𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝑺𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝒀𝒐𝒓𝒌 {𝑯.𝑺}

Chapter One | Tickets

"One more time and I'll let you guys go. I want to see it full out," I spoke, staring at the classroom full of teenagers before me. "Five, six, seven, eight..."

The music began and I took a step back, watching as they hurried to their first formation. The beat dropped while they started to dance, doing their assigned choreography perfectly. These moves should have been engrained into their minds because we had been practicing the same routine for months.

I watched proudly as everyone gave their all for the last minute of the song. They showed me exactly what I was looking for: energy, passion, and technique. Once the last beat sounded, I couldn't help but grin, clapping excitedly at the group of exhausted students.

"Yes! That was so good!"

Some of them had the energy to give me a smile in appreciation. But others were too concerned with dragging themselves to their water bottles, wiping the sweat off their bodies that began to accumulate.

The next ten minutes filled with lazy chatter. Some students crowded around me to talk about nonchalant gossip. A small portion were calling their parents to ask for a ride home while others pushed themselves to the limits and continued to practice on their weaknesses.

To say that I'd be here after struggling to graduate highschool would be unbelievable. I never thought that I would go to college, nevertheless become a dance teacher at a studio. Yet here I was.

My students were my pride and joy. Sure, they could be obnoxious and a bit immature but they were teenagers-I didn't have a lot of expectations for them. I only required that they showed respect and danced their heart out, which each of them did every day.

Now that it was the end of practice, they lingered behind and socialized with each other. Some even came to sit directly beside me, whispering and giggling. I knew that they were up to something. I could tell by how secretive they were being. But I decided not to comment on it, simply enjoying their company.

"Mia!" Max called. He was one of the oldest boys in the class. He was currently grinning at me, skipping his way across the dance floor with a prep in each step.

I raised an eyebrow at his exuberance; at the way that his hazel eyes glistened knowingly as he stared at me.

These children were definitely hiding something.

"What are you doing on the the 6th of November?" He questioned, resting a hand on his hip.

"Nothing that I know of." A handful of students snickered. I glanced at them skeptically, "...Why?"

"You sure about that?"

"Oh, for the love of God!" Jenna butted in. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, glowering at Max. "Will you just tell her already?"

That caught my attention, causing me to sit up in my seat. "Tell me what?"

Jenna shoved an envelope into his hand.

I noticed that my name was printed on the front in bubbly penmanship. Grinning fondly, Max handed me the envelope.

"Happy birthday, Mia!" Everyone chorused. "We love you!"

I felt completely blindsided by the action, my tears welling up by default. "This is for me?" Aside from the gifts that Alice would give me, I had stopped celebrating my birthday. The last time I had a proper celebration was eighth grade.

"No, we just decided to write your name on the front for absolutely no reason." Max deadpanned.

I smiled dryly at him, rolling my eyes, "Ha, ha. Very funny."

"Yes, yes, I know. I'm freaking hilarious. Now open it, will ya?"

To everyone's relief, I finally revealed the birthday card.

The minute I saw the front of it, a snort escaped me. "Where on earth did you find a card like this?"

"We have our...resources." Max proudly answered. However it was at the same time that Katelyn shouted, "Pinterest!" Which caused Max to shoot her a pointed glare.

I swallowed a laugh, gazing at the card in awe.

It had Harry Styles plastered on the front, with a punny line that sounded like something he'd come up with. "I love it," I grinned, glancing up at my students. Quickly I wiped the tears from my cheeks. "Thank you."

"Open it," Jenna encouraged. "There's more."

The word 'more' was an understatement. A short paragraph was written that was sweet enough to make me cry a river of tears. Everyone had signed their name at the bottom with personalized messages.

But what caught my attention was the way that two slips of papers had fallen to the ground.

"What the..." I mumbled, before glancing at my students suspiciously.

My eyes bulged out of their sockets when I read the print. "W-What's this?" I stammered, despite having the answer right in front of me. I knew very well what it was. But a part of me felt like I was being pranked or that this was just another dream. All I kept thinking was, 'this can't be real.'

"It's tickets to see Harry!" Jenna explained. "We all chipped in and saved over the last few months. We know how much you love him and we just wanted to say thank you for being so good to us..."

Jenna continued to elaborate but I couldn't concentrate on what she was saying. Tears streamed down my cheeks at the reality of my situation.

I was going to see Harry.