Unpredictable (A Dance Story)

Chapter 12

*a month later*

"Ells, pass me the salt, please."

I obliged, reaching for the glass container and handing it to my grandmother.

"So, how was your day?" Mom asked cheerily.

I shrugged, stuffing a forkful of noodles into my mouth.

"She finished her English novel," Mimi answered for me.

"Wow, good job! You're ahead!" Dad exclaimed.

My chin trembled.

"Ella! Honey, what's wrong?" Mom asked.

I buried my head in my arm and sobbed a few times. I'd done nothing but read the stupid English novel all day, and none of my friends had been in contact with me for a week. I was so. Freaking. Lonely.

"I'm going to my room," I choked out, leaving my dinner barely eaten.

Instead of going to my room, I made a left at the bottom of the stairs and stepped into my dance room. I hadn't really been in there since the accident, and it brought back painful memories. I walked slowly toward the mirror. My reflection stared back at me. My long brown hair was down and messy. I hadn't brushed it since this morning. My blue eyes, usually bright and big, were dull and teary. I had bags under my eyes and a big scar cut across my cheek.

"You're not the same Ella," I muttered to my reflection.

I grabbed the barre with my left hand and pliéd, imagining what the right arm would have done if it were functioning properly. I did the ballet warmup combo the best I could, crying the entire time.

When I finished at the barre, I moved to the middle and sat down, reaching forward and trying to get my chest to the ground. The simple stretch sent a burning pain through my legs and I groaned. I had been so flexible.

I couldn't do anything anymore. Dancing? Not unless one-armed dancers were in high demand. School? Everyone else had a couple of months left. I was almost done with cyber school. I couldn't write, anyway. Even simple things like getting dressed, taking showers, and doing my hair were challenges.

"I'm done," I said aloud, hitting the ground.

Calm down, Ella, I told myself. Just calm down.

I got up and made my way over to my room, finding the vanilla-scented perfume on my dresser. The smell of vanilla always calmed me down. I sprayed it all over, then tossed it on the ground and collapsed onto my bed. I instantly fell asleep, not even bothering to turn the light off.

***

"Alright, up."

I pressed my face into the pillow and ignored the voice.

"Did you hear me? Up!"

I turned and eyed my father. Was he really yelling at me for sleeping? I hadn't slept very well lately...

"Ella, this is ridiculous. You barely eat, you won't talk to us, you won't even look at anything that reminds you of dance!"

"Not true," I mumbled, "I did my warmup pliés yesterday. I suck at it."

"No more of this 'pity' thing. It could have been so much worse. Be glad that you're here today. Be glad that the drunk driver who hit us feels bad and is helping us pay for your medical bill. Be glad that I called your dance teacher and you're supposed to be at the studio in an hour."

I gaped at him. "No."

"Yes." And with that, he walked out.

***

"Ella!!!!"

Miss Sarah hurried out from behind the desk and gave me a huge hug. I rested my chin on her shoulder, kind of coming to terms with the fact that I missed her yelling at me and saying 'one more time' 10 times before letting me rest.

"Hi," I said weakly.

"Let's get right to business. There's a competition a month from now, and you will be performing."

"Miss Sarah, I can't-"

"Yes. You can. I'm not putting you in the group. You'll have a duet with Holden. You trust him, right?"

I nodded.

"Then nothing can go wrong! Middle room, start stretching."

I blinked and backed away, turning into the middle room of the studio. Did I hear right? Was she really going to make me compete? I hoped she was up to losing...

"Ford!"

I barely had time to react before I was literally picked up off of the ground in a big hug.

"Holden - Please - Crushing - Me!" I breathed out.

"Oh, sorry. Not sorry." He grinned. "So, what have you been up to lately?"

"Nothing," I mumbled. It was true.

"Looks like you'll be up to something for a while now, huh?"

"Yeah."

He gently punched my shoulder. "Hey, lighten up!"

I sighed and sat down, reaching for my toes.

"Alright, you two," Miss Sarah said, walking in, "This duet will be a bit difficult. You'll have to rely on each other. Ella, if all else fails, Holden will never drop you. Okay?"

"You're putting lifts in this dance?" I demanded.

"Of course," Miss Sarah replied, "What do you think this is? A dance you can just blow off? This is going to be a winner."

I considered saying something back, but I knew she wouldn't budge on this one. She plugged an iPod into the speaker and turned it up, and suddenly the room was filled with music. I listened quietly. It was an acoustic version of the song 'Fix You.'

***

Another short one. Sorry! But hey, two chapters in one day is never a bad thing!

So, what do you think about Ella and Holden's duet? I picked the song Fix You because of a dance I saw on So You Think You Can Dance. It's a beautiful dance performed by Robert and Allison. Obviously, Ella and Holden's duet won't be like it because of Ella's arm. But I'm not afraid to draw inspiration from it ;)

Oh, and this particular version of Fix You is an acoustic cover by Tyler Ward and Boyce Avenue. If you want to check it out, go for it! And I think the first verse/chorus would be cut, so,the dance would start on the second verse. Only because I absolutely love the bridge and it must be included in my imaginary dance! Ha.

~HalleBallet