Unpredictable (A Dance Story)

Chapter 14

My 'I don't care about anything' attitude lasted long after Abbie found me asleep in her room at the bonfire.

"I've been looking everywhere for you! Why wouldn't you tell me you were tired before disappearing and giving me a heart attack?"

I shrugged and asked to call my parents.

The next day was a Sunday and I didn't have anywhere to go or anything to do. I spent the day watching Pretty Little Liars, a show Abbie had always been obsessed with. Monday at 4:30, though, I had to be at the dance studio practicing my duet. My dancing was sloppy and emotionless. Miss Sarah added a new section with more partner work, much to Holden's dismay.

"Up," he muttered to himself, flipping me over and onto his shoulder. I didn't do a very good job of keeping myself up, I guess, because I plunged forward with a cry. Luckily, he caught me, breaking my fall by twisting and letting me land on him.

"Jesus, Ella," he snapped, "Hold your core!"

I knew he was mad at me when he used my first name.

"What's your problem?" He demanded when another lift failed after I walked most of the dance.

"Nothing," I replied sullenly.

His face softened. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be so harsh with you. Seriously, though. Is something wrong?"

I shook my head.

"Are you in pain?"

"No."

"Are you going to tell me anything?"

"Probably not."

"Okay. Let's walk this dance a few times."

Miss Sarah came in to see what we were accomplishing and stopped with her hands on her hips. "What is this?"

"Taking it easy," Holden replied, marking a turn.

"I don't feel good," I mumbled. Probably the most helpful thing I'd said thus far.

"She has germs," Holden joked, wrinkling his nose

She stared us down with raised eyebrows, her hands still on her hips.

"Miss Sarah is not amused," Holden said helpfully.

She finally sighed. "You two..."

With that, she turned and sat down by the stereo, turning the song to the beginning. She watched as we marked it, her gaze calculating. I glanced over every so often to see her hands moving to the music. I was kind of scared to know what she was thinking.

***

I wasn't dancing with the group, but I stayed at the studio. Miss Sarah had me turn the music on and off, and I was allowed to shout out corrections. The group number was pretty sloppy. It was jazz, but only the Advanced Jazz Class was in it, so it was a small number.

I saw mistakes as they danced, but I didn't point them out. Instead, I jotted them down in a notebook to improve my handwriting. That was me, always thinking. My writing was super messy, which made me pretty sad. But what was I supposed to do about it?

I thought quietly to myself about all the things I couldn't do or had to do differently. I could brush my hair, but the brush often got stuck and I had trouble getting it out with one hand. Getting dressed was a pain. I usually had my grandmother help me with buttons, zippers, and things. I had been quite proud of the fact that I could get my arm through sleeves all by myself. To type, my mother had bought a microphone-thing and as I talked, text appeared. My grandfather laughed at me when I ate, because I would sometimes miss my mouth and spill food all over the place.

"Hey, Ford!"

I looked up. Everyone was staring at me, amused. Miss Sarah cocked her head. "Ella, would you kindly start the music for us?"

"Oh, of course," I muttered, embarrassed. I wondered how many times she had asked me before I responded.

Miss Sarah came and sat down beside me, careful to still watch the class.

"Corrections?" She asked.

"In my notebook," I replied, pushing it toward her.

She glanced at the first thing: ON COUNT.

"Hey! Count the music, please!" She commanded sharply. I heard a couple of people hurriedly mutter counts under their breath.

She took her eyes off of the class and read through the rest of the my notes, frowning to herself. "Arms on section 2, huh? I didn't even notice that..."

I shrugged. "I saw some people with bent elbows and others with splayed fingers, so I thought it would be good to clear it up."

Miss Sarah nodded and flipped through the pages of the notebook, to where the writing became neater and there was more of it. It was my dance notebook, full of choreography, quotes, corrections, and ideas. I wanted to stop her from reading it, but she was already halfway through and I saw no point in snatching the notebook back. Her eyes went wide and she stabbed her finger at one of the things written.

"Did you choreograph this dance by yourself?"

I glanced at the title. 'Rules.' I had begun making up a dance where there was a rule breaker who refused to dance with the group.

"Um, yeah. I started that a while ago and never finished."

She read through the written choreography, stunned. "Ella, this is amazing!"

"Eh," I replied.

"I'm taking this," she announced, standing up. She walked to the front and watched the end of the dance, then said, "You can all go early."

The rest of the class talked excitedly about how they'd just been let go 10 minutes early, but I stayed in the room, watching Miss Sarah mark my choreography. My bag was sitting on the table by the stereo, so I grabbed my iPad out of it and plugged it in, finding the song. Miss Sarah looked up with a smile.

"Here," I said, turning up the volume. She began to dance the first part, but I shook my head.

"Not yet....5, 6, 7, 8."

We spent a while in the studio. I texted Mimi and told her to come watch. We didn't know how long we'd be. It was strange telling my teacher what to do, but I thought of her as just another dancer and showed her the way I wanted things to work. Miss Sarah was a really good dancer. I'd seen her demonstrate things before, of course, but I'd never really seen her dance full-out. My first thought was, 'she looks like I did before my accident.'

"Is this all?" She panted.

I shook my head and flipped over a couple of pages to where the choreography continued. By the time she figured out everything I'd written down, we had been there for a little over an hour. Mimi was sitting up by the mirror with me as Miss Sarah danced my choreography.

"Beautiful, Ells," Mimi commented.

"I like it," Miss Sarah panted.

"That's just one part," I said with a shrug, "And it's not even finished."

"Show me the other part."

I dog-eared the pages she requested and looked at my grandma. "It's time to go."

I nodded and looked back to Miss Sarah. "Oh, that's fine. Our next practice will be Wednesday. 5:30, for your duet."

I headed out without a word, grabbing my things and getting into the car. I couldn't help but wonder what Miss Sarah would do with my dance notebook...

***

Hello again! So what do you think of Ella's new mood? Kind of apathetic, huh? Don't worry, I'll be addressing that soon enough ;) What in the world would Miss Sarah want with Ella's dance notebook? And what are your feelings on Holden and Ella? Will they be able to pull off this duet?

As always, please vote (I've only got seven votes thus far *insert frowny face here*) and (do I dare ask about this one?) comment! (Eep! I've said it! No one's bothered to press the 'vote' button, I don't know why I expect comments!) Regardless, I'll still ask ;)

~HalleBallet