Anger Issues

eighty

Austin

Kyle and I slyly smirked at each other when Jess and Kayla started to slowly form a conversation, but neither of us said anything.

In fact, we made it through the rest of lunch uninvolved in their endless conversation. It felt like how it used to.

"Nice once," I whispered to Kyle, before we went separate ways at our lockers. He smiled and nodded, before continuing to walk.

I considered that a huge victory, given the circumstances.

Getting through the last few periods of school, I met Jess in the auditorium where she was talking to a couple people who controlled the sound and visuals during assembly's and other occasions.

As I walked closer, Jess smiled and nodded her head at them, as they walked away.

"Hey," she looked at me, still smiling. "I just asked them if we can use the speakers to practice until the assembly," she said. "Alright," I nodded.

"So, is anyone else coming?" I asked, sitting on the stage with my legs hanging off the edge. "I couldn't get anyone else," she said, connecting a school laptop to the speakers.

"We really have today and tomorrow to practice, do you think that's enough?" I asked. "We don't really have a choice, do we?" She sighed.

"Someone's mad," I whispered, making her glance at me. "Okay, no jokes," I put my hands up.

After a couple seconds, she stepped away from the laptop. "Where are they?" She asked, annoyance in her voice.

"They're probably on their way," I reasoned. By her silence, I knew I needed to change the subject.

"So are you and Kayla alright, now?" I asked. "I guess," she said, slightly smiling. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you Kyle told me about the party," she finally turned to me.

I shook my head. "I knew," I said, making her expression change. "How?" She asked. Before I could speak, she beat me to it. "Why were you angry, then?" She questioned.

I smiled and shrugged my shoulders. "No reason," I said. She took a step back, trying to figure out what I meant.

"Were either of you actually mad?" She asked. "At each other? No, but with you and Kayla, yeah," I nodded. "I'm confused," she shook her head.

I hopped off the stage, seeing Tyler and his friends walk in. "Think about it," I told her, nudging my head to the doors.

"Oh, thank God," Jess smiled. "Sorry for the wait," Kevin spoke. "It's alright. How should we do this?" Jess asked me.

"Would you guys rather see us do it and then us teach you, or us teach you straight away?" I asked. "Show us first, so we know what it should look like," Janice answered.

Jess nodded and clicked play, running up to the stage. "Can you do it?" She softly asked, before we started. I nodded, assuring her.

The music started and we completed the routine. I was still sore, but I was able to power through it like I did when we practiced. I didn't want to ruin this for us.

"Damn," Tyler said, as we finished. "I have doubts," Janice said. "Don't, it's really not as hard as it looks," Jess assured them, waving for them to come on the stage.

"Ready?" She asked. They nodded, standing behind us with enough space between all of us.

"Okay, we start like this.."

Almost fifteen minutes had passed and Tyler, Janice and Kevin basically gave up. They were constantly joking and losing focus, and it was irritating both Jess and me.

She gave me constant glares of annoyance, making me let out a soft laugh every now and then. I had to admit, it was pretty annoying.

"Guys, come on. We have today and tomorrow to practice this," I turned to them. "Two days to learn a full dance, bro that's barely possible," Kevin laughed.

"It is," I said. "Possible," I added. "Just be serious, please. We don't have a lot of time today," I said.

"Alright, guys lets actually try," Janice told them. They nodded, readying themselves again.

"Okay, the first ten seconds are kinda different for Jess and Janice than it is for us," I motioned towards Tyler and Kevin. "So try not to get them confused," Jess said.

Janice walked towards Jess to get a better understanding of the moves, leaving me with the guys.

I took them through it step by step a few times, then watched them on their own, telling them what was good and what needed to be worked on. Finally, after another fifteen minutes, I thought we were pretty good.

"Should I play the music?" Jess asked. I nodded. She skipped down the stairs and clicked play, as they got ready. Jess and I stood back, ready to watch.

Surprisingly, they remembered it fully- but it sill was only the beginning. Regardless, they were doing well.

"That was good," Jess smiled, approving of them. I saw the proud smiles that slowly formed on their faces, which made it impossible for me not to smile.

"Alright, we'll try to get as much done now as we can, and we'll continue tomorrow," I said.

We spent another hour and a half making progress, but slow progress. It was still irritating, but I had to be reasonable. They didn't dance and Jess and I were part of the advanced class, which meant our routines were harder.

The process was slow, but with enough practice, we'd have it down.