This Is Bonkers

It had been a while since I'd broken my wrist. I had been going down to the studio every few days to see the boys, but not much eventfulness had happened in the past few weeks.
I couldnt do much at all with a broken wrist, let alone dancing and tumbling. It didnt stop me from schoolwork, or from going on walks or anything, but even things in P.E were a little risky with a broken wrist.
The boys had been practicing hard for a special performance they'd be doing for a school party. They invited me to go, but I decided not to, as I could see the boys whenever I wanted.
I'd been to the doctor for a couple x-rays and stuff, and my wrist had healed a little quicker than expected. In fact, I was supposed to get my cast off today around four o'clock. I was already on my way to the hospital with Mary, and I'd convinced her to drop me off at DanceWorks after.
"I am so ready to get this thing off." I said as we pulled into the hospital's parking lot.
"You better be careful after getting it off. Dont do anything risky."
"Mary, I am going to continue tumbling. It's no one's fault at Danceworks."
"I know, I'm not blaming anyone. But be careful, and you might want to lay off tumbling for the first little while."
"Why dont we see what the doctor says?" I asked as we stepped into the hospital.
"Alright." Mary sighed, unhappy with the idea.
We waited patiently for my turn, and finally got called. We went to one of the backrooms with the doctor who'd put the cast on me. The process of taking off the cast was quicker than expected, and I eagerly rolled my wrist since it was fully functional.
"Doctor, I do a lot of tumbling. Is it safe to start again now?" I asked as he wrote up the final paperwork.
"Well, Hannah. It is safe to tumble again, but be careful." he said.
"Thankyou." I said, giving Mary a look.
Soon we were driving to DanceWorks and I was excited. I was even wearing clothing to dance and tumble in, since I planned on starting right away. The boys had done their performance, and rehearsals were more laid back again.
She pulled over out front, and Sam smiled at me, once again waiting outside for me. It appeared that no matter times I went to DanceWorks, he would always wait for me, or send Mitch in his place.
I stumbled out of the car quickly, said goodbye to Mary and thanked her for driving me, and excitedly ran over to Sam as she drove off.
"Look!" I said, pointing to my castless left wrist.
"I see!" he said, imitating my excitement.
"I'm finally ready to start dancing and tumbling again. And I'd like to meet a certain someone." I said, nudging him slightly. "Hug." I demanded.
He obliged to a hug, and I smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck. I loved having a best guy-friend, even if he was six years older than me. Mitch and I were slowly getting closer as well, although he was still quieter than Sam.
"Let's go!" I said, unwrapping my arms and excitedly opening the entrance door.
I'm pretty sure I was in the studio before Sam had even stepped into the entrance room. I tossed my bag against the wall and ran over to the boys.
"Hey Hannah." Most boys greeted.
"Hello boys! I got my cast off! Where's my favourite afro kid?" I asked. "I'm ready for some tumbling."
"You sure?" Perri asked, emerging from the back of the group. "Didnt you just get your cast off today?"
"This from the boy who told me I could still do tucks with a broken wrist?" I laughed, heading over to the tumbling mat and slipping out of my shoes. "Where's Mitch? I need him too." I said.
"Here." Mitch called, heading over to the mat.
"Oh, one second." I said, running over to my bag. I stripped out of my joggers so I was in my little shorts, which were easier to tumble in since you couldnt get caught on them. "Alright, let's go!" I said, bouncing onto the mat.
The boys were already on it, and were doing combos that I hadnt worked my way up to yet. I hoped I'd get there one day though.
"Start me basic?" I asked.
"We're starting basic. What was the first thing we taught you? Or tried to atleast." Perri said.
"Front tuck, but Sam taught me that." I said, bouncing on the mat.
"I started the teaching, you wouldnt let me finish it." Perri said defensively. "So, we'll start there."
"Alright." I said, heading to the end of the mat while the boys stepped out of my way.
I took the steps for momentum, jumped and tucked the way I'd been taught, and landed on my feet.
"That felt amazing." I said, not having experienced tumbling at all in awhile. "So, if we're starting from basics, next is a back handspring, I believe?"
"Yep. Go for it."
I stepped forward a little from where I was. I wasnt afraid of falling off the mat, but Mitch was eyeing the distance between me and the end of the mat worryingly.
I prepared, bending my knees before throwing my arms and jumping back. My hands hit the mat, which I was a bit worried for, but my wrist seemed to be fine, and I soared over. My feet hit the mat solidly, and I straightened to complete the handspring.
"How's your wrist?" Perri asked.
"Fine." I said. "I made sure to stretch it on the way here too, just incase. Back tuck?" I asked, looking to Mitchell.
"Yeah, if you're up for it."
"You kidding? That's my favourite." I smiled.
I moved forwards on the mat again, since a back handspring took up a good amount of room. I was excited to do the back tuck, as it was my favourite to do, but nervous, since it'd been quite awhile since I'd done it last.
I took a deep breath, trusting in myself and the boys, and prepared for the tuck. I jumped up and tucked my knees when at the appropriate height. I went over easily, my hair flying around, and untucked in time to land on my feet.
"Perfect. You're just as good as you were like, a month ago." Perri said.
"Combos?" I asked, more in a begging way.
"We werent planning on starting combos with you again so soon, you'd just started them when you broke your wrist." Perri pointed out.
"I know, I was there." I joked. "But I'd like to start them again, if you guys'll permit me. Unless you've got a new tutting routine to teach me! Tutting with a cast isnt really the same." I said.
"I'll teach you a new routine we've been working on." Mitch said, hopping off the mat.
"Ohk!" I said, completely forgetting about combos. "I'm going to put my trousers and shoes back on though." I said, picking up my shoes and heading to my bag to pull my joggers back on and slip into my shoes.
I walked back over to Mitch, who was going through a tutting routine more complicated than the ones I'd been taught so far.
"Is that what I'm learning?" I asked.
"Yeah, it's a little faster and stuff than the ones we've been teaching you. Ready for a bit of a challenge?" he asked.
"Damn right I am." I smiled.
"Good, cuz I'm not going easy on you. I'll teach it to you step by step, but I'm not going any easier than before."
"Alright, I get it. Let's go." I said, excited for a tougher routine.
"Start with ninety." He said.
I put both arms into the basic tutting position, arms in an angle as close to ninety as you could get. It kinda made you look like a retarded dinosaur, but it was fun at the same time.
"So we start from this." he said, putting his arms into the basic tutting position, but turning his hands in so they faced eachother.
I mimmicked it, careful not to bend my arms out of ninety degrees.
"Then put them together like this." he said, shifting his arms so they were in the same position but his right hand was in front of his left in a way that looked a little like wings.
"Yeah." I mumbled, taking the same position.
"And switch 'em." he said.
He put both hands up straight, glided them past eachother, and put them back down so his left was in front of his right.
"Got it." I said, following along.
"So back to the starting position, then right in, up, left in." he said, doing as he said really quickly.
"Starting position." I said, returning to how we'd started. "Then bend the right one in." I said, turning my arm so it stayed in the same position but turned so the top of my hand was almost touching my left forearm. "Then straight again." I mumbled, returning to the basic position. "Then left in." I repeated what I'd done with my right arm, but with my left.
"You catch on fast." he said. "When you do it quickly it looks like this." he said, doing what we'd just done but like, ten times as fast.
"Thats fast." I mumbled.
"That's why I'm breaking it down for you. I asked if you were ready for a challenge." he pointed out. "Now bring your right hand over like this." He said, gliding his right hand over his left arm and placing it behind.
I followed, watching in the mirror. It was different to be learning a routine with Mitch, and although he taught quickly, everything was easy to understand and follow.
"Then bring your right arm out here." He said, moving his right arm fully out from behind his left. "Then we go into this position."
I brought my right arm out, and then observed the position he was in now. His right arm was straight across his chest and in front of his left. His hand was straight up. His left arm was in the starting position of this routine, but his hand was bent backwards. Together, the hands made a sort of box. I followed it, although it was complicated.
"And then keep the arm position, and bring your right arm back to the right side of your body, and bring your left hand so the finger tips are pointing to the right. Now do it all through." he said, dropping his arms to his side.
"Oh." I mumbled, going back to the starting position.
"Go through slow." He said.
I did as he said, trying to remember the whole routine. I did the bit I thought looked liked wings, the weird arm switchy part and put my right arm behind my left. I moved it away, and finally went into the position I'd just been taught.
"Alright, not bad." he said.
"It wasnt very good either." I laughed. "What's it look like done right?" I asked.
"This." he said, demonstrating the routine.
He was quicker than me, doing it full speed, and his arms stayed in the ninety degree angle really well. But he knew the routine better, and had known it longer, so I could get to that perfect point at some time.
"It's also harder to notice mistakes if you're doing it faster." He laughed a little.
I supposed that was true, but only if you could do the routine that fast. If I tried to do it, my arms would be all over the place.
"And then?" I asked.
"We usually just drop our hands after that for a dramatic pause, and then we go into the next bit of the routine. Starting here." he said, putting his right arm out straight to the right, with his hand bent up. His left arm was in a similar position, but it only went half way across his chest.
I followed, finding the routine wasnt too hard if I payed attention.
"Then to here, with your left hand against your head." he said.
His right hand dropped so it was pointing down now, and his left arm was now over his head. With his forearm touching the top of his head, and his left hand facing down and against the right side of his head.
"Now switch." he said, replacing his left arm with his right and vice-versa. "But keep both your hands pointing up, but turn your right hand so the back faces the right. And then the routine sort of ends here, since it's part of a larger routine where we switch out of tutting. So the last part looks like this." he said, putting his arms into the starting position from after the dramatic pause, but using the opposite arms.
"This part of the routine kinda makes a full circle." I noticed.
"Yeah, so go through it. As slowly as you need." he said.
I started this section of the routine, which I actually found easier than the first bit as it was less complicated and kind of repeated itself. I stopped with my left arm out straight and my right across my chest.
"I like this routine." I smiled. "From the top?"
"If you'd like, or we'll continue to break it down."
"I wanna try from the top." I said. "Do it with me?"
"Can you manage half speed?" he asked.
"I can try." I laughed, determined to do it.
"Alright, let's go then." He said, setting up for the beginning. "5, 6, 7, 8." He counted.
He kept count through the whole thing, keeping me on beat. He didnt need the count, but was nice enough to say it to help me. When slowed down, the routine wasnt all that hard, it was just getting up the quick speed that made it harder.
"How bad was I?" I laughed.
"You're better than Perri." he said.
"What was that?" Perri asked, still on the tumbling mat just a few feet from us.
"Nothing." Mitch mumbled back.
I laughed as Perri rolled his eyes.
These boys really liked to compare me to eachother. Ash had said I was better than Sam, now Mitch said I was better than Perri. They were obviously better than me though, having been dancing so much longer.
"Stop comparing me to people, even if you're saying I'm better. I have no one to be better than but myself." I said, recalling the words Sam had said to me so long ago now.
"Alright, alright. Do you remember the older routines Sam would've taught you?" he asked.
"Yeah, I think so. I did one some time last week, although it's not the same with a wrist cast as I said earlier."
"Show me." he said.
I blinked, a little surprised by the almost demanding tone he used, but it didnt really bother me.
"K." I said simply.
I ran through an older routine I'd done with Sam, it was easier and not quite as quick. I knew it well, as it'd been the one he made me practice almost everyday, and I also practiced it at home. When I finished, I dropped my arms to my sides and looked at Mitch.
"Good. You can definitely tut." he complimented.
"Thankyou, tutting's my favourite, other than tumbling." I said. "Anything else you'd like to go through?"
"Floorwork!" Perri called from the mat, hopping off and making his way over to us.
"Which routine?" I asked.
"The one I taught you the first time you came here. We've done it more than once, so I hope you remember."
The routine I'd been taught by Sam and Perri the first time I'd been to the studio. I had even been wearing Perri's joggers. That felt so long ago.
"I remember." I said, getting into the starting position as it started on the floor.
"Alright, let's go then." Perri said, joining me on the floor.
The routine was not too long, about twenty counts in all. It was fun and a little on the tougher side of a floor routine.
"You know what I havent been taught yet?" I asked, both boys looking at me expectantly. "A kip-up. But I almost don't want to be taught, cuz I'd probably look atrocious." I laughed.
"They're not that hard, and you've been catching on really well. You've been getting tucks in two or three tries." Perri said.
"And you learned a resurrection in one go." Mitch said.
"Kip-ups look so much harder." I mumbled.
"I learned them when I was eight." Mitch pointed out.
"No need to show off." I laughed. "I know how to do a kip-up, but I've never attempted one."
"Try." was the simple response from Mitch.
"Do I have to?" I asked, unsure if I could do it and not wanting to embarrass myself when I failed.
"Well, no."
"Then I'll do one tomorrow, promise." I said.
"Alright, but I'm holding you to that." Mitch said, and I knew he wasnt lying.
"Okay, I'm going to go find your brother now. Do something productive." I laughed, heading over to Warren to ask where Sam was. "Warren, where's Sam?" I asked, not seeing him around.
"I think he's in the entrance room."
"Thanks." I said, running over to the door to the entrance room.
I walked in, and there was Sam, sitting on the floor against a wall and eating some sweets.
"Can I have one?" I asked.
"Sure." Sam said, looking up at me and throwing me a sweet.
"Thanks." I said, sitting next to him.
Sam and I had gotten to a point in our friendship where we almost acted as if we were dating, which is why the boys believed it. I would lean against him, rest my head on his shoulder if we were sitting, hug him a lot, that sort of thing. But I wasnt quite as comfortable doing it now that he had a girlfriend. Sam didnt mind at all, and it wasnt like Jade was around to see, nor did I think she'd care if she did. But it didnt happen as often anymore.
But it did right now, leaning against him comfortably.
"What's up?" I asked, yawning a little despite it only being around five twenty.
"Not a lot, I was talking to Jade." he said, shifting his position into one that made it more comfortable for the both of us.
"How's Jade?" I asked.
"She's good. She's got a couple of days off soon. And," he paused. "She's agreed to meet a certain friend of mine." he said, winking even though I could barely see his face in this position.
"Is that me?" I asked, excited to meet Jade.
"Yes."
"Really?" I gasped. "That's awesome, but I dont really wanna be third wheeling." I said.
"Bring Mitch." Sam suggested.
"That'd be like a double date." I said.
"Is that a problem?" he asked.
"Well no, but-"
"Is my little brother not good enough for you?" He joked, cutting me off. "Seriously though, if you dont wanna third wheel, bring Mitch."
"Alright. When is this happening then?" I asked, resting my head on his shoulder, no longer able to see his face.
"Tomorrow. . ." he said a little quietly.
"Jeeze, really Sam? Thankyou for telling me so far in advance." I laughed.
"You're welcome." he said, and I could hear his smile.
"So what's the plan? When, where, etc."
"We're still not public, so we were just planning to go to my house." Sam said.
"I cant believe you're still not public. Like, I dont understand how papparazi havent found out yet. But I can manage that, I'll have Mary drive me. Guess I wont have to 'bring' Mitch." I said. "What time though?"
"Well, tomorrow's Saturday. So, one-ish?"
"Sounds good to me." I said. "Mitch taught me a new tutting set." I brought up.
"Which one's that?" Sam asked.
I sighed, moving away from him and scooting until I was in front of him.
"This one." I said, going through the beginning of the routine.
"Oh. He increased the difficulty of what we've been teaching you."
"It's not that hard." I said, finishing the routine. "We need to come up with like, names for the routines. It'd be easier to say which one to do and stuff." I said, scooting back over to lean against him again.
"What would you call them?" he laughed, sending small vibrations through me.
"I dont know." I smiled. "Not something boring like routine one, routine two or anything though. Something interesting."
"I'd like to see what you come up with."
"Me too actually." I laughed. "It's like, half an hour until six. Mitch and Pel won't let me do combos, and I've already learned a new tutting routine, as well as going through a floor routine with Pel. What do I do now?" I asked.
"Well, you can practice your new tutting routine, you can attempt simple tumbling on the floor, or you can sit with me." Sam said, puting a little emphasis on the last suggestion.
"Why are you out here anyway?" I asked, switching positions slightly so I had less weight on Sam's shoulder.
"Well, I was talking to Jade, and now I'm just sitting."
"Just cuz you can?"
"Pretty much."
"Sounds fun." I yawned.
"You tired?" Sam asked, looking down at me.
"Nooo." I said sarcastically, a small smile on my lips.
"Sorry," He laughed. "Couldn't sleep?"
"I was excited to get my cast off and actually be able to do something at the studio. Which, as you can see, I'm totally doing right now." I laughed.
"Oh yeah, very productive."
"Hey," I said, giving him a gentle nudge with my elbow. "You cant say that."
"Sure I can. I just did."
"Noo." I laughed. "You aren't doing anything productive either."
"But I'm doing something that I like." he said.
"Which is?" I asked.
"Talking to my best friend."
"Aww. How about dancing with your best friend?" I asked, getting to my feet.
"Alright." he said, standing up.
I walked back into the studio, Sam in tow. The boys were all pretty laid back right now, most of them talking or lazily rehearsing. Mitch and Pel were back to practicing combos on the mat, and I wished they would let me join them.
"It's almost time to go home." Sam said, checking the watch on his wrist.
"Well, practice some tutting with me?" I asked, knowing we'd be going home fairly soon. "I want to work on the routine Mitch showed me."
"Alright, we have enough time for that. How fast are you?" He asked, setting up for the routine.
"I can do half speed." I said.
He nodded and counted us in.
We had time to go through the routine a few times before it was about six and he'd be driving me home. Mitch joined us, ready to go home and be lazy.
We were already in Sam's car and almost to my house. As we pulled up to it, I undid my seatbelt and opened the door.
"Bye boys, see you tomorrow I guess." I laughed.
"See you tomorrow, Haz." Sam said.
"I want you practicing that tutting routine." Mitch said as I stepped out of the car. "See you."
I smiled and closed the door, ready to get some sleep so I could wake up early and prepare to meet Jade. Of course, I wouldn't go to sleep right away, but I would definitely be trying for more sleep than usual tonight.