The 22-Year Friendship

Ch. 1: New Beginnings

Hope you guys enjoy reading my first ever fan fiction!

Five, six, seven, eight... Those numbers and the sound of the other dancers' feet hitting the floor were normal sounds I have heard my entire every day life. It was May 5, 1955, and I was in Jacksonville, Florida to perform in a dance show on May 14. After rehearsing dances numbers for two hours, my dance instructor decided to give all the dancers a break. Kathleen and Evelyn, two dancers in my dance number, invited me to have lunch with them. I barely knew them, and the amount of years they were older than me made me hesitant to accept their invitation. After ten seconds of giving them an obvious look of uncertainty, I finally decided to go to lunch with them.

We decided to eat at Angie's Diner, a place I have never heard of or been to, but Kathleen was very fond of it. While having lunch, I learned a lot about the girls. Evelyn, 16, was born in Jackson, Mississippi, but lived in New York City. She decided to take dance classes at age 11, when her parents became too occupied and her two older brothers were in high school. Kathleen, 17, was born in Long Beach, California, and has been dancing since she was 10 years old. She has an older sister named Judy. Her mother died when she was 9 years old, and her father remarried two years later. I was slowly sipping my milkshake, hoping they wouldn't ask me to sum up my life. I shouldn't have jinxed that thought mentally, because Kathleen asked about my life.

She asked, "What's your story? I know your name is Lillian, and you're an amazing dancer, quiet, friendly, and pretty. But tell us about your life! Do you have any siblings and who are your parents?"

"My name is Lillian Preston. I'm thirteen, and I have been dancing since I was about three years old. My father was William Preston, and my mother is Anna Preston. I was born in Los Angeles, California, on January 8, 1942. My father died when I was only three years old in World War II. My life has revolved around dance, and my mother supports me in my journey to become a successful, professional dancer. Even though she is constantly performing and working in New York, she somehow finds time to see the dance shows I'm in."

When I finally looked up at them, their faces were in total shock. It was silent for five seconds, then Evelyn finally broke the ice.

"You're mother is Anna Preston?! I'm sort of surprised, but I see the resemblance. I mean, first of all, I could tell that you have dance experience. Dance experience that takes the amount of years you have been dancing. Second of all, you look a lot like your mother! I thought you were fifteen, or at least my age."

Kathleen exclaimed, "You have the same birthday as Elvis Presley! You are lucky! If he met you and found out you have the same birthday as him, just imagine what would happen!"

Who was this guy named Elvis Presley? I had no clue who he was, but that name sounded familiar. Feeling that it would be embarrassing to ask who Elvis Presley was, I decided to ask Kathleen what she liked about him.

Kathleen explained, "He's a singer who is becoming famous! I love his song, "That's All Right." I saw him live in concert earlier this year in January. He's so handsome, I can't get him outta my head!"

I remember hearing his song, "That's All Right" on the radio one day when I was alone in the dance studio back in Los Angeles in 1954. His voice captivated me, and later that night, I wondered what he looked like.

By the time we were done eating, it had been almost an hour since we left the dance studio. We split up the bill, and quickly made our way back to the studio. Kathleen and Evelyn saw a poster advertising that Elvis would be performing in Jacksonville on May 13th. The girls decided they were going, and invited me to go. I told them I would have to ask my mother and manager when I went to the hotel.

When dance class finished, I was picked up by my manager, Barbara Rogers. I was afraid of asking her if I could go to a concert, for I knew she didn't like me going anywhere without any supervision.

I was surprised my manager gave me permission to go. The only thing I had to do was to persuade my mother to let me go. I knew it would be difficult to persuade her because she is very protective of me. I gave my mother a call when I got back to the hotel and she told me she knew I was working hard.
However, she would only allow me to go on two conditions: to continue getting good grades and focus on my dance career.

The next day in dance class, I told the girls I could go. We discussed the whole plan during lunch.

After our lunch break was done, we asked our dance teacher if we could promote Elvis at our upcoming dance show. She immediately said yes, and told us the whole story about her high school years at Humes, and occasionally talking to Elvis.

I was excited for my very first concert. I wonder what it'll be like? Maybe I'll get to meet Elvis!