Dancing with Danger

Chp. 1 Dancing with Danger

I stared at myself in the mirror as my feet stomped and slid and my arms moved in the correct manor to the beat. My SnapBack fell off my head as I kicked one foot forward and jumped backwards just as the song ended. My dark red hair fell and clung to my sweaty shoulders. My thin chest and stomach heaved heavily and everyone of the girls just stared. Suddenly they all jumped up clapping and cheering.
"Yay!" They said. "Go Hillary!" I turned and smiled at them. I took a deep bow scooping up my hat. Once they settled down I eyed them all.
"Do you think you can handle that?" I asked them. All of them were in about fourth grade, that wasn't my best choreography but these guys were still learning, I went easy on them.
"Yes!" They all cheered. I told them to get up, all eight of them, before I positioned each one and stood in front, facing the mirror I could see all of them.
"This track is a little faster then the normal pace you're used to, but I think you can handle it," I said. I spread out my legs and held my fists up to my collar bone. "With each fist pump outward, roll your body." I instructed and then demonstrated. After making sure all the girls had succeeded I began showing the rest of the dance steps. We were dancing to the music of the song when we ran out of time. Once the dance finished I dismissed them and smiled and waved as they left. Once all of them were gone I wiped down the dance mats before collecting my things and walking out of the studio. I locked the doors behind me when fingers dug into my sides. I squealed and dropped my keys as I whipped around towards my sister.
"Anna!" I whined as I picked up the keys. She giggled her dark curls bobbing. She and I had similar features, short and thin dancer bodies, sharp noses, thick hair, high cheek bones, and oval faces.
"Hillary, I've been doing that for years," she said, "You should know better by now." I rolled my eyes as I strode past her.
"Why are you here? Don't you have a lesson?" I asked. Anna was in her third year of college, she wanted to be a dancer, but luckily we lived near the University of California in Berkeley. Anna shook her head as she followed me out of the empty studio. I locked the door behind us as we headed down the street, we lived right down the road. Oh, I almost forgot, we owned the dance studio. We called it the Berkeley Dance Studio, really original, I know. Like us, our parents danced, and were usually away. Once we were old enough they dropped paperwork, blank CDs, and the keys into our arms.
"Right, this is yours now," they had practically said.
"No," Anna interrupted my thoughts. "A girl broke her ankle and we were dismissed for the day." I rolled my eyes, Anna loved dancing, but she was just too lazy. We walked back to the house as I told her that I started teaching the fourth graders the dance we choreographed together. She laughed when I told her about Amanda's goofy body roll and demonstrated it nearly dying of laughter myself.
I grabbed the mail from our mail box, it had Gale, our last name, written neatly on the sky blue paint while a family of dancers danced on the beach. On the other side you'd find our handprints and names written from when I was five and Anna was ten. As I walked up to the front door I skimmed through the mail. Bill, bill, bill, letter from Gram, letter from Berkeley, and a magazine. I went back to the Berkeley letter as I stepped into the foyer. I dropped my keys on the key table and dropped my bag as I scanned the letter.
"OH MY GOD!" I screamed. "OH MY GOD, ANNA COME HERE!!" I dropped the other envelopes and ran to the kitchen, the Berkeley letter clutched tightly in my hand.
"What?" Anna asked running into the kitchen too. "What's wrong?" Her black curls were flying with a startled expression on her face.
"I got a letter from Berkeley!" I said. She snatched the letter from my hands and read the front quickly. 
"Why aren't you opening it, dummy?!" Anna said shoving the letter at my chest. I tore it open and scanned it before throwing my arms up into the air, a loud scream echoing around the kitchen.
"I'M IN!" I screamed. Anna screamed and wrapped her arms around me. We began laughing and screaming as we hopped up and down. That was when my mom walked in and placed the groceries she was holding on the counter.
"Girls?" She said her black hair hanging loosely in a messy bun. Anna resembled our mother with her bright blue eyes and black hair, but I got my Gram's dark auburn hair and brown eyes.
"Mom!" I shouted waving my acceptance letter. "Mom, mother, mom, mum, mommy!!!"
"What is it Hillary?" She said laughing as I hugged her.
"I got into Berkeley!" I shouted. She snatched the letter from me and scanned it. As she read her smile went from big to enormous.
"What are you thinking?" Anna asked appearing at my side. She was right, our mom only had that look when she was up to something.
"I have an idea," she said. "There are more bags in the car, get them, please. I'll be in the office, I have some calls to make!" She was calling over her shoulder to us by the time she told us where she was going. Anna and I retrieved the leftover groceries and put them away.
I had showered, and was halfway through my homework when my dad came in. He ran a hand through his gray crew cut.
"Hilly, I heard you got into Berkeley, is that true?" He asked me. I nodded, Hilly is my nickname for close friends and family.
The next thing I knew I was in his tight hold my toes barely skimming the ground, and my lungs crushed. "I'm so proud of you, kiddo!" He proclaimed.
"I can't breathe, daddy," I said in a whisper. He let me go and smiled at me.
"I'm so proud of you!" He said. "Are you done your homework?"
"Almost," I said gesturing to the open notebooks on my desk. He ruffled up my hair and tapped the tip of my nose.
"Dinner will be ready soon," he said. He was halfway out the door when he turned back to me. "Oh, by the way, three gentlemen are coming to eat with us. Are you ok with that?"
"Of course," I said. "Is it for work?"
"Sort of," he said with a wink. There was a sinking feeling in my stomach. Usually when he winks like that it means he's on board with mom! Shit!
I quickly finished my homework and changed into dark skinny jeans, a peach lace batwing shirt, a gold necklace with my name and four inch brown leather heels. I put on makeup. usually a cat eye neutral eyeshadow and thick mascara with a little bit of lipgloss.
I was in front of the door when the doorbell rang. My family gathered around behind me as I grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open. I was shocked when I saw Clapton Michaels standing there.
Clapton Michaels, how do I describe him? For one thing, he is drop dead gorgeous. He had a strong jaw line, tall spiked dark brown hair, high cheekbones, full lips, a straight nose, and piercing gray-green eyes. For another thing, he was bad news. He's been put in juvie three times, he skips school, he drinks, I'm pretty sure he smokes weed, and I think he's in a gang, just a horrible person! He was in my grade and was in a couple of my classes. He never talked to me, he was always being rowdy in the back with his friends.
"Hailey, right?" He asked a small smirk on his perfect face. I frowned.
"Hilary," I corrected him. All of a sudden two men were at his sides and my dad was behind me.
"Jason!" One man said shaking my dad's hand.
"Good to see you James," my dad said. He tugged me aside and opened the door for the three men on our porch. Clapton winked at me as he walked past me. My blood instantly boiled, something about this wasn't right. Something about my acceptance letter into Berkeley...