Dancing in the Dark ✓

04 | theo

"I think we've found our writer." 

I glanced up as Raphael Kumar rushed into our film classroom. It had been more than a week since we had started the hunt for a scriptwriter as per Mr.Hórvath's advice, to no avail. 

Halima adjusted her gele. "Pray tell." 

"It's on our student newsletter site," he gushed. "It's really good. Do you guys know Sasha Li?"

I paused. Lars, our new student from Greenland, frowned. "No." 

"Well," Raphael continued, unfazed. "You've got to read this." 

He slid his laptop onto the table, Halima and Lars immediately crowding around it. I slowly joined them and scanned the paragraphs. 

Halima raised her eyebrows. "I think it's really good." 

"Yeah, it's a different style from what we usually have, but to have someone like Sasha handle this topic would be an asset," Raphael gushed. He turned to me. "Surely you've spoken to her before?"

"Only once or twice," I admitted. 

"That's enough leverage for you to charm your way through," Halima chuckled. "If not, Lars could do it."

He stared at her, unimpressed. "In Greenlandic, yes." 

Halima huffed. "Just say 'please join us' and look pretty." 

"If Theo can't convince her, I don't think any of us can," Raphael sighed. 

I summoned some bravado. "I'll try." 

"Attaboy," Lars said. "Is that correct?"

Halima snorted. "Sounds like you're praising a dog--"

"Nope, Lars, you're right -- exactly that," Raphael interrupted, meeting my gaze with much mirth in his.

"Anyways, we can't do much until we confirm our writer," Halima sighed. "So far, Hiransh and his dance partner have agreed to be in the project, but we should have a solid plan before contacting studios to film in and stuff." 

I slapped my hands on my thighs to stand up. "Alrighty, I'll go look for her." 

I had Sasha's number in my phone from the group chat we shared with Leilani and Deandre, but I decided to try looking for her in person first. Out of all forms of communication, nothing could top face-to-face in my opinion. 

I walked down the school hallways, which were relatively quiet after school, suddenly feeling nostalgic. Senior year -- filled with a lot of 'lasts'. That's why this school year's Film Festival meant even more to me -- it was the final one I would do with my team, under the teacher who had guided me since the start, surrounded by my schoolmates' familiar faces. 

It was an opportunity for me to mindfully take in the surroundings -- past the library, where I spent many times crying in, the field where marching band practice took place, the classrooms I spent lower secondary in, the front doors where I walked through into the school nearly four years ago. 

Senior year was definitely getting to me. I shook my head to clear the melancholic thoughts, just as a couple younger students passed me, ice creams in hand. 

Might as well get an ice cream myself since I was walking by the cafeteria. 

The lunch lady, Emma, gave me a knowing smile as I walked up to her. "Cup or cone?"

I smiled back. "Cone, please."

"Your usual flavour?"

"Yes, of course."

She winked at me as she placed a larger scoop than usual into a paper cup. "Glad to see you again, Theo. You definitely disappeared for some time — made me wonder if you had given up on ice cream."

I laughed, "I'm here to reassure you that it still does its magic."

"That's all that matters. See you around."

As I scanned the cafeteria for a place to momentarily sit down at, I caught sight of a familiar silhouette, back turned to me. Oh, to trust in God's timing. 

I walked up to the person. "Hi!"

She visibly stiffened, but I still slid onto the bench opposite her. And smiled as wide as I could. "Hey, Sasha Li."

She blinked. "Yes?"

I chuckled and gestured to the ice cream she was having. "Is that chocolate you're having?"

"Yeah, dark chocolate."

"Dark chocolate is such a classic."

She eyed mine. "Yours is going to melt." 

I dug into my ice cream, not before toasting it to her. The corners of her mouth twitched. 

I closed my eyes to savour the flavours. "Mm, there are two types of people in this world. Those who don't understand mint chocolate, and those who superiorly do." 

She scoffed, but there was a tinge of amusement in her tone. "I thought it was whether you'd have ice cream in a cup or cone." 

"Come on, the cone is necessary," I argued. 

She toasted her cup to me sardonically. "The cup doesn't melt all over my hands." 

"This is Canada, Sasha. Your ice cream is more likely to freeze," I joked. "By the way, you did only just come here for secondary school, right? I don't recall seeing you in primary."  

She nodded. "I was in Malaysia before this. The weather there on average is the same as the hottest Toronto gets in summer." 

My eyebrows shot up. "It must've been a huge change coming here." 

She averted her gaze, her voice softening. "Yeah. It was." 

"Anyways," I cleared my throat, steering the conversation away from that story for another day. "I had something to ask you. You know how our photography club joins the Annual Inter-High School Film Festival?" 

"Of course." 

"This year's theme is 'Re-discovering Passions', which made me think of our senior Hiransh Shrestha. Do you remember him?"

Her eyes lit up. "Yeah, he does Dancesport right?" 

"Yep, that's him. Well, you know after he lost his vision and everything but still continued to dance? I asked if he was willing to let us share his story, documentary-style, and he was down for it. But my team is a bit unfamiliar with that field, and need a bit more help regarding the prompts and direction we could use. That's when we came across your writing in this week's student newsletter." 

She raised an eyebrow. "You want my help? Are you sure?" 

"Yeah," I rushed out, suddenly embarrassed. "No pressure, though. I know you're busy and everything, but if you do decide to join, it would be a pretty interesting thing to add to your resumé for uni."

There was a pause, then she narrowed her eyes. "Are you seriously using pathos and logos right now?"

I laughed this time. "I could use ethos too, you know, being the director and all?" 

She regarded me for an oddly nerve-racking moment longer, then sighed and stood up. "Could I think about it and get back to you, say, the end of the week?" 

Well, that wasn't a flat-out refusal. I smiled and stood up a little too enthusiastically. "You have my number, right? Text me?" 

She quickly finished her remaining ice cream. "Fine. I've got to get back to studying now though." 

"Do go ahead, don't mind me. Thanks so much for this." 

She grabbed her bag and rolled her eyes, but there were some mirth in them. "Thanking me for nothing, appealing to emotions once again. I see you, Theo Atkinson." 

I beamed. "Waiting to hear from you, Sasha Li."