Sophitz: A Week to Find Love

Chapter 27

Fitz's P.O.V. 

I couldn't lie that my sister had... ambitious plans. Many of them did not work. But so far, this plan seemed to be going pretty well. After all, because of Biana's plan of spending the Saturday together full of activities, we now had a double wedding, knew a lot more people, and most of all, I got to spend the whole day with Sophie. 

Sophie was extremely hard to read. It seemed like one moment she was happy and excited and then the next moment she'd drift away and be in a faraway place with her thoughts. I couldn't tell whether she really liked me or was just being extremely friendly. 

"Is everyone finished?" Biana asked. The engaged couples were hard at work on their statues and it looked like they had actually almost finished. Sophie and I were also pretty much done since we hadn't really painted - we mainly just talked during this whole visit. 

"We're done!" Linh exclaimed. She held up a statue of her and Dex triumphantly, grinning widely. "Isn't it beautiful?" 

"It really is," Sophie agreed. "You guys did much better than I expected." 

"Yeah, Keefe is actually pretty good at this for some odd reason," Marella informed us. Keefe shrugged nonchalantly. 

"Art is just something I like I guess," he simply replied. 

"Everyone loves art!" Biana responded. "Now, onto the next activity!" 

"You know, not that I don't like these activities," Marella said, "but just how many are there left?" Biana squinted her eyes as if trying to count - and judging by how long it took, I had to guess there were at least two, maybe three, more activities lined up. 

"Just a few more," Biana answered. "But we have to change first. Everyone into the fancy outfits!"

Everyone was done after a few minutes of changing - but Biana took a lot longer for some reason. I was guessing it was because her dress seemed super complicated to put on with all sorts of sparkles and ruffles and other things I didn't quite know the name of; fashion was Biana's strong suit, not mine. 

"We all look a-mazing!" Biana squealed. "It'll make this whole thing even better!" 

"And what exactly is this thing?" Sophie asked suspiciously. She was probably not thrilled at the thought of wearing these fancy clothes somewhere since it almost guaranteed we were going to a fancy place. 

"Um, something fantastic!" Biana said vaguely before hopping out the door. We all followed her and walked to our next destination. This town was really small and everything seemed within walking distance. Of course, the eight of us all walking in fancy outfits down the streets of this quaint little town most likely seemed very odd. 

A while later, we arrived in front of some sort of... studio? 

"What... What is this place?" Sophie asked nervously. I read the sign and saw the words "Sir Lampton's Da." The rest of the name was cut off because it bent around the corner of the building. 

"You guys are going to love this!" Biana assured, opening the doors with a flourish. Inside we saw a man with carefully gelled brown hair, a black tuxedo, and a blindingly white smile in his mid-forties. 

"Welcome!" he announced in a slight accent. I couldn't tell whether it was French or British. It was like a blend of both. "I am so pleased you could make it!" 

"What exactly is this?" Marella asked curiously. The guy - Sir Lampton, I presumed - looked absolutely bewildered. 

"Why it's a dance studio!" he informed. "I'm Sir Lampton and I will be your instructor." He glanced at a slip of paper. "I see you've signed up for... the waltz! Ah, an excellent choice, indeed." Marella held up a hand.

"Woah, woah, wait a second here! I am not doing some sort of slow waltz-y whatever. Keefe and I do exciting, dangerous stunts, not some boring variation of walking." Sir Lampton gasped and walked over to us. Well, not exactly walk. It was more like a dance walk? It was hard to describe, but it definitely wasn't just average walking. 

"That is preposterous!" he exclaimed, slightly spitting with his ps. "The waltz is a beautiful dance of grace and poise. Both partners must know each other from inside out and work together in order to have even the smallest chance of achieving the waltz!" Linh smiled. 

"I've always wanted to learn how to dance!" she told our instructor. "Like ballet or tap dance or the waltz!" Sir Lampton relaxed a little, obviously pleased that at least one of his pupils was glad to be here. 

"Yes, exactly. Everyone see this young girl here as a role model," he instructed. 

"Sure," Tam said sarcastically. "Should we start talking about rainbows and unicorns, too?" 

"OOH! I love those!" Linh squealed, twirling around. 

"Magnificent twirl!" Sir Lampton complimented as Tam rolled his eyes. "Now I will pair you up!" He examined all of us extremely closely - almost to the point where it was kind of uncomfortable - before deciding the pairs. For the most part, it seemed pretty accurate, with Linh and Dex, then Keefe and Marella. Except he paired me with Biana, and we were both not very happy about that. 

"But Fitzy is my brother!" Biana protested. "I can't dance with him! Besides, he's a terrible dancer!" 

"Gee, thanks," I replied. 

"You're welcome," Biana said, obviously missing my point. 

"Alright, alright, if it'll stop ze arguing," Sir Lampton gave in. He paired me up with Sophie instead which I wasn't sure was better or worse. On one hand, it was a chance to dance with Sophie, but on the other hand, it was also a chance to completely embarrass myself. It really could go either way. 

"Now listen very carefully to the instructions," Sir Lampton directed, beginning to explain from the very start of the waltz. And by that, I meant all the way to when it was first created. 

"Wow, if I weren't in these fancy clothes, I would think I was at school during a boring history lecture," Sophie whispered to me. I chuckled but then immediately stopped when Sir Lampton glared at me. "Whoops, sorry, didn't mean to get you in trouble," Sophie said with a grin. I smiled back and decided it was better I was paired with Sophie. 

Definitely better.