the room is dark,
packed with sweaty bodies,
in the school cafeteria that's
made up as a dance club
for the night

the pulsing bright-colored lights
flash across the wall
and beam into my eyes,
blinding me temporarily

and the music
the pounding music
is beating in my ears
so loud I can't hear anything
except for the pounding of the beat
and the loud shrills of the singer
just the music
i can only hear the music

and I'm dancing with Emma,
because we only have each other
and we're just closing our eyes
and dancing, dancing our hearts out
trying to forget
everything

but if we open our eyes we can see
we can see them together,
the boy we've always wanted
and the girl we've always wished we were
we can see them, and they're dancing
as rihanna sings
“your arms around my waist
Just let the music play
We're hand in hand
chest to chest
and now we're face to face”
and that's the embrace they're in,
their dancing embrace

all we can do is watch,
watch and cry
as the pounding of the music
beats in our ears
and the lights blind us
and the sweaty bodies
press against our own
and as we just wish the song
would be over
no matter how many times
rihanna sings
“please don't stop the music”
that's all we want to happen –
for the music to stop
because it's the last song of the night
and when it's over
we won't have to watch anymore



so as the song dies down
we close our eyes
to blink back the tears
and we look away from them
as the cafeteria lights brighten the room
and we gather our surroundings and realize
that all this nightclub is,
is a school cafeteria with some
black construction paper
taped to the walls
and a DJ put on the stage

we straighten our shirts and
go find our mothers
waiting for us
in the lobby

and finally,
I'm out of there

and I'm sitting all alone in my mother's car
as she talks to some other girl's mom
and I see all of them walk by
as the rain pours down the window
in blurry streaks,
in heavy sheets,
I see them walking

all my old friends,
walking together,
laughing,
and I realize
that they don't even
realize I'm gone.
they don't
miss me
at
all

and I can hear the echo
of the pounding beat
in my ears