Dancing with the Devil ✔️

16

_______________________________________________
D A N C I N G
WITH     THE
D   E   V   I   L 
____________________________________________________
The next thing I remember was my mom's voice. "Julia, Julia!" Are you alright, darling? Julia..."

I had gazed at her briefly before blacking out once more and then awoke in a strange bed, my mom, dad and brother by my side.

After collapsing so dramatically on stage, I'd been rushed to hospital in an ambulance where I'd had to spend the night for observation.

When I opened my eyes, my mom hugged me tightly, the relief obvious in her eyes. "I'm so glad that you're ok, sweetheart!"

"You had us really worried, Julia!" my dad continued with concern.

And then of course, a typical comment from my brother, Matt. "What a finale, Julia. You were awesome!"

Mom looked at him crossly which quickly wiped the grin from his face. Trust him to try to joke around, even at the most inappropriate times. I certainly wasn't laughing but I sure was glad to have my mom and dad there with me.

When I was finally allowed to leave the hospital, I couldn't wait to get home to the safety of my room and I quickly climbed the stairs, declining any offers of help from my parents.

I could not believe that the night I had been looking forward to for so long had ended up so badly. All the time and effort I had put in to getting our dance perfect was for nothing. Well, that's how it seemed to me. I had practiced and rehearsed constantly, just as much or even more than anyone else. And it had all ended disastrously.

After arriving home from the hospital, I spent the next 2 days in bed. I felt so embarrassed and humiliated and didn't want to face any of my friends ever again.

"Perhaps I could go to another school?" That was the question I silently asked myself over and over while trying to be brave enough to make the suggestion to my parents in the hope that it might be possible.

Although I knew they wouldn't allow it, I just did not know how I could possibly face everyone at school. I decided that I must be the laughing stock of the grade and I really dreaded the thought of ever going back again.

I replayed the entire events of that terrible day in my mind, right from the moment when I had woken up late and realized I had overslept. Thinking back now, I've come to the conclusion that it was doomed from the start. So many things had gone wrong and it just didn't seem fair.

As I lay there, I envisioned the smirk on Sara's face that I had seen so often. I felt totally convinced that she was not the girl I had originally thought she would be. Too many things had happened over the past weeks and I tried to piece the puzzle together.

A couple of things stood out in my mind. For one, the message from Miss Fitz about the head bands for the junior girls. I am positive that Sara never gave me that message. Another issue was my missing costume for our dance. I'm sure that I packed it and since coming home, I've searched every possible spot in my room but it's nowhere to be seen. I know that I had it in my bag, and if that is the case then where did it get to? And where is it now?

I wondered if that mystery would ever be solved. I thought briefly about confronting Sara and asking her directly if she knew anything about it but I was sure that would be useless. She'd never admit to anything, even if she was guilty.

Just as I was trying to concoct a really good excuse for having the entire week off school, I heard a gentle knock on my door. Then to my surprise, Millie's smiling face appeared.

"Julia!" She came rushing over to my bed to give me a huge hug. "Are you ok?" she asked, with genuine concern. "I've been so worried about you! I wanted to come sooner but your mom said that you needed some time to recover before having visitors.

Just having Millie there, was instantly reassuring and I could feel my spirits rise. Then when she pulled a block of my all-time favorite chocolate out of her back pack, I couldn't help but grin widely.

"My favorite!" I exclaimed. "Thank you so much!"

"I know," she replied, watching me rip the wrapping open. "I was hoping it might cheer you up."

"It's so good to see you, Millie!" I responded, hugging her once more. "But I'm so embarrassed about what happened. How am I ever going to go back to school again?"

"Everyone was worried about you, Julia!" she quickly replied. "After the ambulance came, you were all that everyone could talk about. They were all so concerned. They'll be so happy to see you back at school tomorrow."

I looked away from her trying to hide the tears that had sprung to my eyes. "I really don't want to go back to school, Millie. I'm so worried about seeing everyone. It's all so humiliating."

"Julia, don't be silly. Everyone will be so happy to see that you are alright. And the musical would never have happened without you. Miss Fitz and Miss Sheldon are so grateful for all your help. They even made an announcement at the end of the night and everyone stood up and cheered. They all know how hard you worked to put it all together."

"And anyway, it was lucky that our dance was the last performance. Everyone got to perform and you're ok now. Apart from you collapsing, the show was a huge success. And so much of it was thanks to you!"

After a moment's silence, she continued, "You ARE coming back to school tomorrow, aren't you, Julia?"

With a nod of my head, I gave her another big hug. But I was still concerned about Sara. I wasn't sure whether to mention her to Millie or not. Millie would probably say I'm imagining things and being completely silly.

So, I decided to keep my thoughts to myself. I didn't want to spoil Millie's visit. I was so glad that she was there and I actually began to look forward to returning to school the following day.

I felt especially grateful to have Millie as my best friend.

Dedicated to --- @#stopemotionalabuse