Family + Camp (working title)

Chapter 31 Part 3: Square Dancing

Movement was what Nell craved. She had taken ballet as a little girl, but quit at age twelve when it got too hard, when she knew she'd never go pro, when Sabrina Cardellini grew to be a willowy blonde with a perfect arch and no boobs and could do the splits every which way, and got a scholarship to the Portland Dance Company. The joy of dancing left the building. The hard parts of it—pain in her muscles, especially her abs and neck plus her inability to do the splits any which way—began to outweigh the fun parts of it—the music, the grace of her fingers, the elegant language of the discipline—chassé, plié, grand jeté....

She'd given up all dance except for school dances. Collins seemed to host a dance every two weeks in their gym, and Nell was at every single one, no matter the type of DJ that would be spinning. Musical genre did matter to some of the students. Student clubs like the Black Student Union tended toward hip hop and R&B; others, like the Collins Student Council went for genres such as Top 40, new wave, and alternative rock. Jenny didn't really like hip hop, and Len refused to attend any dance with a particular Top 40 DJ. But Nell did not discriminate. She even attended dances that played country music or the Grateful Dead. And she danced and danced and danced.

But right now, square dancing, she felt herself feeling even more—what was the word she was looking for? Giddy? Sure, that would do. She didn't care that she was a sweaty mess or stinky or perhaps even not that good at square dancing. Although, that was probably not the case. The steps were so simple (heel, toe, heel, toe, slide, slide, slide) that even the most uncoordinated person should be able to follow them. And even if that person were incapable of following simple directions, who cared? This was camp where everyone was supported and supportive. They put you up, not down!

And so Nell smiled big and said to Cash, "Hi!"

And he said back, "Hi!"

And they clasped hands and did the dance (heel, toe, heel, toe, slide, slide, slide). When they got to the part where they had to swing around, Nell threw her head back and laughed like a maniac. Cash laughed in response—not like a maniac, but in delight—and followed her lead, throwing his head back as they swung each other around in a little circle.

And then they had to let go and move on to the next partner. Nell was so caught up in the dance, in the sheer fun of it, that she did not even mind having to leave Cash behind. And, with that random thought, Nell began to pay attention.

She didn't mind leaving Cash behind?

Did she like Cash?

Sure. Sure, he was nice. And cute. And nice.

Did she like like Cash?

Hm. That was more of a stumper.

But she did not have time to think about it just then because it was time to learn another square dance.