Zane

Zane is Hadley Fox’s thirteen-year-old classmate and romantic interest, whose tentative approach culminates at the I-Hate-Mondays Dance. His interest becomes unmistakable when he takes Hadley’s hand for a slow dance and asks whether she would kiss him, leaving the answer—and the possibility of a new intimacy—open at the story’s close.

Identity and Introduction

Zane is one of Hadley’s classmates at Burroughs Junior High. Hadley is acutely aware of his presence: recalling her failed classroom presentation, she says that she had to give it in front of Zane Henderson, and the teacher speaking in her body realizes that teachers are not supposed to have crushes on thirteen-year-old students. The moment places Zane at the center of Hadley’s adolescent self-consciousness before he makes any overt romantic gesture.

Classroom Pairing

While inhabiting Ms. Pitt’s body, Hadley uses her authority as a teacher to pair Zane and Hadley as partners. Hadley, in her own body, asks why; the teacher replies that she is making the decision because she is the teacher. The episode is comic, but it also puts the two students together through the very role Hadley is temporarily inhabiting, turning the body swap into a practical force in their interaction.

The Dance

At the Monday dance, Hadley’s attention remains fixed on Zane even while she is in Ms. Pitt’s body. When Mr. Hudson appears at the cafeteria doorway, Hadley seizes the chance to move nearer to Zane and Hadley without seeming conspicuous: she crosses the room in high heels, draws Mr. Hudson onto the dance floor, and positions him beside the students. Her maneuver links the adult and teenage pairings in the same public scene, while her attention to Zane reveals the personal purpose behind her orchestration.

Later, as Savage Garden’s “Truly Madly Deeply” plays, Zane asks Hadley to dance again. She accepts, takes his hand, and steers him close enough to Soup and Nan to keep track of them. The gesture captures the divided attention of the evening: Hadley accepts a moment of closeness with Zane while continuing to look out for her friends.

Confession and Significance

The two couples slow-dance beneath the cafeteria’s twinkling lights at Burroughs Junior High. In that shared scene, Zane softly asks Hadley whether she would kiss him. He smiles down at her, blushing, with affection in his eyes. The question is a decisive change from Hadley’s earlier private crush: Zane openly proposes a more intimate step, making the dance the point at which her romantic hopes become a mutual possibility. The story ends on Hadley’s delighted response to the Monday, but does not state whether the kiss takes place.