Unpredictable (A Dance Story)

Chapter 18

I calmed myself down, watching my reflection.

"He didn't mean it," I told the Ella in the mirror.

All the fight seeped out of me and I fell into bed, the importance of sleep hitting me full-force. I couldn't let little things get to me. Not when I'd have to spend all weekend with him, trust him more than ever before.

My alarm rung in the morning, waking me from a sweet sleep. My mom sat on the edge of my bed, looking concerned.

"Are you okay to dance?"

I pressed my face into the pillow. "I'm fine."

With a shrug, she brought out my studio shirt, jacket, and sweatpants. We got ready, packed my things, all without speaking. I was content in the silence. My mother and grandmother were coming along with me, so we got in the car and made our way to the studio. When we got to the parking lot, I found an anxious Holden waiting for me.

"Ellapleasedon'tbemadatme," he said quickly, holding out a peace offering in the form of a Starbucks frappuccino.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly, "My fault. Let's just forget it."

He pulled me into a relieved hug and said, "Let's make an agreement to never fight again."

I nodded against his shoulder, not sure if such a pact would last very long.

The bus ride to Indianapolis was long and boring. We sat on the bus for hours before stopping at a rest stop. Once let loose, our fellow dancers raced off, eager to walk around and consume as much food as they could before Miss Sarah or Ashley yelled at them.

The schedule for the competition was passed around, eventually finding its way into my hand. Check-in ended at 3, and the Junior Team's large group number would be around 4. Some of the Junior moms had taken children in their own cars, just in case the bus missed the check-in. As if it ever did. I wasn't complaining, though. That meant more room for me during the 6-hour bus ride. The senior team would do their jazz number tomorrow, as well as solos, duets, and trios. I sighed in relief. Even though Miss Sarah had told us that our duet would likely be on the second day, you never knew with competitions.

We arrived at the hotel with plenty of time, all finding our rooms. Mom and Mimi helped me get everything set up and let me relax for a while before joining the rest of the studio to watch the Junior Team perform down in the auditorium. They were amazing, standing out even among the few numbers good enough to be considered by the judges.

After watching some more dances, I asked Abbie if she wanted to go swimming with me in the hotel's pool. It was the first time I'd gone swimming since the accident, and it felt great to float on my back and pretend that the limp arm was holding itself up, instead of floating on top of the water.

We ran our duet that night before going to sleep. I wiped away all of the emotions associated with Holden, with dancing, with life. I put myself into the mind of the character I was portraying and danced with her feet. It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't horrible. A little bit of confidence slipped into my mind. I went back to my room, watched a bit of Dumbo on my iPad, and fell asleep.

***

"Rise and shine, it's a big day!" Mimi called, shaking my shoulder.

I stared up at the ceiling, trying not to let myself be overtaken by the nervous butterflies in my stomach already. The fact that I only had one costume made things easier. I put the pink costume on, pulling my jacket over it. It was the only thing I could do, since I didn't know what Miss Sarah wanted my hair or makeup to look like. We made our way down to the dressing room, catching Abbie in the elevator. She stood with her mom, teeth chattering excitedly.