A Cinderella Story

Chapter Seven: Dance to the Music

Chapter Seven: Dance to the Music

Two days later Jessica was back in the studio, today she would be meeting her partner and the rest of the studio team. As she entered the building she was confronted by the still new sights and sounds of a busy production area. Gary was standing off to the side, Anna wasn't in sight at the moment but she knew she was around somewhere.

"Oh, goodmorning Jessica! You're right on time." Gary commented, giving her a smile and leading her up on the stage.

"I try to be punctual." She said, her face curving into a smile. On the stage were four more dancers that looked like they would be the backround preformers. Her eyes then found a tall young man, stretching out on the fair side of the group. He had lighty tanned skin with a neatly trimmed blonde hair. As he turned around Jessica was confronted with bright brown eyes and a kind smile.

Gary motioned for the lad to join them, his long legs moved with a grace that could only be found in years of hard training.

"Jessica, meet our leading man Derrick James." He introduced, nodding to the young man and glancing back at Jessica.

"Hey there." Derrick replied in a friendly tone, extending his hand for her to shake. Jessica snapped out of her self imposed trance, and brought up her own small hand. He shook it warmly, then turned his attention back to Gary.

"So, we still going on as before?" He asked just a little to casual. Gary nodded his head, a faint smile flickering on the corners of his lips.

"Yes, we are going to keep right as we were before. Jessica will be your partener."

"So no more Lucy?" He asked, his eyes taking on a hopeful look. Gary chuckled at that and nodded his head.

"Yes!" He exclaimed just a little bit over excited. Gary raised his eyebrows and the boy calmed down slightly.

"Am I missing something?" Jessica asked, feeling as though she was isolated from this conversation. Derrick nodded his head, still apparently happy that his former partner was gone.

"Yeah, and you're lucky to have not met her. She was a real piece of work." He explained, turning his full attention to her, and giving her a cocky smile. Jessica couldn't help but giggle slightly at his remark.

He then held out his hand to her and motioned with his eyes for her to take it.

"Come on, let's see if we can dance." He said, his tone encouraging, a small smile on his lips, heasitently Jessica put her own rather small hand into his large, firm one. There was no music, but the Derrick hummed out a simple beat, and the two being musically inclined began to use dance steps that best matched the tune.

They danced for several minutes before Derrick finally released her hand.

"You dance wonderfully my Lady!" He said with a smile, bowing low from the waist. Jessica blushed and ducked her head. Gary obviously saw, and came in to rescue her.

"Alright you two, here's the new script. Everything's basically the same so you wont have to change too much Derrick. Mostly we accomidated Jessica's style, she was much more fluid, and her solo spins can last much longer." He explained handing each of them their own personal copy. The two quickly dropped their banter as they skimmed the pages. Gary moved away and then called back to them.

"Take twenty minutes to read up then be back on stage, we start the first rehersal in twenty people!" Jessica couldn't help but chuckle at his change in priorities. Derrick led her back to the small, but still decent dressing rooms and motioned to the one on the left.

"That was Lucy's, I'm glad you are the one in it now." He said, before burying his nose into his script and walking off into his own room.

Jessica slowly reached out for the slightly dented doorknob, her new job was about to begin....

Slowly the days began to meld for Jessica, but in a good way. It had been years, certainly the last time when she was still a child back in Maine, since her life had gone so smoothly.

It was her father, Jackson Terrence, that had instilled a love for music in his small daughter. On early Saturday mornings he, and little Jessica would slip out of their small cottage and make their way to the seaside. Here the two would find their own enjoyment. Sometimes her father would bring along guitar and would make up random riffs while his daughter danced across the wet sand.

Life was perfect, but then again, perfection lasts only one moment in time.

Her father had secured a job on one of the states many lobster boats. He was a great seaman, as his family had lived near the coast for almost ten generations. Jessica loved the sea too, and would often stand on the docks as the sun would begin to sink, waiting for Daddy's boat to come in from the sea.

One day it didn't...

No one knew exactly what had happened, some engine accident in rough seas while they were near a coral bed. The ship caught on the bed, and the savage waves did their work against the small fishing boat.

Jessica's mother was distraught by what had happened, she had three small children and now steady employement. For awhile she let Jessica run free as she pulled herself together enough to decide her family's net move. Jessica began doing odd jobs for random neighbors. Her mother didn't even question the small income until Jessica early drowned herself after getting caught in her own crawdad nets.

That's when her mother decided it was time to leave the only place Jessica had ever called home.

As she worked at her new job Jessica found herself thinking more, and more about her childhood home, it had held a certain magic, just like the studio did.

She also found herself growing fonder of Derrick, who was not only a gifted dancer, but also had a smile just like her father's.

During one rehersal the taped music reel had gone out and the musicians weren't in, Derrick repeated the same trick as the first day, humming a tune as the two continued on without any pause in their routine. It made her think back to something her father had once told her, it had been a day when he had forgotten his guitar and she wanted to show him a new dance she had created.

"But Daddy! I needs music!" She had exclaimed, her own tone coming out as a pout. Instead of looking ruffled at her outburst, her father simply leaned back against the sandbank.

"Listen hard Baby Girl, the world is never silent. If you listen very hard, you can hear the music of life, and we all can dance to that."