On Sturdy Legs

But I'm Not a Dancer

I was up at four. The reality was that I had been awake half the night. Races, even ones that counted, had never made me this nervous. I suppose that had something to do with just how hard to observe of a sport it was. A dance competition on the other hand, that was different and it was terrifying. Check in was at eight, but it was in Lawrence which was only about an hour long drive; however, Annie wanted everyone at the studio by six so we could double check costumes and choreography. I had two hours to kill until then. Izzy had already proved impossible to wake up, so I had no qualms about making a miniature racket as I found all my costumes and laid them out across my bed.

Annie was competing in a few different categories, so she was up first and had to be there the earliest. I wasn't on until a bit later, so I would have time to change and do hair and makeup before then. I folded my camouflage pants, black spandex shorts, and black sports bra into one of the plastic garment bags that Annie had given me. Apparently this clothing wasn't a durable as jerseys were and required special storage that was not just a crate. The combat boots went in their own special bag, as did my gun. I made sure to pack my face paint away in the bag of appearance stuff. Annie had a very specific system when it came to competition clothing. I thought it was ridiculous, but she had been dancing longer than anyone else I knew, so I took her word for it and used the ties to hold the different bags together with a label for the dance name and what time I went on. The dress, white spandex shorts, and shoes that I had for the duet went the same way. As did the sweatpants, cropped jersey, chunky tennis shoes, and brim hat for the group number.

Once everything was packed in accordance with Annie's standards and I had emptied at least ninety percent of all my hair care items into its own little bag, I was able to zip up my duffle bag and brought it downstairs with me. In addition to being a costume control freak, Annie had demanded that we all get at least nine hours of sleep and was bringing breakfast to the studio because apparently there was a specific meal just for competitions. I somehow didn't laugh when she told me all this, I nearly did though.

When the clock neared six o'clock, I put my bag in the front seat of the BMW and drove to the studio. Apparently I was the late one because a van and a small bus were already pulled up. The senior company and Nastia's girls, including Elle, were all going as well. Annie was outside supervising the loading of props and costumes for both groups as parents of both groups obeyed her stacking instructions. When I pulled up, she ran over to me and bounced in place as I parked and got out of the car.

"You have everything?" She asked. I circled the car to get the bag and held it out to her. Right there and then, Annie unzipped it and dug through to be sure that I didn't forget anything. "All here," she sighed. "Good job."

"Relax!" I told her. "I'm sure that none of the disastrous things you are picturing will actually happen. Have they ever?"

"No," she sighed again and bounced in place a few more times, "but the day's still young."

At that moment a red Range Rover pulled up and Elle jumped out of it with the wand she had made in hand along with a small bag that probably contained her makeup and hair stuff. Elle saw me and ran over. She jumped on me in a hug and I lifted her up into my arms.

"You ready, El?"

"Yes, I am!" She cheered and gave her want a wave. "I did my solo perfectly yesterday and I know I can do the front aerial in the group number!"

"What about your duet and your trio?" Annie asked with a smile; she shot me a look and I knew that Elle was nailing those too.

"I think so," Elle still sounded very confident. "Are you dancing too, Ari?"

"Yes, I am!" I announced to her. "Annie choreographed me an awesome solo."

Xandra had been unloading the rolling suitcase of costumes which one of the dance dads picked up and put into the back of the bus for her. She probably knew that Elle was talking to me and I was surprised that she didn't have anything to march over and say about it. The whole town probably knew about James and I's shooting practice. I was almost looking forward to the things some of the dance parents had to say; I also wanted to hear what Aaron has to say. I hadn't seen him since he tried to run to me in the parking lot of the high school. I didn't even know if our duet was still on or not. Annie probably didn't either. Xandra went around the car to get Elle's prop--the fake book that was actually pretty heavy and not too easy to lift.