I stand there, shaking just a little. "You nervous?" he asks, laughing.

"You know I still get butterflies," I reply. I hear the crowd. "Nanci! Nanci! Nanci!"

"They're loud tonight."

"They always are," he says. And after a while he adds, "They love you, you know." They'd do anything for you."

"Yeah, they would, wouldn't they?" I contemplate this for a little while. The announcer's voice brings me out of my daze, and, as I run out onto the stage, the music begins ...

"Rrrring!!!"

"Come on, Nanci! Time for English!"

"I'm on my way, Nicki. Algebra's so boring I just got lost in a little daydream."

"Oh, yeah? What was it about?" she asks. I can hardly hear her over the noise of the crowded hallway. Girls in navy blue skirts, white shirts, and, of course, the classic navy blue vests with the fake gold buttons. Nun outfits, we call them.

"Nothing important," I answer absent-mindedly. A minute later I settle down in my seat, at the back of Miss E.'s room.



I stand there, shaking just a little. "You nervous?" he asks, laughing.

"You know I still get butterflies," I reply. I hear the crowd. "Nanci! Nanci! Nanci!"

"They're loud tonight."

"They always are," he says. And after a while he add, "They love you, you know. They'd do anything for you."

"Yeah, they would, wouldn't they" I contemplate this for a little while. The announcer's voice brings me out of my daze, and as I run onto the stage, the music begins. And in my head I hear a voice. This time it's not a dream. n