But I became very emotional at this point. My feelings for
Amanda were crazy and I thought I was falling in love. She was the only
person I felt I could talk to, but, she now had a boyfriend for me to
compete with. Lousy timing...
I tried to fit into some of the social gatherings with my squadron. I rarely socialized outside of work,
mostly because Miimii rarely went to any social events and I believe we should socialize together, so I didn't want to isolate her. Now here I was, trying to build bonds of friendship in less than six weeks. It started out bad. First, I was made a security guard at work
for a week, which required me to work alone, then I had a severe reaction to a Yellow-Fever vaccination. I got
very sick, lost nine pounds in 12 hours, and couldn't eat for three days.
Miimii took care of me, but I lost a lot of strength . I was so weak I crawled up the stairs to my room. It was six
months before I could eat right again.
I went to two-step dance practice with Mr. Collins from work. A few
co-workers were there every week, including Amanda, so I thought it
would be fun. But I never got to dance with anyone but Mr. Collins and a
lady who looked to be in her 60's. Everyone already
had partners. I felt so alone.