The Gray Dancer

18. BICYCLE RIDES

HANNA HAD GONE TO THE DANCE STUDIO QUITE EARLY IN THE MORNING. She began to spend more and more of her time there as the days passed. It amused her a bit, shedding so many hours in a place she once swore to avoid at all costs. Since it happened to be a weekend, both Hanna and Derrick would spend most of the day at the studio, trying to perfect as much of their routine as possible.

But today had been more different than the usual day. Instead of arriving at the studio early in the morning to dance, they had chosen to do something else. For Hanna, this became a nightmare, messing with her strict routine. She had been so used to going to the studio early in the morning on the weekend to dance that she struggled far more when they chose to do something different.

Derrick had pulled her out of the studio as soon as she had arrived, taking her to a small bicycle rental store nearby to pick out two bicycles for both of them.

"Derrick." Hanna groaned, "Why are we doing this."

Derrick noticed Hanna's furrowed eyebrows and puffed-up cheeks. He could tell she didn't want to do this at all.

"To build stamina, Hanna." He chuckled at her annoyance, "Since you haven't danced in a while, your stamina is low."

Hanna blinked twice. Low stamina wasn't a problem of hers, usually. She used to have one of the best stamina's, especially when she was little, a couple years back. Maybe over time, it had declined? She did have a lack of practice.

The idea of a low stamina didn't seem so foreign to her. It wasn't as if she didn't have many other problems with her dancing. How much more harm could a low stamina do? It couldn't hurt her as much as a stiff form.

Hanna swept back her hair, remembering her difficulty in breathing while dancing. She used to be able to run through a routine a few times before running out of breath, but now after the second run-through, she could hardly breathe. Hanna could hardly finish her small warmups without having felt like she ran a marathon. Her chest would pound while her lungs struggled to take in any bit of oxygen available. Then, finally, her chest would tighten until she took the long-overdue break she needed.

"I have a low stamina?" Hanna asked, despite being sure that she did.

"Yeah, it affects your overall performance." Derrick raised his eyebrows, "I think that's why you find it hard to keep up."

Derrick bobbed his head at Hanna, confirming her worst nightmares. He hated to say that she had a low stamina, but he needed to. Only if she knew about her problem could she fix it. He only hoped that Hanna wouldn't take it too hard.

Hanna could've taken it worse. She figured it was because she had already come to terms with her lacking talent in dancing. A stamina problem couldn't make her any worse of a dancer than she was already.

She shook her head, trying to get rid of the rampant thoughts that began to wreak havoc again. Hanna took in a deep breath, looking at Derrick.

"Isn't this a hassle for you?" Hanna's worried eyes darted between the two bicycles, both of them pushed, "Renting bicycles to improve our stamina?"

Derrick simply chuckled, "It's worth it in the end."

Hanna noticed Derrick's light smile as he spoke. She could tell he seemed to enjoy riding a bike and had done it many times in the past. Her heart softened at his happiness. She couldn't help but grin, too, hoping to share the joy with him.

Derrick pushed his bicycle along slowly with Hanna. He didn't intend to drive it until they made it to his favorite trail. He preferred that they didn't tire themselves out already, having a long way to go.