Top Class (On Top Sequel)

Chapter 31

It was early February. An entire month since the list was published through email to the entire ballet crowd. Rehearsals started shortly after the news came out, but since we were still in the early stages of production, my class had yet to start learning the choreography. This meant that there was a little more breathing room for us dancers to hang out somewhere other than the dance studio. Lucy would have preferred to be home, curled up in blankets and catching up of one of her binge worthy shows but ever since the stunt she pulled on new years where her mother walked down to find Lucy and the gang wasted, Rosie decided that she could not leave her daughter alone in the house with out supervision. This is why Lucy was sitting in the stands of one of the gyms inside the town's community center watching of all things, a Roller Derby match today. And to make it worse in Lucy's mind, she was being babysat by Sara and Cody while her mother and Elle were off at another major rehearsal before their second half of the winter tour began. Her father was off with Daniel for the weekend, leaving Lucy to join the Emerson crowd for the day.

Scarlet and Clary were in this particular Derby match; clad in black shorts and royal blue shirts with separate numbers on each other's backs. No matter the team, each girl down in the pit wore wrist, arm, and knee pads alongside helmets to keep from gaining more than their usual injuries. 

As Lucy watched the two teams of blue and red rush along the curved tracks, surrounded by refs, she started to question how two ballet dancers could ever join such a sport.

No matter who you played in Roller Derby or what position you held, you were likely to get hit and pushed across the floor, guaranteed to fall. The women in the pit were mostly all buff and tone, such muscles not usually seen defined on a ballet dancer's body. That was what probably caused Scarlet and Clary to stick out in their team of girls.

"Break them Pretty Psychos!" A fan yelled further down the stands causing the rest of us to clap aloud supportingly. The girl's team in blue had won another round and were lining up again to ready themselves for another shot.

"Go uh Lucky Scars and Red Marionette!" Cody called from the back in what sounded to be his most ridiculous attempt yet to yell support for his daughters today. Sara scoffed and turned in time to catch Cody smiling unashamed at her. Sara shook her head slowly while trying to keep her laughter at bay as she turned away from her crazy husband and back to watching her daughters play.

Lucy turned back to the game and experienced a shared look with Aria, who was naturally rolling her eyes at her father once again.

"Clary goes by Little Red now Dad. Not Red Marionette. And for the record, no one shouts out the players names like that." Cody raised his eyes to his youngest daughter staring him down and gave her a passing look.

"Okay then Aria, master of Roller Derby, how do I call to my favorite daughters in the pit?" Aria ignored the jab about favorite daughters and instead focused her attention on what the audience around them were doing before returning to face her amused father.

"You have to be less white suburban dad."

"Oh Jesus," Sara muttered turning away from her husband who immediately looked at his young daughter challengingly .

"Less you say?" Aria dropped the smug look and gave her dad a pleading gaze.

"Don't embarrass us again Dad. If you want to be annoying do it away from us," Aria stated, motioning to the Emerson crowd.  Cody shrugged casually and stood up to leave, giving his weary wife a pat on the head before walking off. He disappeared in the moving crowd up above of people coming and going for food as they watched the game. Ben and Sam were walking toward their family seats when Cody passed them by, giving the two confused boys a thumbs up before disappearing indefinitely.