Teenagers

I am surrounded by swearing, cell phone flipping, children.

There is a girl in front of me saying to the tearfully, embarrassed girl behind me. "You're going to become best friends with her. We were in a fight once too and now we're like best friends."


"Yeah right."

Then the girl who has started this scuff stands and walks toward us, her suburban white posse crowding behind her.

"What are you guys doing over here? Leave me alone!"

"The soccer team isn't going to miss you, ya know."

"Shut up."

The group walks away toward the bake sale in the lobby.

"Hey ah what'd you forget your balls or something at home?" An insignificant freshmen boy sitting in front of me says. No one pays him any attention, but me. I almost kick his seat and say,"cut the shit, kid," but I don't.

This is all during intermission for the dance competition Scott has been invited to judge at school.

During the dance show, there are dance acts of all kinds.

One girl in a baseball cap, baggy jeans and big colorful high top sneakers, dances hip hop alone, "Doin' the only thing she's good at." 

I watch her do the only thing she thinks she's good at and imagine her practicing alone in her bedroom, dreaming of winning the competition.

Then there are the girls who have been dancing since they were two, probably in studios with surrounding mirrors, spandex and wishings to become the next Brittney Spears. And I watch these fifteen-year-old girls dance for Scott and think, where's your poll, ya' little ho? And while the audience roars with pleasure, I wonder how many sophomore boners are in the audience. Terrible really. The best dancer wins. She has the best hair, the shortest shorts, the sparkliest tank tops and the best thrusting moves. 

In the car, I say, "Oh come on, you didn't feel at all uncomfortable that these girls were dancing in front of you like that? Young high school girls?"

Scott is appalled. "No! I watched them like I would have watched a scene or a song. I watched to see the art they were doing and I judged them on how well they did their art and the girl who won was good and she clearly was enjoying dancing."

"Of course she was, the whole school was cheering her on!"

We fight a little bit; laugh a lot and then we go out for ice cream in Northampton.