Going To Be

Chapter Two - Strong

"Over achiever." Jackson mused.

"No." I teased. "That would be you Mr. Rock star."

"I'm not a rock star." He said walking passed the bed.

"You don't know how often I was asked where you were while you were away." I grinned.

"Sure sure."

"Why would I lie?"

"I guess you wouldn't." He took a few steps back and bent down to kiss me on the forehead. "But the more noticeable I get, the harder college is." He sounded disappointed.

I frowned, and placed the cup down on the nightstand. I had always known that eventually one would have to give out. Jackson couldn't maintain the level of dedication he devoted to both classes and the studio. He was going to burn out if he kept it up.

"Maybe they'd let you do part time classes or something?" I suggested.

"Maybe. I guess it was greedy of me to want everything. College, music, you."

"It wasn't greedy. Just ambitious." A virtue I had always found incredibly attractive in Jackson.

He nodded and walked back the bedroom door. "We'll meet for lunch at The Commons?"

"Okay."

Once Jackson was gone I forced myself to finish the tea and muesli even though I didn't have an appetite. The nerves for the day had well and truly set in, but I needed the sustenance. I dressed in my usual exam get up, a black leotard with black tights over the top. Most of the dancers had technicolor gym equipment, but I'd never really put much weight in the clothes I wore to class. It was about my dancing, not the fabric that covered me.

The sunlight glared through the windscreen of my car on the way to NYAPA and despite the air getting colder these days, in the safety of my confines I was warm. Once I arrived I gathered my bag from the back seat and walked the five minutes up the slightly slanted road towards the entrance. A few kids walked passed and as they did so I could hear their tittering's about the Jackson Smith being back. Despite our relationship, my notoriety was nowhere near as solid as his, and for the most part I was a no one, at least not to anyone that crushed on Jackson.

"Hey Amber." A voice called from behind me. I stopped and turned to look behind me. It was guy, familiar, but I couldn't place where I knew him from. He was an upperclassman because he had the 1st 2 and 3rd year badges on his gym bag. He was an all American boy, with his blonde hair, blue eyes and state of the art Adidas gym gear. He smiled, and shifted his body weight on to one leg.

"Uh, hi." I replied, my voice sounded cagey. I wasn't used to other students calling on me. I was almost invisible outside of the studio, and that was how I liked it.

"We went to May High school together." He admitted. "Well for a year anyway. I was a senior when you were a freshman."

"Oh?" I said as I tried to picture him at my old high school. I hated the place though and just thinking about it made me feel sick. The memories weren't completely forgotten, but they were dull enough that I didn't think about it every day.

"Don't worry, I hated the place too. So you go here now?" The boy replied, seemingly sensing my hesitance.

"Yeah. It's my second year." I replied.

"My last." Greg noted. "I took a gap year after high school and travelled around the country. Used my dancing to make money to get me through. It was an interesting time. "

"You're a dancer?"

"Yeah. Exotic for a while too. Surprised?" He grinned and shoved his hands into his pockets.