Dance with Me

“Excuse me!” I shouted as I ran down the crowded streets.

I was late; I was going to be late for practice. Dance practice at the studio started fifteen minutes ago. Normally I would have been there on time, but the bus was late. I ended up dropping my brother off at day care later than I would have. Now I’m running down the crowded Atlanta streets with my black and red dance bag trying to reach the studio.

I bobbed and weaved through the people on the streets. It was rush hour so there were tons of cars on the streets, as well as people. They were all looking for somewhere to spend this warm Friday afternoon. Either that or they were walking home from work or walking to work.

The hot and humid air was only adding to my stress. If I break out in a sweat before I get to the studio I don’t know what would happen.

My shorts continued to ride up as I pushed myself faster. I adjusted the shoulder strap on my bag to keep it from falling down. I continued to bob and weave through the crowd. Various people gave me strange looks as I ran past them. Some would mutter a comment under their breath or call me rude but I didn’t care. I needed to get to practice as soon as I could.

I bumped into a man in a suit as I ran past him. “Sorry” I said completely out of breath. I didn’t bother looking back to see what is reaction was.

It was all the same. Muttering a few curses under his breath. Adjusting his clothes, and trying to stare at my shorts as I ran away. Most of the time, they fail when it comes to not looking. Do I care, no. Look but don’t touch.

I finally reached the studio and stood in front of the black metal door. I put my hand on the door handle and used the other to hold my bag. I stood there in front of the door trying to catch my breath. I was going to need it to explain why I was late.

Some of the paint was peeling off of the large door. From the outside the building didn’t look like much. It looked like an old two story warehouse, with small tinted windows. Tony’s dance studio was displayed in giant white letters on the giant window next to the door. There was also some information about some of the classes that were held here, just general information though.

From the looks of the building you would have never guessed that one of the most elite dance classes was held here. You would have never guessed that the Tony that they were referring to was Tony Blackwell. A once famous choreographer and now dance teacher.

Why, did Tony choose this building to teach his classes? He always gives you the same answer when you ask, dancing is not about appearances, it’s about style. Forget what you may have been told about it before. Dancing is not for entertainment, it’s a way of life, it’s an expression. It’s not about how good you look dancing; it’s about telling a story. If you can only see the appearance, and how well something looks, then you’re not ready to express yourself.

I took a deep breath and opened the door. The air inside the building was cool, bringing me plenty of comfort. The cool air was quite the difference from the hot humid air outside.

“You know he hates it when you’re late” a feminine voice pointed out from behind a desk.

It was Stacey, the receptionist. She was the one who handles most of the business and owns part of the building. She’s Tony’s partner and also a former dancer. She has to be one of the very few friends that I have despite the fact that she’s well over thirty. I’m so busy that I don’t have time to make many. The fact that Stacey has known me since I was twelve makes it easier to be around her.

“Believe me I know” I replied while rolling my eyes.

“Well then get up there before he kicks you out of his class” she said while pointing down the hall.

I nodded my head before taking off down the hallway. I had just finished running and I was in no mood to run again, but I had no choice. Stacey wasn’t joking about him kicking me out of his class. Tony knows about my current situation but he takes his classes seriously. Sometimes he excuses me but that doesn’t mean that I still don’t have to face the consequences.

I ran down the hall towards the elevator. I reached the elevator and pressed the button. I tapped my black and white converse impatiently as I waited. I didn’t want to be late, well anymore late than I already was. I blew a strand of my hair out of my face. I put on hand on my hip and sighed. “Could this elevator move any slower” I muttered.

I heard the sound of the elevator ding, signaling that it had reached my floor. “Finally” I shouted. The metal doors opened revealing a man in a navy blue shirt and gray slacks talking to Tony.

Tony stopped talking and looked at me. Tony was a Hispanic man in his late thirties. He shaved all his hair off but was covering it with a black hat. Could this get any worse?

“Hey Tony” I said dragging out his name. “You look good today is that a new hat?” I said while stepping into the elevator.

“If you were on time you would know wouldn’t you?” he retorted.

“Ouch” I replied while turning around to face the elevator door.

“I’m guessing that’s this is another one of your students” I heard the man say from behind me.

“Well since she hasn’t done anything today, she’s not a student yet” Tony replied. I knew what Tony was doing. He was being polite in front of the guest. As soon as he was gone, I would reap the consequences for being late.

I then turned around and smiled at him. I should at least give them impression of being polite, since he already thinks that I’m not serious about dancing. I adjusted the strap on my bag before holding my hand out to him. “Natalie Brown, dancer, and you are?”

“Andrew Hanks and it’s nice to meet you Ms. Brown” he nodded while shaking my hand.

“Likewise” I muttered while turning around in time for the doors to open.

The class was already practicing a routine. Standing in front of the mirror snapping her fingers and counting steps was Annabelle Blake.

Annabelle Blake had to be my only enemy. Her normally long dirty blonde hair was now a dark brunette. She was wearing a light blue spaghetti strap tank top that hugged her thin figure and blue and white cheer shorts. She was tapping her blue and white converse along with her fingers.

She had been dancing at this studio longer than I had which doesn’t surprise me. Her parents had enough money to pay for her private school and for these lessons. I on the other hand couldn’t, Tony and Stacey were nice enough to let me take them for free, because of my situation. I have no idea how long she had been dancing but I don’t really care. She thought that she was the best dancer in the studio, and the fact that she could dance, only boosted her ego.

I walked to the back of the classroom hoping that I wouldn’t be noticed but of course that didn’t happen.

“Tony it’s good to see that you’re back. I guess that I don’t have to tell you that a certain someone was late” Annabelle spoke from the front of the classroom.

I closed my eyes and dropped my bag on the floor. Calm down, Natalie, calm down. I took a deep breath before turning around to face the class. They had all stopped and were now looking at me or at Tony.

“Well there was something that I had to—”

“Well then you shouldn’t have come then” she interrupted while looking at her black painted nails.

I blew another lose strand of hair out of my face as I stared at her. Given the right circumstances I’d punch her…….hard.

“Alright, Natalie get in line and rehearse and Annabelle I still need you to be in charge okay” Tony dictated.

I groaned and started stretching. Yup I was going to face the consequences.

“Sure Tony” she replied in a sickly sweet voice. She then set her gaze on me and smirked. “I don’t have a problem with being in charge. And I’m sure that no one else has a problem with it”

I sighed and crossed my right arm over my chest. I used my left arm to stretch it. This girl was about to drive me insane.