Chapter 26

I grumble to myself as Kayiah giggles and Lia applies concealer to my cheek and blends it a little bit. Lisa snaps a picture. If I was allowed to move without being yelled at, I’d be glaring. Lia takes her makeup skills very seriously. The only reason I agreed to this is because everyone has informed me of how pale and dead tired I look. Not even dead tired. Just dead. I look that pale and sickly. And I told her I could do it myself, but she refuses to let me because what do men know about makeup, right?

Blake enters and closes the door behind him. He ran to grab me some light food so I’ll look a little better and it’ll give Lia some help with making me look presentable. Apparently, Lia needs something to work with here. Plus, he also took the woman and the baby to the king, queen and guards standing with them on the highest balcony. He also told them about my plan and they agreed, but are fearful for my safety. Of course, they are willing to listen to my ideas if it protects me, them, and the city.

Blake places it down in front me and hands me a shake. Lia clears her throat and tells him not until she’s done with me. He places on another table and puts his hand up, slowly backing away. She sighs and makes the finishing touches on my face. Lisa snickers and turns me around when Lia puts everything down. I look at my reflection and glimpse at Lia who beams and hands me my shake. I nod my head, thank her, and sip on my shake. My mood is brightened by the whipped cream and strawberry flavor. Just a shake alone can make me feel better if I’m hungry.

“I want you to wait a few minutes before you get dressed. So eat, keep tabs on Snow White, the Huntsman, and the Evil Queen, and then get dressed. I’ve done my best,” she says with a smile and then cleans up the makeup area. Lisa snickers.

The kids from the acting talent section decided to take a fairytale turn on the movie they created for the audience. It’s the tale of Snow White with a darker twist. The Evil Queen is her own mother, not step-mother. Snow is older than fourteen or seven, the age in the original fairytale and movie of Snow White. She had her brother with her and he was instructed to kill her otherwise she would expose his deceased father for what he truly was. So far, the queen has had multiple affairs that Snow does know about and has for many years. Pretty good so far. But there’s a twist to it: Snow White isn’t pure of heart. She’s pretty wicked herself.

As she walks away, I respond to her instructions. “The fact that you really tried to fix my face for the cameras paints a picture about you and a problem you might have, Angelia Ryan.”

“Your face is fine. It’s just pale,” Kayiah says. “People would think you’re going to faint any minute. You still might if you don’t eat in time.”

“Well, sorry. I don’t feel being poisoned today. Maybe next week. I think I’m open to ending up in the hospital next week.” Lisa rolls her eyes and sighs about how sarcastic I am at times. One day, my sarcasm is going to send me past the emergency room or the morgue.

“That’s why I went and got you food, kid,” Blake says. “I knew you wouldn’t smell any of the food that’s on that table and I don’t blame you.”

I open the bag and pull out a fruit bowl. The first thing that catches my eye is the apple that’s in the fruit bowl. Whenever I watch fairytale movies, small things that hint toward the movie make me paranoid, such as an apple or blueberry pie. I didn’t eat pie for a while just because they happened to be apple. Not that I’m convinced someone poisoned it or it’s drenched in dark magic, but it’s just how I am.

“Let me guess, it’s poisoned too, right? The Evil Queen must have put a sleeping curse on it,” Blake smirks.

“That’s usually how it goes.”

He shakes his head. “Hey, blame those kids who decided to go with a fairytale movie. Not me,” Blake says. “But as a vegetarian, you have little options at a last minute request. I had to get a fruit bowl. Or a veggie salad, but I didn’t think you’d be scared of an apple because of a nearly three hundred year old fairy-tale…. My mistake.”

“It’s always the things we think aren’t real that become reality and kill us,” I say with a laugh.

“You’re silly.”

I take a couple of bites of my fruit salad, moving around the pieces of apple for now, and pick up the card Maura gave me before they vanished. Kayiah sits next to me and assures me that I can do this. I nod my head. On impulse, I dial the numbers and put the phone on speaker. Everyone knows to be silent when a phone is set on speaker.

“Hello?”

“Enjoying your show?”

It’s quiet for a moment, but he does respond. “It’s okay. I think Karah is enjoying it more than I am. You know what they say. Woman have the power. In my case, if she wants to watch something, I have no choice. I’m sure you understand.”

“I do. You know, I was thinking about what you and… Karah told me in the small supplies room before you went to your show.”

“Good. Have you taken our message to heart, my boy?”

Lisa takes a deep breath and clenches her fist. Blake directs her face toward the TV and whispers in her eye, massaging her shoulders. She smiles and takes another deep breath. It’s clear that she cannot stand her brother.

“Um, you could say that… Actually, I was thinking that I’ve been really rude lately. My heart has been filled with hate for far too long and you were right. I really don’t know your side of the story. All I know is what happened for those two years. You never got to tell me why you truly let that happened. I’ve been judgmental and it’s not right for me to be that way, especially if I don’t know the truth. So maybe we could meet up after the talent show is over and sit and talk about everything. Including why you let it happen. I just really want to know, Dad.” That last word feels like poison on my tongue. “And Karah can come too if you want. I just want an honest conversation.”

He’s silent for a minute and then continues. “I’d like that. I really want you to know what your mother and my sister never told you.”

Losing all control, Lisa is about to stand up and object to what he’s saying, Blake keeps her down and covers her mouth, whispering to her some more. She smiles and kisses him. Okay, this is getting romantic and weird now.

“Karah has a cousin in London,” Jack continues. “Her coffee shop is warm. We could meet up there after the talent show. Do you know where The Mocha House is off seventh street. It’s not too far away from your hotel or mansion actually.”

“Yeah. I’ve walked by there a few times.”

“Okay. we’ll meet you there forty minutes after the show. I imagine you need time to catch your breath and get over the fact that you probably stole the show. See you then.”

“Bye,” I whisper and hang up.

I place my phone on the makeup table and take a deep breath. Kayiah presses a button and hands me a recording device. She recorded the whole thing! I never would have thought of that! I’m lucky to have her around.

I hug her and look at the screen. The huntsman raises the knife. Snow White closes her a eyes, a tear trickling down one of her cheeks. He’s about to strike, but he drops the knife and sobs into her dress. Snow is surprised, but grateful he decided not to kill her. She pats his head and takes a deep breath, and asks why he was going to kill her. Crying, he explains it was the queen’s wish. Snow sighs.

“Run, child! You can never return to the castle. You must go now. If she finds out you are alive, she will send someone else to kill you.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“Go, princess,” he says in a panicked voice.

She takes off running into a creepy forest and is snagged by trees, bushes, and roots coming out of the ground.

Seeing Snow White’s evil coming out and the queen’s jealousy, I lose track of time and realize I need to get dressed when Lia is yelling I have fifteen minutes to get dressed and be ready for the stage. I rush around backstage, looking for the clothes I have picked up. Everyone else is camera ready, prepared to dance their souls out in front of the world and smirking at me rushing around to find what I need.

“This wouldn’t happen if you set an alarm,” Marybeth says with a giggle, amused by my panicked running.

“Probably,” I say.

I end up finding my clothes in three minutes and rush into the bathroom, although it feels like three hours.

By the time I get out of the bathroom, we have eight minutes left before we go on. Plenty of time for me to listen to music and relax for a little bit so I don’t throw up on stage. Grabbing my phone and earbuds, I hop back in the chair and let the music carry me away.

When my eight minutes are up, my heart stops and then it feels as if someone is twisting and squeezing it as hard as they possibly can. My lungs feel like deflated balloons. As useless to me as a deflated balloon is to a child.

Our plan is to dance together as a group to hip hop music once and then retreat back here so we can dance individually. In my case, I don’t leave the stage because I’m the first one to dance alone after our group dancing session. I find it convenient that I get to go first after the group dance and yet I’m the least prepared dancer here tonight. That includes the dancing contestants this year and some other contestants from last year that were invited. Okay, granted, I’ll be dancing with Emily and Marybeth,but still. I’m not prepared. I just hope they don’t start fighting on stage.

Aiken claps his hands and wink at me with a smile. I fake a tiny smile and tear out my earbuds, but my chest is aching. I could probably pass out right here. Aiken reminds us of the drill. We’re dancing as a group first and then as individuals. Then he mentions the tiny interview information. Because we’re all dancing as a group first, he’s not going to ask us the questions he’s been asking all night until we’re dancing as individuals or small groups. It would take too long.

I toss an anti-anxiety pill toward the back of my throat and wash it down with Lisa’s partially empty bottle of lukewarm water. She pats my back and gives my left shoulder a squeezing, whispering some kind words of encouragement. She thinks I can do this. She believes I can. Good thing she does because I’m all high and mighty, and confident until it’s time for me to show I can do it. Then I’m shaking and crying in a corner because I’m not as bad as I try to act at times.

Kayiah squeezes my hand and smiles.

“What if I can’t do this?” I whisper.

“Don’t say that. You can do this. You danced in front of everyone at my engagement party,” Lisa says. “There were close to four hundred people present that day, most of them with cameras.”

“That was different. Everyo-Wait… What? What cameras?” My eyes widen and my arms automatically cross. She giggles nervously and hugs me tight. I take a deep breath. She pulls away after a minute and cups my face so I’m making eye contact.

“Remember when you were younger and your told me about when you were being bullied?” I nod. “And you said they made fun of you because you’re weird or worthless? A coward even?” I partially smile. I did say that…

“And that one day, you wanted to prove everyone who doubted you or made you feel awful about yourself?” Kayiah finishes.

Great. They’ve got me.

What can I say now? That I’m too scared to dance, something I’ve done since I was in preschool. I told Lisa, Mom, and Kayiah all of that. I might have told Kamron too. Thank God she’s too busy preparing to cheer for less than a minute or she would be telling me I can’t back out now and that I’ll do a great job and won’t make a fool of myself.

“Did you not say that?” Lisa asks.

“I probably did, but I wasn’t dancing in front of the world then, was I?” I shoot back.

She rolls her eyes. “You’ve already proven everyone who ever doubted you wrong the second you got here. This show is just a chance to seal the deal. Danny, you’re special. I’ve known that alone since you were a baby. “

“I do this, but to not mess up is a different thing,” I explain.

Kamron clears her throat and walks by with her cheer squad, including her three friends aside from Kayiah and Lia, but not before mumbling some words of encouragement for me. “It’s cute when you mess up. If we mess up, we’re getting a low score.” Kayiah clears her throat. Kamron stops before the curtain and laughs. “Trust me, honey. I don’t want your man. Believe me. I couldn’t do it. I’m amazed you can deal with that craziness.”

“We fight too much, Kayiah,” I assure her. “We’d divorce before the honeymoon.”

Kamron clicks her tongue and proceeds to the stage with her popular crew.We watch the screen as the girls bounce around the stage with their pom poms. The audience stand and applaud as the cheerleaders start to form a pyramid. I shiver at the thought of trying to do that. Kamron hops on top and holds a megaphone to her lips and begins her cheer with the girls joining in with their mouths as well. Some guys from the audience cheer with them.

Kamron drops the microphone down at Aiken who gives her a thumbs up and backs towards the end of the stage on the left side, the spot he’s owned all night. Kamron does a backflip and lands on her feet. Another girl from the side does the same and lands right next to her. The other girl does the same, but Kamron and her partner catch her and hold her. The other girls do backflips, landing close enough to Kamron. They all make a pose and smile. Everyone whistles and screams for them. I roll my eyes as they blow kisses and run back stage. I cross my arms as soon as they high five each other and go their separate ways for a while.

“Who in the right mind, Kamron, has a four line cheer?” I ask with a scoff. “Wait… Right mind. Singles you out, doesn’t it?”

She smirks. “Someone, Danny, that isn’t nervous to mess up in front of a large crowd like . That, my friend, singles you out, doesn’t it?”

I pout. “That’s cruel.”

She flashes a smile before flipping her ponytail and reaching for a soda. “See, Kayiah. He’s all yours. I couldn’t do it. I give you props. If you guys get married, I will gladly pay for your wedding, reception and most of your honeymoon just because you can put up with it. He’s cute for a reason. To cover up that crazy. I love him as a friend, but not as a boyfriend.”

“Like you’re so perfect and normal.”

“Jealous much?”

“Oh, please!”

Aiken stands in front of the crowd and smirks. “Amazing, aren’t they? I can’t dream to do a backflip without breaking something.” The older folks laugh and agree with him. “Now, I know I’m not supposed to favor one talent over another, but I’m especially excited to see what our dancers can teach us. True, being an old man, I can’t attempt to do what they can, but a man can dream, am I right?” Some chuckles float around the room. “Please welcome our hip-hop dancers.

We all rush out to the stage in single file, but take out positions in different areas. I think I just ran out here on impulse so I don’t shrink back in a corner and cry because I’m scared of messing up. There’s a chance I could be very good and not do a thing wrong. But my anxiety likes to reflect on every possible wayI do everything wrong. Well, either way, I’m off to a good start by running out here to the crowd rather than the other way and out the backstage door which would lead into a forest. It’s so large with so many trees, plants, and cottages, I could hide out there for days.

“Our dancers are going to dance as a large group and then they’ll dance by themselves or in a small group so we have a better view of their skills individually. We can give them that at least, right, ladies and gentlemen?”

They applaud again and wait for us to start. We huddle up and go over the plan again with Marybeth, who is considered the ring leader and then break back into our positions. She stands in the middle and snaps her fingers as she counts to three slowly and glimpses at me. I take a deep breath and clear my head. Then we all stand with our legs apart and our knees bent just a bit.

We start off with lightly kicking one foot up front and then crossing it over our other foot and then and bring the other foot over so we’re even again. Then we do that again with and the next time we do it, we go the other way with the same basic dance steps. We keep doing that, but the music gets louder and faster and so do our dance steps. They get faster anyways.

I can hear some of the judges whisper to each other. Aiken is smiling the entire time. I can’t see the king and queen out of all the people. They’re too high up, but I can feel their love, support, and smiles.

Our plan for the next couple of minutes are to split up. So everyone except for three of us are going to spread out and and bend down, jump back up and then do it again except faster. The other three are going to flip over each other. And that goes well. The audience seem to be really impressed with us so far. But it’s just warming up.

From there, we rock our bodies slowly from side to side and then cross our arms over each other in the middle so we’re going from the left, cross our arms and then to the right. We repeat this a couple of times. I slide over to the middle and lead everyone into something Emily came up with after watching a video. They called it the “Slide Step”.

“Five, six, seven, eight,” I say quietly.

We start off with a slide, then a hop. Slide to the right. Hop again. And we do that a couple of times before we go faster. I do a spin and a hop before landing on my feet again, which are apart by a few inches. The audience applauds for us. At this point, I’m not even remembering the dance steps. I’m just letting my mind and body flow with the music. It’s the best thing you can do aside from clear your head before you start.

We all glimpse at each other and turn around, facing the closed red curtain. Listening to some of the whispers, I prepare to flip back. Everyone does a quick spin and stand on the side of the stage, bending their knees a little bit. I finally flip myself backwards and land on my feet, but almost slip on the stage. My heart panics and nearly stops as I smile at the audience. We all strike a pose and then stop. It’s the end of the group dance sessions. The audience applaud one last time before Aiken claps himself and approaches us, the microphone in his hand.

“Brilliant, are they not? I can’t try any of those. I might die in the process. I’m sure we can agreethey are talented. Thank you guys.”

Everyone runs backstage except for Emily, Marybeth and I. I can hear a round of applause from the backstage crew and contestants that have already gone. Emily, Marybeth, and I prepare ourselves to dance again for the crowd. And then I prepare myself to run backstage and figure out if I’m alive or if I died while dancing out here.

“Now, you three are dancing as a small group, correct?”

“Yes,” Emily says.

“Now I’m sure the audience would love to know why you guys love this talent field and how you got into it in the first place. Let’s start with the ladies. Sorry, Danny.”

I laugh.

Emily’s first.

She steps forwards and begins to explain her story. “Well, myparents put me in a hip-hop dance class at an early age because I had a lot of energy and we had a small house before they put me in the class. Not enough room for me to run around and be my energetic and crazy self. When I was first placed in that dance class, I was seven, I believe it helped me deal with a lot of stress and confusion. At the time I wasn’t sure why my real parents give me up. That somewhat took those feelings away, but I still wonder. I think I love dancing so much because it’s away to escape. It’s like another world. When the music hits, I just dance and forget about things. Probably why I had a C minus in History.”

Everyone laughs.

“I do remember you saying something like that to one of your friends in another talent section. Your real parents were… not around… Someone else took you in, is that right?”

“I am adopted, yes,” Emily says with a smile. “And I’m not ashamed of it. Something asked me if I am and I want the world to know that the people who adopted me are the best parents in the world and deserve to have some children of their own, but since they can’t, I plan on being the best child possible. They deserve that in the least.”

“They are very lucky to have such a kind hearted and beautiful daughter like you. I’m sure they appreciate you. Very nice, Emily. Does that mean you would like to pursue a career linked with hip-hop dancing?”

“Yes.”

“Excellent.” Emily steps back and Aiken makes eye contact with Marybeth. “Marybeth?”

She steps forward and does the same.

“It’s kind of a weird backstory. I was in sixth grade and I had a crush on a boy who sat next to me in Math. His name, I don’t remember, but for now, we’ll just call him John. I wanted to impress John because I thought I needed him to reduce bullying at school. That and he was a cutie. That’s what I thought. So I took a bunch of dancing classes because he loved bad hip-hop girls and I thought it would easier than being mean to people. So at the next talent show at school, there were a lot of cameras. And he was going to a sing a song. I thought if I could dance well, he would ask me out after the talent show, but then, during my dance routine, I tripped over my own shoelaces and fell. Everyone laughed at me. It was humiliating. I ran off the stage and cried in the bathroom. That night, he called me and told me meet him by the apple tree, which was the only tree that year that had grown apples, so it wasn’t difficult to find the tree. Then he told me he knew I liked him, but was interested in someone else. A girl I’ve known for a long time then and I didn’t think he was interested in that kind of a girl, but he told me she wasn’t trying to fit in or even stand out. She just wanted to be herself and to him, that’s attractive. That’s the type of girl he wanted.”

“I’m sorry Marybeth,” Aiken says as the people in the audience wipe their tears away. “Are you still in love with… John?” Aiken asks.

She shakes her head.

“No, John is my past. I’m completely over him. In sixth grade, things like boys seem so important that we lose sight of what really matters, then and when we’re older. Now I’m like someone else, who appreciates me for being the crazy and oddball girl I am and I value that,” she says.

“That’s great, Marybeth. Keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll go far in life. What about you? Would you like to use dancing as a career choice if at all possible?”

“I most certainly would.” She steps back and smiles.

“Awesome. Now… Danny. Your turn. Thank you for being to patient with me and our ladies with their backstories. Would you like to share yours?”

I smile and step forward.

“My mom signed me up for dancing. They taught us all types of dancing and from an early age, hip-hop has always been my favorite type. So after I finished that class, Mom noticed I had a passion for hip hop dancing and signed me for that particular dancing class and I loved it. Then I went through some stuff as I got older and to me, going to dance became more like a chore instead of a hobby. At the age of ten, I dropped the class and stopped dancing. My mom wasn’t too happy about that. She spent a lot of money on it, but was more focused on me quitting because I love dancing. She didn’t care about the thousands of dollars she invested in me doing something I loved. I didn’t dance again for years. Then my mom died when I was fourteen and I came to live with my aunt and her husband. He was her fiance at the time. They enrolled me at Talent Hall in New Jersey and once again, I fell back into dancing and I love it. I never thought I would go back to dancing again, but it happened. That’s life.”

“You were telling me something like that I believe. You said something about not being sure if you wanted to go to Talent Hall or another ordinary school because of past experiences… Is that true?

“In my mind, all schools were the same. Bullies. Judgmental people who have no purpose in life aside form making your life hell.”

“Are you glad you made the choice to attend Talent Hall, Danny, or would you decide to do something different if you had the chance to start all over again?”

“I am very proud of my decision. Aiken. I didn’t think I’d get different opportunities and that’s exactly what I got. I have no regrets whatsoever. If given the chance to start over, I would make the same choice. Just with less anxiety.”

“I’m glad to hear that. It brings I and the principals of Talent Hall all over the world great joy to hear that you love the school. Afterall, it was created for talented kids like you. Does that mean if you have the chance to use this as a career choice, whether it’s a backup dancer in a band or just a hip-hop dancing instructor?”

“Without hesitation.”

“Excellent. I’m glad to hear you all respond positively. Well, I’ll shut up and let you talented kids show us your stuff.” He moves to the farthest side of the stage and holds the microphone. The audience are applauding for us to continue, giving us enough time to whisper about which order the dance steps are going to go in.

We all spread apart. Emily on the left, me in the middle and Marybeth on the right. We take a deep breath at the same time so we’re on the same page. I’m in the middle so everyone will automatically be focused on me. Something we were aware of when they elected me the middle person.

Five.

Six.

Seven.

Eight.

The three of us start off with one kick and pull one foot out. After that, we do the same, but to the other side. At the same time, we’re crossing one foot over another. The girls push their hands through their hair as they dance. To them, it makes what they’re doing seem revealing. They told me that backstage. I said I didn’t care as long as a pervert didn’t come onstage or I would probably go off. They thought it was a joke, but I’m still dead serious.

Some of the teenage guys are making it clear they like what they see. I huff and roll my eyes while the girls both whisper to me about how they like it.

“Clearly,” I whisper back.

We go back to sliding from side to side, but instead of jumping and hopping, we’re just standing straighter in the middle, somewhat clenching our fists and then bringing down our whole arms to our sides and then we do that again. We slide from the right, stop, throw our arms down by our sides with clenched fists and then do the same as we slide from the left side to the right side. The more we do it, the faster our steps become. We don’t stop dancing as we lead into some different steps. We’ve already done these today, but who cares?

We start by kicking one foot ahead of another and then crossing it over the other foot. That slightly moves us over to the left again. The back foot comes back out on it’s rightful side and we repeat that a couple of times, going from left to right, as usual, but not as slow as we did when we first started. Not that we were slow, but you start a new dance move a little slower, but not quite as slow as you do when you first start dancing.

The three of us slap our knees one at a time with opposite hands. So our right hand slaps our left knee and our left slaps our right. We eventually stop slapping, but continue to bring our knees up one at a time, just as we were before. Then we start to clap our hands and go back to slapping our knees. Me being in the middle, I’m forced to put more energy into the routine than the girls are. Our knees are bent slightly as they should be. It shows you’re relaxed and not too tense. Although I’m nervous, I’m not too tense. That would make it nearly impossible to dance.

We turn sideways and move our arms from one side to the other. Our knees are still bent, but our turn ourselves from side to side long with our moving arms and snapping fingers. The girls switch sides, but continue to do the same thing. At the same time as they do a slow spin, I do a flip and hand on my hand and hold my balance, keeping myself there.

Is now a bad time to mention I need to pee?

The girls land on one knee and strike a pose with one hand holding up their heads, devious smirks formed on their faces.

I glimpse at Aiken who winks at me and applauds with the audience. They are still clapping by the time I get backstage, pee, wash my hands, and sit on the couch, trying to catch my breath. Or at least that’s what it feels like. The next group, Liam and Zayden are standing out there by the time they even think about stopping.

I take a deep breath.

“I did it. I’m done. I survived,” I whisper to myself. Kayiah grabs my face and plants a soft kiss on my lips. My heart stops and then beats normally after a few minutes. My face turns bright red. Red enough to cause everyone to laugh at me and call me “lovestruck”.

The other dancers perform really fast, but it could have been that I’m no longer onstage and no one’s watching and judging me based on my dancing skills anymore so it doesn’t feel like an eternity to me, but I’m sure it feels that to everyone. They give me the hint that it’s very nerve wracking for them when they come back and ask if the bright lights symbolizing they’re dying from cardiac arrest and entering heaven.

“Up next, we have miss Gabby Cook, our ballet dancer. First of all, Gabby, how did you fall in love with ballet?”

“My dad enrolled me in a class and I found it relaxing. It was a way to help me focus better by relaxing a few times a week. They say a child needs to balance work and play. This helped me to do that.”Aiken nods and I think he’s waiting for more, but she nods her head slowly. “That’s it.”

“Oh! My deepest apologies. It’s just that’s the most normal backstory I’ve heard all night.’

“It’s short. I knew I was in trouble when I heard the other dancers and their backstories because mine is short and boring and everyone went through something serious like Danny and Emily and it shaped them into the amazing people they are today.”

“No backstory is boring. It’s a part of who we are. It just seems that you’ve had more luck in life than they have,” Aiken says. “And you would like to use this as a career?”

“Absolutely. I’d have it no other way. I should be able to do something I love almost as much as sleeping.”

That gets a couple of chuckles from the audience and Aiken himself.

“That’s true. I admire your optimism. Well, I’ll be quiet and let you do your thing, Gabby.”

She takes the stage by her ballet skills. I’ve never taken ballet obviously or watched another girl do it before. Gabby is the first person I’ve seen do ballet, but you can tell she puts a lot of work and passion in what she does. She’s very poised, balanced, and disciplined. It’s amazing how different people are. We just went from loud and fast hip hip to calm and slow ballet. It’s hard to describe what she is doing when it comes to dancing, but twenty to thirty years from now, no one is going to remember exactly what she did. Instead they’ll remember how she made them feel and hopefully whether she had recognizable talent and she clearly does.

When she stops, she gives the audience a bow and blows a kiss. They clap louder than ever. The judges write down some side notes. Aiken takes a deep breath. “She really knows how to make a man feel old, doesn’t she?” The older people are the ones to laugh. “Thank you very much, Gabby.”

She runs backstage and hugs her mom who kisses her forehead and tells her of how proud she is. Lia goes to congratulate her. I smile. My face seems to have calmed down. It’s not as red anymore. No one’s laughing at me now. My phone beeps. Kayiah looks at me and returns her attention to the screen for Aiken announce another break. I pick up my phone and notice a message from Jack. I’m nervous, but relieved to are it’s about my dancing skills.

“He doesn’t have to make it sound so creepy,” Kayiah says. “He’s plenty creepy already.”

“I guess you don’t want to come to a family dinner with me one of these days then,” I tease.

“Depends on who’s going to be there. If your lovely father is involved,” she says with heavy sarcasm. “I’m afraid I’ll have to pass.”

“Wish I had such a luxury. I’m jealous.” Kayiah plants a kiss on my cheek again and smiles. My cheeks go into blushing mode again. I’m choking on my words. “I-um, after I take care of the Jack situation, I’m wondering if you wanna watch a movie?”

“I’d love to.”