My Journey: Becoming A Sheckler (Book 4) ***COMPLETED***

September 27, 2013

The last couple days of August consisted of me and Kasey hanging out so I could go over what the first things she would teach each class would be. After I gathered Ryan, Tony, Shane, and Casey as a ‘class’ so she could practice her teaching style she was more confident. And I’m not going to lie; it was great entertainment because I made them participate so she’d be able to interact with how new students might be.

We had pulled all the cars out of the garage and laid down tumbling mats. Kasey stood before the empty mats as I sat off to the side while we waited for the guys to come down. “Come on boys!” I called out.

Ryan walked into the garage followed by the others who were sluggish and really not looking forward to the experience. “Babe, do we have to?” Ryan asked.

“Yes,” I looked up at him as he had walked over to me. “Kasey is doing me a huge favor and she needs your help so she’ll be ready.” I raised an eyebrow at him, “Help me by helping her?”

He was not pleased with my pouty face but he agreed, “Alright,” he sighed. I smiled and kissed his cheek. As he turned to the other guys he mumbled, “Damn pouty faced fiancé.”

I laughed as Kasey smiled, “Yay!”

She then got to teaching them a few basic steps which let me tell you, couldn’t have been more satisfying to watch. Let me just say, they all suck at dancing. I was dying of laughter that hurt so good. Eventually Ryan and Shane gave up and just flopped down on the mat while Tony and Casey actually kept trying. When I finally stopped it, Tony and Casey too flopped to the ground. 

“Alright, I think that’s good enough,” I shook my head at the four men lying on the ground.

“There’s a reason I’m a skateboarder,” Ryan said.

“Yeah, let’s never do that again,” Tony said.

To thank the guys, I bought them dinner. Later that night I was lying in bed when Ryan joined me. He wrapped his arms around my waist as he laid his head on chest. I ran my fingers through his hair and rubbed my back. “Thank you for helping Kasey earlier love.”

He laughed lightly, “You’re welcome Jords.” He lifted his head, “It was actually kind of fun and seeing you laugh like that after so long of being down about your leg was worth it.”

I smiled and he kissed me lightly. Then like every night, he helped take my brace off and run a cold damp washcloth over it before wrapping it up nice and tight in the wrap I wear to bed. 

When the first day of classes came around I was bummed I couldn’t teach but glad to at least have something routine to do. As I was about to leave the room to get going Ryan said, “Hey,” his voice was groggy from sleep. He got up and made his way over to me in the dark room. “Try to have fun watching,” he hugged and kissed me.

I sighed, “I’ll try.”

“I love you,” he said softly, already falling back asleep.

I laughed, “I love you too. Get back in bed.”

He smiled and watched me walk out before I heard him bounce back in bed. An hour later I met Kasey outside of AMDA and we headed into my office. “You ready?” I asked as I lay out on my couch while she spun in my chair behind the desk.

She stopped spinning and nodded, “Yeah! I think it’s going to be fun!”

I laughed, “It will be.” 

The schedule was similar to the previous years with 5 courses, 2 on Mondays and Wednesdays and 3 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Office hours were still on Fridays and in between classes. Except now I had one Intro to Hip Hop on Mondays and Wednesdays with Hip Hop 2. While the other Intro class was with Advanced Hip Hop, and Choreography on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

I grabbed a Red Bull and Kasey and I headed to the studio. On the way I saw many of my previous students who smiled, waved, or said hi. Once in the studio, students for the first class began to gather. When the bell rang to start each class throughout the week, they began much the same. 

“Hello everyone! I hope you had a better summer than I did.” They would laugh, “As you can tell I won’t be able to instruct you until my leg is usable again so I’d like to introduce you to my friend Kasey who can dance with you all. I will however be here each day should you have any questions or concerns and absolutely do not be afraid to ask Kasey anything. She’s gonna be around for a while so I want you all to feel comfortable with her.” Everyone nodded and greeted Kasey, “And for the new students I see, I won’t be discussing my personal life in class. You’re here to learn to dance at a higher level, not to be a bother. But just to get the basics out of the way; I am Jordyn Evander I am engaged to Ryan Sheckler and I am 19 years old. I broke my leg in a car accident in June and am excited to see you all again and meet the new students and that’s all that matters. Now let’s get started!”

I then stepped aside and let Kasey take it from there. I would then pretty much just circle the room and help with stance and limb positioning if I saw anyone that needed the help. After the first week I was really proud of Kasey, she had been doing well and the students seemed to like her. The ones that had questions would just show me what they had and confirm it was right. 

That’s pretty much how the month has been going. In therapy I’ve been testing strength and doing exercises to get full strength back. Like I do wall sits and leg presses (slowly adding weight). Last Saturday was the day I finally got to ditch the brace!

The full leg brace anyways. I still have to wear one that just covers my thigh and just below my knee but I am now allowed to start doing things like jogging. But my leg feels really good and I’m pretty confident I’ll be back to dancing pretty soon. My doctor and therapist do as well but even when I am back to dancing I have to keep an eye on it and take care of wearing one of my braces if need be. 

In our free time we’ve just been hanging out with friends. Ryan and the guys have been skating while I just cruise on my longboard. Then when they surf I just sit in the sand and watch and take photos from the shallows. I’m not allowed to surf yet. 

But hey, I have some freedom and that’s all I care about! 

Haha, love always!