Dancing with the Devil

Chapter 1

"More emotion, I need something more!" shouts my dance instructor from across the large room.

My partner and I twirl around the room as I close my eyes and attempt to add the correction. I feel the sun on my face, a result of light coming through the large windows. My feet ache from constantly wearing heels, yet I continue moving to the sound of the music and letting it guide me. We are doing a basic waltz which is simple enough to do without looking. The tricky part is when you hate the person that you're dancing with.

Jayden. How I hate that name and the person it belongs to. He just has an awful personality and I can't stand him. Although he isn't awful to look at, with his blond hair and piercing green eyes, his awful personality makes him extremely unappealing. Even so, I strive to show some emotion that proves I'm enjoying myself. Don't get me wrong, I love to dance yet not with him.

As the music slows and comes to an end, I open my eyes. It's bright, and my eyes have slight trouble adjusting but I focus my eyes on my instructor.

"Stop closing your eyes when you dance Eva. Your face crumples together and you look hideous" Jayden tells me harshly, spit landing in my face.

I try not to squirm and I respond, "It's to not look at your awful face".

"You mean gorgeous-" he counters.

"Alright stop with the talking, and listen to what I have to say". My instructor Lisa shouts.

"I don't know how many more times I can tell you this. You need to start utilizing your whole body when you dance. Although your technique is flawless you both look stiff, and not into the dance. This really has to change if you want to win first place in the finals, which is coming up in the next couple months. Especially since our rival, World's Best Ballroom Dance, is competing against us and their dancers are amazing as well."

She's right. I'm not into this dance. I should be enjoying myself more and dancing with fervor, but I'm not.

Lisa concludes her critique by saying, "As much as I love you guys, if I was one of the judges I'm not sure if I would give you first place. I need more passion and I want to be enchanted by your dancing and partnerwork. As of now I don't see it".

Jayden turns to look at me and snarls, "This is all your fault. You're the one who can't do anything right and dance like shit. You're going to make us lose!"

As he walks away I shout, "Hey asshole, maybe you should worry about yourself and correct yourself so we can win!"

"Be back in five minutes. We will not be leaving today until I get some emotion" Lisa interrupts.

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6pm: Eva's living room

In my small apartment I lounge on my couch. My feet are sore from the grueling practice so I practice rolling through my feet to hopefully lessen the pain.

While doing so, I connect my phone to my Bluetooth speaker on top of the fireplace and turn on our next competition song "Fly me to the moon". As the sultry sound flows through my ears, I start going through the movements of our dance in my head. It is a foxtrot, which is considered one of the hardest dances to accomplish. Even so, both me and Lisa had a say in the choreography, so it is tailored to fit me and my dance partner perfectly. The issue is the non existent physical connection between me and Jayden.

Perhaps tomorrow, I'll imagine that I'm somewhere else and dancing with someone of my choosing who is singing this song. I am a romantic afterall. Yes, I will. Hopefully it will be convincing enough.