"Kati?"

I jump at the sound of a guy's voice and open my eyes to see Rob sitting in front of me.

"Sorry," he says.

"It's okay. You just surprised me." I wait for Rob to say something. He rubs his hands together as though he's about to make some announcement. His thick arms flex, barely fitting into his t-shirt sleeves. He flips his blonde hair, which is swirled up in the front, like some kind of Elvis hairdo. I sigh. Is he here to tease me about the washroom thing?

He clears his throat. "Are you... going to the dance this Friday?"

I blink. Did he just ask me to the dance? Or is this some kind of joke?

I shrug. "I don't know. I actually didn't even know there was a dance this Friday."

"There's posters up everywhere."

"Oh. I don't look at posters. Why do you ask?"

Rob runs his hand over his Elvis hair, and somehow doesn't get it stuck in all the mousse. He clears his throat again, looking around the room. "Do you want to go with me?"he asks. Behind him his football buddies are all watching us from their table. They're not laughing or joking around like I would expect. Maybe Rob really is asking me to the dance. He shifts in his seat, waiting for my answer. I've never been asked to a dance before. I don't know if I'd want to go or not.

Rob looks so nervous. It must have taken a lot of courage for him to come over and ask me to the dance when everyone is watching. I don't want to reject him in front of everybody.

"Sure, why not," I say. Rob's large shoulders relax and he sighs. "Great. I'll call you." He gets up and gives me a small, then wave walks off. I sigh. Things just keep getting more and more weird at school. I start eating my lunch in a hurry so I can leave the lunchroom before anything else weird can happen.