ballerina // jøshler

vingt-trois ;

When Joshua announced to the entire class that the new assignment would deal with partner dancing, no one seemed opposed. But when he mentioned the idea that they'd have to dance with him to show their skill, the entirety of the class froze in horror.

"You will all learn the same, basic routine, but it's your job to pick the music and to also add a bit of your own twist on it," He made subtle eye contact with Tyler, smirking ever so slightly before continuing. "We start today. You will have a week to prepare." The room didn't move. The teacher's words were hanging in the air, and all of the students felt a huge 'and' coming on; another exception.

"And,"

Called it.

"I will be picking your partners."

More groans. The tension in the room was suffocating; each student silently praying that they'd be paired with a friend or someone that they could tolerate long enough to actually work with. Melanie rolled her eyes when Tyler looked in her direction. He laughed silently, but in his mind, he was wondering who he'd end up with. Maybe Josh would give him the special treatment and pair him up with Mel...

"Tyler, you're with Ryan."

The brunette swallowed heavily before looking around the room. The boy who he assumed was Ryan had already spotted him and was walking his way.

Neither of the two was particularly excited about working together, but they both knew they could've gotten a worse pick.

Without really saying a word, they introduced themselves. The room was strangely quiet since most were paired with someone they'd never talked to before. It was just like high school and no one was having it.

"We're starting!" Joshua called out, a little too loud considering the lack of rambunctious conversation.

The hip-hop/ R&B music, which the class had gotten used to and some even took a liking to, started to pump through the speakers. It had a simple beat, something easily replaceable with something...anything really.

The steps were simple enough, and a bit of the weight that was stressing the students lifted. Tyler was surely grateful for the varying steps within the dance, making it unique on its own.

"Okay. Practice, you're gonna need it."

;

After class, Tyler was expecting to run into Mel. They had gotten extremely close, which was something Tyler had slowly learned was important to someone's life, having friends. But he never saw her, instead, Ryan continued to follow him. They started conversations that ended almost as quickly as they began. It was so extremely awkward and it made the brunette cringe.

"So what song do you want to do?" Ryan asked.

"Have you heard that new Harry Styles song?"

"What, Sign of the Times? Yeah."

"Maybe that."

Ryan's face twisted a little, disapprovingly. "I don't know, isn't that a bit cliché?" Tyler raised both eyebrows. Quickly, the shorter brunette continued, "Like, it's such a slow song with simple melodies...and we're doing ballet. To me, it's just a basic combination that anyone could make up."

He had a point.

"We can think about it." was all Tyler said before walking to the big glass doors. "I'll see you later?"