Dancing Away With My Heart (An Academy Fanfic)

Part 5

Sang’s POV

         Dinner was a success, if the empty bowls were any indication. There was still enough for lunches tomorrow, but barely. There wasn’t any salad left, though- lettuce or fruit. Luke even ate some of the fruit salad. Must have been the mini-marshmallows and flaked coconut I put in it.

         Once the kitchen was cleaned up, we all moved back into the living room for the family meeting. The thoughts that went through my head would have been funny if I hadn’t been so freaked out. From ‘why am I here for this?’  to ‘are they really going to talk about the Academy in front of me?’ to ‘hmm… is there some secret handshake I need to know?’ Like I said… comical if not for the total freak out.

         Silas sat on the couch, grabbed me, and pulled me onto his lap. Luke sat next to him and put my legs up onto his lap. Gabe plopped down next to him and pulled my sandals off before resting my feet on his lap. Ah… a foot massage. Mr. Blackbourne sat in the leather chair. The rest of the guys positioned themselves so that we more or less formed a circle, some sitting on kitchen chairs they dragged in, and sitting on the floor. Once everyone was settled, Mr. Blackbourne began.

         “We have a new assignment.”

         Everyone looked from him to me and back, confusion on their faces. I guessed that answered one of my questions- evidently Mr. Blackbourne would talk about the Academy in front of me.

         “Since this assignment might be something Miss Sorenson might like, it only makes sense to include her in the conversation.”

         That caught everyone’s attention.

         “But… Sang’s not part of the Academy. We’re not getting her involved. Remember?” Kota sounded part confused, part angry.

         “This assignment involves nothing covert nor dangerous, so there shouldn’t be a problem, Mr. Lee.”

         Gabe squeezed the foot he’d been massaging. “uh… Mr. Blackbourne, you have met Trouble, right?” That snapped the tension, and everyone laughed. I looked over at Mr. Blackbourne. He wasn’t laughing, but the corner of his mouth tipped up, just a bit.

         “Mr. Coleman, I would like to think that our team can keep her away from any difficult situations in this instance.”

         Kota sighed. “Fine. What’s the assignment?”

         “Wild West, a chain of country-western clubs, recently opened a new club in Charleston. They are going to begin a weekly teen night during the summer, and until then, they will have an ‘all ages’ evening on Fridays. There is some concern that the teen nights and all-ages nights will cause problems.”

         “What kind of problems?”  North asked, frowning.

         “Drugs. Underage drinking. The usual.”

         Nathan ran his fingers through his hair. “What’s the assignment if there’s nothing undercover?”

         Sean smiled. “Your mission if you choose to accept it: you’re supposed to go Friday night and have a good time. Observe. Set a baseline. Then go back every few weeks, seeing if anything has changed.”

         I could feel Luke and Silas both chuckle. “Will this meeting self-destruct in five seconds?” Luke asked.

         “No such luck,” Sean replied. He gestured for Mr. Blackbourne to continue.

         “This is an ongoing assignment, and who goes will vary from week to week. We will start this Friday.”

         “What does Princess have to do with this?” Victor asked.

         “I simply thought that she’d enjoy it. Especially in light of her new interest in country music.”

         I sat up straight in Silas’ lap. “How did you…? Oh, wait… the video.” I glared at Meanie. He smiled at me.

         Sean raised his hand, a hint of blushing starting on his cheeks. “Nope. That would be me, Pookie. I asked to see your iPod the other day, remember? I was checking out your playlists for new music to add to my collection, and I saw your country list. Then when this assignment came up, I mentioned it to Owen. Sorry?”

         I smiled. “It’s ok, Sean. I forgot about that.” I settled back against Silas’ chest.

         Luke tapped his fingers on my knee, and I could almost see the gears turn as he thought this through. “So, we have to go to a country bar every once in a while and simply observe? That doesn’t sound so hard. What’s the catch?”

         Before Mr. Blackbourne could answer, Gabe spoke up. “The catch is that we have to go to a country bar and, I quote, ‘have a good time.’ It’s a country bar. Not gonna happen.”

         Mr. Blackbourne cleared his throat,  a hint of a smile on his face. “That would be another reason for Miss Sorenson’s participation in this assignment.”

         “What do you mean?” Kota asked. I was thinking the same question.

         “As Dr. Green recently reminded me, a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. My hope is that Miss Sorenson’s participation will make the assignment more tolerable for those of you that are not fans of country music.” I looked around. Almost everyone was either grinning or nodding or both.

         Except Meanie. He sat up and leaned forward. He ran a hand through his hair, holding out the blonde streaks. “Do I look like someone that will fit in at a country bar?” Gabe did have a point.

         Sean rolled his eyes. “Then be the annoying friend that got dragged along. Problem solved." He paused, a sneaky kind of grin on his face. "Are you honestly telling me that you’d give up the chance to 2-step with Sang?” He raised his eyebrow in challenge.

         Gabe opened his mouth, then closed it. He slouched back against the back of the couch, saying nothing.

         Sean did bring up something important, even if he didn’t realize it.

         “Uh… Mr. Blackbourne, there’s only one problem.”

         “And what is that, Miss Sorenson?”

         “I don’t know how to 2 Step. Or do any other kind of country dance.”

         He tilted his head for a moment, contemplating my statement. “That won’t be a problem, Miss Sorenson.”

         “It won’t?” Sounded like a problem to me.

         Sean looked giddy. “Not a bit, Pookie. Owen and I are going to teach you to dance!”