The Rangity Tango Kids by Lorraine Rominger

Author:Lorraine Rominger [Rominger, Lorraine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Autobiography
Publisher: Untreed Reads
Published: 2016-04-11T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

I hated being taller than all the boys in my eighth-grade class.

I liked to dance, but dreaded the school dances because Johnny was a head shorter than me and our classmates teased us. Mom insisted I take dance lessons and learn to dance and she insisted it would boost my confidence.

“Ballroom dancing?” I asked. “What kind of dancing is that?”

“It’s the latest craze. I signed you up for lessons with some of the girls in your class. You’re too self-conscious about being tall and this will be good for you. You’ll learn to follow a boy’s lead and I’m sure there will be boys in class taller than you.”

Classes were held in an auditorium with hardwood floors, and chairs lined the perimeter of the room. The teacher was a heavyset woman, nicely dressed and well groomed, and when she finished taking roll she instructed the girls to line up. She told us to hold out our hands, palms down, and she proceeded to walk down the line with a long, thick wooden ruler.

“I expect you to dress appropriately, be prepared for class and pay attention at all times. I’m sure you read the packet of information that was sent to you explaining the rules of the class,” she said.

Shit, I’m in trouble, I thought. Mom never said anything about the rules.

“Hands play an important part in dancing since you hold your partner with them and lead with them.”

The first thing I remember was the ruler hitting the ends of my fingers. Those were the good old days; teachers would never get away with that today.

“Your nails need to be manicured. Remember that next week.”

What a bitch, I thought. I couldn’t believe Mom forgot to tell me the rules. She knew I’d resist coming to dance class if she did. I bit my nails to the quick and sometimes they bled, just like Mom’s. It’s not easy to have manicured nails when you don’t have any, and between riding horses, picking stickers and working in the garden, my nails were a mess. After the first hour of instruction we were told to sit in our assigned seat and the music began.

“Gentlemen, please ask a lady to dance,” the teacher said.

I waited for a boy to ask me to dance and Mom was right, there were boys in class taller than me. A boy approached, but he asked the short girl in the seat beside me to dance.

Another boy approached, but he asked the short girl on the other side of me to dance. Before long, all the tall boys were on the dance floor dancing with short girls. I was one of the last girls asked to dance and the boy was shorter than Dan.

“How did class go tonight, sweetie?” Mom asked, as I walked in the door.

“I’m not going back.”

“I’ve paid for the classes and you’re supposed to go every week for the next two months.”

“I got my fingers hit with a ruler because I bite my nails, and the tall boys asked short girls to dance.

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