At the appointed time I worked my way through the crowd to the middle of the cleared dance floor, meeting up with my partner along the way. He looked just as excited as I.

“Even if we don’t win it’ll still be fun,” he said. I nodded in agreement. I had no expectation to win, I just wanted to dance. The first dance, announced by the music we’d all learned in gym class, would be the cha-cha. My partner and I began the basic step in time with the music, one, two, cha-cha-cha…

I glanced down at my skirt, swishing as I turned. I smirked, then took up the formal hand position with my partner. Understanding, he nodded, and the next time he stepped back he raised his arm to let me spin. In a quick turn my skirt unfurled itself, trying to keep up. The nearby crowd audibly approved.

“Spin again!” some of them cried. “Spin again!” My partner and I exchanged grins. We may not have been exact in our steps, but we definitely gained style points with that skirt.