Before I begin; a little disclaimer. I grew up in an all-boys school where my interaction with girls was almost non-existent. Therefore, it should not come as a surprise that I (still) am a very shy person.

It was the day after Christmas and the Club had a Boxing Night event. I went a little early so I could swim for a bit and make a quick trip to the library. They have a very nice diving board and I would simply love to get up on it and take a plunge, over and over again.

Mom, dad and Mamta arrived later and I joined them for dinner. The place was full and I recognized a few of my classmates in the crowd. Around nine or so, they started playing some of the popular tunes and people got up to dance. I just sat by my table watching them, wanting to join in but lacking the courage to do so. [Ah, the good old days; not that I am any better now – hee hee]. Mom encouraged me to get out there but I was just to shy to step on to the dance floor.

The night wore on and I simply watched from the sidelines. As we were about to leave, I do not exactly know what got into me but I decided to go for it. With my heart pounding, I walked up to this girl and asked her if I may have this dance. To my pleasant surprise, she agreed and we walked up to the dance floor.

All of a sudden, the music dropped tempo and a slow number started playing. Ack, I was caught completely off guard. I did not know what to do, but somehow we got into position and began dancing.

I am not sure whether I stepped on her toes or not [let us just hope I did not]. We chatted a little as the song took its course and after a little while, it was done. [That was not so hard now, was it?] I thanked her at the end of it and ran back to my table, all flushed.

Mom said I had been jumping about a little but otherwise we looked adorable. I just sat there and blushed, stilling reeling in from what had just happened – my very first dance.