You Belong With Me

Chapter 7

Location:Side wing
Time: 9:25pm
#nervaxcited
__________

Ouch,

Lei digs her strong elbows into my shoulder blades. She said it helps to surface the nerves.

But I'm never nervous. That was a lie..

Well I'm rarely-seen nervous but I can be. I know how to pretend, which works great in my favour.

Witnessing dancers much older than me and Lei Lei acting paranoid makes my stomach feel uneasy.
Like I said, rare, and OW!

"Lei! You're putting in way too much elbow grease." I shrug her arms if My back feeling agitated.

"Trust me! This helps."

Whatever she says,
I gain my composure after the red curtains tear apart, going through my mantra.

Focus Cleo, engage with the audience, and search for any ounce of family in the crowd. Don't let your smile falter when you don't see anybody there for you.

I can't promise that. I never could.
________

I go on in about 5 more minuets.
With Lei on the stage and not here I feel much better, sadly she can bring me down to her level. That's her, I'm not like that.

I feel condident, well and optimistic this time I'm the star. My hair isn't straightened which I love, I hate having straight hair, the makeup is very little and my costume fits me. Nothing can go wrong.

Mr Senspa pleading for me to embody  this position and me accepting it may have just  happened for a reason, I'm destined to play this role, I'm destined to do good things. Which I'm not afraid of doing when it comes to dance.

I'm also glad that I haven't seen Mr Senspa for almost a week, I was given a new choreographer since he decided to get the flu. Destiny?

The music slows, I neighbour being seen by a single brush of the curtain. The music picks up a familiar rhythm. I enter the stage.

One, two, three, four
Five, six, seven, and

For the first part of the performance I let my body move on it's own, allowing myself to liquefy with the music. Focused, maintained in contact with my audience, but, I couldn't help but search the crowd. Darn my mantra.

Of course, no family in sight. No friends. Nobody.

I dance for myself, I also dance to the beat of course. Until what feels like forever, last but not least we all crowd offstage after feeding off the raging applause.

Not even a minuete later, we all come in uniform for the bow. It's just the way it is.

Front and center, holding Lei's hand with a proud grip and a smile spread across my face, we move in union feeling the wind nip at our glistening skin then swinging ourselves up again, by now the parents are on their feet, father's whistles and mother's cheers along with the loud sound other hands together. And then I see her in all of her glory, and I still. How could I not?

Standing taller than most parents, and her presence is impassible. It's not like the other times I've seen her, shining in the dim lights. Suddenly it feels like it's only us in the large theatre. Her steady clap unmatched to the enthusiastic others. I feel-

I feel myself being dragged off the stage, Lei's grid being harsh yet again and Jesse's eyes never leave mine her smile-

"Hello?"

"What?" I her face out of my eyes,

"I should be asking you, 'what?' "