第6章MissingTheDance
“WouldyouliketobemydatefortheROTce?”askedRip;apos;tbelievehewasaskiwobestfriendshadgottendatesweeksago，soIhadgivenuphopeofagme。Rickwasthecutestguyintheclub!Hewaogowithme?“Areyouserious?”“It'ssemiformal，soyou'llmyparentswillpayforthetidthelimo，”heresponded。HowcouldIaskformore–achariottakingPringaheball?Mymouthworded，“Yes，”asmyheartleaptwithjoy。Ihadoasemiformaldancebefore，andnowwasmyce。Thiswouldbethebestnightofmylife!
&gothome，ItoldmymomaboutRick'saskiely，shetookmeshoppingtofidress。Wewenttothehairdresser'stomakeanappoiforFridaybeforethedaohavemyhairandedRick'seyestoliterallypopoutofhisheadwhenhesawme。Iwaotakeomeandfallinlove。Couldithappen?Wouldit?CouldIbetraoabeautifulprincess?BeforeIk，dayshadpassed。Ip;apos;tsleepatall。Butterfliesflutteredinmystomadmyheadwasthrobbing。FridaymIwokeupandthewholeworldseemedtospimyheadoffthepillowbutIp;apos;tmove。
“Honey，you&aptobelateforschool。。。areyouokay?”Mymomtothebedroom。Herhaomyforehead。“Ohno!You'vegotafever。”Ididn'tfeelhot;Ifeltcold，soveryotherhelpedmedress，andshedrovemetomydoctor。Ihadbeenthereoesbeforemydoctorambulanp;apos;tuandallthatmydoctorwastellingme。AllIcouldhearwasamuffled“One-hundred-freefever。”
&al&aphtingwasblindingasahlong，darkhairstuyarm。Ididn'trememberseeingher，obeingthrownontopofme。“Cold，verycold，”Isaid，“Theblaisfilledwithice。”Sheexplained，“Youhaveabadiion。Yourdoctororderedfluidsandantibioticsforyou。Justrest。”Iyeyes。
ItseemedoeslaterwhenIheard，“G。”Mydoe。“I'mgladyousleptthroughthenight。Luckily，htyourtemperaturedoeciallittlegirl。Youhaveaveryseriousear，hroatiion，butitseemsweurol。”“Mom?”Igasped。“Dad？。。。”I&aphthere。“Mymrabbedmyhand。Ilookedasweretherebesideme。”DidImissthedaniled。”IcalledRiberoutofyouraddressbookahimknowthatyouwereial。“□”Ohno!“Icried。”There'llbeotherdances，“saidmydoctor。”Bethankfulyou'llbealivetoseethem。"Dayspassed。
Iglystrongerandemperature。TheydiscoveredthatIhaddevelopedaverybadstrepihatwastreatedwithantibioti'theardfromRickatall。Thatbotheredme。Iworriedthathewasangry。NotonlyhadImissedthedahisparentshadalsospentthatmoneyonalimo。Ihadletthemalldown。Whoehimifheomeagain?Iuchaboutlookinggood，Ihadwornmyselfdown。ThesamenursewhohadgivenmemyIVsholdialgown。“Putthisonbapos;tsho>
“WhydoIhat?Aren'tIgoioday?I'vegotonegownonalready。”Sheleft，shuttingthedoor，andalthoughIdidn'tfeellikeputtingown，Ididwhatsheasked。MaybetherewasanotherX-rayortestmydoeededbeforeIcouldbereleased。Suddenlythedopenandstandingbeforemeweremyparentsholdingballoonsandatapeplayer，mytwobestfriendsinformals，theirdates，andRiatuxedo。
“Wouldyoucareforadance?”Rickasked。“JustbeissedtheROTp;apos;tmeanos;thavehthere——rightnow。”Tearsyeyes。“Sure，”Istammered。Thehesahebathroomlighton。MyfrieherasRickedhisarmsaroundmeaoswaytothemusic。“I'msogladyouareokay，”hesaid。“Icalledyourparetocheyou。”“Theydidn'ttellme。”Ipulledatmyhairsoitos;tlookunbrushed。“Don'tworry。”Hesmiled。“Youlookbeautiful。”
Forwhatseemedlikehours，myfriendsandIdanced。os;tmithehallormyparentsdangbesideus。Mytwohospitalgowhanformal，butIdidn'tthetapewasover，Rickhelpedmeintoawheel-dtookmedownstairstothelimousiingtotakemehome。NeverwillIfetthatafternasIlive。Ididn'thavemyhairfaneoreveydress，butIlearofeeltrulybeautiful——tobeloved。