Jezebel |h.s|

Twelve

Isabella

After the night Harry showed up at the club, I decided I needed some time off. Not only because sleep is important and I needed to catch up on it, but also to avoid Christian while he cools off. I usually don't take that much time off from the club because it means losing out on money, but I think I needed it.

Since I had a lot of extra time on my hands these last few days, I was able to really focus on my classes and getting their recital details figured out. Not to mention I was able to eat actual, hot, home cooked meals. I can't even remember the last time I had a nice dinner at home that wasn't at some ridiculous time. Kat has been really glad that I stayed home for a few days, especially since she was right about me needing the rest. I've been sleeping so much.

My exhaustion was definitely starting to get to me but now that brain fog is starting to clear up. I also don't have the urge to pop pills or something for energy, which I'm proud of myself for. If nothing else, I'm dedicated to my sobriety.

Tomorrow I go back to the club to work my weekend and I'm sure Chris will try to punish me for 'disrespecting him' by taking more of my money than he should. For now, I'm just trying to focus on dance class and sleep. Thinking about the club will only stress me out.

Tossing my hair up in a messy bun, I continue to help the baby tap class learn a new skill. We're almost at the point where I feel comfortable starting to introduce new things to them that could be a little harder. It's all to prepare for their recital dance though, which can sometimes be hard for the little tappers. I have faith that they'll understand it, plus I'm not leaving them to learn themselves.

Baby tap class isn't for the weak. A bunch of three and four year olds in shoes that can be slippery and make lots of noise is a recipe for disaster. I tend to be a lot more strict in this class since I don't want anyone getting hurt. It's also really easy to lose control of the class once everyone starts getting too loud. The kids have gotten really good at listening over the past few weeks, but they're still little and aren't perfect.

I signal over to Ariana to cut the music since she's my assistant for today. Thankfully this class is over, that baby shark song paired with uncoordinated tapping is enough to drive anyone insane. My kids know that when the music is off they have to stop what they're doing, so they all freeze pretty quickly once they don't hear the song.

"Okay you guys! You did such a good job today! We're gonna have everyone come sit in a circle alright?" Since they're finally starting to recognize the routine, they have no problem all sitting in a circle. And I'm not surprised when Ottilie sits down next to me in the circle.

Before class started, Ottie whispered to me, asking if I could do her hair in a 'fancy plait' and after a quick google search I figured out she wanted me to braid her hair. So I took some time to french braid her hair as she told me all about the fun things she did since the last time she had class. She also couldn't stop raving about the cookies I brought to the teddy bear picnic. She's definitely a little cookie monster.

Ottilie's taken every chance possible to look in the mirror, twirling around to try and see the braid I did in her hair. Everytime she sees it she gets the biggest smile on her face, as if she's the most beautiful girl in the world. And she is.

Sitting in our circle together, I have the kids repeat back to me what we did today and ask if they think we should practice one more class before moving onto the next thing. I'll probably spend some time next class working on it anyways, but I'll have something in my back pocket just in case I feel they're okay to move on.

Once we reach the end of class, it's always hard to keep the kids' attention. At the first sign of ants in the pants, I know it's time to wrap it up and send them home.