Lies We Tell ✔

The Seventh Dance

The Brookings Union was crowded with students when Olivia and I arrived. Dancers, from the looks of their dress. Everyone had on comfortable-looking shoes and casual clothing. Olivia stuck out like a sore thumb in her red qi pao. That is, until we headed over to the corner where the Chinese Student Association dance team hopefuls were huddled together, and I realized everyone had brought their qi pao with them.

I was hit with the horrible memory of Chinese school, which had given me PTSD.

"It's cool if I leave you here, right?" I turned toward Olivia, only to see that she'd already ditched me. She and a couple of her girlfriends were talking a mile a minute in Mandarin. "Cool, good luck to you, too," I muttered.

As soon as I'd crossed over to the other side of the room, underneath a giant white banner with 'Dance 'N' Beats' painted in blue and maize, I realized I must've missed a memo. All the other auditionees were crowding around the table and chatting up a storm together. Girls with their hair and makeup done like they were headed for the red carpet. Guys who'd styled their hair like they were off for a modeling shoot instead of a dance audition.

None of them paid any mind to the girl with slightly frizzy black hair, brown glasses, a painfully makeup-free face. I stood awkwardly at the edge of the gaggle, trying to edge myself into the conversation somehow. It was a wasted effort. I couldn't explain it, but the vibe they all exuded was different from mine. Too different. Our vibes clashed. The message was clear. I didn't belong here.

"You must be Amelia...uh...Ex-you?" a high, girlish voice asked from behind me.

"That's me," I said resignedly, not bothering to correct the speaker on the pronunciation of my name. What was the point? She'd just keep butchering it, anyway. Everyone always did.

I turned around to see the blonde-haired girl, who I recognized from the Festifall booth, smiling up at me.

"I'm Tammy. I'm the co-captain of Dance 'N' Beats. We're going to run group tryouts instead of individual ones since our turnout was so unexpectedly large. There should be no more than five members to a group. I suggest you find teammates before everyone is taken." Giving me a pat on the shoulder and the fakest smile I'd ever laid eyes on, Tammy went off to unload these instructions on the next auditioner.

I can't explain why, but standing among the other Dance 'N' Beat hopefuls, I felt paralyzed. All too aware of the fact that I was the only Asian in the crowd of auditioners. '

Growing up, I'd always noticed that kind of stuff. Dancing wasn't an 'Asian' sport. (The Asian sports consisting of tennis, ping pong, and math olympiads). While it'd never really bothered me before, I just couldn't seem to overlook my Asian-ness this time.

Maybe I could use that to my advantage. Turn it into a joke. "Hey, I hear there's a math portion to this tryout. You guys could really use me on your team."

Just as I was summoning the energy to sidle my way up to a group--any group--and say something, anything--i felt a hand on my shoulder. A familiar voice gasping, "Mingyue. Amelia!"

I whirled around to find Olivia with a panicked expression on her face, looking at me like she was drowning, and I was the last lifeboat off the Titanic, about to sail off without her. "What's wrong?"

"The Dance Sensasian tryout. I can't do it," she wailed, wiping away at her moist eyes. "I did fine with CSA dance team, but...this choreography. It is too different. I am not--not used to--" She mimed a move, jerking her rear end around in a way that nearly caused me to choke with laughter.