Reagan
"Maeve, point those toes! Turn out your feet Brooklyn! Ugh, Reagan are you even trying?"
I exchange a glance with Brooklyn; our little faces that can say a billion words, and Maeve chuckles silently.
"What's so funny?" Miss Laurie says crossly. She absolutely flips when we act the slightest bit silly.
Conner walks into the room with Joe. "Gees Reagan, you are sweating buckets!" Conner says to me. We're twins actually but he's two minutes older so he thinks he can boss me around.
"Well," I say, "It is ninety degrees outside and one hundred degrees in here!" "Yeah, Miss Laurie," Maeve adds, "When will class be over?"
"It's over when it's over, Maeve Herbert."
We've beenworking really hard lately because Oireachtas is three months away, and we need to have at least one recall this year, unlike the other years.
Four hour practice every day until regionals and all I can say is that I feel very nervous of what I'm going to look like on stage.
Brooklyn, Joe, Conner, Maeve, and I are all in the same age group, but at Oireachtas, or any major in that matter, they split the boys and girls up into two separate competitions. All of us competing in solos at Regionals are in a championship level. Conner, Brooklyn, and I are in Open championship, while Maeve, Joe, and the other kids in our class are in Preliminary championship, but at Oireachtas the two championship levels are combined.
We work on tricks for about half an hour, and then at the end of class Miss Laurie lines up all twenty three of us on the floor and gives us a little pep talk. That's one thing that I really like about Miss Laurie: she encourages us, and I know at some schools the instructors treat the kids like crap.
"I know at Oireachtas there can be some pretty snooty competitors, but when your backstage, I just want you to block all negativity out of your mind. Just get into dance mode, where all you know is winning, but most of all just get out there and have fun."
We all clap for Miss Laurie's speech, and then head out the door, but I stay behind.
"Go on ahead of me you guys. I'll be out in a second."
I walk to where Miss Laurie is standing and ask her, "What was your first Oireachtas like?" "Well it was nerve racking, but I got through it." Miss Laurie says. "What did you get?" I ask. I don't know why I'm so curious. I mean, this is my fourth regionals, you'd think I'd know it like the back of my hand by now.
"Well, I didn't recall, but I tried my hardest."
"Thank you, Miss Laurie, for everything." I say, and with that I walk out the the door.
YOU ARE READING
Where Dance Fits In
Short StoryThirteen year old Reagan Smith is an Open championship dancer at the O'Brien school of Irish dance. Her teacher, Ms. Laurie always encourages her students to do well. This story tells of how their two lives compare and how they deal with drama of t...
