8.45 pm: ‘Okay, everyone. It’s time to get a partner. The dancing competition is about to begin,’ the DJ booms. ‘There are iPods for the winning couple.’

‘Did he say the winners get iPods?’ I ask Ben, trying to avoid his flashing sea creatures. Ben is swinging the fish around like he’s a street performer.

‘What’s an iPod?’

‘Didn’t you learn anything in grade one? An iPod is a mini music machine. It’s just about the best thing you can own. I have to win it.’

I check to make sure I’m not naked.

Jeans. Check.

Shirt. A few holes in it, but otherwise okay. Check.

I can do it. I can do it, I think to myself.

‘Mimi, you’ve got to dance with me,’ I say. She’s reading another poster on the wall, making sure she knows everything about bats.

‘Is Mr Elephant Ears here yet?’ Mimi asks. ‘And where is Lachlan? I haven’t seen him all night.’

‘Forget about them,’ I say. ‘I want to win the dancing competition. Come and dance.’

Mimi leaves the bat poster and follows me on to the dance floor. I take one last look down to make sure I’m not naked and gently touch my hair. My clothes are on and my hair is still sticking up. Everything is looking good for the iPods.

‘I love dancing. I once danced with an Indian chief in the rainforests of Venezuela,’ Mimi says. ‘I’ll show you how they dance if you like.’

I’d like to say no. But I don’t have a chance. Mimi closes her eyes and she’s off, bouncing around like she’s standing on hot coals. Her arms are in the air. Her long hair is hanging all over her face. I wonder how the Venezuelan Indian chief felt. I’m totally embarrassed. And she’s starting to freak me out. I regret asking Mimi to be my partner, until the DJ changes all that.

‘Look at that girl in the red-and-white T-shirt go!’ the DJ calls over the microphone.

I look around the room to see who he’s talking about. Then I realise Mimi is the only one in a red-and-white T-shirt. She’s swaying and bouncing, chanting and waving. And the DJ thinks she’s great. If I don’t die of embarrassment, I might just win an iPod.

I’m mentally preparing my winner’s acceptance speech, when another person catches the DJ’s attention.

‘Wow. Look at that boy with the green hair. He sure can dance,’ the DJ booms.

A tall boy with bright green hair is bouncing high in the air, pausing every now and then to swing the girl with the glow-in-the-dark earrings around. I have to admit he’s pretty impressive, but I can do better. It’s time to show the judge who’s the best dancer around here.

It’s time for the worm.

I drop onto the dance floor and wriggle. I swivel. I piggle. I wobble and grovel. I dance like no worm has ever danced before.

Mimi hops around me. Her eyes are still closed and her chanting gets louder. Ben joins in, swinging his sea animals in the air. A girl in a fluorescent dress starts clapping. A crowd of dancers forms a circle around me. Everyone is cheering.

I spring to my feet and really go for the crowd-pleasing moves. I shake. I jump. I throw in a few karate kicks. I drop to the floor and spin. The crowd around me shouts. Even the girl with the glow-in-the-dark earrings joins in. I can feel the dancing competition moving in my direction. I can sense the iPod coming my way.

‘Wow, that boy can dance,’ the DJ says pointing at me. ‘What do you call that move?’

‘The worm!’ the crowd around me screams.

The song comes to an end. The fire station goes quiet for a second. Then the kids around me start cheering wildly.

‘Looks like we’ve got a couple of winners,’ the DJ says. He smiles at Mimi and me. ‘Come up here and collect your prizes.’

Mimi emerges from her Venezuelan hot-coals trance. We push our way through the circle of kids and climb onto the stage. Mimi has a big grin on her face. I can tell she’s going to be talking about this for weeks. We’ll probably never hear the end of it.

The room goes quiet as the DJ holds up our iPods – two nanos, one blue, the other pink, with built-in cameras and their own little plastic cases. The whole crowd is watching us.

‘Worm Boy!’ someone shouts. I look at the people in the crowd. The girls with crazy hair, the boys with sweaty red faces, the shy boys leaning against the wall, the shy girls leaning on one another. And then I see him, right at the back. The boy with the green hair.

‘Eat dirt, Worm Boy!’ he calls.

Everyone in the room laughs.

A minute ago, I was King of the Dance Floor, now I’m King of the Dirt. I’m just a soil-eating joke. I can feel my cheeks go red as I collect my prize. I might as well be dancing naked in front of the whole school. I’m so embarrassed.

An iPod. It’s what I’ve been pestering my parents for all year. But I wonder if an iPod is really worth this kind of humiliation. I doubt it.

And I know someone here won’t let me enjoy my first prize.