Dancing, Love, and tutoring?

Chapter 5

   The chill of February slowly fades away followed by a warmer March. These past two months, Asher and I have spent a lot of time together, even when I didn't have to tutor him. We would take walks, go to the mall, and even watch movies at my house. I can honestly say Asher has become my new guy best friend, which made Icy a little jealous when she found out she had competition. Also, I managed to sneak a little dance time in with Ashton over February vacation and on half-days. I've become a little rusty, but I am still one of the best dancers at Grants. Ashton has actually been really kind and not an asshole lately. We even went on a couple of coffee dates after dance practice, but that doesn't mean we are getting back together, even though I've thought about it a few times. March comes and goes, April quickly taking its place, which means there is only two more months left till the talent scout from Hope College comes. The talent scout comes at the beginning of June and I found out if I get accepted a week before graduation. I'm so anxious, nervous, and excited all at the same time I could explode!

     "You're going to do fine, Lydia.” Ashton reassuringly says as we began packing up our dance equipment .

    "No I'm not! I completely messed up the 4th and 5th step and I didn't do the lift. Face it; I'm not ready for the scout.” I saiy negatively, throwing my leotard into my duffle bag along with my dance shoes.

     "We have the rest of this month and all of May to nail this routine; you have plenty of time to improve. I know you can do it, Lydia.” Ashton says, placing his hands on my shoulders.

     I swatt his hands away and say, “I still have to tutor Asher and do homework, Ashton. That leaves not a lot of time to dance. I maybe off Practice Suspension, but I'm not off the Tutoring Program. Asher still needs me to help him so he can graduate High School with a passing grade."

     "Asher, Asher, ASHER! I can't even stand to hear his name anymore! You always have to tutor Asher and help Asher. It's all about him, Lydia! What about you? Have you forgotten Hope College?  Your dreams? Me? I need you so I can get into college too. You need to talk to Mr. Forester and tell him to find someone else to tutor that idiot because your starting to forget the reason you even came to this school.", yells Ashton.

     ”Asher is NOT an Idiot! He is my friend. I can't just bail on him when he needs me. How dare you say that I forget why I'm here? I KNOW why I'm here, Ashton. But I have another responsibility right now and I'm not going to just drop it. If you’re so worried about yourself then you can find another partner!” I yell back as I run out of the studio away from Ashton.

     I stormdown the hallway towards the front door of the school. I ignore everyone in the hallways and keep my eyes on the door, not even turning my head to look at Asher who is calling after me from the Art room. Quickly, I open and slam the door closed as I walk over to my car, practically tripping over my own feet. I angrily openthe trunk and throw my duffle bag into it, quickly slamming the trunk shut. I open the driver's side door and slip into the driver's seat, slamming the door. I spend two minutes fumbling with my keys until I throw them on the floor and bury my face in my hands. The tears instantly begin to flow as I sob uncontrollably, leaning my head against the steering wheel.

    As I criy, a million thoughts fly through my mind about everything. How could Ashton say I was forgetting why I came to this school? Who does he think he is telling me what to do? Do I even want to go to Hope College anymore? Is dancing even important to me anymore? I cry harder as I realize everything I worked so hard for feels like it almost doesn't matter anymore. Dancing is my everything and so is Hope College. Am I really going to just throw all my hopes and dreams away? A tap at my window makes me stop crying and lift my head up from the steering wheel. I look over at the window through my tear filled eyes at Asher who has a worried look on his face.

     I quickly wipe the tears from my cheeks and unroll my window. Asher sticks his hand through the open window and onto the door handle, unlocking and opening the door. He walks around the open door and bends down so he is looking directly at my tear stained face. Gently, he brushes his thumbs over my cheeks, wiping away the tear tracks and smudges of mascara.

    "Lydia, why did you walk away from me when I was calling after you and why are you crying?" Asher says, still looking worried.

    I try to talk, but when I open my mouth all I can do is cry. Asher wraps his arms around my waist and I bury my head in his chest, sobbing loudly and staining his shirt with my tears. We stay like this for what feels like forever until he picks me up out of the driver's seat, grabbing my keys and phone before shutting the door. He carefully carries me to his car and places me in the passenger seat. I am still crying as he getx in the car and begisn to drive, the school vanishing into the distance behind us.

    The drive isn't very long as we pull into a small driveway outside of an apartment. It issurrounded by other houses and is painted white with a light blue door. On the second floor, there is a small porch with a rocking chair on it and wind chimes blowing in the light breeze, chiming as they clinktogether. Without a word, Asher opens the passenger door for me and I get out, my legs weak under my weight. Before I can fall, Asher catches me and puts my arm around his shoulder, helping me walk up the little stairs to the main hallway of the apartment. Asher unlocks the light blue door to the right and opens it, revealing more stairs indicating that he liveson the second floor. He walks up the stairs ahead of me so he can unlock the door to his studio apartment.

    Inside, I am surprised to see that there isn't a lot of furniture, even though it is pretty big for a studio apartment. There is a beige couch with a pull out bed and loveseat in the middle of the room, facing a small flat screen TV. To the left is a small stove and fridge in the kitchen area, along with a small table and two chairs. A door which leads to the bathroom is down a very small hallway to the right. In another corner, there is an art easel with a little table next to it covered in paper with drawings on each. All together, it is a nice apartment that reflects Asher's personality well.

    Asher leads me over to the loveseat and sits me down. He looks at me straight in the face, still looking worried. Asher places his hands on my arms and says, "What happened today?"

    I take a deep breath and clear my throat, finally opening my mouth and sexplain," While Ashton and I were packing up our dance stuff, we were talking about the dance. I was really stressed because I messed up on a few things, but he tried to reassure me that I was going to be fine once it was time for our audition. I told him that I was very busy because I am helping tutor you and still have to do homework. He started yelling at me saying I've been focusing more on you then on myself and to talk to Mr. Forester about getting you a different tutor. I fought back and said that you were my friend and I wasn't going to bail on you when you need me. After that, I stormed out and here we are."

    Asher stands up and begins pacing across the apartment as he angrily runs his fingers through his hair. I watch him walk back and forth until he finally speaks.

    "You and I both know that Ashton is an asshole, but he is right. You do need to practice for your audition, Lydia. That is the most important thing for you to do right now. We can take a little break on the tutoring for a while. I can do some of the stuff on my own so you can have more time to practice. I want you to get into that college, Lydia. Hope College is your dream and who am I to stand in the way of that. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

    Asher gives me a small smile as he sits back down next to me, giving me a hug. I hug him back and thank him, getting a little teary eyed. Asher truly is a good friend and I am glad that I got put into this program because without it, I would have never met Asher.