1My name is Tobias.

AndI don't thinkI could have felt moreuncomfortableif I'd justbeen asked togivean impromptuspeechonthe FrenchRevolutionin front of anall-school assembly.

Well,okay. I guess that wouldbepretty bad. Butthis Friday night was definitelyright up there.

Back whenIwasa regularkid,school dances made mea littleuneasy. I'vealwaysbeena lonerand all,and they just weren'tmy thing. But now!Nowthat I spentmost of my life asa red-tailed hawk- hunting, flying,protecting mymeadow - dancesmade mefeeleven weirder.

Bird-boyat the ball.

2Why hadI let Rachel talkme into this?I mean,whatdoyoudowith yourarms?They just dangledthere.Stiff.Awkward.Andmy eyes!I'd fix astare onsomeone and forget,untilit wastoo late, that peopletend

not todo that.A big,burly redheadnoticedas the raptorin me burned ahole through his girlfriend.

"Jerk!"

Oops. Hard torememberI wasn'tperched in atree a half mile away.

I'dbeen coolenough at the lastschool dance. That wasmore of agroup thing, Iguess. Tonightit was... Idon't know...a date?No,no, no.

Wewereallthere.Pretendingtobe acquaintances.

I lookedridiculous, I wassure of it. AndI wassure that everyoneelse thoughtso,too.

DidRachel?

I glancedather. She seemed impatient.Angryalmost, asshesurveyed the dimly litgyminan absent yetdeterminedway.They'd taped some helium balloonstothe bleachersand drapedstrings ofmulticolored lightsfrom the basketballhoops.Weweredown at the far end next to the deejay. So close to the speakermy eardrums werenumb.

Rachel wasas beautiful as ever. Really. I mean I wouldn'ttell her this,but she made the other girls look pretty plain. Hergold hair

3gleamed in the strobe light.Herbright eyescaught mine. I knew she wantedme to dance withher. I just couldn'tdo it. My humanbodywas