The Next Big Thing [#Wattys2016]

Chapter Four

"I don't envy dancers. I really don't. They have the most physically demanding art style here. As a filmmaker, I'm always up and moving around, but dancers are the ones that are actually getting exercise. They have me beat in the athleticism department by a long shot. They have everyone beat by a long shot. Jamie tells me that dance brings on a special kind of pain on the body. But, she also tells me that it's worth it. Since I myself am completely inept at dancing, I'll just have to take her word for it."

"Back to my point. While I don't envy dancers, I do admire them. Not only do they have patience and discipline, but there is beauty and grace in the way that they move. I would kill to have that much grace."

"The other thing about dancers is, they're also actors. They play a part most of the time when they dance, and while they all look serious on the dance floor, they can be a completely different person in real life."

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"No, no, it was brilliant!" Jamie exclaimed as Jay grinned while they were at breakfast the next morning, "I did not expect that ending. They would have been insane if they didn't accept you."

Jay grinned as Jamie complimented the short film that he had sent in for his audition a year before. As promised, Jamie came to Jay and Dana's room after school to watch the short murder-mystery Jay had composed for his entry into Hawking. She had loved it, even though it was only twenty minutes long. That morning, due to the good review from Jamie, Wayne had asked if he could see the short film as well, to which Jay had said he could see it during lunch or dinner, since he would have his laptop with him. He already had his laptop with him, but breakfast was half over, and Wayne would not have had time to watch the whole thing.

"Thanks," Jay said, "I'm glad you liked it."

"Liked it?" Jamie asked, "I loved it! It was amazing, and I think you'll love it, too, Wayne."

"It sounds really good." Wayne said, "I can't wait to see it."

It went silent for a moment.

"So, Jamie, where are you from?" Dana asked, changing the subject and breaking the silence, "You never told us."

"That's because you never asked." Jamie said, "You never told me where you're from, either."

"Okay, fair enough." Dana said, "But where are you from?"

"Boston." Jamie said, stuffing some scrambled eggs in her mouth.

"Wait, hold up." Dana said, "You could have gone to BAA, and yet you chose to move across the country to go to Hawking? What is wrong with you, woman?!"

"Well, Hawking is one of the best performing arts schools in the world, even better than BAA, and BAA has eight hour days, as opposed to Hawking, which has six and an alternating schedule, so academics and arts aren't crammed in on the same day. Not to mention, since this is a boarding school, I have twenty-four hour access to the dance studios here, while BAA doesn't have that." Jamie explained to Dana. Dana nodded.

"I didn't know you thought about it that much." Dana said.

"I had to. On one hand, I didn't want to leave my family, but on the other hand, Hawking was a much better choice than BAA. I ended up choosing Hawking due to all the benefits that I just mentioned." Jamie explained, "So, where are you from, Dana?"

"I'm from Oklahoma." Dana said, and Jamie nodded.

"Cool." Jamie said, "What about you two?"

"North Dakota." Jay replied.

"Washington." Wayne said.

"DC?" Dana asked.

"No, Washington state." Wayne said, but it wasn't sarcastic.