Stepping Up

by Maggie M. Larche

  She pressed a button. “Hello?”

  “Is this Jenna?”

  “Yeah. Who’s this?”

  “It’s Moira.”

  “Moira!” Jenna couldn’t have been more surprised if it were the president on the other line. “How’d you get my number?”

  “Ms. Colette gave it to me. I told her I had a school project emergency.”

  “Do you? Something wrong with the bridge?”

  Moira sounded exasperated. “Of course not, Jenna. Don’t be thick.”

  “Hey, you called me!”

  “Ok, sorry. You’re not thick.”

  “Wow. Thanks.”

  “Anyways, are you still having your recital today?”

  “How’d you know about that?”

  “There are flyers all over the neighborhood. I can read.”

  “Oh, yeah. Sorry. Geez, I am dumb today.” Jenna sighed. “Yes, we’re still going to have the recital. Though I don’t know who’s going to come.”

  “Because of the snow?”

  “Yep.”

  “I can help with that. You probably know that my dad owns a party rental store.”

  “Yeah. So?”

  “He’s willing to donate a bunch of patio heaters for you to use at the recital. That way it won’t be so cold in the pavilion and more people will come.”

  Jenna was rendered momentarily speechless. “But… why?”

  “Because I asked him to.”

  “But Moira… you hate me. Right?”

  “I don’t hate you, Jenna. Get over yourself.”

  “Then why?”

  Jenna heard Moira take a deep breath. “Here’s the thing. You’re my number one competition at Step It Up.”

  “Yeah.”

  “And it sounds like you have to get some dance students, or else you won’t be able to pay your tuition. I mean, isn’t that the point of all of this?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “As much as I hate – and I mean, hate – to admit it, I don’t actually want you to quit Step It Up. As crazy as it sounds, I like having you there.”

  Jenna’s mouth fell open. “You do?”

  “Don’t sound so surprised. I always work harder because I know that I have you to beat. Besides, I want to be the best dancer because I earned it, not because my top competition dropped out.”

  Jenna’s head reeled. “Wow, Moira, I really don’t know what to say.”

  “Just say thank you and accept the help.”

  Jenna felt like all she’d been doing lately was accepting help. From her friends was one thing, but this… this felt different.

  “Thank you, Moira. Really. It’s super nice of you to help me out.”

  “You’re welcome. You can repay me by making lots of money and staying at Step It Up.”

  “I’m going to do my best.”

  “Don’t expect me to go easy on you, though. This doesn’t change anything.”

  Jenna felt that she owed Moira at least one thing. “Moira. There’s something I should tell you.”

  “What?”

  Jenna took a deep breath and then plunged in. “You’re right about our bridge. It should be shorter. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before.”

  Moira was silent.

  “Moira? Hello?”

  “I heard you.”

  “And?”

  “Jenna, you’re a nut.” Moira hung up the phone.

  Jenna was left with a smile on her face, though she didn’t quite know why. If pressed, she might have said something that would have been impossible to say a week previously. In some weird way, she and Moira might just become friends.

  Chapter 12

  Jenna surveyed the pavilion. The huge patio heaters stood like guards around the area, their metal tops looking like soldier’s helmets in the bright sunlight. They busily pumped out heat. Though it was still chilly, it was much warmer than the surrounding field of white. Steven and Edward were shoveling off the last of the snow from the stage area, as Rita finished setting up Brandon’s speakers.

  Jenna and Pam toweled off the benches. Though the boys removed the snow from the seats, tiny flakes were left behind that began to melt under the warmth of the heaters. Things were getting a bit soggy.

  “You know,” Jenna said to Pam, taking a swipe down the bench, “it’s actually really beautiful out here. I could get used to snow. Not all this cleanup, but the snow itself.”

  Pam bobbed her head in agreement. “Maybe we’ll get some more in another few decades.”

  “Hey,” said Jenna, pointing, “there are the girls.”

  Mary pulled a wagon through the snow with Eva and Ella perched in the middle of a pile of blankets.

  “Hey, guys,” she said as she stopped to catch her breath. “Two dancers ready for duty.”

  “How did you get that wagon to move in this stuff?” asked Jenna while Pam helped the girls onto the pavilion.

  “Dad took the wheels off.” Mary tilted it upward. “See? Instant sled.”

  “Cool.” Jenna turned to Steven. “Any chance you want to round up kids from around the neighborhood in that?”

  Steven groaned. “You’ve got to be kidding me. We’ve been shoveling snow for like five hours straight. And now you want me to give kids a sleigh ride?”

  “We’ll do it,” said Edward.

  Steven put his head in his hands. “You’re killin’ me, Edward.”

  “Thank you,” said Jenna brightly. Edward winked at her, and her heart jumped. She noticed Mary watching with an amused expression, so she turned quickly to help Pam with the girls.

  “All right, ladies. We’ve got some fun costumes for you to wear.” She and Pam helped the little girls off with their heavy coats.

  “Hey,” said Ella, “it’s not too cold here.”

  “Yeah, it feels good,” said Eva. “Toasty.”

  “That’s the idea,” said Jenna. “Now who wants leg warmers?”

  The girls squealed.

  Jenna and Pam helped them dress and began to warm up. Through the series of stretches, Jenna kept an eye out for anyone who might be coming to the pavilion. It was a little early, but surely some people would have come by now?

  After another five minutes passed with no audience members, Jenna started to worry. She kept a smile pasted to her face for the sake of the Eva and Ella, but she started to have flashbacks to her first disastrous dance lesson, when no one came. Was that happening again?

  The girls finished their warm up, and sat down on one of the benches. Jenna walked in agitation along the perimeter, just inside the ring of heaters. Where was everyone?

  At last she spotted her parents walking down the street. They carried a large cylindrical cooler between them. Jenna ran out to meet them.

  “Mom! Dad! What are you doing?”

  “We wanted to support you, sweetie,” said her dad.

  “And we thought a nice snowy day like this deserved some hot chocolate,” added her mom. Her parents walked up the steps together and set the cooler down on a clear bench. Her mother produced a large stack of insulated cups from her shoulder bag.

  “There,” she said. “Now your audience can have something to keep them warm during the show.”

  “Always give them food,” her dad said. “Wins ‘em over every time.”

  Jenna gave both of her parents a hug. “Thanks.”

  “Anything for our little entrepreneur,” said her father.

  “Speaking of entrepreneurs,” said Jenna’s mother, “I think I see our other one.”

  Jenna looked up and saw Steven coming down the street, hauling four kids packed into a wagon behind him. The children’s parents walked behind the wagon, strolling along as Steven huffed through the snow.

  About twenty feet behind them, Jenna spotted Edward. He pulled another wagon with its wheels off, and Jenna realized what must have been taking them so long. Edward carted his own load of kids headed for the pavilion.

  Over the next ten minutes, lots of kids arrived with
their parents in tow. Jenna watched in excitement as the little pavilion filled up. Children lined all of the benches, and parents stood at the back. Little girls and boys and even parents sipped cups of hot chocolate, and it felt almost like a holiday party rather than a recital. Steven and Edward kept bringing new groups of kids to add to the crowd.

  Jenna’s nerves were on edge, and she couldn’t wait to get started. She ran to check on Eva and Ella and found them sitting with Pam at the edge of the stage area.

  “Everybody doing ok?” she asked. “It’s almost showtime.”

  “We’ve got a little issue,” said Pam.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Eva turned a tearstained face to Jenna.

  “I’m scared. I don’t want to dance.”

  Jenna felt a panic coming on. “What do you mean? Sure, you want to dance! You’ve worked so hard.” She looked around frantically. “And look! I see your mommy here to watch you. Don’t you want to show her what you’ve learned?”

  Eva shook her head firmly. “No. I don’t want to. I won’t do it.”

  “But… You look so pretty in your dance costume. You don’t want to waste that adorable outfit, do you?”

  Eva only buried her head into Pam’s shoulder. Ella looked on in interest and occasionally patted Eva on the back like she was comforting a pretend baby doll.

  Jenna stared at Pam in desperation. “What do we do?”

  Pam bit her lip, clearly thinking.

  “Eva,” she finally said. “Sit back and look at me, ok?” Slowly Eva looked up at Pam. As she watched, Jenna crossed her fingers that Pam could work her magic with the kids one last time.

  “There’s that beautiful face,” continued Pam, speaking softly. She smoothed Eva’s hair back from her forehead. “I know you feel scared, don’t you?”

  Eva nodded and sniffed.

  “I always get scared before I go on stage, too. Even if I’m standing in the back where no one can see me. I worry that I’ll miss my steps, or fall down. Sometimes it even makes my belly hurt. Right here.” Pam touched her midsection. “Do you feel that way?”

  “Yes,” said Eva in a tiny voice. Pam tightened her arm around the little girl’s shoulders.

  Jenna listened in surprise. She knew Pam wasn’t exactly the best dancer in the class, but she hadn’t realized that Pam suffered so much from stage fright.

  “Do you know why I go on stage anyway, even though my tummy hurts, and I’m nervous that I’m going to mess up?”

  “Why?”

  “Because I love to dance. I think it’s the most fun thing in the world, and I don’t care if I mess up sometimes. I still want to dance. And I think you feel the same way that I do.”

  Eva wiggled. “Really?”

  “Really. You’re great at it, and you have so much fun being silly out on the dance floor. You and your sister just make the perfect pair, don’t you?”

  “We are pretty good,” interjected Ella.

  Pam laughed. “Yes, you are.” She turned back to Eva. “Do you think you could do the dance? Just one time for your mommy to see?”

  “Ok.” Eva wiped her face. “I’ll do it.”

  “Yay!” shouted Ella. Jenna felt like joining in, but thought it wouldn’t be very dignified.

  “Now we’re talking,” she said. “Why don’t you two go say hi to your mommy real quick and then come back and sit with Pam? It’s almost time to start.”

  As the two girls scampered away, Jenna turned to Pam. She threw her arms around her friend. “Pam, you are amazing. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

  Pam laughed. “No big deal. We can all do something, right?”

  Jenna checked her phone. “2:30. I guess it’s time to get this show on the road.”

  Pam squeezed her hand. “Nervous?”

  “Very. But we’ve come this far, right?”

  “Right.”

  Jenna took a deep breath and walked in front of the audience. She held her hands up, and the group slowly fell quiet.

  She cleared her throat. “Thanks everybody for coming today, especially with the snow and all.” Her voice quivered a little. After dancing in front of people for years, she hadn’t anticipated how nerve-wracking it would be to have to speak to a crowd.

  She scanned the audience. Her parents stood by the hot chocolate, watching her with pride. Rita and Mary sat on the ground near the front of the area, and Jenna even spotted Moira mixed in with the audience. Finally, she saw Edward. He was stationed at the back of the crowd with Steven, clutching a well deserved drink in his hands. She caught his eye, and he smiled at her. Jenna felt a tiny increase in courage. She could do this.

  “Today is the first exhibition recital for my dance students.” Jenna felt a small thrill of pride at the words. Her dance students. “Eva and Ella Ryley have both worked very hard for this day, and I appreciate you all coming out to watch.”

  “I’d like to thank everyone who helped make today possible. Thank you to Downtown Party Rentals for donating these space heaters to make this nice and cozy.” The crowd broke out into polite applause. “Thanks to Young Men At Work, who cleared the snow and gave sled rides to the kids. They’re available for hire, by the way.”

  “For all your odd job needs.” shouted Steven as laughter rippled through the audience.

  “And a big thank you to my parents and to my friends, who I couldn’t have managed today without, especially Pam, my co-teacher. Pam, give a wave.” Pam looked embarrassed, but waved awkwardly at the audience.

  Jenna turned back to the crowd. “After the recital, I’ll be taking signups for dance lessons. Ages three to five, boys and girls, on Monday and Wednesday afternoons after school at my house. I hope you’ll consider signing your children up for a fun and safe environment to learn to dance.” Jenna saw Ms. Colette nod at that and felt proud. She’d worked on that line last night, and she thought it sounded pretty good.

  “And now, I give you Eva and Ella!”

  The crowd clapped, and Jenna turned to the stage. Mary jumped up to turn on the music.

  Jenna walked to Pam. “Ok, you’re on.”

  Pam frowned. “What do you mean? Aren’t you going to lead the girls?”

  “No. I think you should do it.”

  Pam held her hands up. “Oh, no. I couldn’t. I’d make a mistake.”

  Jenna put her hands on Pam’s shoulder. “Pam, am I going to have to give you the same pep talk you just gave Eva? You love to dance, and it’s time you owned it. You’ve gotten way better the last two weeks, and I think it’s time for you to show off as well as the girls.”

  “Jenna, I don’t know…”

  “I do, and Mary’s ready to start the music. Come on. You told me to accept the help of my friends. Now you need to accept this from me.”

  Pam ran her hands through her hair. “I must be crazy, but ok.”

  “Great!” Jenna turned to the little girls. “Ok, ladies. Take your places.”

  Pam, Eva, and Ella walked onto the stage. Pam looked a little green to Jenna’s eyes, but she hoped no one else would know her well enough to notice.

  Mary hit play and music started coming through the speakers. Jenna held her breath and waited for the opening move.

  Then, the girls were dancing. Pam seemed a little wooden at first, but she quickly relaxed. She moved fluidly, and the little girls followed along. Eva and Ella looked perfect in their matching outfits, and Jenna could sense the crowd’s enjoyment of the dance.

  There was only one hitch in the middle of the performance. Ella spun the wrong direction, and she and Eva bonked into each other. The crowd laughed good-naturedly, however, and the girls simply giggled along with them before they scrambled back into formation. Pam calmly led them through the remainder of the moves without making any mistakes herself.

  At the end of the song, the crowd stood on their feet and applauded the girls, Jenna as loudly as the rest. She hoped there would be no more talk of quitting from Pam after the wonderful perf
ormance.

  Pam gestured for the girls to take a bow, which Ella and Eva did together. Then the girls ran off stage and into the arms of their waiting mother.

  Jenna stepped back onto the stage.

  “Thank you everyone for coming. That dance was the result of only two weeks’ hard work. If you’d like to see your kids do similar amazing things, please sign up. There will be a clipboard going around.” The audience applauded again, and Jenna walked from the stage.

  She ran to Pam. “You did it!”

  Pam looked flushed. “I guess I did. I never thought I’d have the nerve to dance like that where everyone could see me.”

  “You did a great job.”

  Rita and Mary joined them next. “That was awesome,” said Rita. “Way to be brave, Pam.”

  “Seriously,” said Mary, “Eva and Ella have never looked so cute. And I’ve seen them in matching Easter hats, so that’s saying something.”

  “But will it be enough?” asked Jenna. She looked around the pavilion. “I don’t see the clipboard anywhere. What if people don’t sign up?”

  “Just give it a minute,” said Rita. “I’m sure the list is just making the rounds.”

  Jenna bounced up and down. “I can’t take the waiting. Ugh.”

  “Go get some hot chocolate,” said Rita, ever practical. “You’ve earned it.”

  “We all have,” said Jenna.

  “Then hot chocolate for everyone!” said Mary. The four girls walked laughing back to the cooler. Jenna’s dad was filling a cup for a little boy. He grinned when he saw them and began to clap.

  “Great job, girls,” he said. He wrapped his arms around Jenna. “I’m so proud of you, sweetie.”

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  “Is there enough hot chocolate left for us?” asked Rita.

  “For the stars of the hour? Absolutely.” He poured out four cups. Jenna and her friends sat on an empty bench with their drinks. The pavilion was starting to empty out, but she still didn’t see her signup list anywhere.

  She took a sip of the hot liquid. “Mmm. This is good.”

  “So good,” said Pam. “Man, I’m tired. It’s only three in the afternoon, but I feel like we’ve been working for hours.”

  “Because we have,” said Rita. “When we finish up here, could we actually take a minute to enjoy the snow?”