My third day at Westfield High was just as weird. I arrived early when no one was around. I looked down the hallway and saw the girl in the prom dress standing by Locker 235. She stared at me but never moved. I started walking toward her, but she disappeared. Now, I really thought I was going crazy.

I tapped Neil on the shoulder in homeroom. He turned around and smiled. “What’s up?”

“Do you know who used to be in Locker 235?”

“I have no clue,” he said. “Why do you ask?”

“I saw someone by it, but she . . . she didn’t hang around long enough for me to talk to her.”

“You’re just going to have to be quicker, Kramer. She’s probably one of those snooty elite bitches who doesn’t give a shit about us working class peasants.”

I sighed. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

Actually, I took his rant to indicate that he was lonely and socially inept. He just had a strange way of expressing it.

I hooked up with Julia at lunch again.

“I saw a girl in the bleachers during my gym session. She appeared to be wearing a prom dress.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” she said while nibbling on a turnkey sandwich. “They don’t permit spectators in gym or swimming classes.”

I shrugged. “Who knows what could happen in this place? ”

“You have a point,” she said. “A lot of crazy things have occurred in this school. The odd thing about the girl you saw in the prom dress is that prom is a long way off.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Maybe I was wrong about the prom dress.”

She offered a weak smile, a sign that she wasn’t all that interested.

I avoided belaboring my sighting of the prom girl. The last thing I wanted to do is sound as if I was a nut case, so I decided to try a more direct approach.

“Hey, I was wondering if you’d like to go to the Sock Hop this evening.”

She smiled, an expression that exuded genuine joy. “Sure.”

“I’ll pick you up at seven.”

“Great.”

I took a sip of Coca Cola. “Say, is there any way to determine who’s assigned to specific lockers?”

“You’d have to ask someone in administration,” she said, her eyes hinting of curiosity.”

“What about years before this?”

“They always list the locker assignments in the year books. The library has those. Why the interest in locker assignments?”

I smiled to hide my true intent. “Oh, I’m just curious about who had my locker before me. I found some old papers with personal information.”

“Yeah, the janitors are not all that thorough about cleaning lockers out at the end of the term.”

I didn’t press the issue. I figured that I would bide my time until I could turn up some information on the girl at locker 235.

That evening, I picked up Julia. She was standing out on the stoop in front of the flower shop waiting for me. She eagerly ran to my car and climbed in before I could do the manly thing and open the door for her.

“I didn’t think you’d like to go to dances,” she blurted, her voice tinged with excitement.

“They had Sock Hops at my previous school. I didn’t go that often.”

“I haven’t gone to one since my sophomore year. My mother doesn’t like me to go out at night. You know how mothers are.”

“My mother isn’t as protective.”

“That’s because you’re a boy.”

I smiled. “You have a point there.”

I parked in the student lot and we headed for the gym. We could hear the music the instant we entered the school. The sounds echoed down the halls and attracted us like bees to honey. Quite a few kids were already there. The chaperone, Mrs. Vinton, the World History teacher, had connected a record player to the sound system that the basketball team uses when they have a game. Even though it wasn’t that high in quality, the music was sweet nectar to our ears, familiar songs from Chuck Berry, Elvis, Sam Cooke, the Everly Brothers, Patsy Cline and the great Buddy Holly. We took our shoes off and entered the gym. Couples slid around the floor, moving effortlessly in sync with the music.

We joined them and danced to a fast moving Buddy Holly song, ‘Down the Line’. We were swinging around and moving our feet to the quick beat, trying not to get in the way of others doing the same. I think Julia was surprised that I could make the moves that I did. Holly’s biggest hit was ‘That’ll be the Day’, which was actually a Crickets song. That song was a bit slower and allowed us to move closer.

Julia’s dreamy eyes looked into mine and for a minute there I thought she was going to kiss me. That was no-no on school property.

“What does your mother do?” I asked.

Her serious expression indicated that she had snapped back to reality. “She works in the flower shop. My parents divorced four years ago. I really never saw much of my father. I don’t even know where he is now.”

“I live with my mother too. My father died in World War II. She remarried six years ago, but the guy left her. That’s why I’m here at Westfield. She took a job here and we had to move.”

She smiled. “I’m glad you did.”

I took that as a thumbs-up. “I am too.”

We started dancing slowly to Elvis’ Heartbreak Hotel, and I got the feeling that Elvis was singing about her.

After a while we decided to get some refreshments. The Sock Hop committee had soda, pretzels and chips for sale. We got drinks and chips and sat down on the bleachers and watched couples dance to Elvis’ big hit, ‘All Shook Up.’

We left around ten thirty and I drove her home.

“Would you like to come up to . . . “

“I’m not sure your mother would like that,” I said, giving her an appropriate frown.

“She works to twelve arranging flowers. Come on, we can watch TV.”

“Okay,” I said, sounding tentative. “I just don’t want you to catch hell from your mother.”

“She won’t mind. Come on.” She put her hand on mine, and her touch sent a shot of electricity through my body.

Resistance was futile, and I went up with her to the apartment. She turned on the TV and gestured to a couch. “Sit, and I’ll get us some soda.”

I sat down on the couch and relaxed back and watched The Phil Silvers show. I loved how he played Sgt. Bilko, a comedic army master sergeant.

Julia came back with drinks and handed me a glass of Coca Cola. She smiled when she saw me chuckle at the TV.

She sat down next to me and planted a kiss on my cheek. “Thanks for taking me to the dance. I really enjoyed it.”

“I enjoyed it too.”

She stared at me for moment before sticking her face into mine, which I took to be an invitation for a more enthusiastic kiss. I found it hard to believe that she was falling for the likes of me, but I’ll take it.

She curled up in my arms with her head on my chest. I caressed her hair and smiled. Not bad for only three days in a new school. I hadn’t expected that.

When the apartment door clicked open, Julia straightened up. Her mother came in and gave her daughter a scowl. “I told you not to bring anyone up here when I’m not here.”

Her mother was in her fifties and was a blond like Julia. She had a worn face, the kind that you would get from either a hard life or a lot of grief.

I got up. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I took your daughter to the Sock Hop at school and she . . . invited me in.”

She aimed an inquisitor’s expression at me. “And you are . . .?”

“Jay Kramer. I just transferred to Westfield because my mother had to take a job here when her husband abandoned her.”

“Where does she work?”

“She’s a hair dresser at the shop down the street from here.”

“Conley’s. Yes, I go there myself.”

“Well,” I said. “I have to go.” I gave Julia a quick glance. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She nodded, but her face exhibited disappointment. I aimed the hint of a smile back just to let her know that I understood. I was afraid that this would happen. I could sense the conflict between Julia and her mother, and I didn’t want to exacerbate the situation.