Million Footsteps Away

Perfectly Imperfect

Perfectly Imperfect

10.

Do not mistaken me, for I have made a terrible mistake.

~~~

Groaning, Kiley pushed herself up by the palms of her hands as she tried to recover from her fall. Staring at nothing in particular, she began to take in deep breaths as the words of comfort from Mr Edmund slipped past her ears. Her head ached with the never ending flow of doubts that flooded her mind, questioning her every past decision. What was she thinking? Joining an event like this? What if she fell on the day itself during her performance? How was she to deal with the embarrassment?

It would be equivalent to drawing a deep scar down her already broken bones.

No dancer should be able to deal with that embarrassment.

She couldn't deal with that embarrassment.

Especially not when she was the girlfriend of a particular boy; she'd be the laughing stock for weeks to come that's for sure! The terror of having people she never knew laugh at her as she fell down on the stage, the looks of shock that would cast upon every kids face that would follow with dismal and the idea of seeing every other dancer, Mr Edmund, Mr Nash and his son shake their heads in disappointment. The thought of him finding out about her mistake, her failure and chastising her for it every now and then.

How could she live with that?

"Hey. Hey!" His voice snapped through her penetrating gaze on the ground as she fumbled through her thoughts. Gazing up, she didn't know how to react. Her heart was in jumbles and her mind was a mess. The fell had broken through the serendipity she had deeply immersed herself in just minutes before, leaving her in a confused daze.

"Are you alright?"

I hope so.

"Give her space to breathe, Kai."

K-Kai...?

Oh that's right,

I'm at practice.

"I'm... fine." She finally managed to croak out as she caught onto reality. Blinking a few times in hopes of clearing her head, she couldn't help but lapse back into her old habits.

"I'm sorry." This time it was directed at her principal. She had made a mistake that no dancer should have made in a dance. What was worse was that the fall had her getting doubts about all of this. Seeing her principal's eyes soften and face become crestfallen however did not tug at her heartstrings.

"Kiley..." Mr Edmund started, only to be cut off by another voice almost immediately.

"What do you mean you're sorry?" Kai said with his voice clearly a confused tone. "For whatever an annoying prick like me says is worth, you were brilliant, Kiley."

Staring at him as though he had lost his mind, she couldn't figure out where his optimism came from. Yet, the sincerity in his voice almost made her believe what he had said.

Almost.

"I fell." Her small voice hissed, stating the cold hard truth as her look of disbelief and a tinge of sadness faced him. "How was that brilliant?"

Shaking her head, she helped herself up as the men by her side did so too. Looking around, she saw the concerned faces of the other dancers who were witnessing their dance. However, in her eyes, in place of their concerned faces were the snickers that would come after.

She fell.

What a klutz.

And all of the sudden, his voice came into mind and resonated through every living cell of her body.