Take the Lead

Stealing a Routine

Mikizaki Hureni, 2nd year, stepped into the dance studio. She loved the way the bland cream walls had been brought to life with pictures of the dance group in costume, action shots of acro tricks and motivational posters. Just as she had wanted it. She looked forward from the door and came face to face with herself in the full-wall mirror. It was designed to reflect the dancers so they could judge of they were doing the steps right.

She saw an average hight girl with a muscle-to-fat ratio that showed that she had spent the first 10years of her life training as a state champion gymnast, ebony hair that fell inches below her shoulders, large green eyes that, when batted, would make a person melt into a puddle of happiness, a smile which she had been told could cure any and every decease known to man-kind and... And... Her least favorite asset... Her breasts. For an athlete they were considered very large, a C12 to be exact, she was very sensitive about her breasts ever since her old gymnastics team did a gym-clothes photoshoot and her breasts popped out of her shirt. It was humiliating to say the least.

She frowned and turned away from the mirror and closed her eyes, inhaling the smell of the studio into her system, the scent of sweat and worn leather found its way into her nostrils. It made her feel at home, "Can't beleive it's been a year already..." She sighed. It was her idea to start the the Iwatobi Dance Troop in the first place, and many girls had joined... But one by one they started leaving... They said Mikizaki made routines too easy and with minimal acro tricks, the most she put in was a one handed front walkover, not that impressive when your students are capable of much more complicated and astounding stunts. The school board said that they needed a dance captain who would push the dancers to their physical limit. An expectation that Miki did not live up to.

Thats the whole reason she was here today. To audition for the role of dance captain, meaning she would call the shots, place dancers in their rows depending on their dance ability, choreograph routines that they would perform at high-level competitions or just in front of the school, not to mention the occasional flash mob.

Being dance captain would also convince Mikizaki that she was worth it. The past year, due to the bullying from the other dancers, Miki had become slightly depressed. She also got called a 'Freak' by the other dancers, just because she had the freaky flexibility of a contortionist. It was a telent she wanted to keep hidden. The bullying got so bad that one night, so consumed by anger and self-hate, she took her pencil sharpener, removed the blade and cut 3 horizontal lines on each wrist, due to the fact that she wore many bracelets, no one noticed. She had got so bad that she wrote a note, a note that would explain her death, it was still sitting, untouched, along with a container of strong pills in her cupbored.

Mikizaki sighed, she wanted to do what she came here to do: Dance. She tied her hair up in a messy bun, swapped her school shoes for tan leather jazz shoes, set up a small video recorder on a chair pressing the REC button and plugged her phone into the stereo that lived in the studio. She scrolled through her song list and picked one, Stand by You by Marlisa. This song came on and Miki began to dance. It was a contemporary acro routine, full of emotion and giving the message of hope. Once the song finished she got up from her ending pose, in which she grabbed her ankle from behind and lifted it up into the air and straightening it making her back bend incredibly far, a needle. Watching the recording she noticed that in one of her turns her supporting leg was bent slightly, "Every time, Miki!" She whisper shouted.

this caught the attention of a girl by the name of Yukima Natzama, a 3rd grader with wait-length platinum blonde hair, ice blue eyes and a thin petite body. She was one of Miki's biggest bullys and the main reason Miki had her suicide note written. She was a perfect damcer, perfect at everything. She was wven dating one of the hottest guys in school; Rei Ryugazaki, he was in the Iwatobi Swim Club, but damn all the swimmers were hot as hell! Yuki knew very well that Mikizaki was and amazing danced, in fact she was jealous! She had been dancing for 12 years and was indeed amazing, but so was Miki, after only 5 years of dance.

Yukima stood behind a plant and waited for Miki to go clean herself up in the bathroom. When she left, Miki being Miki had left all her belonging in the studio. Yuki walked in and grabbed a USB drive from her pocket, kneeled down and plugged it into the recorder. She pressed a few buttons and soon FILE 17_452, also known as Miki's dance routine, was on her USB. She smirked at the little USB and shoved it back in her pocket. Yuki stood up, her knee cracking in the process, and was about to leave when - the sign up sheet - there it was, taped to the wall, You had to sign your name to be able to audition and it was first come first served! Miki hadn't signed up yet so Yukima took it as an opportunity. She got a pen from her bag and scribbled her name, she was the 3rd to sign up, the other two were Karu, the only male dancer in the group who was VERY flamboyant and openly gay, and Rimako, one of Yukima's sisters who didn't have a chance at winning.

Yukima giggled at what she had done, picked up her bag and quietly sprinted out of the studio, just in time because at that moment Mikizaki came back, her hair out and brushed and the swear washed from her face and exposed arms. Not suspecting a thing had happened, Miki returned to the studio and gathered her things. She practically leapt over to the sign up sheet, a small grin placed on her lips, and signed her name at 4th, not bothering to see who was above her. She put the pen back in her bag, "With this killer choreography I can't lose!" She squealed, prancing off to her next class, free period was over.

Sitting at her lap-top in class, Yukima toyed with the USB in her fingers, "Lets see what the judges will think when you steal MY routine"