This is the fifth chapter of my second serial novel, The Year of the Winding Road < click here to see the main page for the novel, read the other chapters if you missed them or have no idea what this story is about.
Note to readers:
While this story does have events in it that were inspired by true life and the people who made them happen, all of it is fictional and made up. The people, aside from the popular culture figures that pepper this novel, are made up using qualities and quirks I have observed in the people I have met in real life. The places are also made up. The popular culture figures are used fictionally, though I tried to remain true to them in my writing.
The emotions though are very real. High school is a time for angst. High school is a time for finding one’s self and learning who and what one will become. I tried to keep that ribbon alive in this piece of fiction.
Homecoming
It was October and the homecoming dance seemed to be the chatter of the group most lunches. Brianna had done this before. Usually she was left out by her own choice, since she didn’t have the money for the dress or the flowers or anything of the sort. The thought of even trying to figure out how to organize all of that stuff left her feeling anxious since she didn’t really know what to do. She also didn’t want to try to find a date to go with. It was one less headache in her life, usually.
But since she had admitted to Adelaide she had a crush on Patrick, she kind of wanted to go this year to the first dance of the school year.
Maisie and John decided to go together, just as friends of course. Since Corinne and Seth were dating, they were going. Mona was going stag, splitting the ticket with a friend from one of her classes. Adelaide decided she didn’t want to go and no amount of persuasion from Maisie was going to make her change her mind. Even Brianna was sure of that.
“Hey, Patrick,” Maisie asked one morning break as they were all gathered around the planter. “Are you going to the dance?”
“I don’t have a date,” he replied, looking up from the game he was playing with some of the others. “I’d go if I had one.”
Maisie laughed. There was a gleam in her eye as she looked at Brianna.
It was at that moment that Brianna was sure Maisie knew she had a crush on Patrick too. She had sworn Adelaide to secrecy, so she knew Adelaide hadn’t said a word. But Maisie was smart and Brianna knew it. She likely figured it out.
Brianna wondered if her crush on Patrick was obvious to everyone else as well.
“Hey, Bree, since Patrick doesn’t have a date for homecoming, and you don’t have a date, why don’t you two go together?”
Brianna looked at her and scowled. Inwardly, she was mortified.
“Yeah, that sounds like fun!” Adelaide said with a smile and a wink. “You should go with him, Bree.”
Patrick watched the conversation as he dealt some cards from his hand into the pile in front of him. There was almost a bemused look on his face. He was smiling as he looked from one girl to the next.
“If you don’t want to go to the homecoming dance with me, you don’t have to, Brianna.”
She looked at him with a stupefied look. She blinked. This was a change in the circumstances.
Now she was certain that Patrick seemed to like her as much as she liked him. She decided to press her luck and ask what was on her mind.
“You mean you wouldn’t mind going with me?”
He shook his head.
“I’d like to go with you, if you don’t have plans to go with someone else.”
She blinked again.
“I don’t have plans,” she said.
She winced inwardly, for she felt like she tripped over her words.
“Then it’s settled,” Maisie said happily, clapping her hands. “You’re going with Patrick.”
Mom was thrilled when Brianna asked for permission to go to the dance with Patrick. Brianna felt a bit embarrassed by the attention her mother was giving the matter. But then again, this was her first real dance. It was also the very first opportunity Mom had to be the mother in this situation, so Brianna tried to roll with it.
“We’ll have to see about a dress for you,” she said happily. “I am sure Carrie would be fine with coming over to help you with your hair and makeup.”
Carrie was one of Mom’s best friends. She was a makeup artist for a local play company as well as a writer for one of the smaller newspapers in the city. She was also the mother of three young boys, whom Brianna often babysat.
As for the dress, Brianna mentioned to Sheila the next time she was working for her that she was looking for something cheap. Sheila went to her closet and pulled out several old bridesmaids’ gowns.
“I was looking to get rid of these anyway,” Sheila laughed. “Want to try any of them on? If one of them fits, you can have it.”
They were a bit on the older side, since Sheila hadn’t worn any of them in over a decade, but there was a beautiful deep dark purple ball gown that seemed to suit Brianna. The skirt was made of a satin material, while the bodice was velveteen. And when she tried it on in Sheila’s bathroom, it fit almost perfectly too.
Sheila smiled as Brianna came out of the bathroom to model it for her.
“It’s the perfect color for you!” she exclaimed.
Brianna grinned as she walked in the door of her parents’ house later that evening, dress over her arm. She proudly showed it off to Mom, who was watching television in the living room. Mom got up to take a closer look at the dress.
“That’s pretty,” she finally murmured. “What shoes were you planning on wearing?”
Brianna shrugged as she turned to walk down the hall to her room. Mom had followed, still talking.
“You know, you could ask some of the older girls at church if you could borrow something,” she said. “I’m sure one of them might have some heels you could wear.”
Brianna frowned at that idea but didn’t let her mother see her face. She often was at odds with most of the teenaged girls that frequented their church. She thought them a bit shallow and cliquey. She was not a part of their world ever and didn’t want to fit in with any of them. She sighed as she hung the dress up on her side of the closet.
“Or I could just wear my flats.”
Mom frowned. Brianna could tell she didn’t like the idea.
“Your flats aren’t formal enough though.”
Brianna felt irritated. She did not want to fight with her mother on this subject, but she felt strongly about having some control over what she wore. She decided to press her luck anyway.
“But, they are comfortable. Besides, I am tall enough already. I hate walking in heels. I fall over more times than not. I did get your klutziness, remember?”
Mom huffed. The look on her face spoke volumes. She wanted her daughter to be her ideal of pretty. But she sighed and shook her head.
“Fine. I guess if that’s what you want to wear, then go ahead. I just wish you’d wear heels though. You look so pretty when you’re all dressed up.”
“I’ll still be dressed up, Mom. They are nice shoes even if they aren’t formal.”
Mom sighed and gave Brianna the look that told her she wasn’t happy but would cave anyway.
“All right, all right.”
Mom and Dad did offer to pay for Patrick’s boutonniere, which was great because Brianna didn’t even have the foggiest notion how to order it. She went with Mom’s suggestion of using yellow roses, since the color would compliment the dark purple of her dress. Patrick was getting her a corsage with a yellow rose and decided to wear a dark green tie with his white dress shirt, so they wouldn’t match, but would look good in pictures together.
Dad slipped her some money for extras. He told her not to tell Mom, since he knew she would frown. It was a nice gesture. Brianna wasn’t used to him being so thoughtful.
“Thank you, Daddy,” she said giddily as she kissed his cheek.
Carrie was ecstatic to help with Brianna’s hair and makeup. She knew Brianna wanted her hair to be up off of her face, so she insisted that Brianna take a shower about a half hour before she came over. Since Brianna’s hair was stick-straight and super fine, Carrie knew it would be better to try to style it while it was still wet.
Armed with bobby pins, a curling iron, ponytail holders and a whole bottle of hairspray, Carrie set to work the afternoon of the dance twisting Brianna’s hair into a beautiful updo. She began to use some of her make-up samples to turn Brianna’s face into what Brianna thought was an older version of herself. She loved it.
Matt walked by the bathroom where they were working and glanced in. He stopped and took a long look at Brianna before smiling. Brianna knew he was going to insult her by the look he gave.
“You need to put more make-up on, Carrie. You can still see the ugliness that is her face!”
“Get out, Matt!” Brianna clamored.
Carrie laughed as he scurried into the kitchen.
“Aww, brothers. I never had any of my own, but he sure sounds like all of my boys.” She smiled at Brianna. “Ignore him. I think you look marvelous, dear!”
Brianna quickly changed, pulling on the pantyhose Mom insisted she wear. She then slipped into the dress, needing help to zip it up. She donned a pair of silver earrings she had bought with her birthday money last year and a thick silver chain and matching bracelet that Mom had spent some time cleaning with silver cleaner earlier in the day. They were a gift from her grandmother years ago.
She slipped her feet into her black leather flats. Yes, they were not the most stylish shoes, but even Mom finally deemed them appropriate when Carrie pointed out Brianna was less likely to trip in them. Brianna had spent a bit of time the night before polishing them with some of her dad’s shoe polish, so they were clean and shiny.
She smiled victoriously as she pulled on the black silk shawl her mother was letting her wear for the evening. She picked up the black leather clutch Carrie had brought for her to use. Her money, school identification card, and a few essentials were inside. She was ready for the dance.
There was a knock at the door and Brianna knew that Patrick had arrived. Actually, it was Patrick, Maisie and John, since John was giving all of them a ride to the dance.
Of course, pictures were taken. Carrie insisted on taking a few herself with her old camera, mainly of Patrick slipping the corsage on Brianna’s wrist and then Brianna pretending to pin the boutonniere on to Patrick’s shirt. In actuality, Carrie pinned the flowers to his shirt pocket since Brianna was afraid she would stab him. Mom shot a photo of that too.
Carrie insisted Maisie and John be a part of the photos too and they smiled happily as well.
Brianna’s siblings were up to their usual tricks. Matt was throwing barbs about how they wouldn’t get Brianna’s good side since all her sides were ugly. Annabelle was clamoring for attention, trying to get the spotlight back on her. Charlie just wanted to share his observations and what he learned that week in school. Dad looked annoyed by the time everything was done. He just wanted everyone to leave him alone.
“Man, I am glad my parents aren’t that crazy,” Maisie said as she slid into the front passenger seat of John’s old car.
“Well, you have to remember I haven’t gone to any dances before,” Brianna said as she climbed in behind Maisie. Patrick sat next to her on the backseat, his face still bemused from all of the shenanigans. “Besides, I have spent the night at your place more than a couple of times. Your family is just as nuts as mine is.”
Maisie chuckled.
“Yeah, they are. I am just glad they are used to me going off to every dance, so they don’t do the whole ‘we need to get pictures’ thing every single time. Sometimes though, I wish they would.”
John drove to a nearby semi-casual restaurant for dinner. Maisie had made the reservations, so they were seated shortly after arriving. Brianna and Patrick had agreed they would split their bill, so Brianna skimmed the entrees for something she would like that was also cheap. She already decided on drinking water, since she didn’t want to pay for a drink as well. She wanted to make sure she had enough money to buy pictures from the dance.
After dinner, they drove to the high school. Brianna was excited, but also nervous. What if she made a fool of herself? Did she look okay in her dress? What if she didn’t dance correctly? She was such an apprehensive bundle of nerves.
But the nerves melted away as her small group met up with their larger group of friends. The dance was held in the main gymnasium, which had been decorated. There were a handful of tables pressed up against one of the longer walls. There was also a great deal of loud music and they had fun. Mona had gotten there early enough that she could commandeer an entire table for their group and they sat there between dances, gabbing and drinking water. The entire group acted like fools, but they had a bunch of fun.
The opening guitar chords of the newest popular love song from the Backstreet Boys had started and Patrick looked at her.
“Want to dance?” he asked.
“All right,” Brianna said, gulping down the butterflies that seemed to rise from her stomach.
She took his hand and they walked to the dance floor. She apprehensively put her hands on his shoulders and he put his hands on her hips. After a few mis-steps, they began to sway to the music slowly.
“Can you tell I don’t do this often?” she asked, mortified. “Sorry if I don’t dance well.”
He laughed.
“I don’t either, so we’re doing okay, I guess.”
Brianna started to sing along with some of the lyrics, the ones she knew. She caught herself and stopped, blushing as she ducked her head into his chest.
“Sorry.”
“For what?” he asked. “If you like the song, then sing it. I don’t mind.”
She smiled big and looked up at him, staring into the beautiful dark eyes.
“Thank you for coming to the dance with me,” she said softly.
He smiled and leaned down, kissing her lips quickly. It was such an unexpected thing that it startled her. There was a bit of slobber, so it was a bit uncomfortable, but it was nice also.
He blinked.
“Sorry. I didn’t know if that would bother you.”
She unconsciously wiped the slobber away with her hand and then inwardly grimaced, for the movement could have been taken to mean disgust. She quickly smiled.
“No, I just wasn’t expecting it. That was my first real kiss.”
He smiled.
“Mine too.”
“Shall we have another one then?” she asked shyly.
Smiling, he leaned his head down and kissed her quickly again. This second kiss was better and made her heart sing.
Maisie patted her shoulder just then.
“Hey, lovebirds, I am getting them to play “The Time-warp” for the next song!”
Brianna blushed, forgetting they were in the middle of the dance floor. She thought of her mother hating public displays of affection and could hear the chiding she would have been given for kissing a guy in the middle of a dance floor. She glanced around and realized no one really was paying much attention to the two of them, except for Maisie, of course.
“Um, I don’t know that song,” Brianna said.
While the movie that song came from was legendary amongst her group of friends, Brianna had never seen it. When the others made plans to watch it, she was usually busy with other activities or not able to go because she was grounded or didn’t have a ride.
But she danced with the group anyway, trying to copy their movements as Patrick was trying. He had never seen the movie either. They messed up a great deal, but had a good laugh anyway.
They danced to another slow song and then she slipped outside with Maisie and Mona to get some fresh air. They had used the guise of going to the bathroom, but really, Maisie wanted to gush about seeing Patrick kiss Brianna.
Brianna blushed as Maisie and Mona teased her about kissing Patrick.
“So, does this mean the two of you are an item then?” Maisie asked.
Brianna shrugged.
The dance ended with one last slow song. She danced it with Patrick, of course, just as she had every slow song. As the ending chords were played, the gym lights came up and everyone blinked.
Patrick held her hand the entire car ride home. His smile was visible every time they passed under a street light and Brianna smiled back. They didn’t talk much, for Brianna was acting shy around Maisie and John, who sang like fools to whatever soundtrack John had popped into his tape deck. They were the ones who were into showtunes. Brianna liked some movies, but didn’t see very many. She just listened, glancing at Patrick occasionally as she held his hand.
By the time they pulled up to Brianna’s house, she was tired. It was nearly midnight. Maisie had already been dropped off, but since Patrick lived near John, he was going to be the last one to be taken home.
He walked Brianna to her door and kissed her one last time.
“See you Monday, Bree,” he said gently. “Good night.”
“Good night, Patrick,” Brianna replied.
The door was unlocked, almost as if her parents had heard her outside. Mom and Dad were sleepily watching television when she came in. Dad looked up at her and then at Mom.
“Oh good, she’s home. I am going to go to bed now,” he said tiredly.
He stood up and then leaned down to kiss Mom. He then shuffled over to Brianna and looked down at her.
“Did you have fun?” he asked.
Brianna nodded.
“Good. Night, kiddo,” he said, kissing the top of Brianna’s head.
He walked down the hall to his bedroom as Brianna told him good night.
Mom looked up at her from the couch with a smug and happy look.
“Well, how did the dance go?”
“It was fun,” Brianna said with a smile. “Patrick kissed me.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah,” she replied with a yawn.
“So does that mean you have a boyfriend now?” Mom asked.
“I don’t know,” Brianna replied. “We didn’t really talk about that.”
Mom rolled her eyes.
“What is it with you kids these days?” she sighed. “You should know if you’re boyfriend and girlfriend already.”
Brianna shrugged as she turned to walk down the hall.
“Is it all right if I take a shower before I go to bed?” she asked. “I want to get this hairspray out of my hair and the makeup off.”
Mom nodded as she kissed Brianna’s forehead.
“I’m going to bed. Good night, sweetie.”
While Brianna was waiting for her hair to dry as she curled up on her bed listening to some mix tapes on her cassette player, she held her pen in her hand and felt as though she had jumped off some sort of cliff into the unknown.
She began to write on a new page in her journal.
Today I kissed Patrick…….
Click here to read the next chapter – First Date (live on 30 August 2025)
Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction written by K. S. Wood, and thus is copyrighted 2025. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. No part of this work may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the author. All rights reserved.If you enjoyed this chapter, please share it with others. Every other Saturday, there will be a new chapter posted for your reading pleasure. The entire story can be found on this page – The Year of the Winding Road
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