“Excuse me, gentlemen,” I began suavely, leaning on the empty half of the table. Four or five of my male peers occupied the other half, a bit surprised at my bold approach. “Would any of you be interested in participating in the ballroom competition?”

One of my classmates, to my right, shrugged and replied, “Sure, I guess.”

“Would you interested in being my partner for said competition?”

Admittedly he was a bit taken aback, but he shrugged again and said, “Sure, why not?”

I nodded in approval and merged back with the crowd on edge of the dance floor. It didn’t occur to me until later that this guy, who had teased and annoyed me mercilessly in elementary and middle school, had actually agreed on a whim to be my dance partner. I smiled to myself. I’d debated with letting fate decide my partner, but I’m glad I decided I was far too impatient for fate.

I had some serious rug cutting to do later on in the evening.