Unpredictable (A Dance Story)

Chapter 28

I hid my phone under the Panera table, briefly glancing at it at the notifications.

First, 1 MISSED CALL FROM MOM. If she really needed to talk to me, she'd have to call back later.

Then, 582 LIKES, 73 COMMENTS, 24 NEW FOLLOWERS.

I squinted at the screen. Had I seen it right? One little video I'd posted before that first competition kept getting likes and comments. I almost couldn't believe it.

"What are you looking at, Ella?" Karina asked, peering over my shoulder.

"Oh, nothing," I replied, clicking the screen off and muting the phone.

She shrugged and sat down at the last empty chair, right by Abbie. Ab smiled at Karina, then they began to chat about something they'd brought up last time we had a little get-together. I sipped at my smoothie and turned to Madison, who was sitting on the other side of me.

"So, when are you leaving for your summer musical thing?"

"This weekend. The day after your competition," she said with a smile.

"Are you more comfortable with dancing?" I asked.

She nodded. "Much! But I've got the best teacher, so..." She batted her eyelashes at Holden, sitting on her other side.

"Yeah. I heard I'm pretty amazing," he said, bumping her shoulder.

"Hey, Ella!"

I turned to Karina, glad to have an excuse not to listen to them flirting.

"We need your opinion. These shoes with this skirt, or the sandals?"

I looked at the pictures Abbie had on her phone, picturing each outfit combination in my head. "Hm. If we're talking about Abbie, go with the flats. That way you can cover up your ballerina feet."

Abbie nodded knowingly. "I thought about that, but I needed your opinion first."

Karina looked confused. "What's so bad about ballerina feet?"

Abbie slipped off one of her shoes. "Ever heard of Pointe shoes?"

Karina nodded. "The shoes where you can stand up on your toes. Right?"

Abbie wiggled her toes. "Yep. They're beautiful shoes, really, but the catch is that they are extremely painful."

I craned my neck to see Abbie's foot. Her calloused toes were bent out of shape, her pinkie toe wrapped in tan medical tape. I could see the blood staining the bandage.

"Did that toenail finally fall off?" I asked.

"Just about," she replied.

Karina looked shocked. She started spouting questions, asking how we could stand to be in so much pain for dance. I chuckled and shook my head, letting Abbie take the questions.

I peered down at my feet. I had a pair of polka-dot Toms on, since I'd always covered my feet before the accident. But I hadn't put on my Pointe shoes since then, so my feet were slowly recovering. I felt sad to admit it, but I knew I'd never be en Pointe again. It was hard enough for a normal ballerina, let alone a one-armed girl. I wouldn't even be able to lace up the shoes on my own anymore.

Chin up, Ella, I told myself. No use pitying yourself. That's not going to change anything.

"Earth to Ella..."

I finally looked up to see everyone's amused faces.

"Oh, sorry," I said sheepishly, "I zoned out there."

"No kidding," Holden smirked. "I was trying to ask if you're ready to compete your solo tomorrow."

I smiled. "I know I'll do great. I've been working really hard lately! I've even got..." I squared my shoulders, readying them for my announcement "...abs again!"

"Ella, we know," Abbie said, rolling her eyes. "You insisted on showing us, too, so don't feel inclined to expose your stomach to the rest of Panera."

I sniffed. "Well, then."

Karina pulled out her phone. "Hey. Since you people are, like, practically famous, let's get a picture!"

I laughed. "Trust me. We aren't famous."

But I walked over behind Karina and posed for her picture, squishing Abbie to get in the screen. Madison and Holden joined, making faces at the camera. I giggled and stuck my tongue out. Karina snapped multiple pictures, only one of them a nice picture of us all smiling. Abbie grabbed my right arm and pretended to bite it. Madison pulled on my braid and I opened my mouth in mock surprise. We got a lot of weird looks from strangers sitting at nearby tables, but I didn't really care.

All of a sudden, Karina's phone lit up with a call. I looked at the number. "Oh. That's my mom."

She smiled and clicked the green 'answer' button. "Mrs. Ford?"

Her smile slowly got smaller and smaller as she listened. "Oh. Of course. Here she is."

She handed the phone to me and shrugged. I pressed it against my ear.

"Hey, Mom!"

"Ella."

I frowned at the tone of her voice. She didn't sound happy at all.

"What's wrong?" I asked immediately.

"It's your grandfather. He was rushed to the hospital."

"What?" I asked, barely comprehending what she had just said.

"He'd been complaining of chest pain all day, but collapsed at dinner. He had a heart attack."

"But he'll be okay?" I demanded, squeezing the phone.

She took a breath on the other line. "He's having emergency surgery. I'm at the hospital right now. I can't tell you if he'll be okay, because no one knows."

"How can they not know?" I sputtered, "It's their job to help people, to make SURE they're okay!"

"I know, honey."

"You don't know!" I cried.

I shoved the phone at Karina, feeling tears start to make tracks down my cheeks. Before anybody could question me, I turned and ran through the restaurant, finding the bathroom and locking the door. That's when the severity of it all really hit me.

"Great job at your dancing show today, Ella." Even though he probably fell asleep.

"Don't cry over a failed test. Years from now it won't even matter." Days from then, it was already forgotten.

"It's okay that you didn't win. I got you this instead." A Hallmark card saying 'You're still #1 in my heart!'

"Happy 16th Birthday, Ells! The best 16 years of my life." The best Sweet 16 present any girl could ask for.

At that point, I was sobbing. Big, fat tears rolled down my face at the thought of losing my Papa. His 99-cent Hallmark cards for everything and anything, big bellowing laugh, lingering scent of peppermint candies, goofy sense of humor...How would anything be normal again without him?

There were three knocks on the door and I suddenly felt bad to be keeping the whole bathroom to myself. I quietly unlatched the door and turned back to the sinks. But I instantly regretted it when I saw that the person knocking had actually been three people. Karina, Abbie, and Madison.

"Here," Karina said, wetting a paper towel, "Wipe your face off. It's okay."

I let out a few shuddering breaths, but wiped my face like she told me to.

"Ella, I'm sure he'll be fine," Madison tried. "My grandfather had a heart attack 10 years ago, and he's at home bugging my grandma as we speak."

I nodded at her, but didn't know what to think.

"Come here," Abbie said, pulling me into a hug. "Trust me. It'll all be okay."

She let go, keeping one hand on my shoulder. "Listen. Your mom already talked to mine. We're going to take you to the competition tomorrow."

"Abbie, I can't -" I started, but Karina cut me off.

"You can, Ella. And you will. Dancing means everything to you, right?"

My chin trembled, but I nodded.

"Problem solved. You go out there and dance every step for your grandfather."

***

#double-update

#yay

#I love you people reading my story

#Not sure why I'm using hashtags

~HalleBallet