Stepping Up

by Maggie M. Larche

  “Thanks!” said Jenna. That was an outcome she hadn’t expected, and, as she turned away, her face was beaming.

  She found herself staring straight into Moira’s eyes.

  “Geez!” Jenna jumped. “Give a girl some space.”

  “Did I hear right? You’re actually going to give dance lessons? You certainly think highly enough of yourself, don’t you? Already ready to be a teacher.”

  “It’s not like that,” said Jenna, annoyed. “I’m teaching little kids. Anybody could do it. It’s not like I think I’m so great.”

  “Looks that way to me,” said Moira. She turned to leave. “Good luck,” she said over her shoulder. “Kids that age are a real handful. I doubt you’ll be able to handle them on their own.”

  Jenna said nothing. Inside she was seething, but – more than that – a tiny part of her feared that Moira might be right. But she put it out of her mind. She could handle a bunch of kids.

  After practice, Jenna continued to prepare for her first lesson. She hung a few of her leftover flyers on the way home, figuring it couldn’t hurt. She tacked one flyer up on a light pole, right next to a Y.M.A.W. advertisement. She thought that hers was definitely prettier.

  Once home, Jenna made a playlist to use during practice. Then she made a sign for the front door to let students know they were in the right place.

  After she hung the sign, she got a call from Mary.

  “Hello?” Jenna walked back into her house and collapsed onto the couch as she talked.

  “Hello, Jenna. This is Mary. We go to school together. And we used to be friends. Maybe you remember me.”

  Jenna sighed. “Am I detecting some sass?”

  “No, of course not. It’s totally your call if you’d rather run dance lessons, without any help from us, and miss out on awesome friend time. Whatever.”

  “Oh, stop. I don’t have any time for drama. I’m super busy today.”

  “Yeah, I know. I saw one of your flyers.”

  “You did?” Jenna asked. “Where?”

  “I babysat the Ryley twins last night. That is, me and Disney Junior did. The girls brought the flyer home with them from the playground.”

  “And what did you think?”

  “I have to admit, it looks pretty good. I hope you get tons of kids. That’ll at least make all this work worth it.”

  “Mary –”

  “No. It’s fine. But you sure you don’t want to take a break and come to the movie? I’m about to leave now. You could still make it. Don’t you want to know where Eleanor Finley goes next?”

  Jenna really did, but then she thought of her looming tuition bill. “I can’t skip out on tonight. My mom’s all about game night.”

  “Ok, fine. But I’m going to call you afterwards to tell you all about it.”

  “Don’t you dare.”

  “You’ve been warned. Don’t pick up the phone unless you want lots of spoilers.”

  Jenna laughed and was seized by a sudden longing to see her friends. So what if she couldn’t tell them about her dad? She missed them.

  “Mary,” she said, “before you go… Do you think that you and Rita and Pam could stop by tomorrow afternoon? I should be done with my first lesson by three. We could have a little celebration afterwards.”

  “You really want us there?”

  “Absolutely. What do you say?”

  “I’ll check with the girls. But I think we can make that happen.”

  “Thanks,” said Jenna, feeling a rush of happiness. Over the past few days, Jenna had felt disconnected from her friends. It was hard to keep this secret from them, and she just wanted things to be the way they used to be.

  “No problem,” said Mary. “So I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Can’t wait.”

  Just as Jenna hung up the phone, she heard the front door open and close.

  “Young Men at Work, in the house,” she heard Steven call. “And we’re loaded.”

  Jenna rose from her seat to investigate. She found Steven and Edward in the kitchen. Steven deposited a plastic grocery bag on the counter.

  “Hey, Jenna,” said Edward. He smiled, and Jenna found herself smiling back.

  “What’s all this?” asked Jenna.

  “The fruits of our labor,” said Steven.

  “Oh, yeah. How’d the scissor job go?”

  “Great. Except our hands are about to fall off.”

  Edward nodded in agreement and pulled off his bright red baseball cap. “My fingers are freezing, too. It’s cold out there.”

  Steven continued. “It is amazing how much monkey grass Mrs. Carter has.”

  Jenna surveyed the countertop. “Did she pay you in food or something?”

  “Obviously not, sis. Cold hard cash. This part is just our contribution to the cause.” He turned from her and bellowed, “Mom!”

  Jenna looked questioningly at Edward, but he just laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

  Jenna’s parents made their way into the kitchen.

  “You know, Steven,” said their mother, “there are politer ways to get my attention.”

  “Sorry, Mom,” said Steven, “but we’ve got something to show you.” He spread his hands with a flourish over the plastic bag.

  “Um, how nice,” said their mom.

  “What is it?” asked their dad.

  “We bought lunch.”

  Jenna noticed that Edward stepped back a bit. “You guys bought lunch?” she asked. “For us?”

  “Sure did,” said Steven. “Take a look.”

  Their mother started to unpack the bag. “Steven, Edward… This is so sweet of you boys.” She pulled out food items. “Vienna sausages. Potato chips. Powdered doughnuts. And… peanuts?”

  “There wasn’t a whole lot to choose from at the corner store,” put in Edward.

  Their mother laughed. “I could guess not. How did you guys pay for this?”

  Steven threw an arm around his mom. “With our earnings from our job today. We just wanted to help out.”

  She laughed and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you. To both of you.”

  Her dad clapped both boys on the back. “You’re good eggs, that’s for sure. And, Edward, I hope you’ll stay and eat with us.”

  “Thanks, Mr. Marlow. I do like powdered doughnuts.”

  The family bustled around the kitchen, pulling down plates and fixing drinks. As she helped, Jenna glanced at the two boys. She wondered whose idea it had been to buy lunch. Her brother could be generous when the mood struck, but she’d noticed over the years that Edward was especially thoughtful. If she had to place a bet, she’d say Edward came up with the suggestion to buy a meal, and Steven picked out the crazy food combinations.

  Lunch was a jolly affair. The Vienna sausages, peanuts, and potato chips weren’t too bad together, though Jenna drew the line at eating powdered doughnuts on the same plate. She elected to save hers for dessert. She almost gagged when Steven and Edward made sausage sandwiches, using doughnuts for bread, but her dad boomed with laughter.

  Jenna sneaked a glance at her father. He seemed to be pretty cheerful, on the whole. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected when she heard that Dad lost his job. Maybe some moping around the house. Or general grumpiness. Anything instead of this steady good humor. It was weird and vaguely annoying. Why did Jenna seem to be the only one put out by this whole layoff thing?

  After lunch, Edward rose to go. “Gotta run. My dad made it pretty clear I was doing chores this afternoon.”

  “Goodness,” said Jenna’s mom. “And after all that work this morning, too.”

  “As long as I get a break from the scissors.” He rubbed his hand. “My muscles are still cramping.”

  The family laughed, and Edward left the room. Jenna rose to take her plate to the sink and saw Edward’s baseball cap on the counter.

  “He forgot his hat. I’ll try to catch him.” She grabbed it and dashed out the door.

  Edward was already down the step
s when she emerged.

  “Hey,” she called, dashing onto the front porch. “Missing something?”

  Edward turned, saw Jenna, and trotted back up the steps. She held out the hat to him.

  “Hey, thanks,” he said.

  “No problem,” said Jenna.

  “Guess I’ll see you around.” He turned to go again.

  “Hey, Edward.” She stopped him. “I’ve got a question.”

  “Shoot.”

  “Why did you buy us lunch? I mean, it was really nice of you. Super nice. I’m just wondering, did you actually get paid anything this morning? I mean, beyond what you spent on us?”

  “Sure, I got a little.”

  “But why did you use your money to buy us food? Why not make Steven pay for all of it?”

  He frowned. “Steven’s my best friend. And he’s the one who needs help right now. I don’t mind.”

  Jenna surveyed Edward thoughtfully. “I’m not sure Steven deserves you.”

  “Your friends would do the same for you.”

  “Probably. But I don’t intend to ask them to.”

  “Well, thanks for the hat.” He pulled it on and grinned. “It’s my favorite.”

  “It should be,” said Jenna. “Red looks good on you.” Then she froze. What had she just said? What would Edward think she meant by that?

  She could feel her cheeks flaming. Edward opened his mouth to reply, but Jenna cut him off.

  “Bye,” she said abruptly before she whirled around and ran back into the house.

  Chapter 6

  The next afternoon, Jenna was ready. The class would start at 2:00, so Jenna was dressed and warmed up by 1:30. She’d chosen a black leotard and tights, feeling that the dark color would help set her apart as the teacher. Her hair was tightly knotted on her head, and she felt extremely grown up.

  Her iPod was ready with music, and the basement looked pretty legitimate. She made one last circle around the room. All the boxes were out of the way. The floor was clear. She’d even cleaned every inch of the mirror so that it was streak-free.

  By 1:45, Jenna was restless. She ran up the stairs to hang out by the front door. She wondered how many students she would get. Ten would be awesome. Fifteen would be even better. She paced back and forth in excitement.

  When no one showed up by two, Jenna started to worry. Where were they?

  She walked out onto her front porch, jumping up and down to stay warm in the chilly air. She looked up and down the street, but didn’t see a soul. Did she remember to put the correct time on her flyers?

  At 2:15, Jenna was able to tell herself that her students were just late. It was the first day, after all.

  By 2:30, Jenna gave up. No one was coming.

  ***

  Three o’clock found Jenna lying on the old basement couch. She felt that the sad, brown plaid of the upholstery perfectly fit her mood. She’d opened a can of soda and popped a bag of popcorn before sprawling across the ugly sofa. Methodically, she ate her way through the entire bag, chomping bite after bite like a robot. She looked down in surprise when the popcorn ran out.

  Jenna discarded the trash onto the floor and looked around her dance studio, such as it was. Right about now, she should have been saying goodbye to all her eager little students. They would wave, or possibly even run up and give her a goodbye hug, while their parents would press ten-dollar bills into her hand. She should have enough for a week’s worth of dance lessons by now.

  Instead, she had a stomachache.

  She wondered how her friends would react when they found out she was a failure. What would Steven say, with his own thriving odd job company? What would Edward say?

  At the thought of Edward, Jenna’s thoughts derailed again. Ever since their conversation yesterday, she found herself thinking about him more and more. Which was weird, because she didn’t really think she’d ever noticed him before.

  But that’s not really true. I’ve noticed that he’s thoughtful and funny and that he looks good in red. She groaned and closed her eyes. I’ve been noticing all kinds of things.

  “Jenna?” She heard Pam’s voice call from the head of the basement stairs. “You down there?”

  Jenna only grunted. She didn’t bother to move.

  “Your mom let us in,” Pam said. “She said you had a little trouble with your lessons today.”

  “Oh, dear,” said Mary.

  Jenna opened her eyes. Pam, Rita, and Mary stood in a clump at the foot of the basement stairs. They approached her cautiously, almost as if she were a wild, wounded animal.

  “Hey, Jenna,” said Mary. “Whatcha doing?”

  Jenna gave a hollow laugh. “Celebrating my first dance lesson, obviously.” She rolled onto her side. “Don’t you see all my satisfied customers?”

  “I see an empty popcorn bag,” said Rita, picking it up between her two fingers. “Did you eat this whole thing?”

  “Yep.”

  “Whoa. I think this is a cry for help.”

  “It’s just a cry,” said Jenna. “Nothing can help me.”

  Rita dropped the popcorn bag and settled onto the couch, pushing Jenna’s feet out of the way.

  “Hey!”

  Rita ignored her. “Ok, so you didn’t get any students. But it’s not that big of a deal.”

  “It’s only your first day,” added Pam. “You just need a little more time.”

  “I don’t have any time.”

  “Jenna,” said Rita. “You have oodles and oodles of time. We’re only 12.”

  “You don’t understand.”

  “Maybe this is a sign,” said Mary. “You’re already so busy with your dance classes.”

  At that, Jenna let out a little whimper. She just couldn’t help herself.

  Mary looked alarmed and clearly lost her train of thought. Jenna saw the three girls exchange worried glances.

  They must think I’m crazy.

  “Jen,” said Pam, putting her hand on Jenna’s shoulder, “I think there’s something you’re not telling us. What’s going on?”

  Jenna took a deep breath. Suddenly, keeping the secret from her friends seemed like a lot more trouble than it was worth.

  “It’s my dad. He lost his job last week.”

  The girls answered with a wall of shocked silence.

  “Oh, no,” said Pam. “Jenna, we’re so sorry.”

  “Why didn’t you say something?” asked Mary.

  “I don’t know,” said Jenna. “No, that’s not true. It’s because I was embarrassed. Happy? I’m a horrible, shallow person.”

  “You’re not shallow,” said Pam.

  “But you also don’t have to be embarrassed,” said Mary. “People lose their jobs all the time.”

  “Not my dad,” said Jenna.

  The girls were quiet for a moment.

  “So you’re giving dance classes,” asked Rita, resuming the original topic, “to help out at home? With money?”

  “More than that,” said Jenna. “Mom and Dad can’t afford my dance tuition anymore. I have until the end of the month to raise enough to keep taking classes.”

  “How much do you need?” asked Rita.

  “$183. This month. Next month, another $200. And then the month after that. And on and on and on.”

  “Yikes.”

  “We could help you out,” said Pam. “We could pool our money.”

  “Yeah!” said Mary. “I’ve got some cash saved up.”

  Rita joined in. “I spent all of mine on the movie yesterday, but I can ask Mom for more.”

  Jenna shook her head. “You guys are really sweet. But I don’t want you to pay for my classes. It doesn’t feel right.”

  “But we want to help,” said Mary.

  “I know, but you can’t. Besides,” Jenna sniffed, “it’s silly anyways. I mean, it’s just dance. So what if I have to quit for a while? So what if I lose the top spot? So what if Moira…” Here, she trailed off, unable to completely finish that thought.

  “You c
an’t quit,” said Mary. “We know what dance means to you.”

  “You love it,” said Rita.

  “And if you quit,” added Pam, “who will help me when I fall behind? Or fall down, for that matter?”

  Jenna smiled. “Thanks, guys. Really. But there’s nothing I can do.”

  “Well,” said Rita. “There is something we can do. If you won’t take our money, then you’ll just have to accept our help.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You want to earn the money through your own dance school? Then we’ll help you get one going.”

  “We will?” asked Mary. “I mean, we will!”

  “I couldn’t do that.” Jenna shook her head. “And besides, the idea didn’t work. Just look around you. No students.”

  “Puh-lease,” said Rita. “Nothing like this ever works on the first try. In every single Eleanor Finley movie, doesn’t she come up against all kinds of obstacles?”

  “Yes…”

  “And does she ever give up?”

  Jenna sighed. “No.”

  “Come on then. So the first lessons didn’t work,” repeated Rita. “But you’ve got us with you now, and we’re going to band together to make the best dance school this city – or at least this neighborhood – has ever seen.”

  Jenna felt hopeful for the first time since her lessons failed. “Do you really think we can do it?”

  “Of course we can.” Rita stood up.

  Jenna let them pull her to her feet. Shaking her head, she actually blinked back a few tears. It was good to feel close to them again.

  “Ok, girls,” said Rita, “we’ve got some thinking to do.”

  One hour later, the girls were sprawled across the basement floor. They pulled down the couch cushions to use as pillows as they talked. Mary insisted on popping a new bag of popcorn, though Jenna couldn’t eat any more herself.

  Rita took control.

  “Ok, so we’ve got a tactical problem.”

  “Tactical?” asked Jenna.

  “The movie yesterday featured some characters who were in special ops,” whispered Mary audibly. “I think it went to her head.”

  Rita ignored her. “Tactical problem, number one: how to get some students. Nothing else matters if we can’t figure that out.”