Dance

The Fall

So it's been a while since my last update. Yay. What can I say? Life of an American teenager is hectic. I am sorry for that. But I hope you like this chapter. People continuing to stick through and read this is what really makes me want to write and continue the story. So please - share this story as much as you can. Spread the word if you really want me to continue. On that note - I would like to make a shout out to Kimberlym34 for being the first person to comment on this story. Honestly you're the reason this chapter exists right now. If you wouldn't have commented so much I would have never been excited to write the next chapter. Well at least not for a long while anyway. I hope you will continue reading, commenting, voting and sharing this story with others. (And commenting about my mistakes!!) Thank you so much! I hope you will be patient with me! I want this story to be perfect and it takes time to make sure everything looks and reads well. Please enjoy!!!!!
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Every time I think of last week - I smile. I had no idea that I could sing like that. Or that it would feel so... extraordinary. I've never felt something so powerful, amazing and beautiful in my life. I couldn't believe that it actually came from me. I haven't been able to wipe the smile off my face ever since.
The production was coming along smoothly - albeit all of Tiffany's ridiculous requests. I have now basically become what I can only wisely call - her personal assistant. More like maid if you ask me. Yet the princess must be happy and if fetching her a mocha at 8:00 AM on Saturday practices makes her highness happy - well then I must do whatever I can in order to continue being the understudy of this show.
When telling Caroline about Tiffany, she had a... few choice words to be nice about it. I listened to her rant for an hour straight about this girl she doesn't even know that lives on the opposite end of the country as she. Mrs. Elliot is a different story. She is being very supportive while reassuring me that my time to shine is coming soon. I miss both of them so dearly, and cannot wait until Christmas so I can get on a plane and go see them. It's only September - so I have quite a ways to go.
As I was stepping out of my new (old) Mitsubishi Diamante, (dad was able to afford to save it from the junk yard for me. Although it is not the most desirable vehicle - it runs like a pro and gets great gas mileage,) I had Tiffany's mocha in hand, I made my way to the front door of the studio. Not but three steps later - I crossed paths with Brice Anderson.
"Did she make you get her coffee again?" Brice asked angrily, glaring at the brown cup in my hand. I nodded grimly and proceeded to walk beside him. He pulled the cup out of my hand, taking a small sip that made him cringe. "What on Earth is this?" He exclaimed. I chuckled slightly at his pinched face and said, "Some non-fat mocha whip or latte or frappe or something. Who knows? I forgot the moment I ordered for her." Opening the door for us both, Brice exclaims, "Well it's delightfully disgusting. As always. Black coffee, two sugar cubes is always the way to go." I scrunched my nose up and said, "Add some caramel to that and you'd be correct!"
We both chuckled as we entered the rehearsal room where everyone was lounging around. "Finally!" Tiffany chirped, "You've found you're way back. And with my coffee! How darling of you." I wanted to sock her in the face. As in literally take one of dad's stinky socks and slap her in the face with it. Dad's socks were notoriously smelly - in fact the first time Caroline ever smelt them - she thought something had died in the house. Tiffany took a small, noisy sip of her frou-frou drink before she skipped away in what I could only guess to be fake glee. The urge to sock slap her was so strong, that I had to force myself to turn and look at Brice.
He grimaced. "I'm so sorry you have to deal with that. You don't deserve to." My heart fluttered slightly - from what I don't know. Probably just from the simple fact that - well - Brice is a good looking man. His face was squared and muscled - but not in that gross complete turn off way. Toned in a way only dance can make you. Barely noticeable yet totally beautiful. That along with his clear sparkly green eyes that made you want to pour your heart out to him with one look, and perfect chocolate brown hair - it was enough to make any girl swoon. "Its fine," I replied to him with a smile, "I'm just doing what I can so I can continue to be the understudy. I really like this show. Well love this show actually. It's really well written and just amazing. I wish I would have made try outs and had a real chance of actually preforming in it." Brice studies me slightly with furrowed brows. "If you would have been able to try out - you would have made lead and knocked this show out of the water." He admits with an honest tone, making me blush wildly.
Before I could say anything - Tiffany stomps up and grabs Brice by the wrist. "Brice darling! Chance is requesting us. I think rehearsal is finally starting." He rolls his eyes mockingly at me and allows himself to be dragged off towards the middle of the floor by Tiffany. I stare off at them as Chance tells all of the performers what he wants to get through today. As always - it was quite a bit of work. I walked around to the back of the room, where everyone except for Tiffany stood.
Chance decided to start the day out with my personal favorite piece of choreography. The movement is called, "The Big Disaster," and is about Sarah, the main character, finding out about the death of her family. When performed right, the piece would be an emotional roller coaster intended to bring the audience to tears. Tiffany stretched her muscles out and took the center of the room. I'm assuming she really liked being in the center with no one else around her. She took her starting pose and waited for the music to start.
The beginning was happy. She twirled and pranced around on the dance floor in a light manner. Reece, who was playing Sarah's best friend Cara, waltzed in towards Tiffany after about thirty seconds of her cheerful jitter. Reece grabbed Tiffany by the arm convincingly and pulled her around with force. They danced together for a second before the music broke sadly and Reece glided away from the floor. Following the music - Tiffany fell into a slow and sad pace. She twirled, dipped, and paused for an arabesque. Finally the music came to a close with Tiffany lying on the floor sobbing.
She was good. Really good. Tiffany is many things but a bad dancer isn't one of them. Chance clapped, satisfied with the performance, and Tiffany stood up off the ground with a big, cocky smile. She pranced happily over to me and grabbed the glass of water I knew she would need. For the next few hours we continued like this. They switched from rehearsing choreography to lines to songs and repeated the cycle a few times as I watched and helped out when I could.
Finally, we were dismissed to eat the lunch that Danni so graciously made for us all. We had barbeque chicken sandwiches and our choice of flavored water or Gatorade to keep our electrolytes at a healthy level. The small lunch room in the back of the studio was buzzing with commotion. Everyone was chatting, laughing and eating the great lunch that Danni made for us all. After grabbing my sandwich and fruit punch flavored Gatorade - I made my way to the rest of my friends. I took my seat beside Reece smiled at the group. They were arguing over what newer movie was the best. Reece was arguing for Frozen, even though it has been out for a year, Brice was adamant that the last Transformers took first place, and Scott voted for Annabelle.
"What! Babe no! Annabelle is scary. Who doesn't want to watch Olaf?" Reece screeched at her boyfriend who just laughed. "Reece, babe, you know I love Anna and Elsa, but when you make us watch it every Saturday..." Reece gasped at Scott dramatically. "How dare you! Frozen will never get old. Ever!" We all laughed at this little blonde's passion for Frozen, and at the sight of Scott trying to defend himself with no avail. "It's not that! Just watching it so much makes me feel less manly," he admits and then puffs out his chest and deepens his voice, "I need to watch a scare movie and have you hide behind me so I feel manly again." Reece threw her empty cup at his face which he caught and placed on the table. "No," She replied, "What's sad is how easily your manhood becomes compromised." At this we all burst into a huge chorus of laughter. By the time I was done, my sides hurt and tears were pouring down my face. Scott simply crossed his arms and pouted until Reece leaned over and kissed him on the cheek sweetly, making him smile like a five year old on Christmas morning.
They were probably the cutest couple I had ever seen before. Reece had already filled me in on their story and it was so adorable too. It was no secret that Danni took over the studio from her mom after she passed away. Both Reece and Scott met when they were five and signed up to be a part of Danni's mother's studio lessons for beginners. They became best friends and stuck together through all of elementary and middle school. Their eighth grade year, Scott started getting angry at Reece when she would talk about any guys that she liked. He would totally shut down and then start yelling at her. It became a huge problem when she started dating her first boyfriend, Dalton. They dated for about six months before he broke up with her the summer before freshman year. She was so depressed over that and not having Scott there to comfort her. Finally, when Scott received the news of the break up, he showed up on Reece's door step with a bouquet of tulips, (her favorite flower) and a box of chocolates. He admitted that he had been in love with her for years - and they've been together ever since.
Soon enough, lunch ended and it was time to get back to work. Chance decided to run through some lines first so everyone's lunch will settle. "No throwing up during my show" he explained with a laugh. For about an hour, I sat and watched as Tiffany and Brice ran through the lines during the scene where they meet for the first time. I read along silently with Tiffany and chatted with Danni while they worked. Finally, Chance decided to work on one of the main dances between Brice and Tiffany. It was a dance scene where Sarah believes that Conner, (Brice's character) is cheating on her because of the rumors going around school. It is a fight scene with many complicated lifts and stunts and needed the most work time so it would be perfect. According to Chance, if this scene wasn't perfected - it could tear down the entire show.
Tiffany and Brice got into their places and starting positions for the dance. Chance wanted to run through a few parts before they ran through with the song. He had them work on a particularly complicated lift where Tiffany had to run and throw herself onto Brice, who in return had to catch her mid-air, toss her back up, and catch her right before she hit the ground. It was representing that even though Sarah may fall, Conner will always be there to catch her before she hits rock bottom. They practice the stunt a few times before they get it down perfectly and Chance asks them to run through the whole routine with the music.
They get back in place and the music starts. Tiffany starts out angry with Brice, she kicks, spins and leaps around the floor. Brice counter-acts with his own desperate and strong choreography. The music builds and it's almost time for the challenging stunt. Tiffany pirouettes, runs into a grand jete and Brice successfully lifts her into the air. He holds her for a second and then prepares himself the toss her back up. As Tiffany started to fall, she thrashed her arm out making it impossible for Brice to catch her. They both fell to the ground with a loud thump. As Tiffany fell, I watched as her ankle rolled out when she tried to catch herself and I heard a sickening snap. I knew something was wrong.
The music cut off abruptly and we all ran over to the two possibly injured dancers. As we reached them, Brice rolled over and sat up. He outstretched his hand and I helped pull him to his feet. Bouncing for a second and stretching, Brice seemed to be perfectly okay. I let out a sigh of relief and then turned my attention over to Tiffany, who still hadn't stood up. As I suspected, she was clutching her ankle and sobbing. "Call the ambulance. Immediately!" Chance shouted, making Danni jump and run to the phone. Brice gently lifted Tiffany up off the ground and in no time the ambulance arrived outside the studio. We brought her outside and they directed Brice to set her on a stretcher. Quickly they got back into the ambulance and Chance jumped inside before they shut the door and drove off. Danni locked the doors to the studio and simultaneously the entire show crew piled into our cars and headed towards the local hospital.
We had been sitting in the waiting room for about fifteen minutes before Chance came down the hall and made his way to us. Brice was the first to ask how Tiffany was doing, and what had happened. "She's fine," Chance told us all, "But she did break her ankle and tear her ligament. She needs a small surgery to repair the torn ligament and then her ankle will be put in a cast. She will probably be off that foot for a long time." Brice looked devastated and guilty. He nodded and then stormed outside of the hospital. I looked back to Chance. "What exactly happened?" I asked him concerned. "Basically when she started the fall she rotated her hips wrong and lost her balance. That's why she flailed her arms and legs. It wasn't Brice's fault at all, but knowing that boy he will blame himself for a while. You should go talk to him Anna. Maybe you can calm him down."
I walked outside in search of Brice. I looked around for him but he wasn't in the front of the building. Deciding randomly on a direction, I turned to the right and started walking in case I managed to run into him. After about five minutes, I came to a small park. It had lots of gorgeous flower beds and an old swing set accompanied by some playground equipment. I spotted Brice sitting on this old wooden bench under the trees. I walked a few steps and then took a seat beside him. The bench groaned beneath me, making it obvious that it was pretty old.
"Hey," I said cautiously, knowing he was upset and I didn't want to push a button or something. "Hey" he replied monotonous, looking down at the seemingly soft, green grass. "You shouldn't blame yourself. You did nothing wrong." He scoffed at this statement. "I dropped her," he said angrily, "How is it not my fault? I lost my focus for a second and I dropped her. It is my fault." I glanced sideways at him before asking, "How did you lose your focus?" He inhaled deeply, and then shot a glance in my direction before focusing on the ground once more. "It's - it's nothing. Something caught my attention that's all." We sat quietly for a few seconds. "Well, whatever it was, just know that it's still not your fault that Tiffany is hurt. Chance watched what happened. She rotated her hips incorrectly in the air, Brice, the fall was going to happen whether you were completely focused or not. That was decided before she was even in your arms." With that, I patted his knee and stood up, stretching.
"Would you like to join us in the waiting room? She should be getting released soon." I asked him, offering my hand to help him up. With a moment of deliberation, Brice took my hand in his and stood up before letting go. I felt a soft ache in my chest that wasn't there a moment before. What it was from? I didn't know. I ignored it and followed Brice inside where the others were waiting.
Tiffany was released shortly after, and Chance took her home, instructing us to go back to the studio and wait for him there. I didn't know what was going to happen. Would the show be pushed back? Would it happen at all? We followed his orders anyway, and were now all sitting in the studio waiting in silence. After what seemed like ages, Chance came storming in kind of angrily. "I swear," He said, "Tiffany's parents-" but Danni interrupted. "Chance! Not now. It's not the time." He nodded at her, and then they both simultaneously looked at me. I furrowed my brow, confused. "Can I help you?" I asked nervously. Danni rested her arm on my shoulder, "Dear, can we talk to you privately?" I nodded and followed them, leaving Brice and the other dancers behind, to Danni's office where we all took a seat. "Anna, as you know, Tiffany cannot be on her feet for quite some time. And I don't have long to make this production. I can't push back the opening but maybe a day or two. That isn't long enough for Tiffany to recover and perfect the performance." Chance informed me. I sat quietly and looked at the two, who were grinning slyly at each other. I had a feeling I knew what was about to happen, which was going to send me on a wild rollercoaster. I braced myself in excitement, nervousness, and overall, hope, for what Chance might say.
Finally, he spoke up -
"Will you take Tiffany's place in my production?"
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Boom! I know, I know, please don't hate me. It's not that bad of a cliffhanger. What did all of you little dragonflies think? What lays ahead for Anna and the rest? I guess we will just have to find out! Or y'all will. I already know. Obviously haha. Well as always please comment, vote, share, etc. Love you guys! New update will come soon I promise. I hope this is enough for now! It's five pages on word! That's like a page or so more than normal. Anyway. Tootiloo for now!