Breaking Pointe

Chapter Eight

Arabella had been worried about hanging out with Tyler all day, so when she realized they were just going to walk around and explore the city she exhaled in relief. Tyler had only known her a short while, but he seemed to know exactly what she needed. 

They found their way to Central Park first and spotted a street performer. He was a hip hop/break dance/dubstep kind of dancer and had attracted a fairly big crowd.

As they stood there watching, she marveled at the way his body moved. It was exactly opposite what she did at ballet, but somehow just as graceful. While her movements were structured and precise, his were loose and carefree.

“Does anybody else want to show off some moves?” asked the street performer, looking around.

“She does!” exclaimed a male voice with a southern accent and Arabella turned to see Tyler pointing at her.

“You don’t just volunteer someone else!” she protested, but she was already being pushed into the middle. Although she wasn’t entirely comfortable with it she didn’t feel like she had much of a choice. She didn’t have her ballet shoes, so she just took off her flats to go barefoot. She took a deep breath and set up in first position. The crowd cheered.

Arabella closed her eyes and went into performance mode. Dancing had always been the only time she felt truly confident. The street performer pressed a button on his speaker and Titanium began to play. She smiled because she knew the upbeat pop song well.

She stood frozen the first few beats and when the first vocals came in she began to dance. She went with the music throughout the verse, completely absorbed and almost forgetting where she was.

When the chorus hit she had timed it perfectly so she was in the air doing a switch leap. The crowd went wild, briefly bringing Arabella back to reality. The positive reaction encouraged her to keep going.

After the chorus the street performer joined her. They somehow moved in sync despite their very different styles, both contrasting and complementing each other.

The song ended and both dancers froze in their poses. He was contorted into a crazy position on the ground and she was next to him back in first position. There was a heartbeat of complete silence, then the entire crowd erupted in cheers.

Arabella, returning to her shy self, blushing profusely. She slipped on her shoes and rushed back to where Tyler was standing. He collected her into a giant bear hug. 

“That was amazing” he said into her hair.

“Thank you. That was one of the coolest things I have ever done” she smiled, pulling back. The touching thing... still against the rules if they were going to be just friends.

Tyler stopped for a hot dog from a vendor. “Would you like one?” He offered as he pulled out his wallet.

Arabella started to politely refuse, but then hesitated. Why couldn’t she be a normal girl for just one day? A normal girl on a “not date” with a normal boy. She looked at Tyler and saw him put three dollars into the tip jar, more than the hot dog itself. She smiled. He wasn’t a normal boy, but he made her feel like a normal girl.

“I’d love one,” she replied and he smiled while he ordered another.

They walked back to Central Park and sat down on a bench to eat. They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, watching the people walk past.

“What did the mathematical acorn say when he grew up?’ Tyler asked her.

“What?” Arabella asked, with a small smile. She knew what was next, but she didn’t want to ruin his fun.