One Step at a Time

Chapter 6

Sadie POV

First rehearsal! Here goes nothing.

Aedon and I walked through the doors of the gymnasium where we would be having practice from now on. Inside, there was about 20 other dancers, all standing around warming up. Aedon sent smiles to them, all of which were ignored. She led us over to the locker room on the farthest wall to put our bags up.

Once we opened the door we realized most of the lockers were taken so Aedon and I set our bags on an empty bench to the side. I had never been a fan of changing if I didn't have to, so Aedon and I had already come in our dancewear. I had a fitted white leotard on with a pair of black leggings on top. Aedon, being the more fashionable one, had on a patterned square-necked sports bra and matching navy yoga pants. She looked as though she had stepped out of a Lululemon catalog.

"You ready?" Aedon smiled at me as she readjusted her shoes. I gave a small nod, leaving her to lead us out.

"Woah-" Aedon started, as I saw her slide to her right. I looked up from the normal gaze at the floor, but a little too late. My face was met with blue before I hit whatever was in front of me with a thud.

BOOM! The sound of a mat hitting the ground exploded across the room. All eyes on me. Again.

"I'm so sorry," I gasped, bending over to help pick it up.

"Don't worry about it," the dancer who had been carrying it said. It was a shorter, Indian girl, a smile on her face even though I had just busted into her. "I probably shouldn't have been walking in front of a door." She just brushed it off. Everything about her, to the way she stood, gave off such a cool vibe. She quickly grabbed the mat and headed over to its destination.

Still blushing red, I headed over to where the dancers were gathering to stretch.

"You sure know how to make an entrance." Turning at the sound of Simon's voice, I gave a shy smile at his sarcasm. One look at his face, however, told me that he was in fact not amused. Nope, totally serious. His tall frame stood over me. An impatient frown rested on his lips, his arms folded across his chest.

"Sorry," stammered it's way out of my mouth and I turned my attention to the assistant coach. Winona held a similar expression to Simon as her gaze fell over me.

Now would be a great time for the floor to just swallow me whole, I thought, practically pleaded, to myself.

She glanced away and began flipping through her clipboard. Still avoiding Simon's irritation, I studied the slender woman. I don't even know if woman was the best term, as she looked to be only a couple of years older than the dancers here. Thick hair fell a little below her shoulders. She wore a thin, white t-shirt tied off at the waist. A black sports bra peeked from underneath and was paired with matching leggings.

The way that Winona stood caught my eye. Her back was against the wall, almost to support herself. Most of her weight was distributed to one foot, the rest to the wall. I lifted my eyes from her legs back to her face, where my eyes met hers once again. She glanced down to her feet and back up to me, a scowl painting her face. Irritation continued to hold her face as she turned to another direction. The rosy embarrassment on my cheeks deepened.

By some luck, the main doors to the gymnasium opened, Coach Barnes making her way to the front of the crowd.

"Welcome dancers. Before we start, I'd like to applaud everyone here," Coach Barnes smiled. "It is an honor to be a part of this team. Congrats to all." She began to clap and the rest of the gym joined her.