The Punk and the Ballerina

Serendipity

Sebastian's point of view. November 2005.

I kissed Ari. She kissed me. In the two months we've worked together, we somehow fell for each other. Gosh she was pretty, I couldn't believe she would like my dumb ass. She could do better than me, but I didn't care; I wanted to be with Ari. I never felt anything like this before, she made me happy. If she liked me, I felt like I could do anything.

We kept our relationship a secret. Her family would declare a nuclear war if they knew about us. At school, we played our parts: I was the punk, she was the ballerina. After school, we could be ourselves free from judgment. Jeremy would pick her up from dance practice, she lied to her parents and said her friend Andy's family would bring her home or that she needed extra time to practice (Andy would cover for us). Ari would chill with us at the skatepark and watch our band practice. She dug our sound. I found myself playing better, I wanted to impress my muse.

"I love when you scream! It make your songs more painful," Ari said during practice.

I couldn't help but blush. She liked my screaming. "It feels good for me to scream."

"Keep being nice to him Ari and you might soften him," Jeremy winked.

"Never," I thumped his forehead.

***

We sat on top of the half pipe watching the orange sunset. Ari was nuzzled comfortably in my arm. She smelled like a mix of fruit and flowers.

"There's something about orange sunsets that I love," Ari said dreamily.

"Orange is my favorite color, especially that shade," I pointed towards the golden sky. "It reminds me of cream soda." I thought about the cream soda my dad used to buy me at a local store. I hated orange juice but yet I loved anything else orange flavored.

"I love periwinkle," Ari showed me her bluish/purple finger nails. "It's a beautiful color and I love the name. I think it's magical."

"Magical?" I snorted. "You're like a real life Disney princess."

She playfully hit me. "I love that word. I also love the word serendipity."

"Wasn't that a movie?" I think my mom watched it once, she loved romcoms.

"Yeah. But I love what it means: finding something good without looking for it."

I liked it too. "So like a happy accident?"

"Exactly," she swung her feet. "You're my serendipity."

I kissed the top of her head. "Don't make this too cheesy."

"You try to be this tough guy, but you're really a cheeseball underneath those layers."

"Don't tell the guys, they might kick me out for being too soft."

She curled her tiny pinky in mine. "Promise."

***

I watched Ari in dance class. Her teacher gave me weird looks, but got used to me by my third appearance. The dancers were all incredible, it must've taken years of hard work and lack of sleep to achieve the superhuman moves they could do. I was tired just watching them.

Ari looked incredible in her leotard, she had a remarkable body, I might've fantasized about her at night. I still couldn't believe she wanted to be with me, this perfect girl wanted to be with my scrappy self, we were like a real life Lady and Tramp. God my mom exposed me to so much romantic movies, the quotes and cliches were seeping into my subconscious. Maybe I was always a romantic but never knew, especially since Ari kept bringing it out of me.

They were rehearsing a scene from Dirty Dancing, which required Andy to catch and hold Ari in the air. I had only seen that movie once and that was the scene I always remembered. If Andy dropped her, he was dead meat.

Each time they did it, Andy held her perfectly. Ari was like a graceful swan, beautifully and fearlessly floating in the air. I wish I could hold her like that.

After everyone left, I asked Ari and Andy to show me how to do the lift. I wanted to know what it felt like. Truth be told, I always wanted to recreate that scene with a girl but never had the opportunity. I wanted to know if I could do it.

Andy cocked an eyebrow cautiously. "I'll help you, I don't want you dropping my best girl."

His best girl. I was dating her, dude. Ignoring that, Andy demonstrated how to catch her. He would be helping me hold her just in case.

Ari stood on the bench and jumped into my arms. She was so light. I looked up into her dazzling eyes. I could see the trust there. I would never drop her. I would never let anything happen to her, and I knew she knew it. Trust is a powerful thing and I think that's why I was able to lift her like this.

"You got me," she smiled.

"I always will."

Andy helped me lower her to her feet. "You guys are so cute it's disgusting."

Yup, Ari was softening me. And I didn't mind.

***

Opening night had arrived. I never thought I would be nervous, I loved being on stage, but acting was so different from singing. Could I remember my lines? Would I be convincing enough for the audience?

"You're gonna be great," Ari reassured me before kissing my cheek.

Damn this girl, she gave me butterflies. Her kiss made me feel powerful, I felt a sudden surge of confidence.

Mr. Stiltz was on stage introducing the play. Ari was in place behind the curtain. She truly was a star, like she was made to be on stage. God I was lucky.

The curtains opened and the show began. I managed to catch a quick peek into the audience. It was packed, I saw a few people standing in the back. My parents were in middle corner. Something about having my family here watching me made me want to give the best show.

In my moment of people watching, I almost missed my cue. The stage manager, Patricia, tapped my shoulder.

Shit, it was showtime.