OFF TRACK

31

SUMMER
MAY

I've been in Florida for three days now with the dance team for nationals. The final round of the competition is today. We got here on Monday to have some beach time, and to practice non-stop before the completion started on Wednesday.

The first day we were here Coach B made us practice our routine on the beach. I had sand, literally everywhere. Ellie and I's hotel shower basically had a second beach in it when we were both done showering.

On day one they cut 15 teams from the competition, and the 20 left competed Thursday then the top ten perform today, and we've made it to the last round.

I'm hoping we leave with at least one title, I don't care if it's for our game day routine or our jazz routine I just want one. UCLA hasn't ever won back to back national titles. Last year we won for our jazz routine and I feel like we can do it again. This routine is my favorite one we've done since I've been on the team.

"If you check your phone one more time I'm going to kill you," Ellie glares at me.

I've been waiting for Trevor to text me all morning. He and Alex are flying down to meet up with us for the weekend. They bought the tickets before Ellie and Alex broke up. Alex couldn't get a full refund so he's still coming even though the two of them aren't even on speaking terms. And she still hasn't told me what happened but it's obviously still bugging her.

I had woken up to Trevor telling me they were getting on the plane, so according to my calculations they should be landing very soon, hence why I keep checking my phone.

"You know you wanna see him," I tease her.

"No, I don't," she crosses her arms and leans back into her seat.

"I still don't understand what happened between you two," I stare at her. She told me it was a mutual split but she's too mad and annoyed, after two months for me to believe her.

She sighs and rolls her eyes.

"Will you at least tell me what really happened? Because the mutual split story is bullshit and we both know it."

"Fine," she leans over and whispers to me, hoping no one else will hear.

My jaw unhinges and falls to the floor when she says, "He cheated on me."

With wide eyes I turn to look at her, "Say sike."

She shakes her head.

"Like full on? Or like..."

"I don't wanna talk about it," she looks out at the team currently competing.

"El, you have to tell me!"

She groans and turns back to me, keeping her voice low as she leans towards me, "He said he was drunk and almost went all the way but stoped. He came and told me the next morning but I don't date cheaters. So I ended it," she shrugs.

She's told me about her ex from high school who cheated on her constantly. So I know exactly where she stands on the issue and that the likelihood of changing her mind is small.

"You miss him don't you?"

Whether she admits it or not, I can hear it in her tone. Ellie's dated a lot of guys but she's never seemed as happy as she did with Alex. She can be a handful, and Alex handled her craziness like it was nothing.

"No," anyone else would believe her, but I don't. But I choose not to push anymore about the subject because she obviously doesn't wanna talk and we have better things to focus on right now.