Saturday morning, things take a hilarious and frustrating turn.
While waiting for Valeria in the studio, half the students were excited about the duo that we were going to be assigned. Till now, chits were picked to make the groups by the choreographers. But when Valeria entered the room, she bursted everyone's bubble, showing that no one can ever depend on luck. The twist this time was that she would be announcing the pairs and each pair would pick out the chit that would have the choreographers name.
The choreography would depend on the person whose name we'll pick out. They're all our seniors who've been excellent and may be pursuing something related to that.
However, the real shock came when Valeria began to announce the groups.
"Harley Kingsley and Iris Hart," she said, looking up and expecting us to step forward. There was an audible gasp amongst the students. Pairing up the top student of the program with a student who's been at the bottom since the beginning? There was a pattern in the pairs - they were pairing up the students with contrasting styles and skills but the case with Iris and I went way beyond that. "Step forward and pick the chits."
Iris and I stepped forward. I looked at her but she didn't throw a single glance at me. She went to the first box with the choreographers while I was the one who drew the chit for the topic. Opening it, I read the words once before crumbling it in my hands once.
You're both lost and want to be found.
I wondered whether these topics would get worse every time. Iris looked up at me and threw the chit to me, which is in a crumbled state as well. I throw her mine and she catches it at once, opening it to read the words which I recognise the name of our choreographer.
Mason Williams.
From what I remembered, Mason Williams was a member of Red Primas. With a sigh, I looked up at Iris and she was looking at me with uncertainty, as if asking me something with just her eyes. Before I could figure out what it was, Valeria cleared her throat and asked us to go to the next room and call out his name. We could either just end at introductions today or we could go to the reception and take a small studio for practice.
That's how I ended up here right now.
I'm with Iris out in the field. Mason's sitting in front of us, scrolling through his phone. He's a tall guy with a muscular build and olive skin. His eyes are a bright blue in colour and his face is relaxed as he scrolled through the phone. When he had said that we shouldn't waste our time in the studio and instead just choose a song and concept out in the open, Iris seemed visibly shaken and bothered by it.
"Why do we have to go outside? It's so sunny right now," she complained and Mason did his best to make her calm down before he got annoyed and practically dragged her out here, saying that he didn't care about how it messed up with her skin care schedule. After that, she shut her mouth and has been quiet since.
Mason sighs in front of us. "You're both lost and want to be found." He scoffs, running a hand through his hair.
"Why do these keep getting worse?" Iris mutters under her breath.
He shrugs. "You'll get used to them when they get more weird. Anyways, what was the first thing that came to your mind when you heard of the topic?"
"That I'm supposed to be lost and someone needs to find me?" she says nonchalantly. It's the way she's taking it way too casually that's getting under my nerves. I shouldn't be the one to be saying this, though, since I'm not interested in anything that happens around here but still, there's something in her attitude that has already gotten under my skin.
"Very intelligent," he mutters, losing interest in her after hearing her reply. He then turns to me. "What do you think when you hear the sentence?"
I shrug. "I don't know."
He closes his eyes, letting out a sigh, a small smile making its way on his way. "Why did I need to get the two of you? One of you is terrible and has no interest. The other is excellent and has no interest." A bitter laugh escapes his lips. "I mean, good for you guys. At least the two of you have something in common."
Hearing that, Iris rolls her eyes. "If I was terrible, I wouldn't have gotten into this school."
Mason is taken aback by the statement, his smile momentarily wavering but widening right after that. "You really mean that?"
"Yes, I do," she replies confidently. Mason asking her questions is helping me get to know more about her personality in general, unless she's being sarcastic.
"Right. You made it into Redville. It still doesn't change the fact that you basically suck. First thing you should learn when you're here is that if you've somehow made it into Redville, then you should automatically stop comparing yourselves to the people outside. Maybe you can, but to do that, consider your current skills."
Mason's words only seem to piss Iris off. "Stop being such a teacher. You're the choreographer. There's nothing superior about you at all."
"Is that so?" he scoffs. "I'd try to convince you to stop thinking like that but I doubt you'd listen to me."
"You're right. I'm not obliged to listen to you."
Mason just shrugs. "Suit yourself. Just don't whine later." His gaze shifts to me and I can see the sudden interest pique up in his eyes. "You got yourself a dumb partner."
"Well, yeah, I don't know what to think about that," I mutter under my breath. "Lowkey just want to let this performance go."
He laughs. His laughter is soft and calm, just like his expression. "The person who'd be affected the most by that would be her." He gestures towards Iris. "Your grades are so high that you can skip two to three performances and still be on the top."
"I'll just skip this one then."
"Yes, you should do that. She's not going to agree with anything at all."
"Very true."
Iris sighs in frustration and gets up, grabbing her bag and slinging it across her shoulders. Her eyes flick between me and him before she clicks her tongue, turning around. "If you both actually come up with something and are done dissing me, please call me. I have a date and I'm definitely not going to waste my day hearing you speak shit about me." With that, she walks away.
Mason and I wait till she's gone, my eyes following her till she's out of sight.
"Thanks for playing along," Mason mutters under his breath with a sigh of frustration. "I don't like that girl's attitude."
I hum in agreement, turning away from me. "Other things aside, what came to your mind when you heard the topic?"
He keeps his phone aside and leans back. "I do have something in mind but I don't know if I can put it in words. It's pretty complicated - the concept I have in mind." He looks at me again. "Is it fine if we don't practice today? I'm busy in the evening. I'll call you tomorrow, though."
"Sure," I say to him. "Didn't you hear? Iris has a date. If you call her today, she'll be beyond pissed."
He laughs at that, getting up and stretching himself. "I heard you're coming to Summer's party. Guess I'll see you there?" I nod. "Get up. Walk with me. I've been meaning to talk to you for a while."
He extends his hand towards me but I just stare at it, trying to think of a reason why Mason Williams would want to talk to me. When he notices that I'm not taking his hand, he sighs. He's about to take it away but I take it right then, getting up with my own bag. "What do you want to talk about?"
He doesn't say anything. He just starts to walk and I'm by his side, occasionally looking at him and waiting for him to speak but he doesn't until we're out of the field. The two of us begin to walk towards Minerva. We're nearing one of the staff buildings when he speaks up again.
"I didn't expect you to be a quiet person," he says to me with a smile.
"What did you expect?" I ask, though I already have an idea about what he thought I would be like. He runs a hand through his hair and looks down at his feet.
"I expected you to be loud like Summer and Asher."
I can't help but internally cringe since I hate being compared to their whole friend group. They're all mean and rude and people who ruin lives because they have the power to. I'm nothing like them. Or maybe that's what I think and what I believe. Maybe I just don't want to accept that I'm like Asher. I don't know.
"Fair enough." My eyes flick to him for a moment but I look away instantly after trying to read him. He seems genuine too - I just hope that he doesn't have a hidden side or tell anyone of our conversations if by chance he manages to get something from me. "What did you want to talk about?"
"Would you ever consider joining the dance group? Primas, I mean," he blurts out of nowhere and I'm slightly taken aback by it. I didn't expect him to say this to me out of all things. He notices my face and apologises. "I'm sorry. It's very sudden but I wanted to ask you this just in case."
"Why do you want to ask me this, though?" I ask him because I want to know.
He bites his lip, slowing down a bit. "Because we decided on letting two members join based on the first week's performance. We're an official group so we're allowed to choose on our own. You were our first choice. There were two more, but you were still on the top then."
If that was the case, then why wasn't I even told of this? "I was?"
"Yes." He sighs. "There's always a voting process whenever one of the group members proposes to admit another member. You were the first choice but there was a tie."
I raise my eyebrows. "Weren't there nine members before Luis joined, though? There isn't a possibility for a tie."
He nods and then looks at me again. "Yeah, let me continue. There was a tie and the answer depended on the one person who didn't give any clear answer. Now, obviously that isn't allowed but we assumed his answer would be based on what he said." There's a pause, the silence passing an unspoken understanding that if he's told me this much, then he is supposed to tell me about what was said as well. He isn't obliged to but he will because that's exactly why he's talking to me. "He said that you wouldn't join no matter what his vote was. You wouldn't like performing with them for some reason and that you'd feel uncomfortable with them."
He stops there but that wasn't it. He is hesitating. I almost think that he's not going to continue.
"He also said that you'd probably end up sabotaging the whole group for some kind of personal grudge."
I freeze. Personal grudge - what does this person mean? More importantly, who-
"Who is this person?" My tone is just the same but inside, I feel anxious. If this is the first week we're talking about, then the person tried to evaluate and read me then and there. Either that or the person already knows me long before I even joined the school, which is completely out of the question. "Are you allowed to tell me that?"
He shakes his head. "I'm not but," he lowers his voice, "I'll tell you. I know you're not dumb enough to spread everything about this. At least, I hope not."
I wait for him to continue as we take a turn. "Who was it?"
He takes a deep breath and exhales. "Nate. It was Nate."
Even though I try not to show it, I know the name made me freeze. Nate - just what is he trying to do? Based on the conclusions I can draw upon listening to what Nate's been saying, I know that his tactics began a few days before we met. Asher and Nate - it's a dangerous duo. They're toying with me and taking their own sweet time to play with me for some reason I'm confused about.
"Nate," I repeat. He nods. "Why are you telling me this?"
Mason smiles. "I just want to hear it from you. Would you have joined if you would've been offered a place in the group?"
I raise my eyebrows again, stopping him by his sleeve. His eyes drop to my hand and then at my face. He lets out a shaky breath. "Do you not trust his opinion or something?" I ask him.
He doesn't reply. "We don't really need to get to that topic. Just answer me with a yes or a no."
"Why does it matter to you so much?"
"Because," he stretches the word making it sound like a song, "I'm a part of the group. I'm still confused about why Summer voted against you when she was literally all over you backstage. She's a genuine person so I don't expect her to be up to something but I want to figure out why the top members voted against you when you're better than the most already."
The last sentence just seems to make me mad. Mason doesn't know it yet but he already has the answer to why they all voted against me. Instead of continuing the conversation, I decide to end it right here. There's something wrong here but I don't know what it is. Before either of us can say anything, Mason's phone rings.
He checks the caller ID and my eyes instinctively go to his screen.
Ella Amin, it says.
He throws me an apologetic look. "I've to take this. I'll see you tonight."
I flash a smile to him as he steps backwards, waving to me while accepting the call. I wave back and stand there till he's out of sight. Before I can begin my thinking, a notification pops up on my screen. It's from Summer. I had already wished her at twelve last night and she had replied as well. I don't know if we have something to talk about now but I read her message anyways.
Summer: Heyyy, you bringing someone today?
Harley: Nope.
Summer: You sure? If you're saying that because you think I won't like it, it's totally fine. Just let me know, I've to go to the main office to tell the final number of people who'd be leaving the campus for my party tonight.
I bite my lip, suppressing a smile as a thought comes to my mind. I type in a quick reply to her and she reads it instantly, her excitement obvious in her reply.
Harley: On second thought, I do want to invite three people. Can I bring them along?
Summer: YES! Sure :) I'm so excited to meet them.
She probably already knows who the three people I'm talking about are because I've been around them for the past week. Since the night after Remi and Sam's fight, the interaction between us has reduced to the bare minimum. I'm not close with any of my classmates or the people I danced with during the first week. That leaves only a few people.
I finish the conversation with Summer quickly before opening my group chat with Kai, Ryker and Rhea, typing in a quick message.
Harley: Who's up for a party?