Dancing with Danger

Chp. 19 The Final Day of Dance Camp

I paced back in forth in the back room as the kids warmed up. I kept adjusting my hair, leotard and chiffon skirt. I continuously wiped sweat off of my palms and wrung my hands together. I stopped every now and then and told the kids to switch stretches. I paced more and the song switched and then Clapton came in with a big smile.

"Hey," he said. He looked really excited. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure," I said. "Ok guys, work on a cool down, I'll be back in a sec." Clapton guided me to the back of the room where we kept tumbling mats. "What's up?"

"The studio is packed," he said. "Who knew these kids had so many relatives?"

"I did," I said. "They come to all the recitals." Today was the last day of dance camp, so we started the day out with rehearsal of all the numbers, now we're finishing our stretching as the parents came in and took the seats seat up at the far wall. "Rich kids always have big families! It's basic knowledge!"

"Ok, calm down, why are freaking out?" he asked grinning.

"Because, everything needs to go perfect, because it doesn't I'll never get out of this fucking town," I said in a whisper so the kids wouldn't hear me swear.

"Ok, calm down," he said. "Frail and Hemp are out there in the back, I'm not entirely sure why they're here. Frail needs to catch a flight in a couple hours, but he said he wanted to see the finished product." 

"I can see why," I said. I took a deep breath. "Ready?"

"Ready. Go get 'em baby." 

"Don't call me that," I said and slipped out of the room. I walked to the middle of the cleared space and cleared my throat. Soon everyone's talking silenced and I bounced on the balls of my feet.

"Hello, everyone, I'm Hillary, I'm one of the co-instructors here," I said. "Most of you know me, and a lot of you got to know Clapton my colleague. We started this camp this year to help some of the kids in the town become better dancers or help them on the right path towards dancing. This was also something that could help us get a scholarship at two of the best dancing schools in the country. So, without further adue, I present the Farewell dance." I gestured towards the door and Clapton opened it up. The younger girls came trotting out with their red and blue sparkly leotards and tutu's. I stood back with Clapton and watched them dance. I only saw one minor mistake that maybe a parent would notice, but it was adorable all the same. When they were done, and the round of applause was over, Clapton ran to the middle of the space while I ushered the girls into the room and gathered the boys. I heard what Clapton was saying.

"Hey, I'm Clapton, I was the boy's instructor over the past week," he said. "I never pictured myself as a teacher, or a dancer. In fact before the summer even let out I didn't even know what I was going to do with my life. But here I am, inspired by your kids to keep doing this. These guys are awesome, and I hope you like what they have to show you. So here is a number we like to call, Getting it Started." I pushed the door opened and the boys walked out in baggy shirts, baseball caps put on sidways, and baggy jeans. They danced to "Let's Get it Started" by the Blackeyed Peas. They also got a round of applause and we ushered them back into the back room. I gestured for the older kids to come out and get in position. Once they were Clapton and I stood in front of them.

"Clapton and I taught the older kids together," I said. "It's not that they're more difficult to teach, there was just more of them, and it was mixed group. We both could offer both the boys and girls some new knowledge of dancing. And I'm not going to keep on blabbering, here is a piece we call, "Pain is a Heavy Burden"." Clapton went to take his position with Lindy, who was the girl who didn't have a partner, and I pressed play on the sound system.