This Is Bonkers

Having fallen asleep faster than expected, I slept in what I was wearing. I didnt even take off the shorts underneath my sweats before dreamland hit me. I couldnt remember what I'd dreamt about when I woke up, only that it was a nice dream.
It was about 11am and I didnt have a whole lot of time to get ready and eat before heading to the studio. So I quickly jumped into the shower, not bothering to straighten my natural soft curls after getting out. I applied my every day makeup, which was only mascara and liquid liner, cover-up if I needed it.
I packed my bag, leaving the outfit from yesterday in it since it hadnt been worn. Today I wore purple joggers with a black razorback tanktop. My spandex shorts were underneath incase I needed them. I pulled on my Nike's as well, despite having a pretty good amount of time before leaving.
Opening the fridge door, I stared in. Not finding anything particularly appealing, I grabbed a can of cola and headed for the cupboards. I decided on a simple bag of crisps, never really being one to eat healthy.
The house was already empty, and very quiet, so I turned the music channel on on the telly while I ate and drank. I pulled my hoodie out of my bag and decided to wear it, liking having somewhere to put my phone. But when I checked my phone, there was one missed text. From Sam.
"Making sure you're awake! Cant have you being late."
"I'm awake Sam. In fact, I was probably awake before you. See you at the studio."
Checking the time, I realized I'd been eating pretty damn slowly and should probably be leaving soon. I downed what was left of my cola and threw out the empty bag of crisps. Quickly I checked through my bag, not wanting to forget anything. I even made sure to take a water bottle and extra bag of crisps, not sure how long I'd be there.
I headed out the door and down the familiar path to DanceWork Studios. Realizing it was hot out, I stripped my hoodie and shoved into my bag, trying to be careful of my phone. No one was waiting outside for me today, but I was hear right on time so I went in anyway.
"Hellooo." I called when I stepped into the studio. Instantly I noticed that not the whole team was there.
"Hannah!" Sam said, glancing at his watch. "Mm, I didnt wait outside for you today, sorry. Didnt realize what time it was."
"No problem." I smiled, putting my bag down against the wall. "Is it just us few today?" I asked, doing a quick headcount. Only four of the boys were here.
"Yeah, for now atleast. The McNaughtons are busy today, and Terry, Ike and Warren might join us later."
Counting in my head, I noticed one was still missing. "Where's Ashley?" I asked.
"He's upstairs, but he should be down soon." Perri piped up. "He promised to do some dancing and tumbling today. Maybe we can teach you some more tricks." He said. "We'll have to blow up the mat though, we didnt use it during the workshops."
Looking to where the mat usually was, I noticed it wasnt there. Funny how I didnt notice before, I'm a bit ditzy sometimes.
"I totally didnt even notice it wasnt there." I said, giggling. "Good thing I didnt try to jump onto it or something."
"I wouldnt hold it against you." Sam said, making a joke towards my clumsiness yet again.
"Dont be so mean." I smiled, giving him a soft punch in the shoulder. "So what are we doing today?"
"I have absolutely no idea." Sam grinned.
I blinked. "So when you said 'wanna just meet at the studio and go from there' you really meant that." I giggled a little.
"Yeahh, pretty much. Honestly I dont know what we're doing today. But we'll start in the studio, and I dunno, maybe venture into town later."
"Pel, shall we blow up the mat?" Ashley said, coming down the stairs. "Oh, hi Hannah."
"Hello Ashley, nice to see you." I smiled.
Ashley and Perri went to set up the mat with a little help from Jordan, while Mitchell, Sam and I just stood silently.
"So, whaddaya wanna do first?" Sam asked, breaking the silence. The silence hadnt been uncomfortable, but I was glad someone had spoken up.
"Tumbling!" I beamed.
"Mm, wanna try a tuck on the floor?" Sam asked, gesturing to the floor we stood on.
"You're kidding right? I'd kill myself."
"You can land it on the mat, I dont see why you couldnt land it on the floor." Mitchell said, coming into the conversation.
"'Cuz its slippery?" I said, making excuses.
"Well I dont mean a legit tuck on the floor," Sam said. "We'd put mats down, they just wouldnt be as soft and bouncy as that one." He said, jerking his head in the direction of the mat currently inflating.
"Are you going to make me?" I asked. I decided to take the time we had waiting for the mat to blow up and stretch, starting with a lunge.
"Well, no. I guess not, but." Sam said, stopping the sentence there, not sure how to convince me.
Sighing, I decided to try it. "You do one first, and if you dont die, I'll do one. But if I die, boy you better run and hide." I said, causing a short laugh from Sam. "I'm serious." I said, although I couldnt keep myself from smiling.
"Alright Mitch, go get the mats then, yeah?" Sam said, not giving Mitchell a choice.
Mitchell obeyed, despite not looking happy about it. Although he usually had a pretty serious face. He layed out a long blue mat, probably only about 2 inches thick. It didnt exactly look like it'd soften your fall much, and suddenly I was regretting my decision.
Sam flashed me a quick smile before running towards the mat. He jumped and tucked, landing solidly on his feet.
"Your turn, hmm?" He said, walking back towards me.
I glanced at the mat Sam had landed on, and the now fully-inflated tumbling mat a few steps from me.
"No. I'm sorry." I said. "I've chickened out."
"Tuh, I didnt think you'd do it anyway." Sam said, a joking smile on his face as he pulled me towards the tumbling mat.
"If youre trying reverse phsycology, it's not working." I said, trying to convince myself it wasnt. I carefully crawled onto the mat, not wanting to fall off, especially in front of Sam. "Actually," I said, hopping back off the mat while Sam raised an eyebrow. I made my way over to my bag and pulled out my iPhone. "Will you take a video of me doing a front tuck?" I asked.
"Yeah, sure." Sam said simply, taking the phone from me.
I climbed back onto the mat and made my way to the middle of it. "Ready?"
"One sec." Sam took a few steps back, probably trying to get the entire mat in the shot. "Alright, go." He said.
I nodded to myself before running forward and launching into a tuck. I landed on my feet and stuck the landing.
"Ta-daaa!" I called happily.
"And cut!" Sam said, stopping the video.
"Thank you Sam." I said, hopping off the mat again to retrieve my phone from him.
"Wait, no." Sam said, holding the phone above my reach.
"Sam!" I whined, standing on my tippy-toes in an attempt to reach my phone.
"Let's take a mirror picture." Sam said, a goofy smile on his face.
"Are you serious?" I asked, dropping back down to my flat feet.
"Yep." Sam said, dragging me closer to the large mirrors on the wall.
Deciding that if I was gunna be forced into a mirror picture, I might as well make it a good one, I smiled and posed.
"Hold the phone low enough I can see your face, hmm? Otherwise there's no point in this picture." I said as Sam moved my phone away from his face.
My phone made a classic shutter noise as it took the picture. Sam gave me the phone back, so I looked at the picture we'd taken. We both looked retarded, since I always thought mirror pictures were retarded, but it was still a great photo. I'd probably change my Facebook and Twitter picture to that later.
While Sam walked off towards the tumbling mat, probably expecting me to follow, Perri ran up to me.
"I get to take pictures today." He beamed, holding up the expensive camera in his hands. "Is it alright if you're in some?" He asked.
"Yeah, of course!" I said, kind of excited to have photos of me dancing and tumbling. "As long as I get to see them."
"Cool." Perri said, running off somewhere again, probably to take pictures.
"Get over here, loser!" Sam called from the tumbling mat.
"Rude." I joked, climbing onto the mat carefully.
"The boys've decided they want to teach you a back handspring." Sam said, grabbing my hand and pulling me onto the mat.
"Which 'boys' would that be?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
"Mitch and Pel. And me." he smiled. "You want to be better at tumbling, we want you to be better at tumbling, thought we'd start here."
"Jeeze." I mumbled.
"A backhandspring will help you learn back tucks later on too."
"What if I hurt myself?"
"You can't learn it without trying it." Sam pointed out, deciding to be logical. "And we'll spot you."
"Are you teaching me?" I said, absentmindedly bouncing on the mat.
"Mitch will teach you. I was gunna get Pel to do it, but as you can see, he's taking photos today. But I'll be spotting you."
"Jeeze." I mumbled again.
"Do you not wanna do it?" Sam asked. He sounded like if I said yes, he'd be okay with it, but still dissapointed. Honestly, so would I.
"No. I wanna do it." I said determindly.
"Alright, we'll start with a back walkover. And it's just you and me right now, because Mitchell would try to start you with a straight back handspring. He never really learned the really easy stuff. So come here." Sam said, beckoning me into the centre of the mat. I walked up to him, about a foot away. "Really close." He said, pulling me until we were only a few inches apart.
"So face that wall." He said, pointing ahead of us, near the wall my bag sat against. "So, first go into a back bridge." Sam said.
"From standing?" I asked, not sure if I could do one.
"Yep. I'm supporting you, so dont worry." he said, placing a hand just a few inches from my lower back.
Taking a quick breath, I put my arms up and bent backwards. Sam supported me as he said he would, a hand on my back to keep me from falling. I made it into the full bridge, my hands directly below my shoulders and arms straight to support my weight properly.
"Now kickover." Sam said simply. When I stayed still for a moment, he spoke up. "I'm still supporting you. Just kick one leg all the way over and then the other."
A camera flash went off, which I assumed was Perri since I couldnt see at the moment. It made me feel the pressure, and gave me that push to go for it.
Carefully, I kicked my right leg over, before my left. I could feel my weight drop, and was glad Sam was supporting me. I didnt quite stick the landing, as I had no power.
"Alright good." Sam said as I stood up and returned to the starting position. "Faster now, try to kick your legs over before you're fully in the bridge or you'll lose power."
I sighed slightly, before bending back into the bridge. Knowing Sam wouldnt let me fall gave me abit more courage to try this stuff, also the bouncy and soft mat below me. I began to kick my right leg, just barely before my hands touched the mat. I made it over a lot easier this time, barely needing Sam's support. I also landed on me feet, before stumbling forwards slightly.
Without Sam even telling me to go again, I went back to my starting position and over again. This time I made it over quickly, and stuck the landing.
"Feelin up to trying it without my support?" He asked. I made a slightly nervous face. "I'll still spot you, I just wont have my hand on your back." He said.
"Not like it's gunna hurt very much if I fall anyway." I said.
I went back to the starting position, noticing the difference in Sam's position. When I bent over, his hand was not on my back. It was only a few inches below, ready to catch me if I needed it. I kicked over easily, starting to enjoy myself. Again, a camera flash went off as I kicked both legs over. I landed solidly on both feet, and smiled.
"Ready for a handspring?" Sam asked.
"Uhm, I guess so." I mumbled, fiddling with my hands.
"I've seen so many people go through this studio and learn handsprings, no one's ever hurt themselves." Sam said, reassuring me. I nodded, excited but nervous. "Mitch." Sam said, calling Mitchell over from wherever he was.
"Yeah?" Mitchell said, hopping onto the mat.
"Time to teach Hannah a back handspring." Sam said.
"What'd you just teach her?" Mitchell asked, glancing at me.
"Back walkover." Sam said before glancing at me. "Give him a demonstration?"
My eyes widened for a second. While Sam didnt move from the position he was currently in, standing beside Mitchell, I realized I'd be doing this without a spotter. I had made over last time though, so I wasn't too nervous. I did it carefully but quickly, not wanting to lose power. I made it over without a hitch. Sam looked impressed, and Mitchell had a small smile.
"So a back handspring from standing?" Mitchell asked, glancing at Sam for confirmation.
"Yeah. I'll spot her, but you'll have to teach her."
Mitchell nodded, stepping towards the centre of the mat. I headed back over to where Sam was, expecting a demonstration from Mitchell.
"A handspring is similiar to a back tuck. But you've gotta swing your arms all the way back and then jump just before your hands hit the ground, stretch out your legs and stick the landing." Mitchell said, giving a quick run over of the process.
He gave a demonstration, making it look way easier than I knew it was. I was definitely nervous, but determined. Mitchell and Perri had learned a lot of their tumbling when they were very young, there were incredible tumblers that were only 4 years old, I'm 15.
"So instead of just kicking over, you've got to jump." Sam said.
"So the starting position looks kinda like this." Mitchell said, demonstrating. He bent his knees and stucks his arms out behind him. I mimicked the position. "Then straighten your legs a bit, throw your arms back and jump." Mitchell said, doing another handspring.
"And you'll be spotting me, how?" I asked, looking at Sam.
"I'll show you with Mitchell. I cant really keep my hand on your back the whole time, since you'll lose power." He said. He walked over to Mitchell, and took the position he needed. He kept his hand a few inches from Mitchell's back, only touching it for a brief second when Mitchell went over.
Sam beckoned me over, while Mitchell went to stand at the end of the mat out of the way. I got close to Sam, remembering last time. I faced the wall, and glanced back to see if his hand was ready behind me. I took a few deep breaths, nervous but excited.
"So, bend my knees, throw my arms back, and jump, right?" I asked, looking at Mitchell. He nodded, a blank expression on his face. Closing my eyes, I did as I was told.
I bent my knees, threw my arms back, and jumped. Sam's hand touched my back briefly on the way over, just before my hands hit the mat. I made it safely all the way over, and landed just barely on my feet before falling to my knees.
"Not bad." Mitchell said. "Try to lean back more when you land it, stand up straight."
I nodded, ready to go for it again. I returned to my starting position, and did the process again. Another flash went off as I jumped. I landed solidly on my feet, only wobbling a very slight amount.
"Once more." Sam said.
I went back to the beginning positon, beginning to lose the nervousness and just enjoy it. I went over again, landing solidly.
"Now try it without Sam's support." Mitchell said.
The nervousness returned. "Really?" I asked.
"Not sure if you noticed or not, but I wasnt actually supporting you last time. I was just standing next to you." Sam said, a little cheekily.
"What?" I asked. Sam only flashed me a cheeky grin. "I want to be mad at you, but I really cant." I sighed.
"I know."
I went back to the middle of the mat, while Sam went to stand with Mitchell. I took a deep breath, a little scared not to have Sam spotting me. He may not have been supporting me last time, but he still wouldve been there, had I fallen. I went for it anyway, fairly confident I'd make it. Jumping, I stretched out my arms. My hands hit the mat and I forced my legs all the way over, sticking the landing nicely.
"Congrats." Mitchell said.
"Yeah, well done." Sam said. "You'll be tumbling as well as this idiot before long." Sam stuck out a thumb in Mitchell's direction.
Mitchell rolled his eyes and gave Sam a punch in the shoulder.
"I'd like to try a tuck on the floor now." I said, feeling a lot more confident.
Sam's eyes widened a little. Evidently, he hadnt been expecting that.
"You sure?" I nodded. "Alright then." Sam said, hopping off the mat. I hopped off too.
The mats were still where Mitchell had left them, so I lined myself up with them. I went for it, taking the steps I needed to towards the mat, jumping and tucking. I landing solidly on my feet. Realizing I'd made it, my expression quickly changed into a large smile.
"I did it!" I said, jumping and clapping.
"Alright Hannah!" I heard, coming from above. When I glanced up at the area where Ashley mixed the music, I saw Perri with a big smile on his face. "You learned a back handspring today, and did a front tuck on the floor. Congratulations. Now we've got to figure out what to teach you next." he said, coming down the stairs. "I got some pictures too, would you like to see them?"
"Yes!" I said excitedly. There were a few photos he'd taken earlier, which I had noticed when the flashes went off. A few of the walkovers, and one from the actual handspring. It was kinda amusing to see the faces I made. Sam looked pretty funny in the pictures too, probably not expecting them.
"I feel like a pro." I said, a little quietly. "Thankyou, Sam." I said, giving him a hug like yesterday. I blushed a little when a flash went off, as Perri apparently decided to take a photo of us. "And you too, Mitchell. Thankyou." I said. I wasnt sure if I could hug him, but he started the hug, so I happily wrapped my arms around his neck. It was a little different hugging Mitchell, since he's a little shorter, and more suitable to my height. Another flash went off, just before the hug ended.
"Are you just taking pictures of everything?" I asked, glancing at Perri.
"Yeah, pretty much." He said.
"Well you'd better send them to me." I said, smiling.
"I havent got your email." Perri pointed out. I blinked.
"Well give me your cell number, and I'll text you my email address." I said, going to grab my phone out of my bag. I gave it to Perri, who put his number in my phone. "And Mitchell, you've got my number right?" He nodded. "I dont have yours..." I said, trying to subtly ask him for it. Mitchell stuck his hand out, and I passed him my phone. He quickly put his number into my contacts, and handed it back.
When I glanced at my contacts, I noticed he'd set his name as 'Mitch'. I smiled a little. Nicknames, even one like this, usually meant you were fairly close with that person.
I put my phone back into my bag, walked back over to the boys, and simply sat on the floor. I stretched my arms behind me, supporting myself.
"So boys. What now?" I asked, looking up at the boys around me.
"Well, we can continue with tumbling and move on to back tucks," Sam said. "Or we can practice some of the routines you know or teach you a new one."
"How do I do a back tuck?" I asked, standing up and sitting on the mat.
"Really?" Sam asked. "What happened to the overly nervous Hannah I know?"
"You changed me." I said simply. "Pushed me to do a back handspring, and I realized it's fun." I said, standing up on the mat and bouncing.
Sam smiled and stepped onto the mat easily.
"I can teach you this one, and spot you. So go away boys. You'll make her nervous again." Perri and Mitchell rolled their eyes. Mitchell went to do some choreo with Jordan and Ashley, while Perri tagged along to take photos.
"So, we're not proffessional gymnasts or anything. But I can do a back tuck, I can teach and I can spot you. I wont be spotting you the way a proffessional gymnast would, but I wont let you fall or hurt yourself. And this mats bouncy and soft anyway." Sam said. "So it looks like this." He said, demonstrating a flawless back tuck.
"Like I said the other day, I learned these a few years ago. And trust me, you learning from me, is gunna be a lot easier and safer than when they taught me." Sam said, laughing a little.
"Alright alright. As much as I enjoy your life story, stop talking and teach me how to do a tuck." I smiled.
"Jeeze, you're getting fiesty." Sam joked. "Youre trousers might get in the way." he said, glancing at my baggy joggers.
I hopped off the mat and walked towards my bag. Quickly I pulled my trousers down and left them on top of my bag.
"I've got shorts underneath." I said, running back to the mat and jumping onto it.
"I see that." Sam said, a little dumbfoundedly. "Alright, moving on. So this is similar to a back handspring, except you want to try to go up more than back. Dont stretch out either, it's called a tuck, so obviously you've got to tuck. That part is the same as a front tuck."
"Alright, I think I've got it!" I said, making my way into the middle of the mat. I stuck close to Sam so he could spot me.
"As I said before, I wont really be supporting you, but I'll catch you if you fall." Sam said. He put his hand into the same position he had when I learned a back handspring.
Closing my eyes, I went for the tuck. I jumped up this time, more than back, and tucked to make it fully over. Sam's hand never touched me, since he was only there to catch me if I fell. When I landed, I landed on the balls of my feet and my knees. It wasnt a perfect landing, but I'd made it all the way over.
"Not bad, a few more times and you'll have it. Try to straighten out a bit before landing." Sam said as I walked back into the centre of the mat.
I tried again, trying to land flatly on my feet. I made it flat on my feet, but I leaned forward quite a bit and stumbled.
"Once you've landed, straighten out completely." Sam said, forcing me to go again.
Again, I went. Landing on my feet and straightening out, I completed a back tuck successfully.
"Alright, I dont need you spotting me." I said, shooing Sam away when I stepped into the centre again.
I did another tuck, landing successfully. I squealed happily, clapping and bouncing on the mat.
"You learn really quickly." Sam said, a little shocked. "Doesnt hurt that you had such a good teacher, hmm?" He said, being jokingly cocky.
"Perri, Mitchell!" I called over, wanting to show off my skills. "Sam taught me a back tuck." I said, when they came over to the mat.
"Alright, show me what you've got." Mitchell said, challengingly.
Smiling, I jumped into a back tuck, landing solidly.
"Once again, I'm the best teacher." Sam said, smirking.
"I could've taught her that, but you wouldnt let me. I knew how to do a tuck way before you." Mitchell pointed out.
"What time is it?" I said, changing the subject and attempting to look at the watch on Sam's wrist.
"Mm, about 2 o'clock." Sam said, glancing at his watch. "You've pretty much mastered the tumbling we had planned for you, so we should probably start some dancing. We can try some combos next time though."
"Okay!" I said, happily jumping off the mat and walking towards the mirrors.
"So," Perri said, setting down his camera and coming to dance with us. "We've taught you some routines, but now we'll teach you a routine." Perri said.
"Uh??" I asked, not seeing the difference.
"He means we'll teach you a routine you'd do in a group. We've taught you routines to do as a soloist." Mitchell said.
The boys set me in position, and took their own. Performing a routine in a group was really different. I'd done routines with people and stayed on beat, and moved with them, but this was entirely different. It also looked a little weird with an even number of people, but soon Ashley joined in.
Dancing with Ashley was intimidating, but he was so nice and encouraging.
Soon, we took a break from dancing and I went to get my water.
"Yo." Ashley called to me as I came back to the group of boys. "Remember the tutting routine you were doing with Sam yesterday?" I nodded. "Wanna do it again for me?"
I blinked. "Can Sam do it with me?" I asked, nervous to perform in front of Ashley alone. I glanced more towards Sam than to Ashley, asking with my eyes if he'd join me.
"Sure." Sam said, stepping so he was directly beside me. "I'll count us in." I nodded and we both got into the starting position of the routine. "5, 6, 7, 8." He said. We performed the short routine for Ashley, who had a smile on his face the whole time.
"You're really good." Ashley said as we finished. "Have you done tutting before?"
"Yeah, sorta. I've seen all the routines you guys've done so many times, and just copied off those. I even know some of your finger tutting routines, so Sam decided to start me off with a slightly tougher routine."
"What else can you do?" Ashley asked, looking impressed. I remembered he'd been upstairs the past few days I'd been here, and hadnt really seen anything I'd been taught.
"These lovely boys," I said, gesturing to Sam beside me and Perri and Mitchell on the floor. "Have been teaching me to tumble." I ran over to the mat and jumped onto it, ready for some demonstrations.
"Let's see what you've got." Ashley said, crossing his arms over his chest.
I smiled and nodded, deciding to start with a front tuck. I took the steps and jumped, landing solidly when I hit the mat. Making sure I had enough room, I launched into a back handspring.
"One more!" I said, before performing a back tuck. "I just learned the back tuck and back handspring today." I smiled, jumping up and landing in a sitting position on the edge of the mat.
"You must have a good teacher to learn that quickly."
Before Sam had the chance to take all the credit, I spoke up.
"Perri tried to teach me a front tuck, but I really learned it from Sam. Mitchell taught me the back handspring, Sam only spotted me. And Sam taught me the back tuck."
Suddenly, under the music constantly playing in the studio, I could hear my phone.
"One second." I said, standing up on the floor and walking over to my bag.
"Hello, Mary." I said, answering the phone.
"Hey, Hannah. What are you doing?" she asked.
"I'm with the boys of Diversity, like I said I'd be. I know you love Diversity too, hang on, I'll put you on speaker." I said, walking back into the group of boys. I touched the button that turned the speaker on so all the boys could hear Mary, and Mary could hear the boys. I hoped the music in the background wasnt too loud, but it was fairly quiet right now anyway.
"You're on speaker, Mary. Say hi!" I said.
"Hello." Mary said, a little shyly.
"Hey." The boys all said in unison.
Figuring Mary had a reason for calling me, I turned her back off speaker.
"You're off speaker, Mary." I said. "Whats up?"
"Rick and I will be home late again, youre on your own for dinner and stuff."
"Alright, I'll see whats up with the boys and get back to you." I said, hanging up.
"Whats up?" Sam asked, as the other boys moved off somewhere to do who knows what.
"Rick and Mary are out late again tonight, so I was gunna ask what you guys were doing today."
"Mmm, Mitch and I havent really got anything planned. And I did sort of offer to take you into town anyway, didnt I?" He continued without a response to his question. "We'll see what happens later, hmm?" I nodded, content with being spontaneous. Content with doing anything with these boys.
"Sure, but what are we going to do right now?" I asked, being a little whiney. "As much as I love dancing and tumbling, I'm tired of it right now."
"Well theres not much else to do in the studio." Sam pointed out.
Sighing, I fell back onto the floor, content to lay there. Rolling over onto my stomache, I saw Sam's feet infront of my face. Soon he was laying down, staring me in the face.
"Whatcha doin?" He asked.
"I dunno." I said, unlocking my phone and scrolling through the apps. Deciding Sam looked cute on the floor, I turned on the camera app and snapped a picture of him.
"Hey." he said, obviously hearing the shutter noise.
"What?" I said innocently.
"You just took a picture of me."
"Dont jump to conclusions, I could've had the front camera on and been taking a picture of myself."
"But you did take a picture of me." Sam said, not believing me.
"Yes, I did. It's a nice picture." I said, selecting the photo and showing it to Sam.
Despite the fact that it had been an unexpected photo, he wasnt blinking or making a weird face. He had a small natural smile, and a slight sparkle in his eyes. I quickly decided to use it as his contact photo.
I heard footsteps coming towards me, and turned my head to the left where they were coming from. I was a little shocked to see Mitchell running full speed at me. He did a cartwheel, launched into a backhandspring which landed dangerously close to me, and did a back tuck over me, landing safely about six inches from my right arm.
"JEEZE." I said. "Scare the life out of me." I laughed. I went to stand up before getting an idea. "Will you teach me how to do a resurrection?" I asked, looking between Sam and Mitchell, not entirely sure who I was asking. Sam and Mitchell exchanged a glance, probably not sure who I was talking to, since I wasnt either. "Both of you."
"Sure." Mitchell said, laying down beside me.
"I'll stay here and show you what it looks like from the front." Sam said, still directly in front of me.
"So, you've got to lift up your leg." Mitchell said, lifting his leg into a position that looked similar to a scorpion's tail. Sam did the same, and I mimmicked the best I could. "Now, we'll take it slow. So just swing that leg back down, and lean back onto your right foot at the same time."
He did what he said in one smooth movement. I watched closely as Sam did it, giving me a better idea of what it should look like. Carefully, I swung my leg back down and pushed myself back onto my right foot. I made it, sitting in a kneeling position.
"Alright, now back down." We all went back down into the starting position, a leg in the air. "Now try to stand all the way up when you do it. Dont just lean back, and then stand. Try to stand during the process of leaning back." Mitchell said, giving an example.
I looked forwards to Sam, and watched him do the same, smoothly standing up. I tried on my own, managing to stand. It was pretty good, but I'd need practice.
"Alright, well done." Sam said, fist-bumping me. "We'll make a streetdancer of you yet."
"I personally think I've done pretty well." I said, feeling proud of myself.
"You have." Mitchell said. Getting a compliment from Mitchell felt a little unexpected, and really nice.
"Samuel," I said, as he gave me a look for using his full name. It didnt bother him, he just wasnt expecting it. "I've got a video of me doing a front tuck, will you take a video of my newest tumbling accomplishments?"
"Sure." he said, taking my phone out of my hands.
I ran to the tumbling mat excitedly, and jumped on, careful not to fall off or trip.
"3, 2, 1, GO." Sam said, starting the video.
"Should I include the back walkover?" I asked, realizing I should've before the video had started.
"Go for it." Sam said.
I nodded and went into a back bridge, kicking over quickly. I walked forward a little, making sure I still had room, and did a back handspring. A couple of flashes went off as Perri took pictures. Finally, glancing at how much of the mat was behind me, I carefully did a back tuck.
"Woohoo!" Sam said, actually meaning it. He stopped the video and was about to throw the phone at me, when he thought better. Simply, he walked up to me and gave me the phone.
"Yeah, dont throw my phone please. I'd have to hurt you if it broke."
"Mm, no you wouldn't." He said, flopping onto the mat.
"No, I couldnt hurt you. I'd feel bad. But I would make you buy me a new phone." I said, flopping beside him.
Wondering if we looked cute, I turned on the front camera to see. Sam didnt protest to a picture, so I stuck my tongue out and touched the button. The shutter noise went off, and I had a new photo. One I liked better than the mirror picture.
"You know, I want to get a photo with all you boys," I said as Sam took the phone from me again to see the picture and do who knows what else. "Maybe in a classic Diversity pose, or maybe just casual. But who'd take it?" I wondered aloud.
"Well, if you want a photo with all of us, we could do a mirror picture."
"Good point." I said, taking my phone back from him. I stood up and walked to the other boys, Sam not far behind. "Can I get a picture with you boys?" I asked, looking at them all. They all glanced at eachother and agreed.
I turned on my phone to see Sam had changed my lock screen to the mirror photo of us and smiled. I unlocked my phone and turned on the camera as the boys took their positions around me. We looked pretty funny, with people as small as me and Perri, and people as tall as Ashley and Jordan, but the photo was cute none the less.
"Pel," I said, the nickname slipping from my lips. He only stopped and smiled while the other boys disbanded. "Can I get a picture for your contact photo?" I asked.
"Yeah sure." He said. "Should I smile or be silly?"
"Be yourself." I smiled. He made a bit of a silly face, and I laughed as I took the photo. "Thanks Pel."
"No problem." he smiled.
"Mitchell, one of you too?" I asked, taking his attention from the rest of the group. He nodded and crossed his arms against his chest. "Smile for me?" I asked. Somehow, it managed to cause a small laugh from Mitchell, which also caused a natural and beautiful smile. I took the picture quickly, not wanting to lose the chance to take such a nice photo of him. "Perfect." I said, satisified.
"Samuel!" I said, enjoying using his full name.
"You know, I wish I could use your full name, but sadly, Hannah is your full name." He said, walking towards me.
"That's what sucks about my name, you can't really shorten it. I mean, things like Sam as short for Samuel's not really a nickname. But you know, Pel, Tel, even Mitch and Ash. And I'm just Hannah." I said, slumping against the wall and sliding into a sitting position.
"Well," Sam said, sitting beside me. "We could call you Haz."
"Haz." I said, testing the word in my mouth. "I like it."
"So do I." Mitchell said, sitting down on the other side of me. Apparently, he'd been listening to the conversation, but I didnt mind.
Perri came over with the camera, pausing to take a quick picture of the three of us.
"I expect all those photos to be sent to me." I said.
"I'll send 'em to ya as soon as I can." Perri said, making his way to Ash and Jordan.
"The studio feels empty without the other boys." I said. The other boys werent as loud or crazy as the group that was currently here, but they were still fun to be around and I'd started to quite like them.
"Well it's only," Sam paused, glancing at his watch. "About 3 o'clock. They might come down to the studio, you never know."
"It's only 3?" I sighed. "Funny how time both passes quickly and slowly at the same time." I smiled, knowing I'd confused the two boys.
"That made no sense." Mitchell said as Sam laughed.
"Sure it did," I said, turning to face Mitchell. "You just arent thinking of it in a sensical way."
He gave me a look, obviously still confused by my logic. I held eye contact with him, in love with the colour of his eyes. He smiled and looked at his feet with a small laugh. A little confused by this, I faced forward again, scrolling through the apps on my phone.
"So it's only about 3, I'm usually at the studio until 6, and we've got nothing to do." I said, trying not be whiny.
"But you usually get here around 4, so you're usually only here for about 2 hours. You've already been here for 2 hours today." Sam pointed out, taking my phone again. I let him have it, not particularly worried about anything he might do.
"That's true," I said. "But I'm not leaving the studio now. Not alone atleast." I looked up, watching Ashley and Jordan rehearsing a routine. "Cant you use your own phone?" I asked, leaning towards Sam more in an attempt to see what he was doing.
"Nahh."
"Tuh." I scoffed jokingly. I didnt really mind if Sam had my phone, not like he'd be using it to post bad things on my facebook or my twitter, or text my "parents" about how high we were getting.
"Damn, your Temple Run score is alot higher than mine." Sam sighed.
"Then you'll just have to beat it, hm?" I said. "If you beat my score, than I can beat yours again." I smiled.
"That seems hardly fair." Sam said.
"I didnt say anything about fair." I smiled, giving him a small shove.
He shoved me back, harder than I had shoved him. If Mitchell hadnt been in my way, I'd probably have ended up laying on my side on the floor. But because Mitchell was in the way, I was just pushed into him hard enough that I couldnt really stop myself. He kept his balance fine, but I was still blushing when I sat back up properly.
"Well, if we're just gunna sit here, and youre gunna play with my phone," I said, jokingly glaring at Sam who smiled at me innocently. "Then I'm gunna eat." I said, getting to my feet.
I went to my bag and stopped to put my trousers back on, before grabbing the bag of crisps and bottle of water. I went back over to the boys, squeezing between 'em carefully and opening the bottle of water with a satisfying click.
"Jeeze, you came really prepared today." Mitchell said.
"I didnt know how long I'd be here." I said, opening the bag of crisps.
Mitchell was quick to grab a couple of crisps before I even had the chance to.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome?" I said in a joking way. I would've let Mitchell have some crisps anyway, so it wasnt a big deal. "You want some Sam?" I asked, holding the bag out to him.
"Sure, thanks." He said, grabbing a few and using his other hand to scroll through my phone. I had no idea what he was doing with my phone, or why he was so fascinated by it, but it wasnt really bothering me.
"Hannah!" Perri said, jogging over to me. His camera was absent, and he almost looked a little weird without it. "Do some floorwork with me?"
In reality, I was getting a little bored of dancing, but I was bored of sitting around too. Plus, I hadnt done any floorwork yet today.
"Sure." I smiled, carefully getting to my feet. "Dont eat all my crisps." I said, turning back to the boys on the floor. "And dont do anything bad to my phone."
"No promises." Sam smirked.
"Which routine, Pel?" I asked, standing next to him.
"Uhm, this one." He said, getting into the starting position of one of the floor routines he'd taught me.
"Ah, I thought you'd be make me do the same one Sam put me through yesterday."
"Which ones that?" he asked.
"Uhm," I mumbled, not knowing how to say which one it was. "This one." I said, running through the whole routine.
"I dont think you need to practice that one, you're better than Mitch." Perri said.
"Never." I said, joining Perri in the beginning position. The routine was one I hadnt gone through very many times, and so I definitely wasnt perfect. I tried my best though, with a smile on my face. "Seems I need the practice."
"Do you practice any of the routines at home?" Perri asked, running over to the side for his camera, apparently intent on taking more photos.
"I'm pretty knackered when I get home usually, so no. After school it's straight to here, and then at the end of the day I have some dinner and then I sleep." I said, standing up.
Feeling bored, I ran and jumped onto the tumbling mat, landing on my face. I rolled onto my back, staring at the ceiling of the studio.
"That's a nice ceiling." I mumbled absentmindedly, not even entirely sure what I was saying.
"What?" Sam laughed. "You think the ceiling's attractive?"
"Is that what I said?" I giggled, sitting up a little and using my forearms to support me.
Clearly I had zoned out, because I had complimented a ceiling, without even knowing it. Sam only nodded, unable to wipe the smile of his face.
"Well, it is a pretty attractive ceiling." I joked. I could hear my bag of crisps rustling, and sat up a little more to see Mitchell stealing my crisps. "Hey!" I said, jumping off the mat and jogging towards the boys on my floor. "I said dont eat all my crisps." I took the bag back from him, happy to see he hadnt eaten them all.
"I never promised." He said cheekily. "And I didnt eat them all."
"That's true." I sighed, unable to hold it against him when he smiled at me so innocently. "Gimme that for a second." I said, grabbing my phone from Sam.
It appeared he hadnt even been doing anything on it. It was only on my first page of apps. Wondering why he'd had my phone for so long, I clicked the camera app.
Turning my phone sideways to fit all three of us in, I made sure it was on the front camera.
"Get in close." I said.
The boys squished in to fit into the picture as I held the phone out far in front of me. I smiled and clicked the button.
"Nice photo boys."
"Are we as attractive as the ceiling?" Sam joked, taking my phone out of my hands. I swear he's obsessed with that thing.
"Mmm, I dont know. That ceilings pretty good looking." I said, looking at the ceiling and back at the boys as if I were comparing. "Are you guys busy tomorrow?" I asked, suddenly making plans in my head.
"Nope, day off." Mitchell said while Sam looked up at me instead of down at my phone, probably interested in where this was going.
I stopped there, not wanting to seem pushy by asking them to hang out, despite them asking me to come down here everyday.
"Got something planned?" Sam asked, sensing I didnt want to just flat out ask.
"Well, we've been hanging out at the studio, and the only thing we've done outside of the studio, so far atleast, was Nandos." I said. "Do you guys maybe wanna go mini-golfing with me tomorrow?"
The boys leaned forward to see past me and exchanged a glance. I tried to read what they were thinking through the expression, but Mitchell's face was almost always serious and Sam's expression was fairly blank. They nodded quickly, apparently able to communicate with their eyes and leaned back against the wall.
"Sure." Sam said, putting my phone down on his left side where I couldnt reach it without reaching over him. "What time and where?"
"What time do you wake up on weekends?" I snickered, looking specifically at Sam.
"Eleven." He said. "I've got no reason to be up early, so why should I?" He said, defending himself a little.
"Me too actually." I smiled. "What about you Mitch?" I said, unconsciously shortening his name.
"Depends."
"Alright, noonish then, at the Mini-golf place that's like, fifteen minutes from here. I cant remember what it's called," I laughed, always being forgetful when it came to something like this. "But I could text you later. I think it's like, ten pounds per person. And they've got like, junky food there such as hot dogs and they have vending machines. So if we're hungry we can eat there, or find something nearby."
"Sounds fun, I'm up for it." Sam said.
"Yeah, I'll go." Mitchell said.
"Yay!" I clapped. "Oh, and I'm pretty sure Mary will be able to drive me there and back, if you wanna just meet me there. I would check to make sure, but it's a little hard to text without a phone." I gave Sam a look.
"You said you can text us later, you can check later." he winked, that ever-present cheeky smile plastered to his face.
"Pfft. Alright. I think youre more protective of my phone than I am." I said, rolling my eyes a little despite the smile on my face.
We didnt do a lot after that that day. We sat around a lot, and we ran through a few routines until about 6pm. We never left the studio, since we'd be going out tomorrow.
"Ready to go?" Sam asked, startling me while I checked everything was in my bag.
"Pretty much," I said, crossing my arms against my chest. "I'm only missing one thing: my phone." I laughed when he smiled sheepishly. He passed me my phone, having only been holding it in his hand. "Now I'm ready to go."
"Alright, Mitch's outside." He said, as we walked into the entrance to DanceWorks and then out to the street.
As we walked towards Sam's car, one of the boys on either side of me, I realized I'd never even asked Sam to drive me home and he was just doing it anyway. I smiled to myself, thinking how nice Sam was.
I got into his car, always happy for it's warmth. The ride home was quick and fairly quiet, as I zoned out staring out the window.
The car came to a stop outside my house and I zoned back in.
"Here we are." Sam said in a slightly sing-songy voice.
"Thankyou boys! See ya at minigolf tomorrow then?" I asked, opening the car door and grabbing my bag.
"We'll be there."
"Alright, I'll text you the details. Goodnight!" I said, despite it being fairly early still.
"Bye." They both said.
I closed the car door and they drove off as I walked up the path to the door.
"I'm home!" I called into the house even though Mary and Rick wouldnt be home for awhile. It was just a bit of a habit.
Remembering that I'd need to ask Mary to drive me to and from minigolf tomorrow, I decided I'd text her.
When I turned on my iPhone, it seemed untouched by Sam. My lockscreen was set as Sam's and mine mirror picture together, as it had been earlier. The homescreen was set as the picture of a red rose I'd had before. Deciding my phone was okay, I selected my contacts to text Mary.
"Hi Mary! Can you drive me to that minigolf place tomorrow? Sam, Mitch and I are supposed to go! I dont wanna make them drive me since they've been driving me home everyday."
Even when at work, Mary was quick to text back.
"Sure, honey. What time?"
"Noonish." I texted simply.
"Okay, see you later tonight, hun."
Needing to eat something and deciding I should probably have something that atleast kinda counted as a meal, I went into the freezer and pulled out one of those cheese pizzas you just stick in the oven for ten minutes.
I turned the oven on, knowing I probably shouldve preheated it, before sticking the pizza on a pan and into the oven.
I grabbed a can of cola from the fridge and suddenly remembered everything about the minigolf place. Deciding to text Mitchell since Sam was probably still driving, I quickly sent him all the details.
Checking the time to see how long the pizza'd been in the oven, I opened my can of cola with a click and a fizz. I leaned against the counter, contently sipping my cola, when my phone vibrated. I put my cola down and picked up my phone. The text was a reply from Mitchell.
"We'll be there. See you tomorrow, Haz."
I smiled to myself, noticing the heat rise to my cheeks a little. Nobody had officially called me Haz yet, Mitch was the first.
Suddenly I noticed the scent of the pizza was very strong. Checking the time, I noticed the pizza had been in the oven about a minute longer than it shouldve been. A minute wasnt a big deal though, and the pizza would not be burnt.
I turned the oven off, and grabbed some oven mitts before opening the door and taking the pizza out. I put it on top of the stove and let it cool, trying not to be impatient while I found the pizza cutter. Once the cheese was a bit cooler, I carefully cut the pizza into ten slices. I put two slices on a plate, since they were rather small, and grabbed my cola and sat at the dinner table.
I was content to eat on my own, but I turned the music channel on on the tv since it was a little too quiet for my taste.
I ate pretty quickly. Since I hadnt gotten to eat all my crisps earlier, I was pretty hungry. I spent an hour or so surfing the internet, checking my facebook and twitter, watching videos on youtube, that sort of thing. When I checked the clock on my laptop, it was only about 8pm. But I was tired, and decided to try to sleep so I could wake up a little earlier tomorrow.