"You won't believe what I heard Miss Sarah say!" Abbie whispered excitedly.
I cocked my head. "What?"
We were in the waiting room of the dance studio, Abbie taking a quick break. I was waiting here because Holden hadn't shown up for duet practice earlier. Normally I'd control the music, but if he came in late I was to take him to the back room and immediately begin practicing.
"She said something to Ashley about your notebook!" She exclaimed, "Something about how brilliant it was!"
I thought about how thrilled she had been last week, and allowed myself a moment of pride. Miss Sarah didn't exactly spew a fountain of compliments.
"Hey Abbie," I said, before she could go back into class, "Do you know where Holden could be?"
Abbie shrugged. "He was at school."
I sighed. Who knew if he'd show up or not.
I struggled with my bag for a second, then managed to get my iPad out. I unlocked it and went to the 'videos' section. The DVD that Jane had given me last week turned out to be the movie 'Dumbo,' about the elephant with the big ears. I'd loaded it onto my iPad, just in case I needed it for some reason.
With a glance around the empty waiting room, I clicked the volume halfway up and slid the bar up top to my favorite part of the movie: the end. The little elephant lost his magic feather and began to plunge toward the tiny trampoline, then whipped his ears out and began to fly anyways.
"You're still here?" Asked a sheepish voice.
I looked up at the figure walking through the door, feeling a little angry.
"Where were you?"
"That's for me to know and you not to find out," Holden replied mysteriously.
I rolled my eyes and clicked my iPad off, placing it on top of my bag because I didn't have time to stuff it in there.
"Back room - we have to practice, and there's a surprise waiting for you," I commanded.
When we stepped past the group practicing and into the back room, I eagerly plopped down beside a cardboard box. Miss Sarah had forbade me from opening it until Holden arrived, but I excitedly pulled out the plastic bag containing (as far as I could see) a mess of pink, sparkly fabric. I set it down carefully and handed two plastic bags to Holden. He ripped them open and sighed.
"Great. I'm pretty sure I have this same thing in my closet."
I shrugged at the white shirt and tan khaki-like pants, trying to peel open the sticky top of my own costume bag. Holden kneeled down beside me and ripped it open for me, pulling out my costume. A couple of strips of fabric fell to the ground and I pushed them into their own little pile.
"Hm. Two pieces, but one piece," I remarked thoughtfully.
Holden smirked. "I bet it'll be fun trying to figure this one out."
I took the costume from him and arranged it on the floor, smoothing it out.
"There. Not so difficult."
It was light pink fabric, interlaced with silvery strands to make it look shimmery. The top had two straps. One was a thin 'spaghetti-strap' type of thing, while the other was a bit wider. The wider one was made of a different type of fabric though, thinner with a mesh-like quality. The 'mesh' draped across the chest and down. It connected the top to the bottom, which was a skirt with shorts underneath. The mesh continued down the skirt, stopping when it was a bit longer on one side than the other. When I'd determined how it all came together, I glanced at the pile of fabric I'd tossed aside.
"What's this do?" I wondered.
Holden pulled it over. It was just one long string of fabric, a bit tougher in texture than the rest of the costume. We both stared at it for a second, then gave up. We'd ask Miss Sarah later.
"Okay, let's make sure everything fits," I said, making my way over to the corner and starting to ease out of my cami.
"Ella!" Holden cried, horrified.
"What?" I asked, spinning around. I bristled at his tone of voice.
"You can't just change there!"
"And why not?"
"Because! That's not...appropriate!"
I blinked, surprised. When we got costumes, everyone usually just changed in the room to minimize class time used up.
"Um. Wow. Okay, then."
I grabbed the plastic bag and stomped out of the back room, through the big studio where everyone else was practicing, and to the bathroom in the waiting room, angry at the inconvenience.
"Stupid Holden," I muttered, struggling to get the costume on one-armed. I managed to slip into the skirt and pull both arms halfway into the top before getting stuck. It took me a second to pull my limp arm through, but the working arm was still caught in the tight fabric. I sighed and pushed the door open, bumping it with my hip.
Ashley was sitting at the front desk and laughed at my costume situation before helping me pull my arm through, now red from rubbing against the material. "Looks good," she assured me, before sending me back through the big room and into the little one. I felt eyes admiring my costume, but kept walking, still annoyed.
"There. Satisfied?" I asked.
Holden gave a crooked smile. "Happier than a bird with a French fry."
I glared in return and walked to the corner, putting my neatly-folded leotard, shorts, and cami down. I felt his gaze on me as I walked and turned around. "Are you staring at me?"
"No, Ford, I was not staring at your butt."
A sly wink.
"Ha-ha," I drawled sarcastically, "Now let's run this number."
We worked on 'smoothing out' the dance. We had finished it the other day, and this was probably the first time both of us were really into it. I didn't feel as down-in-the-dumps and Holden was back to his normal, slightly annoying self. It was a good run-through.
Miss Sarah walked in and watched the last part of the dance (which we couldn't take seriously). She smiled at us, always a good sign, and pointed to the fabric lying in a crumpled pile that we couldn't figure out what to do with.
"You're supposed to use that to wrap your arm."
She walked over and picked it up, beckoning me.
"See, you tie it like this."
She wrapped the fabric around my stomach and limp arm a couple of times before tying it and tucking it beneath the mesh band that swooped over my stomach.
"You'll have to safety pin that, of course, but this is the general idea."
I prepped and did a pencil turn, bringing my left arm up. It felt a lot better not being off-balance. Plus, I didn't have to worry about accidentally whipping Holden in the face (though sometimes I felt like doing that on purpose). Miss Sarah was brilliant. She really had thought of everything!
After our 'practice' ended, Miss Sarah sent Holden into hip hop class and told me to sit by the mirror. "Turn on the music and watch this," she said.
I obeyed, hitting play. 'Rules' came on, the song she'd found choreography to in my notebook. I watched her contentedly, ready to pause the music when she stopped dancing. But she didn't. I watched curiously as she danced through parts I hadn't gotten to yet. She was as sure of herself as ever.
"That was really good," I said cautiously when she stopped, "But, wha-"
"I finished it for you."
"You...Finished it?"
"Yep. Do you like it?"
"I do, Miss Sarah, I just don't understand."
"I like it, you like it, what's not to understand?"
"Why would you do that?"
"Because, Ella, I want you to teach it to the junior class. You are the choreographer."
I stared at her for a second, hardly believing my own ears. Me? Teach? Then it really sank in and I jumped up with a squeal, giving Miss Sarah a big one-armed hug.
"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"It was all you, Ella. You deserved it."
Those words echoed through my head. It was all me. I deserved it. Yes, I deserved it!
***
So, I've been writing a lot lately! I have chapter 17 ready, and chapter 18 is almost there! This one was pretty fun to play around with, but just wait until you read the next two ;)
I never really mentioned a description for Holden, and for that I am sorry! I actually never planned on him being such a main character. He was originally just someone who sat by Ella on the bus and occasionally stole her food :o but now he is crucial to the storyline, and I like writing his dialogue. Yay for random characters! Anyway, he has brown eyes and blonde hair (usually pretty messy). He's taller than Ella, but not a giant. Do with that what you will.
Food for thought! Why is Holden being so weird? And what does Ella's random mood-change symbolize? Do you think Miss Sarah was being generous with Ella's choreography, or did she really deserve it? Lastly, (I had to put this one in here!) what makes you happier than a bird with a French fry? Hehe, I saw that on a sign at the beach last year. It seemed like something Holden would say!
Vote! Comment! And, most importantly, keep reading! You'll want to read the next few chapters, they're pretty fun :)
~HalleBallet