When I was in 8th grade I was faced with a very important decision; one that would show what type of person I truly was and who I was trying to be at the time. It all started during first period in P.E. class was almost over and everyone was talking about the “big” dance that was coming up. Me personally I was just planning on chilling with my friends there; not even necessarily dancing. But then out of nowhere, the most ugly mean and annoying girl was walkin in my direction with a hideous grin on her face. As she and her group of friends approached me, I knew her intentions were clear…

“Hey Micah come here for a sec”
Umm hey, is there something you need?
“Ok so here’s the thing, I like you and the dance is tonight, so will you be my date to the dance?”
Umm…….
  

Shivers tingled down my spine, terrifying thoughts ran through my head. This girl was known for scratching, kicking, and cursing out those who even looked at her the wrong way. I couldn’t imagine what she would do if said no to her.

“WELL IS IT A YES OR A NO”
Um sure I’ll go with you.
“that’s what I thought, ill see you later tonight ;)”
   I had never felt like less of a man in my entire life. What was supposed to be a fun, memorable night, would turn into a night of fear and embarrassment.
  

When I had gotten home, I didn’t tell my parents the “great news” I just collapsed in my bed and stared at the ceiling for about two hours so I could fathom the events that took place earlier that day. When I told my parents I was going to the dance with someone, they were excited at first, but once they saw my face shortly after telling them, they knew that it was probably with someone I didn’t like.
  

At this point there was 30 minutes left until the dance, and I was thinking of literally every excuse in the book to get out of having to dance with that old hag. I even once considered saying that my mom was being rushed to the hospital that night so I wouldn’t be able to make it to the dance. But in the end I decided to man up and just go to the dance because no matter how much I didn’t like this girl I couldn’t bring myself to stand her up.
  

It was around 8:15 when I arrived, and the actual dance officially started at 8:00 so I was a little late. I was planning on being lowkey and not going on the actual dance floor until towards the end. But lucky for me the girl was waiting right at the front entrance for me. No joke my life flashed before my eyes when I saw her. Her face lit up like a Christmas tree when I entered the building. She screamed from the top of her lungs and gave me a big ole bear hug nearly crushing my spirit. She dragged me into the gym where the actual dance floor was, all my friends were cracking up when they saw me, because they all knew that id rather be dead than dance with her. She through me on the dance floor and made me wrap my arms around her so we could dance. Not only was there no music playing but me and her were the only one’s dancing. At this point I couldn’t take the embarrassment anymore and I slipped away from her when some of her friends showed up.
  

As the night went on more people showed up and just about everyone was dancing on the floor. I just sat on the side, afraid of running into the girl again. One of my good friends approached me, knowing that I was in a pretty bad mood. He took me to go get some food at the snack bar so I could forget about the dance for a while. Then as soon as I started feeling better, the girl stormed into the cafeteria where I was eating.

“WHY AREN’T YOU DANCING WITH ME. WHAT THE ____ IS YOUR PROBLEM?!”
I just don’t really want to dance with you right now. I’m just really tired and…
“TIRED MY ___. IM PRETTY SURE YOU SAID YOU WERE GONNA DANCE WITH ME THE WHOLE NIGHT. NOW GET YOUR ___ BACK ON THE FLOOR, AND DANCE WITH ME!”
My friend jumped in and said “excuse me sir, but I’m pretty sure Micah doesn’t and never did want to dance with you in the first place. Now leave my home boy alone”.
“Fine…”

As she went back to the gym, my friend and I just chilled in the cafeteria with a few other people I knew. Then we went to the dance floor and found a group of our friends and just started having a good time. So in the end, everything kind of worked out. One major thing that I learned from that experience, was how to say no. Because if I would’ve done that instead of going through with something I knew I didn’t want or have to do, then a lot of unnecessary stress and anguish could’ve been avoided that dreadful day.