Artistic Love

Chapter 21-Jezelle

TW: Some Context About Murdering Someone

The next few weeks Felie and I had a few rounds of panic and anxiety between the both of us. The legal arguments were starting again for Felie's father, so he took an entire week off so he could go to court. That also meant that I was stuck as counlser aide and answering all of the substitutes questions. Felie came over everyday, looking for a moment of peace in this tidal wave of her life.

She was going to therapy again, which made me feel better about her situation. Therapy was extremely helpful with my grief for my mother, so knowing that she is getting some help that I can't give her through these tough times isn't just comforting for her, but also me.

To keep my mind off what was coming up ahead with the process of getting rid of my cancer, I put every moment I could into working on all my dances for the concert. After days of nonstop practice, I had my dance moves memorized and every single facial expression I had for the dance into a rhythmic system.

My nerves kept rising everyday, knowing that as soon as my dance concert was over, I would be getting rounds of chemo and Felie's mother would be on the streets again. I had no idea how all the pain and suffering started the day after my performance, but it was a relief.

Felie decided to surprise Trevor and I with a rose each before the concert.

"You two will do great," she said with a bit of pain in her voice, "I know you will. I've got my poster made for your solo, Jezelle. You better give me a sign you see me."

I sighed, "I'll give a wink in your direction."

"Well appreciated."

Felie walked down the hallway towards the auditorium, hands wrapped around her stomach. She almost looked in pain, I'd have to ask her about it soon enough. I took a deep breath, knowing that this was the last night before my life blew up.

Trevor pulled me into a hug, his arms around me as if he was trying to protect me from a gust of wind. "We're going to dance our butts off, right?" He asked me.

"Yes sir."

I set the rose by my bag and ran back to Trevor. We were the opener so I could change to get into my solo outfit. We walked onstage in the black, my breath getting heavier every step. Once the light showed on the stage, Trevor and I were center of the stage and the focus of attention. That was because no one else started on except us.

Our dance was the merengue, so I grabbed his arms as the Cuban action started to fill my body. As we danced across the stage, we hit every move with a sharp tap on each beat of the music. Practice was paying off. The others started to come into our spots and we all hit every single beat. The audience was cheering so loud I couldn't hear the music for a few seconds. But I didn't even need the music anymore because it was all in my head.

I closed my eyes as Trevor spun me around myself over and over, my hair blowing out of its loose bun into a perfect wave of curl. This move took weeks of practice, but when it came together on stage I had never felt more proud. He let me have a moment to pose as everyone cheered for my transition.

When I spotted Felie, I had an extra four counts to get to Trevor so I blew her a kiss and walked towards Trevor like a model on a runway. I could feel Felie smiling without even seeing it.

Trevor and I finished out strong, more spinning until we both hit our final pose. The audience erupted into applause, Felie screaming her head off. Our teacher decided to let the ballroom give a bow after our dance, so Trevor and I went to the front of the stage and took a long deserved bow. As we walked off, I pointed a finger gun at Felie with a wink. I saw her cheeks flush as I walked off.