You know, I’ve had my eye on you ever since that meeting in the lunch lines." "Really?" Fran asked, blushing. "Well, I have had my eye on you….since well, since the day before that when I spotted you at break. I had a helluva time trying to figure out who you were. And then I found out from my friend, who happens to be friends with Heather."
Maxwell’s face was comforting to Fran somehow, the way his smile was taking over his whole face, his eyes sparkling…he scoffed. "I don’t know how anyone could be friends with her. She’s not very nice you know." Fran nodded her head, not thinking, and caught herself quickly. Not nice at all, trust me, I know…The 2 saw that Heather and Danny were now dancing together. Whata perfect match. They both knew it. "Well, I don’t know how I’m ever going to thank you for what you’ve done." Fran said, trying to change the subject. "I do. Maxwell said. Accept this. He pulled the box shape out of his jacket. Inside was a red rose corsage. Fran smiled so wide she thought her face would break…she thought she might cry or faint…or…something… great...the same feeling I had in the lunch line. I hope I don’t say something stupid! She recognized the feeling in the pit of her stomach. She could feel Stephanie and Val staring at her from across the dance floor. And in a few minutes, if she decided to accept this corsage, all eyes would be on them on the dance floor. "Thank you. It’s beautiful." She said as he slipped it over her wrist. "How did you know I would be wearing red?" Maxwell gazed into her eyes."I didn’t, but red seems to match you. You stand out… you’re…you." Fran giggled. Maxwell drew in a deep breath. "So, do you wanna dance?"
Do You Wanna Dance?
By: Bobby Freeman
Do you wanna dance
Under the moonlight
Squeeze me, all through the night
Oh baby
Do you wanna dance
Do you wanna dance
And Hold my hand
Tell me I’m your lover man
Oh, baby
Do you wanna dance
Do you wanna dance
And make romance
C’mon pretty baby and take a chance
Hey baby
Baby do you wanna dance
Do you wanna dance
(do ya -do ya -do ya -do ya)
Do you wanna dance
(do ya -do ya -do ya -do ya)
Do you wanna dance
**Strings**
Do you wanna dance
Under the moonlight
Squeeze me all through the night
Oh, baby
Do you wanna dance
Do you wanna dance
(do ya -do ya -do ya -do ya)
Do you wanna dance
(do ya -do ya -do ya -do ya)
Do you wanna dance
Do you wanna dance
(Do you wanna dance)
Will ya take a chance
(Do you wanna dance)
Will you hold my hand
(Do you wanna dance)
And please let me be your lover man
(Do you wanna dance)
Can I hold your hand
(Do you wanna dance)
Let me be your lover man
(Do you wanna dance)
Can I hold your hand
(Do you wanna dance)
Oh baby
The End
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