First Love (is being edited)

Chapter 22

The rest of her day passed in a blur. It had been her dream for the longest time to learn salsa, and she couldn't believe that she would finally get the chance to do it. But the best part of it was that she would be dancing with such a supportive and kind person such as John.

It was always her fear that her dance partner would laugh at her clumsiness, but she knew that John would never do that. Maybe they would laugh together at their mutual awkwardness, but he would never laugh AT her. Although she was nervous about the first dance lesson, that knowledge kept her at least partially grounded.

"Why are you so chipper today Gem?" Her mother asked her.

"Chipper? I am not. I am just my regular self." She said as she stopped singing while washing the dishes.

Her mother gave her a quizzical look but decided to let it go. After all, her daughter was rarely excited about anything, so her mother, Makawee, didn't want to spoil the mood.

"Why would she think I am chipper? Well, maybe not many people sing happily, smiling from ear to ear while doing the dishes." Gem thought.

She tried to tone it down a bit, but barely managed to do so.

"So are you going out tonight?" Her mother asked.

"Yes, is that okay?" Gem asked.

She didn't know why, but even though she was an adult, she still kept asking her mother for permission. It was probably because her mother worried about her too much. In turn, Gem tried to make sure that she wouldn't need her before she went anywhere.

"Yes, that is fine, just don't forget to send me a message to let me know that everything is okay," Makawee said.

"Yes, mom." Gem said, automatically.

Her mother had been checking up on her even more often than before. Every time she went out, she had to send her a message that she was fine. If she didn't do that, her mother would get abnormally worried, and would call to check if she was okay.

At first, Gem didn't mind it, but as it started happening more often, Gem started feeling suffocated. Even when she went out to at least try to have some fun, she had to make sure to remember to let her mother know she was okay, or else she would have a panic attack.

One time, she didn't send her a message and didn't see the calls her mother had made, so once she called her back, Makawee was terrified, on the verge of breaking apart. From that day on, Gem did her best not to forget to let her know. The thing was that she did send one message, but she was expected to send at least three messages a day.

Finally, after helping her mother with the dishes, it was time for Gem to get ready, and she was surprised to see that her hands were shaking so badly that she could barely change her clothes.

She was usually nervous about trying new things, but this time she was even more anxious than ever. That level of anxiousness wasn't present when she tried ice skating, although it was much more dangerous than dancing in her opinion.

However, upon meeting up with John, and looking into his calming eyes, she felt much better, more confident and excited.

They had enough time to take a walk before going to the dance school, and they spent it chatting excitedly about what they expected the classes would be like. Even John, who was never interested in learning salsa, felt exhilarated by the prospect, probably because he would have the chance to learn it with Gem. He realized that any time spent with Gem was time well spent.

When they arrived at the dance school and filled out the necessary forms, they started their first lesson. It was completely different from anything either of them expected. They both thought they would immediately start dancing and learning the basic steps, but that wasn't what happened. Instead, they had an introductory lesson that was an introduction to salsa drumming, rhythms, and applications.

When she heard what the lesson would be like, Gem was a bit disappointed, but once the lesson started, she became fascinated by all they were taught. They were told about the rhythms that were the basic building blocks of salsa music such as clave, cascara, and so on, which were a bit of a challenge for them to understand since they weren't familiar with music lingo. Still, they both found it thoroughly fascinating.

After discussing all of those, they went on to explain salsa anatomy, and Gem couldn't believe how much foreknowledge was necessary to be able to understand something that she usually just felt. For some reason, salsa was something she could feel deep down in her body, and even though she didn't consider herself a good dancer, her body would take over and move on its own accord.

It was as if her body was more in tune with the wonderful music, with the rhythm, more than she could ever rationally understand.

Luckily for her, most complicated explanations were followed with examples, and just hearing salsa music made her feel more relaxed and energized, ready to face any challenge, even if it was a theory of dancing.

Their dance instructor also explained that when learning any style of music, it was essential for people to immerse themselves into the music completely. Gem could understand that part completely because when she thought about dancing she wasn't doing it so well, but when she was just immersed in it, she was much better at it.

What they also learned that day was that learning salsa wasn't only about the music and dancing, it was also about learning the history of the style, and many other things depending on the style.

They also recommended purchasing congas, bongos, or timbales, and Gem thought the idea was both wonderful and crazy, she loved it.

Both of them felt like they stepped into a whole new world that they didn't even know existed, and they loved it more than anything they had done before. It was such a precious experience that they were excited to be able to share it, to be able to unwind and forget about all their problems and worries.

Although it was outside of their comfort zones, they realized they were enjoying even learning about salsa, and they were sure they would enjoy doing it when the time came.