“As far as I know he’s single, but I’ll ask around for you.”
I smiled and leaned over to hug him. “Thanks Mike.”
He hugged me back awkwardly with the desks between us. “You’ll owe me though.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
☀☀☀
The girls were on top of things. Mckayla sent out a text during second period to have us meet at her car after class. When I got there the other three were crowded around her trunk.
“Hey guys.”
They turned from what they were doing creating a human shield from whatever was in the trunk. They saw it was me and turned back. Mckayla started picking something up.
“I put everything in black bags so people wouldn’t see what we’re doing. Can you each grab one then we need to hurry back to the science hall where his locker is.”
We followed her instructions and went the back way around the school to avoid as many people as possible. I felt like secret agents as we dodged people seeing us and covering the bags whenever we needed to.
Mckayla led the way to Sean’s locker. Talia looked around to make sure nobody was around before dropping her bag. “How do you know this is his locker and how are you planning on getting in?”
“You guys seriously underestimate the power of being an office aide.” She pulled out a piece of paper and flashed it at us. “His locker number and combo!”
“Isn’t that a violation of privacy? I’m pretty sure you broke like ten school rules and at least two laws.”
“Oh please. Those ladies love me, they helped me actually. Let’s hurry and finish this before third period ends.”
“How are we going to explain missing class?”
“I had the ladies excuse all of us.” She turned and saw us eyeing each other. “Don’t worry I’ve taken care of everything.”
She starting spinning the dial and put in the combo before turning to us again. “Talia, you go to the end of the hall and keep watch. Distract anyone coming down here and turn them around if you can. Alexis, start opening the bags and don’t let any of the balloons get away. Aubrey, start stuffing them in.”
She opened his locker and we started our assignments with the efficiency of trained military personnel.
Mckayla really had thought of everything. She printed out Sean’s schedule so we figured out when he was most likely to come back to his locker. We got lucky and didn’t have to wait very long since he came by between third and fourth period. We hid down the hall mixed in with the crowd rushing to their classes. Sean came down the hall and stopped at his locker.
I laughed at his reaction when he opened it. He jumped back as balloons flew out with notes attached to their stings. A few people around him helped gather them together so he could organize them. We had numbered the balloons so he could read the message in order without taking too much time.
I couldn’t help but watch his face as he read Mckayla’s invitation to the formal. His smile slowly spread until he was beaming. This was her cue. Mckayla pushed passed us and moved toward him. She stood behind him and tapped his shoulder. He jumped again and laughed as he turned. He froze when he saw Mckayla seemingly shocked that it was her asking him. He recovered quickly and smiled at her, nodding. Mckayla jumped up and down then hugged him. I couldn’t tell who was happier but the moment was precious.
☀☀☀
After school I headed over to the Dance Academy for my first ballet class with Cassie. I wanted to get there early to change and begin stretching and warming up since it would be my first time with the other girls and the instructor. Dancing every day at school was one thing, but dancing with trained girls again was nerve-racking.
Cassie remained next to me and introduced me to the other girls as they arrived. The majority of them seemed nice enough, but I could easily spot which girls were not welcoming of new arrivals. The instructor walked in and immediately all chit chat cut off and the girls moved into straight rows without one spoken direction. She wore a beige sweater knotted over her black leotard and had a severe bun that emphasized her stern expression. Her appearance alone commanded strict obedience.
Cassie nodded her head to the left so I followed her and we took positions next to each other. Quiet music filled the form as the instructor turned toward us.
“Good evening, class. I see a new face has joined us. Your name?” She was standing in perfect first position as if it was the most natural thing.
“I’m Aubrey Tate. This is my first class at the studio.”
“Miss Tate, I hope you are adequately prepared for this class, if not I will ask you to leave. Being friends does not mean you are of equal ability.”
Was this woman serious? The class hasn’t even started and she’s threatening to kick me out?
“I understand . . .”
“Miss Amy. You will only address me as Miss Amy.”
I nodded. “Yes, Miss Amy.”
I thought I caught the smallest hint of a smile, but it could have been the lighting. “Very well, let’s start class. Begin stretches.”
Without any further instruction I glanced around and followed the others through the various stretches as Miss Amy strode around the room observing. It was several minutes later that she spoke again.
“To the barre ladies.” We each stood and drifted to the mirrors along the perimeter of the room and placed on hand lightly on the barre. “Plié.” I bent my knees instinctively and counted in my head as I went through the familiar motion.
A few eight counts later she barked again, “Tendu rigid structure.” I followed along with the girls around me and got lost in the movements. This was all second nature to me so I had to remind myself to keep my posture and remember my lines so I didn’t appear sloppy.
“Battement tendu jete.” I made the change seamlessly and felt Miss Amy’s eyes on me. I held my head high and tried not to get ahead of the counts. My pulse was rushing as everything in my body once again felt as if it had a purpose and position. I had been craving this feeling without realizing it. My life always felt in order when I was dancing. I forgot the drama with the guys and focused only on my body bending and moving flawlessly.
“Ronds de Jambe.” Once again she changed command without warning. I flowed into the graceful movement. I kept my shoulders and back pin straight as Miss Amy glided up behind me and watched my movements with the intensity of a hunter watching its prey. I refused to let her gaze frazzle me in the slightest.
“Port des bras.” She changed much sooner this time, but I merged into the move without missing a count. I kept my legs locked in place and extended my arms paying special attention to keep my back straight as I bent forward then back. She gave no comment but clucked her tongue as she moved past me.
Had I messed up or was that a cluck of endearment? Before I could mull this over anymore she spoke again. “We will finish with Frappés.” She counted off for the first time and the other girls immediately fell into routine. I was reminded how slow I’d become in just two weeks off as I struggled for the first time in the class to keep up. I told myself I needed to refocus on what is important to me rather than wasting time on boys and formal dances.
Miss Amy ended the class and excused everyone. Girls changed their shoes and pulled on pants and jackets before gathering their things to leave. Miss Amy caught me as I was walking out the door. “You did well for your first time. You need to practice on your own, but I think we can improve your technique.” I nodded in agreement. “Are you auditioning for the company team?”
“Yes, Cassie told me the auditions are this Saturday.”
“Very well. Practice before then. I will see you on Saturday.” I took that as my cue to leave so I headed out the door and waved to Cassie as I got in my car to drive home.
Chapter 16
Mckayla had done a lot of the work behind asking Sean to formal, so it was pretty easy. The plan for Alexis and Talia to ask Justin and Mark was more challenging and required more planni
ng. They bought window paint last night and during lunch we devised our plan. Mckayla and I were going to stay after school and write on their cars during their practice so it would be a total surprise for the guys.
Once they started practice Mckayla and I snuck through the parking lot to the first car. We were trying to be stealthy but ended up laughing the whole time.
“You have to stop laughing! We’re ninjas right now and ninjas don’t laugh.” Mckayla was definitely trying to be serious but I ended up laughing so hard I had to stop and catch my breath.
“You’re laughing too, dork! Plus, they’re inside and it’s not like they’re going to hear us.” I continued sneaking behind her half hunched over between cars.
“Someone could appear at any moment and report us!”
“Seriously, do you hear yourself? The only people left here are people with practices. No one is going to report us. Who would anyone even report us to?” Ha! That stumped her for about two seconds. We were almost to the first car when I heard a chuckle coming from behind us.
We both slowly turned still hunched over and saw a girl staring at us with her keys held out like she was ready to get into her car. “Um . . . what are you guys doing?”
Mckayla sighed in relief. “Oh, hi Kelly. We’re on a mission for Talia and Alexis.”
The girl stuck one hip out with her hand on us and gazed at us with a curious expression. “A mission?”
“Yeah, they’re asking two of the volleyball guys to formal. We’re writing on their cars while they’re at practice so they won’t suspect anything.” She grinned like an evil mastermind as if this was the most diabolical plan.
“Right . . . well you’re blocking my door. Good luck with the mission.” We moved so she could get into the driver side and continued on dashing to the next row without being spotted.
We finally made it to Justin’s car, an older Honda Accord, and opened the pens to get started.
“What are we saying again?” I knew the plan by heart after having to repeat it back to the others so many times but I was enjoying stressing Mckayla.
“Seriously? ‘Will you go to formal with me heart car number 1 . . . come find me!’ It’s not that hard . . . or even original how could you forget?” Okay maybe I needed to ease up, she looked like she was going to explode.
“I’m kidding. We’ve got this, don’t worry.” We rushed around the car writing each of our parts then adding a few embarrassing hearts and smiley faces just because there was no one around to stop us.
We were moving onto the second car just as the guys burst from the gym and took off running. We paused in the middle of the lane in plain sight trying to see where they were headed. “Get down!” I grabbed Mckayla who seemed to be frozen in place.
We dove behind the nearest car and watched them turn together and head the opposite direction toward the practice field. I leaned back against the car and looked at Mckayla, she was so freaked out I couldn’t help but laugh at her pale face.
“We’re good! None of them saw us. Let’s just hurry before they head back this direction.” We took off sprinting to Mark’s Toyota Tacoma on the far side of the lot. Unfortunately he didn’t move his car before practice so we had less coverage than before. We repeated what we wrote on Justin’s car with a number two instead. As we were making our way back toward the gym to the girls’ cars we saw the guys running back toward us.
“Crap! This is the end of their practice! We have to get to their cars before the guys come back out . . . run!” Never before had a seen Mckayla run that fast. Not even when we were little and Brandon had chased her around the beach holding a dead fish.
I followed her and we each took a car to write the number for each guy before running back to the gym to wait for the girls.
“Did everything go alright?” Alexis was out first and looked concerned, as if we couldn’t accomplish this one thing.
“Yeah everything is set. We just have to wait for the boys.” Talia came out next and we moved out of sight and waited to see the guys’ reactions. Justin came out with a few of his teammates and they all walked out to his car. One of the others noticed the writing first and pointed it out. Justin hurried to his car and read the writing. He looked around like a girl would pop out then motioned the guys to get in. He pulled out and began driving around the parking lot.
“That’s my cue!” Alexis jumped out and hurried to her car to wait for Justin. We watched as he finally made it to her row and stopped behind her car when he saw her. He jumped out and gave her a hug, guess they were set!
“He said yes!” Mckayla looked like a kid in a candy store watching them hug then Justin nodding. “Now Mark just needs to come out . . .”
Just as she said that Mark appeared with another guy and began the trek out to his truck. This time he noticed first and moved around taking in our drawings and the message. The two of them finally got in and drove back to the majority of the cars.
“Oh crap! I need to be out there!” Talia stood and ran to her car before Mark approached. He must have seen the number on her window since he stopped and she jumped out. Mark stepped out of his truck and moved toward her. I could see them talking then he nodded with a huge grin and brought her in for a hug. He seemed so happy she asked him, it was almost as precious as Sean’s reaction.
Since our jobs were done Mckayla and I headed out to the parking lot toward her car. “Well done girl. Now it’s just you that needs a date. We can plan for that tomorrow!” She was way more enthusiastic about the idea of me going with Luke than I was. I was too nervous, why would a popular guy like him go with some random girl like me? I shook the negative thought and got in my car to head home. I didn’t want to ruin my happy mood from this afternoon.
☀☀☀
I didn’t have dance after school so when I got home from school I changed into gym clothes and headed downstairs to work out. I looked in on the gym, but the weather outside was too sunny to be indoors. I changed direction and started jogging as soon as I hit the sidewalk. I didn’t have a midpoint planned to turn around so I ended up at the point of the peninsula overlooking the ocean. I stopped—inhaling the salty air and letting the breeze cool me down.
This is exactly what I needed to calm down and refocus. I came here to start over, I needed to let go of the insecurities I brought with me and enjoy being here. So far things were going one hundred times better than I could have ever hoped. I made new friends at school, I had a dance studio to attend, things between me and my brother were working out, and best of all I was out from under my mom’s rule.
I still felt out of place, especially around Mckayla’s family . . . my family. I told myself it would take time to fit in as well as Brandon does, but it was hard feeling like an outsider with them.
I stood enjoying the view and ocean breeze for a few more minutes before turning around and continuing my run. On the way back I saw a smoothie place and I decided I deserved one for finishing my course. I ordered and stood back waiting for my name to be called. There were only two other customers so it was hard not to notice the guy dressed in all black at the colorful table. I recognized Gage even from behind. When my smoothie was ready I grabbed it and headed over to his table. I stood there for a moment smiling before he finally looked up.
“Hi Gage, I’m Aubrey . . . from English . . . and the bon fire.” There was no sign of recognition on his face making me feel incredibly uncomfortable. How could he really have no idea who I was?
“Aubrey. Can I help you?” Wow this guy sure knew how to make a girl feel warm and fuzzy. I was ready to turn and walk away and never speak to him again when his hand shot out grabbing mine. I looked down at our hands, then at his face. I was ready to let him have it for pretending to not know me and then touching me, but the look on his face stopped me. It was his turn to look uncomfortable and even more compelling he looked nervous.
“I’m sorry for being so rude. I just wasn’t expecting anyone to talk to me here. Do you want to sit?”
“Do you usually attack anyone that dares to speak to you?” I wasn’t meaning to be so rude, but he had the ability to bring it out in me.
“No, no one’s usually dumb enough to try.” He almost smiled as he said that but quickly went back to brooding.
“But you’re so pleasant!” My sarcasm seemed to be lost on him.
“Why are you talking to me?”
“I’m asking myself that very question right now. I’ve tried multiple times to talk to you and each times it turns into a bigger disaster.” I looked down at my smoothie wishing it was a crystal ball with all the answers, or at least a Magic 8 ball.
“Haven’t you been warned to stay away from me by your friends already?”
My head shot up. How did he know that? “Maybe. But nobody will tell me why. They just tell me you’re bad news, and you could ruin a girl’s reputation.”
He smirked at that. “That makes sense I guess.”
“Will you tell me? I don’t usually believe rumors but it might be all I have to go off of with you. Please?” That seemed to change his mind. He looked me in the eye for a few moments and shrugged.
“I don’t get why you care so much, but since you asked nicely I’ll tell you.” He took a sip of his smoothie and sat back in his chair. He looked away from me toward the windows as he spoke. “Freshman year I started hanging out with some kids that were into drugs. I didn’t know it at first, but they seemed cool so I hung around them. I only ever tried smoking with them once. I never really got why they did it.”
He seemed lost in the memory like it was the first time he was retelling it. “The school was having random locker searches one day and they found a stash in mine. It wasn’t mine, but that doesn’t matter to the school or the police officers they called in. My parents were so mad at me they requested I get sent to juvy instead of community service. They wanted to teach me a lesson, I guess.”
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