Unpredictable (A Dance Story)

Chapter 16

"You won't believe what I heard Miss Sarah say!" Abbie whispered excitedly.

I cocked my head. "What?"

We were in the waiting room of the dance studio, Abbie taking a quick break. I was waiting here because Holden hadn't shown up for duet practice earlier. Normally I'd control the music, but if he came in late I was to take him to the back room and immediately begin practicing.

"She said something to Ashley about your notebook!" She exclaimed, "Something about how brilliant it was!"

I thought about how thrilled she had been last week, and allowed myself a moment of pride. Miss Sarah didn't exactly spew a fountain of compliments.

"Hey Abbie," I said, before she could go back into class, "Do you know where Holden could be?"

Abbie shrugged. "He was at school."

I sighed. Who knew if he'd show up or not.

I struggled with my bag for a second, then managed to get my iPad out. I unlocked it and went to the 'videos' section. The DVD that Jane had given me last week turned out to be the movie 'Dumbo,' about the elephant with the big ears. I'd loaded it onto my iPad, just in case I needed it for some reason.

With a glance around the empty waiting room, I clicked the volume halfway up and slid the bar up top to my favorite part of the movie: the end. The little elephant lost his magic feather and began to plunge toward the tiny trampoline, then whipped his ears out and began to fly anyways.

"You're still here?" Asked a sheepish voice.

I looked up at the figure walking through the door, feeling a little angry.

"Where were you?"

"That's for me to know and you not to find out," Holden replied mysteriously.

I rolled my eyes and clicked my iPad off, placing it on top of my bag because I didn't have time to stuff it in there.

"Back room - we have to practice, and there's a surprise waiting for you," I commanded.

When we stepped past the group practicing and into the back room, I eagerly plopped down beside a cardboard box. Miss Sarah had forbade me from opening it until Holden arrived, but I excitedly pulled out the plastic bag containing (as far as I could see) a mess of pink, sparkly fabric. I set it down carefully and handed two plastic bags to Holden. He ripped them open and sighed.

"Great. I'm pretty sure I have this same thing in my closet."

I shrugged at the white shirt and tan khaki-like pants, trying to peel open the sticky top of my own costume bag. Holden kneeled down beside me and ripped it open for me, pulling out my costume. A couple of strips of fabric fell to the ground and I pushed them into their own little pile.

"Hm. Two pieces, but one piece," I remarked thoughtfully.

Holden smirked. "I bet it'll be fun trying to figure this one out."

I took the costume from him and arranged it on the floor, smoothing it out.

"There. Not so difficult."

It was light pink fabric, interlaced with silvery strands to make it look shimmery. The top had two straps. One was a thin 'spaghetti-strap' type of thing, while the other was a bit wider. The wider one was made of a different type of fabric though, thinner with a mesh-like quality. The 'mesh' draped across the chest and down. It connected the top to the bottom, which was a skirt with shorts underneath. The mesh continued down the skirt, stopping when it was a bit longer on one side than the other. When I'd determined how it all came together, I glanced at the pile of fabric I'd tossed aside.