Courage

Chapter 4

The next morning came and Lydia woke up early, she wanted to practise her solo without any discouragement from her parents. So she set her alarm for 4.45 and went into her dance room. She knew she had to do this solo perfectly if she ever wanted Sandra to give her another chance again. She was just hoping she wouldn't mess it up when she was on the stage. Katy and Darren had heard the music coming from down the hallway but decided to leave it for a bit. They smiled sadly at each other as the song started to repeat. They both agreed that they had ought to go and stop Lydia and tell her to sleep, seeing as it was so early in the morning. They got out of bed, walking slowly down the hall, making their way down to their daughter's bedroom. As they got there they could see pure concentration in Lydia's eyes and she danced with all the emotion she had. The two looked at each other before sighing. They always knew Lydia was born to dance and their little girl has shown how selfish they were being, making her stop. They made their way into Lydia's bedroom sitting on the benches against the wall, that they had set up in order to be a viewing area when Lydia wanted to show somebody her dance routines. As the song slowed down and Lydia finished her pose, she became more aware of her surroundings and noticed her mum and dad smiling down at her. She made eye-contact with them for a second before looking away uncomfortably.

"Umm Sorry if I woke you. I just wanted to get more practise in to make this solo perfect." She told her parents uncomfortably, still not looking at either of them. Her parents smiled.

"Don't worry Lyds. We know dance means a lot to you. I'm sorry about what happened yesterday. We were being selfish and were only thinking about the negative things and not looking at the many positive things dance has done for you. We will allow you back to dance, and you can dance at the studio the same amount of time. On One condition." Her mother said in an apologetic tone.

"Yes. Thank you! Anything. Please Mum." Lydia replied eagerly. She was overjoyed that her parents had actually changed their minds about this ridiculous thing.

"You assure me, that if you ever feel upset or worried or you just want to talk then you come to see me immediately no matter where you are." Her mother tell her in a firm tone. Lydia nods excitedly after hearing what her mother's conditions were. She would do anything to get back in the studio, even if it meant telling a slight lie to her parents. Her parents left her in her room, with a huge grin on her face. Dance class started at 7, so she had about 2 hours to get ready. She went over to the scale in the corner of her room, and stepped on it making sure there was nobody else in the room. She looked down at the her feet anxiously not knowing what the scale was going to say. 76 pounds. That was still way to much! She sighed before stepping off of the scale to get her dance clothes on. How was she going to improve in anything if she couldn't even shed a few pounds.  She got into her crop top and shorts before putting a loose rich green jumper on. She looked at her phone one last time to see she had 40 minutes until her dance lessons started, but decided very quickly that she wanted to get there early to catch up on what she had missed and to rehearse her solo. 

The ride to the studio was short and uneventful, Lydia was listening to her solo music marking the steps out in her head whilst her mother was giving her a ride. As soon as the studio came in sight, Lydia jumped out of her seat thanking her mum before rushing into the one place she felt alive. As she pushed open the glass door, she saw Sandra sitting at her desk smiling at her. 

"Sandra, I am so sorry about yesterday. I know I shouldn't have left class early but I didn't know what to do. I'm really sorry, please don't take the solo away." Lyd said apologetically. She knew that in the passed when anybody had done something that Sandra hadn't like she instantly pulled them out of their dances or gave the routines to somebody else. 

"Lydia it's alright. I spoke to your mother last night. It was very unlike you to just leave like that and I was worried. She explained everything, I am just glad you managed to persuade them to let you come back to the studio!" Sandra said hugging her. Sandra had a strong connection with all of her students but her relationship with Lydia was different to the others. She had taught Lydia since she was 2 years old, and it felt like she was her child. Truthfully, If Lydia were to leave Sandra wouldn't know what to do with herself. It would feel like a part of her was missing. 

Lydia smiled back at her before announcing she was going to go into Studio A and rehearse her solo whilst she waited for the rest of her group to arrive. She was extremely happy to hear that she got to keep her solo and preform it at the competition, even if she had missed class the previous day. She skipped happily into the studio placing her belongings on the bench at the side. She plugged her old, battered iPod into the speaker and played her solo song. She danced to her solo flawlessly, making sure that all the steps she had previously been told to work on, were perfect. As she came to a slow stop she suddenly realised that all of her group had joined her in the studio, watching her with intense stares. Lydia looked around and giggled softly. She hated being the centre of attention, even when it was for a good reason. 

Luckily, Lydia didn't have to suffer for much longer because after a few minutes Sandra came in with some news. Lydia waited nervously to hear what Sandra had to say. 

"So, as some of you may know there is a new movie called 'Missing You'. It is all about a teenage girl who is living a normal life other than the fact she lost both of her parents in a car crash. It is a brilliant movie and I think we have a young lady that would be brilliant for the role. Lydia, I would really like it if you were to audition. I think you are perfect for the role and that it will be a brilliant experience for you." Sandra informed all of the girls. All the girls applauded Lydia and looked at her eager to see her response. 

"Sandra, I would love to. When is the audition? How long is the script? Oh my god, I can't believe I have the chance to be in a movie." Lydia spat out excitedly. Sandra grinned down at her.

"The audition is this weekend. We will have to go straight from the competition is that ok? The scene you will be presenting at the audition is 5 pages long, but the whole movie is over 200. I will tell you more about the role after class but right now lets get started on this group dance!" Sandra responded. 

The girls all spread out and start to warm up, making sure they were in a suitable state to dance. After 5 minutes of warm up, Sandra started the group.

"So for the group everybody will be included. It will be under the junior category therefore we will be competing against mostly 12-14 year olds. The group is about weddings. I know many of you have been to weddings therefore i expect this to have the right amount of emotion in it. It is about loving somebody and wanting to spend your life with them. I would like all of your parents to be present at this competition therefore I want you to preform for them and do the best that you can." Sandra said informatively. 

The music started and all the girls started to learn the steps to the dance. It was a very upbeat dance and had some quirky moves included in the routine. All the girls had fun learning and performing it, which was expected. After, just over an hour of rehearsal Sandra let the girls go and eat but Lydia stayed once again. Sandra was a bit suspicious of it but instead took this as an opportunity to speak about the audition. 

"So the audition will be on Sunday Afternoon. They will interview you and then you will do a scene from the movie. After you have done, you will be allowed to come out where me and your mother will be waiting. It will take them a couple of days to choose who they want and send the letters out to all the participant and that is when we know if you have got the part." She grinned down at her favourite pupil. Lydia smiled back and thanked her. The group were dismissed for practise tonight considering the group had been finished so there was nothing else to do. 

"Sandra, Is it ok if I stay for a bit practising my solo? I just really want it to be perfect!" Lydia asked hopefully. 

"Sure Lyd, Just make sure you clear your stuff up and sign out before you go!" Sandra replied impressed at how seriously Lydia was taking this solo and competition. 

It was after 11, when Lydia decided she probably had to leave as her mother would be worried about her. She cleared all of her belongings away and left the studio ringing her parents on the way out. 

"Hi, Mum. Is it alright if you pick me up? Yeah. Outside the studio. Thank you see you soon." Lydia said down the phone to her mother on the opposite side of the call. She walked out of the studio after signing out, smiling at the employee at the desk. She waited outside for her mother to pull up. As soon as she did Lydia hoped in the passenger seat quickly wanting to get home as fast as possible. The ride home was uneventful, both Lydia and Katy were slient as the travelled back to their house. Once they arrived back, Lydia rushed up to her room hoping to not stop for dinner. Once she got back to the safety of her room she collapsed on her bed and sighed before dozing off into a deep sleep.