"Thank you Danielle for teaching me. Your definitely better than Ms Blakeson sometimes." Kilani, another beginner dancer, chuckles at her statement. Collecting the small gift-wrapped box from her small hands, I bend down and give her a tight hug.
"I'll make sure to tell her when I see her next." The girls puffed face suddenly becomes slackened and pale.
"I'm joking Kilani, I would never tell Ms B that. But thank you so much for the gift!" Kilani giggles at my joke, her mum behind her comes and picks her up to carry her to the car. She turns around as the tired toddler snuggles into her mum's shoulder.
"Thank you so much, you made our afternoons full of lots of stories and dance concerts. It will be such a shame that you won't be there next year."
"I know, and I really don't think I will be able to tear myself away from that place easily, so I will still definitely be helping out around the place. And it was a pleasure to teach Kilani."
Waving goodbye, the pair trudge out of the change room door. Once they are out of earshot, I let out a puff of air. For the last hour, I've had kids coming in and giving me gifts and thank yous' with their parents. I love the kids, I really do, but all I want to do is sleep, and get out of this room and into the company of my best friends. My arm is immobile with pain, which is completely my own fault.
The girls left only a few minutes ago. They were cleaning up the stage area, but were finished, so they said they would all meet me at my house for our celebratory sleepover, and Joel and Christina were waiting out in the carpark for me, as they are dropping me home, with the bags of stuff we have received. My movements where quick and methodical, trying to keep the tightness in my chest away.
"They are just outside." I whisper repeatedly to myself.
"Knock knock..." Lifting my gaze up from zipping up my dance bag, my eyes do not just settle on one figure in my doorway, but three.
Taylor.
"Enjoy the show?" I snicker, hoisting my dance bag onto my shoulder.
Taylor laughs. "It was definitely something." Rachel, to her side, chuckles.
Then I notice who is on her other side.
Connor.
For some odd reason, it felt like a stab in the chest. Grabbing the rest of the bags into my good hand, I move towards the doorway.
"Well thanks for coming guys, but I really need to get going." My venomous words spilled from my lips with distaste. "Can you please move?" I raise my eyebrow at the trio and attempt to push past them, but much to my dismay, I can't.
"I think you forget Dani, I always leave first." Rachel chuckles at Taylor's statement in agreement. I pause from moving to turn off the lights, looking at her, dumbfounded.
That didn't take any sense.
At all.
Not one bit.
She turns, sauntering off, followed by Rachel.
"Dani?" Connor says, still standing by the door.
I look up at him, turning off the lights.
"I just wanted to say that um... Taylor just put a message on the group chat, saying she had spare tickets to your show, and Rachel instantly replied. I didn't want anyone else coming. You were amazing, remember that."
I stare at him.
I shut the door behind me, standing opposite him.
I was tall, not giant tall, but tall enough that majority of the population was shorter than me. Connor Marklin, was not in that majority. He was dressed in a light blue dress shirt, and beige cargo pants. His hair was messy, as usual, but somehow, maybe just because of the light shining straight onto him, it was glowing.
I didn't know what to say. I have hated him for 9 years, wishing him to go away, yet somehow, after 8 years of ignorance, he starts to talk to me again.
"Anyways, that's all I wanted to say." Connor looks down towards this feet. His hair cascades in front of his face, acting as a shield.
"Okay, yeah... Um... Cool." A honk sounds from the carpark,probably from the car which holds Joel and Christina. Not knwoing what to do, I start walking towards it.
Looking back, I see Connor smiling at me, and am encouraged to smile back. Turning back towards the car, I unlock the boot, as I hear Connor's retreating footsteps.
"Joel! That was so rude!" Christina hisses.
"Why? I really want to get home!" Joel states back to his girlfriend in the passenger seat.
"You totally ruined their moment! I could feel the sexual tension from inside the car! Hell, we probably could have felt it from home! I swear, just a minute longer and they would have been confessing their love for each other." It was at this point I decided to slam the boot shut, startling the couple from their argument.
Sliding into the backseat, I spare a glance at the frozen adults in the front seats.
"Come on guys. Chop chop! I need to get back to home, the girls have probably already let themselves in, and ordered the pizza!" This seemed to snap them out of it, as Joel lurched the car into motion, swiftly driving away from the hall.
"So... You were really good tonight Dani." Christina slurs, trying to ease the tension they created.
"Thank you!"
YOU ARE READING
In Your Company
Teen Fiction--Re-written-- When I was 8 we were playing hide and seek in the little park surrounded by bush down the street from my house. It was a large group of us. It was always fun down at the park, since our parents never really came and checked on us. Bei...
