Dreaming of Cheers (Standing Up to Life Book 3)

Chapter 25:

PART III: Solos

MONDAY MORNING THANKFULLY was as quiet as a morning could be when you went to school. The teachers all seemed to be bracing for the inevitable chaos that was going to come as the last two-and-a-half weeks before Christmas Break were upon us. I even made it all the way through the day without a single threatening note or comment. Maybe the principals were putting enough heat on whoever was doing it that I was going to be okay now... 'I doubt it,' I thought to myself after that though. Whatever the reason was I appreciated the break from the torment.

Dance practice after school went really well. We made it through both routines straight through without having to stop because someone was lost. "Well ladies that's a good start..." Coach Holt had been complimentary for a few moments before quickly telling us we would still get our rears handed to us at Nationals at that point. So, we began going through everything again and again. We spent most of our time without music the rest of the rehearsal, working solely by counts. More often than not we would get through two or three sets of moves and get told to do it all again for some mistake or another. As frustrating as Coach Holt was sometimes, I knew that she was making us better every day.

"Tiffany, nice job today," she told me as I exited the coaches' bathroom.

"Thanks!" I told her with a smile.

"Don't forget to remind your parents that we're having a meeting next Monday about the trip to Nationals," she said as she handed me a note that basically said exactly that.

"Okay, I'll tell them," I said as I hurried outside to follow Amy.

Mom was talking to Amy's mom outside their cars outside. "How was your day?" Mom asked.

"It was good," I told them. I was feeling pretty good since nothing had happened and practice had gone well.

"Good," she said as she gave me a hug and motioned for me to get into the car. "So, Friday night you said?" She was asking Amy's mom about something.

"Yes, if that's fine with you," she told my mom.

"I'm sure they'll have fun." She said giving her assent with a nod. "I've got to get Tiffany to her gymnastics lesson, so we'll see you later," she said as she moved to the car and I closed my door.

As she closed it, I handed over the letter, "Before I forget to tell you, we're supposed to have a meeting with all of our parents and Coach Holt about the trip to Nationals, next Monday," I told her.

"Okay, we'll make sure we're there," Mom said to me before taking me home. I quickly changed for gymnastics and suddenly wondered what the point was of me even changing from my dance clothes before this.

Mom dropped me off at my lesson where I had a great time. We worked a lot on tumbling for the first half of the lesson and then began working on a dance routine involving the tumbling techniques I was learning and some other moves. My teacher was trying to get me ready to do a simple floor routine at a competition coming up in May. I doubted I could be ready for something that rigorous by then, but she seemed to think it would be good for me either way. By the time I got home from my lesson I was exhausted, but felt better after a long shower. Homework killed the rest of the time I had before Mom sent me to bed.

Tuesday passed the same as Monday, with jazz band taking the place of gymnastics. It was our last practice before the holiday concert, so Mrs. Remar was a bit stressed. We did well though, and I felt like it was going to be a lot more fun to perform with our jazz group than it would be to perform with the normal band. My solo went really well at the practice, as did Kyle's. When we had a little break, we talked with each other about being a bit nervous about the solos next week. Ever since the dream I felt a bit awkward around Kyle. I didn't quite know what to do with or about him. As I went to bed that night, I was even more exhausted than I had been the night before.