Beads of sweat stood out on my forehead. My face shone a brilliant red and a trickle of sweat ran down my spine as I spun, stumbling over my own feet.
“You okay?” Bridge asked, turning toward me. We had been practicing for what seemed like hours. I danced behind them all, though the front two boys, Hardyn and Grady, stood just in front of the other three. Bridge was to my left while Ryder stood before me. Tom was on my right.
I nodded, but the music stopped abruptly. “Bridge? What are you doing? No talking!” One of the trainers glared at me and then Mom, but she deftly ignored him.
“Lindy!” she hissed angrily. “Do better!”
“You can do it, Lindy,” Ryder whispered, grinning at me. I nodded, grateful for his encouragement. He had been my side, urging me on all day. I wanted to show him that I could do it, too. I wanted to prove it to all of them, but especially Mom.
I picked up my pace, afraid to fail in front of everyone. But I was worried it wasn’t enough. It seemed as if I was always a step behind, no matter how hard I tried.
Finally, the music stopped. I gasped for air, bending over to catch my breath. Sarah, the dance instructor and choreographer, walked over to Mom and they began talking in low tones, glancing at me periodically. I straightened, walking slowly around and holding my side, but I couldn’t keep from glancing at them as well. I knew they were talking about me.
Grady slammed his water bottle onto a chair and came towards me, sweat streaming down his face and staining the armpits of his shirt.
“What are you doing?” he asked, his voice low as he glanced at Mom. She glanced at us, a worried expression on her face and then came towards us.
“I’m doing my best,” I protested, fanning my shirt. I was so hot. The boys gathered around me and Bridge offered me a bottle of water.
“Well, maybe it’s not good enough,” Grady said, not even bothering to keep his voice low as Sarah and Mom joined us.
“What do you mean, Grady?” Mom asked, slipping her arm around my shoulders and shaking me slightly. She stared down at me as if proud. I was impressed. Usually Mom was very peculiar about getting sweat on her and there was no way I wasn’t soaking her clothes at that moment.
“I mean, she could always improve,” Mom looked at me as if she was imparting some great wisdom or advice. “But she’s doing just fine. Don’t you think so, Sarah?”
“Yeah,” Sarah piped up as she tightened her ponytail. I’ll admit it. Sarah terrified me. At first glance, she looked like a typical teenager, but when you looked closer, she was older than she seemed and much, much stronger. Muscles stood out in her arms and legs and her stomach was a six-pack. I sucked my own stomach in when she came to stand on my other side. “I can tell you’ve had extensive training.”
“Only the best,” Mom sing-songed. “For my little girl.”
“And that you love it,” Sarah added. “You can always tell when someone loves what they’re doing.”
“I thought you said you didn’t like this stuff,” Grady protested, throwing his hands up in the air. “You said it was stupid.”
I blushed, but thankfully no one could tell. My face was already far too red for it to make any difference.
“I think she’s terrible,” Grady said, glaring at me. “She’s been stumbling all over the place and messed up the routine twice.”
My mouth dropped open in surprise. I couldn’t believe that Grady would say that.
“Grady, come on. She’s just learning it and she’s already better than me. I’ve screwed us up three or four times today,” Bridge said while Tom nodded eagerly along. Ryder remained silent, staring at the floor. My heart ached as I realized he wasn’t going to defend me.
I must really be bad, I thought. He’s embarrassed he encouraged me. He wishes he hadn’t. And Sarah’s just being nice. Or trying to get in good with Mom.
“She’s awesome,” Tom spoke up. I smiled at him in return and he smiled back.
“What do you think, Hardyn?” Bridge asked, staring hard at him.
Hardyn took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “I think…,” I waited anxiously for him to reply. I hadn’t believe I really, truly, deep down inside cared about what the others thought, but now that Grady was so vocally downing me, I wanted everyone else to be my staunch supporters.
But even I was surprised when Hardyn came through.
“She’s doing good,” he said, spinning the top on his water bottle. He shrugged. “Yeah, Sarah’s right. She could be better, but she’s probably rusty and it’s a new routine. Give her a couple of weeks of practice and I think she’ll do fine. She’s got a good foundation. You can tell.”
Grady stared at him, aghast.
“I told you,” Sarah said. “I’m going to run outside for a minute. Be ready to dance in five!” She jogged from the room.
I smiled at Hardyn thankfully, but he ignored me, turning instead to his uncle to go over several messages. It meant even more to me when he did that. I knew then he wasn’t being nice. I wasn’t even sure Hardyn knew how to be nice. He was simply stating what he believe to be true.
“Wait till you hear her sing,” Mom said, hugging me tighter.
“What?” I asked.
“Oh, just one day, Lindy,” Mom laughed, brushing off my question with one airy wave.
“She’s terrible, Mom! This isn’t fair!” Grady exploded. “I don’t want her practicing with us. It’s embarrassing.”
I swallowed hard, tears stinging my eyes. A deep sense of betrayal invaded my being and my chest felt heavy and dark. I had never thought my brother could be so cruel, so selfish.
Bridge and Tom glanced away from me. They know I want to cry, I thought and it made me even more upset.
“Grady,” Mom warned him through clenched teeth, but he just continued, ignoring her.
“I mean it, Mom,” he said. “I’ll quit.”
“You have a contract,” Mom said, her voice low. “Don’t threaten what you can’t carry through.”
Grady stared at her in silence. His eyes shone with a dangerous glint I had never seen before. Ryder came to stand beside me, taking my hand and squeezing it. I gulped hard, trying to keep back the tears.
Grady’s eyes widened as he stared at our hands. “I don’t want her to be part of this! You can’t do this! It was supposed to be me. Just me,” he said to Mom and then he stepped towards me. “Don’t, Lindy.” He warned me, staring into my eyes, but I couldn’t see him clearly through my tears. He sounded as if he were begging, almost pleading with me to fail. “If you know what’s good for you, you won’t.”
My brother hesitated as if he wanted to say more, but a glance from Mom stopped him.
“And you,” he turned to Ryder, stabbing his finger into his chest. “Stay away from my sister!”
“Mind your own business, Grady,” I said. “I’ll do what I want to do.”
Mom squeezed my shoulder again and it gave me strength.
“You’re just scared because I’m better than you anyway,” I added, immediately regretting my words.
Grady stared at me silently before glancing at everyone gathered and realizing he was outnumbered. Without another word, Grady snorted, laughing shortly. And then, shaking his head, he turned and walked away.
*****
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