Who was going to ask the big kid with a limp to dance?
Charlotte was standing there in her cheer uniform, calm as sunrise. She was the head cheerleader, the prettiest girl in school, and the kind of girl half the boys in the county thought they were in love with.
I looked behind me.
She smiled. “No, Tyler. I mean you.”
My face burned. “Is this a… joke?”
She stepped closer. “My brother has Down syndrome. I know what it feels like when people decide someone matters less because they’re different. You’re kind. That matters.”
Then she reached for my hands. Right there in the hallway, in front of every boy who had laughed a second earlier, she held onto me like I was worth holding onto.
Then she turned toward them. “He’s my prom date. And no, I’m not blind.”
She was the head cheerleader, the prettiest girl in school.
One of the boys looked at the floor. Another found his shoelace interesting.
I felt tears sting my eyes.
Charlotte squeezed my hands once. “Pick me up Saturday at seven.”
I nodded like my life depended on it.
We found the best suit we could afford. Uncle Ray ironed his own shirt three times, even though he wasn’t the one going to prom.
We found the best suit we could afford.
On Saturday night, when Charlotte opened her door in a pale blue dress, every practiced sentence left my body.
She smiled. “You look really good, Tyler.”
“You do too,” I said, which was nowhere near enough.
Uncle Ray grinned from the truck. “Well, look at that! The boy still has words.”
Charlotte laughed and slipped her hand into mine. That hand stayed in mine all the way into the school gym while people stared openly, some with shock, some with jealousy.
I did not care. For once, I was walking into a room instead of wishing I could disappear from it.
People stared openly, some with shock, some with jealousy.
***
Charlotte danced with me.
