This dock curves halfway around the shoreline. We can stay under here, and put some distance between us and them, on foot."That's what we did. We stay...ed under the heavy structure, walking bent over on the dry ground to avoid having to wade in the murky water under the dock. Soon we had moved at least a quarter mile away from the point of the initial attack. We were just as far from our ship as we had been before, but it was reasonably certain that the people who'd been firing at us couldn't. Gerald Claxton’s face was just bursting with pride and beaming out an irrepressible smile that threatened to cleave his head in two around his mouth. As the choirmaster clapped and smiled he was telling himself that they must certainly have that trophy in their grasp now ... surely! ... but despite the audience’s adulation over this girl with the voice of an angel it still wasn’t enough to win them that coveted First Prize Trophy! It wasn’t even enough to get them into third place!As for Jessie. Aai pan tyachya pathivarun eksarkhe haat firvat hoti. mag te doghe uthale aaine patal va kes vaigare thik kela. nantar te ghari aale. dusrya divshi aaila aajine kasla tari kadha tayar karun dyayala sangitla hota. tyamule tila kelichya shetat jayala thoda ushir zala. ti aali ka nahi he pahayala sardarji gharat aala. aai kitchen otyajawal madhe hoti. sardarne mi aajubaajula nahi yachi khatri karun ghetli. mi kitchenchya dusrya kidkitun baherun hauch pahat hoto tar mhatari kitchen chya dara aad. ..one even winked at me.After the danceThe rest of freshman year went by quickly. I was busy with school, had twobest friends in Paige and Marla and I even attended two more dances duringthe school year. One dance was at a youth center and I went with Paige andMarla and one was at St. Theresa. I asked Michael to that one....Hilda said Ishould since he invited me to his. I had a few other dates with a couple ofother boys, one who took me to the movies (Gary) and one who took me to ahis school.