Saving the Slow One

Sleet on the glass by the sliding doors
My braid coming loose on the late shift
Vending machine light on my sneakers
Radio low at the front desk

Every fast song I sing along
Fruit cups stacked up on the tray cart
But one song stays deep in my pocket
A coin I'm not ready to spend

When the slow one comes on, oh oh
I still know it word for word, oh oh
I keep saving the last dance
For a boy who lost my number
Oh oh, oh oh, la la la
Turn it up in the waiting room
If nobody comes to claim it
I might dance it alone, oh oh

His hoodie still hangs in my locker
A matchbook with his crooked writing
I wheel Missus Ruiz past the fish tank
She winks and says, that's your song, honey

Every fast song I sing along
Cotton balls lined up in little cups
Tonight my pocket's getting heavy
That coin is burning to be spent

I slide in my socks down the hallway
Ponytail loose, arms open wide
The intake girl claps out the rhythm
Snow falls fat past the big window

Now the slow one comes on, oh oh
I still know it word for word, oh oh
Done with saving the last dance
For a boy who lost my number
Oh oh, oh oh, la la la
Turn it up in the waiting room
This one's mine and I'm claiming it
Spinning alone, oh oh, oh oh

La la la, oh oh, oh oh
Snow coming down past the fish tank glow