Finding the Beat — The Family Business
Sora groaned as the cursed blaring of his alarm clock pierced his sleep like the dagger it pretended not to be. That stupid sound just adored slicing his dreams every morning at six o' clock sharp without fail. It had been that dream, too. The one he could picture vividly in his head day in and day out but would never be able to properly articulate. Damn him and his overactive imagination.
Deciding that there was no way he could avoid the inevitable, Sora reluctantly slid out of his cocoon of blankets that were noticeably about ten degrees warmer than the rest of the room. He sighed dejectedly and padded his way to the bathroom, as if he were on his way to the gallows and not to the sink.
However dead to the world he may have seemed, the second Sora had showered, brushed his teeth and taken a few sips of hot chocolate, his aura had shifted completely. Sora may have adored his sleep, but unlike most people, he adored his job even more.
After getting dressed in the most comfortable clothes he owned—which was pretty hard to do, since everything Sora owned was comfortable—he grabbed his keys and sauntered out the door of his apartment, just barely remembering to lock it. Once Sora was sure he had locked the door, he bounded down the nearby stairs of his apartment complex—an effortless display of his recently shifted aura. Once he had exited the building, Sora practically skipped down his LA street, eager to get to his destination.
No, Sora was not a morning person, (though it may have seemed that way to the untrained eye) he was a dancing person. And that's really what it all boiled down to. In his neighborhood, Sora and dance were synonymous, actually that applied to anyone who belonged to the "Strife Clan" as it was so fondly called. Speaking of his neighborhood, Sora gave a wistful sigh as he turned the corner onto the familiar street; the very one he grew up on.
He grinned as he passed "Cid's Convenience", pausing a little to see if he could catch a glance at the man inside. Sure enough, a short, gruff looking man with a cigarette in his mouth emerged from the store. Upon noticing Sora, he gave a nod of acknowledgement and grunted a greeting.
"Mornin' Sora."
"Morning Cid!" Sora called energetically as he continued on his merry way, giving a little hop-step as he practically bounced down the street. He grinned as he passed a salon and waved to the kind-looking woman inside.
"Good morning, Aerith!" he chirped, without breaking his energetic stride.
"Good morning Sora!" The woman replied with the same amount of friendliness through the open door.
He continued down the street like that, waving and smiling at all the people he'd known practically since birth, never once interrupting the flow of his steps, which had now morphed into some kind of beat in Sora's head. This place was his home, no doubt about it.
If possible, his effervescent grin widened as he neared a particular stone building with a sign jutting out from it that read: Cloud9 Dance Studio. He pushed open the door with a sense of purpose and made his way up the narrow flight of stairs to the second floor. He breathed in the familiar air and closed his eyes before making his way over to the reception area. He leaped over toward the chest-level desk, jumping on his last step just in front of it, keeping his hands out just so as he came down from the jump so that they hit the surface of the desk with a resounding "twack", effectively startling the girl seated behind it. Said girl quickly regained her composure and promptly rested her face in her hands, elbows leaning on the desk and muttered, "Jesus, Sora" just under her breath.
Sora ignored the display of resigned contempt. "Hiya, Yuffie, how ya' doing?"
Yuffie lifted her face from her hands and smiled, all traces of annoyance gone, "Much better Sora, now that you've effectively given me the heart attack I've been desperately craving all morning long."
Sora grinned, "Anything for you, Yuff."
Yuffie kept the small smile and turned her attention to a nearby computer. "So I suppose you're here to clock in." she said it as more of a statement than question as she typed a few things on the keyboard, her eyes trained to the monitor.
Sora leaned forward on the desk and gave an affirmative nod, "Yup, sure am."
Yuffie gave a little laugh and wordlessly pointed to a door to the left of the desk.
Sora nodded and bounded towards it, tossing a "Thanks Yuff!" over his shoulder and barely registering the "No problem Sora." that was called back to him as he entered the room.
His heart warmed as he entered the airy dance studio, the many floor-to-ceiling windows on the right side of the room gave the illusion of looking much larger, not to mention it let in plenty of light. Sora smiled as he spotted his two brothers in the corner to his right, fiddling around with the stereo as per usual. Before making his way over to them, he took in the scene in front of him. A few of the other employees were warming up in front of the large mirrors that dominated the wall opposite the windows. He noticed his little sister, Namine, in the corner, effortlessly practicing a pencil turn. This was his favorite place in the world, and to think, he was getting paid to be here.
He shrugged off his jacket and listlessly tossed it on a nearby hook and made his way over toward his brothers.
"Hey guys." He greeted nonchalantly as he approached the two boys, who were currently absorbed in setting up the CDs. The stereo system was the kind where you could put in seven CDs at a time and go back and forth between them interchangeably; it was a pain getting them all in though.
Cloud, the oldest of the three, didn't turn his attention from the stereo, "Hey, kiddo" he called over his shoulder.
Roxas, Sora's twin, set down the CDs he'd been furiously flipping through and turned to properly greet his brother.
"Hey, Sor. Long time, no see."
Sora grinned, "Yeah I know, I haven't seen you since yesterday." He met Roxas halfway in a brief brotherly hug. Roxas grinned as he pulled away.
"Well, if you hadn't moved a block away for "personal reason" then maybe you wouldn't have to miss me so much."
Sora executed his infamous pout, "Aw, c'mon Rox, you know I like my independence." He replied with mock indignance.
Roxas smirked and crossed his arms, "Funny how you're still within walking distance of the neighborhood you grew up in."
"Geez, Rox, I'm not that independent." Sora replied, rolling his eyes and giving Roxas a playful shove.
At that point, Cloud was finally satisfied with his messing around with the stereo system and turned to acknowledge his brothers. He slung an arm around each of their shoulders, wedging himself between them.
"Alright, kiddies," Cloud began, "we've got a busy day ahead of us so I want you both to go get warmed up. Roxas, you have a class at seven thirty in the studio next door. Sora, you're in here with me today and I'll be going across the hall at around one. Got it? oh, and Sora, don't forget you're coming over for dinner tonight at our apartment."
Sora smiled as he extricated himself from under Cloud's arm.
"Don't worry, Cloud, I wouldn't forget."
Cloud returned the smile and ruffled Sora's hair, "I know."
And with that, Cloud strode away to go help Namine stretch, leaving the twins standing by the stereo. Roxas turned to his brother grinned conspiratorially.
"Ready?"
Sora nodded and held out his fist, initiating their secret handshake, in which they staked each of their fists, crossed their right arm over their left and joined hands in between the two of them, dropped to the floor while simultaneously giving a sort of break dance kick with their left feet, came back up and gave a double high five and linking their fingers together on a double low five. Once they had completed their ritual, Sora smiled.
"Let's dance."
And so our story begins…
Don't worry, I promise Riku will come in soon, probably the chapter after next. I know it's kind of slow, but it's going to get a little bit faster by the next chapter, some major plot points are going to be introduced. I'm so excited!
*By the way, for those of you who haven't taken dance for seven years of your life, which is not a bad thing if you haven't, a pencil turn is sort of a ballet-jazz move (I say that because it can be either) where the dancer keeps one foot in place and uses the momentum of the other foot to turn in a circle. Think of a compass used to draw a circle, it's that same motion only its applied to a human. I hope that clears up any possible confusion. :D
So anyways, I hope those of you who might be reading this enjoyed it. and don't forget to pay Giselle the review button a visit!
Kisses,
~Vindi