"What do you mean, he can't dance?"
"Hinata Shouyou,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into one of the classes at Miyabiyaka Academy after your good performance in the exam. Please see the next page for information on the school. Please see the end of this letter for your class and score information."
Quickly, Hinata flicked to the end of the small wad of papers in his hands, the ripped envelope on the table getting blown onto the floor by the movement of the pages. Sweat formed on his neck as he scanned the paper for his scores and class; he hoped he wasn't in the D Class.
Score: 74%
Class: B
Tears formed in Hinata's eyes as he read the tiny letter on the bottom of the crumpled page. B Class! That was the third best class! Tremendous pride leapt up inside him, and he sprinted upstairs to the study, where his mother sat, working, to tell her the good news.
"Hey, I got in! I got in!" He squealed, diving through the door and knocking over a file cabinet in the process, letting papers spew out all over the floor. Hinata's mother turned around on her office chair, ignoring the fallen cabinet and grinned, clapping her hands in delight.
"I'm so proud! You'll be the best! What class are you in?"
"B!"
"Wow!"
"I know! But…" he frowned. "It's not the A Class… or the S Class…" This grumble was met with a sigh from his parent.
"Look, Hinata. You are a very, very talented boy. Your dancing is so… happy! And it makes everyone watching feel joyous. That's such an incredible skill to have. The exam board have never actually seen you in action, so of course you won't be in the best class just yet. But wait a few months and I'm sure they'll see your true potential! I'm still proud that you got in, even if it isn't the S Class!" Hinata smiled meekly as she stood up and embraced him, before she continued to talk. "So, what are the term dates?"
As he climbed into bed that night, phone in hand, Hinata thought. He could dorm at the academy, or go home every night. However, he lived a good hour away, so perhaps dorming would be easier. It wasn't much extra cost… But, could he leave his mother and sister all alone? Yes, his mother was very capable of working and earning and child care, she always had been. That, though, was not the problem. Hinata often suffered from overwhelming homesickness if he was away for more than a few nights, so if he was away for a whole term…!
Suddenly, a message popped up on his phone, startling Hinata a little. So, he clicked on the notification and watched as the message from "Dad" appeared on screen. It read:
"Hey, Shouyou! So proud to hear your score - your ma told me. Hope I'll be back to see you before you leave for the first term!"
Clicking off the screen and letting his arm drop, the boy smiled to himself. It was rare to hear from his dad, who lived abroad most of the time due to his career, so it always made him feel very happy when the small message appeared on screen. With cell phone still in hand, Hinata fell soundly asleep.
My first day!
After long discussions with Natsu (his sister) and his mother, Hinata had chosen to dorm at the academy and return home every holiday and once every three weeks. That way, he would see his family frequently whilst not needing to travel for two hours every day.
Clutching onto the strap of his shoulder bag, Hinata fought back a grin and a scream of excitement. Here he was, September 4th, stood at the front gates of Miyabiyaka, all his clothing and things packed away in one suitcase, which he held in his right hand. Pace quickening as he walked towards the entrance, Hinata let a smile spread across his features. Upon entering the building, he saw a friendly looking man sat at reception - his face was familiar in a way.
"Um, good morning!" The man said, standing up and bowing politely. That polite bow… had Hinata met him before?
"Morning! My name is Hinata Shouyou! I'm at this school and it's my first day, what do I do, exactly?" Usually, Hinata would have felt nervous, but today he was too happy to feel the anxiety underneath the surface.
"Oh yes, Hinata… you're here on our register. Class B, great. Okay, here's your timetable and letter. The letter has all your dorm information and classes and a map of the school. If you need anything, all the staff are here to help, um, of course!" Suddenly, realisation hit Hinata.
"Ah! You're Takeda-sensei! I met you on the day of the test!" The teacher looked confused for a moment, before smiling that same nervous smile.
"Yes, I remember meeting you. You're quite hard to forget." Hinata was about to question what he meant, but another man, tall, stocky, with blonde hair pulled back, arrived, his hands on his hips. At the same time, another two boys entered through the front doors. Both of them, Hinata remembered, he had seen on the day of the test.
"Suga-san!" He grinned, waving at the friendly face of his acquaintance from July. The grey-haired boy returned the gesture, and the guy next to him smiled a little at Hinata.
"Hianta! Long time no see." Suga greeted, walking up to reception with his company. "This is Daichi. He's a childhood friend of mine." Holding out his hand for Hinata to shake, Daichi gave a wide smile. "Nice to meet you!" Feeling a little intimidated by how much bigger Daichi was than him, Hinata nervously shook his hand.
"Y-yes! You too!"
"Hey, you three!" Called the blonde man - he looked more like a teacher than a student. "I'm coach Ukai, I'm a tap-dance coach here. What class are you in?"
"Class B." Daichi responded.
"Class B." Suga said, as well.
"I'm Class B, too!" Hinata chanted cheerfully. Suga gave him a grin.
"That's great! Looks like us three can stick together." After the students had finished their short conversation, coach Ukai beckoned them over.
"You all got your stuff? Schedules, timetables, all that? Good, I'll show you guys to your main class and dorm and stuff… people from the same class always share dorms, so i bet you guys are together. I mean, we call them dorms, but the max amount in one room is three, so, it's more like shared rooms rather than dorms, in my opinion."
Whilst Ukai rambled, Hinata was staring, wide-eyed, at the interior of the academy. It was amazing! There were pieces of modern art plastered on the hallways, and fake, velvety potted plants lining the corridors. Benches were scattered around, and a few students were looking around and getting familiar with the place. Suga and Daichi walked in front of him, talking to the coach about the schedule of classes, and both of them seemed happy. Hinata felt positive. This was going to be good.
"Alright, this is your main classroom." Ukai told them, opening a shiny oak door, which led into a large, bright room with desks in neat rows and a large blackboard on one wall. There were two computers in the corner of the room, and plush seats on the other side. One wall was entirely made of windows, and looked out over the city where the academy was situated; this flooded the room with light and gave it a calming feeling. "This is where you guys will come in the morning before class, and you can come here to do homework or eat or whatever…"
"Who exactly is our class leader?" Suga asked.
"Ah, that'd be me." Ukai responded, shutting the door once more. "Now, onto your room. Uh, what do your papers say about it?" Hinata quickly shuffled through his letter, finding the bit about his room.
"Ooooh! I'm with Suga-san and someone called Kozume Kenma!" Daichi chuckled, rubbing his neck.
"Guess we're in different rooms, Sugawara." He looked at his paper. "I'm with some guys called Tsukishima Kei and Goshiki Tsutomu. That'll be interesting."
Ukai showed them to their rooms, and Hinata and Suga bid farewell to Daichi, who was in a room down the corridor to them. When they entered their room, the other boy they were sharing with had not yet arrived, so Suga and Hinata claimed beds and began unpacking their things, talking all the while.
"So, Hinata, what score did you get on your exam?"
"I got 74, what about you?"
"Aha, I beat you a little! I got 77!"
"I won't lose to you again!" This line brought a giggle from Suga.
"Hinata, I think we'll get on quite well!" Just as Suga was finishing his sentence, the door opened, and a short, blonde-haired boy walked in, his eyes to the floor. He seemed surprised to see other people in the room, and quickly backed out.
"Apologies… I must have got the wrong dorm…"
"Wait!" Suga called. "Are you Kozume Kenma?" Still not making eye contact, the new boy nodded.
"Welcome, Kenma-kun!" Hinata yelled, jumping up and down. "I'm Hinata Shouyou, we're sharing a dorm!"
"Ah.. great…" Kenma said timidly, his hair covering his eyes. In one hand, he gripped a smart phone, and in the other a small bag.
"You can have that bed there, Kenma." Suga told him, pointing a finger in the direction of said object.
"Ok.. this is the one I'd have chosen anyway…" Kenma responded quietly, walking over and beginning to unpack. Suga and Hinata shared a glance, before returning to their unpacking, too.
"Alright! Welcome to your first proper day!" Ukai clapped his hands, walking around the class. Hinata was seated at the front, in the middle, with Suga behind him and Kenma on his right. Daichi was in the back corner, and he didn't know any of the other people in the class. "Today, we will be doing the basics of dance. I'm gonna hand you all a sheet and I want ya to fill it in as you see fit, got it?" Some of the class responded with a 'yes', whereas others just nodded. Hinata noticed a tall blonde boy with glasses who just stared ahead blankly, his face expressionless.
What a weirdo… he thought, looking at the paper Ukai had just handed him.
Question 1. What is dance?
Answer:
Hinata stared at the blank answer space for a moment, before getting his pencil from his pocket and scribbling down what came to mind.
Answer: Dance is a way you move your body to make music and make people feel different things. Like, when I see people dancing to some sad music it makes me sad too, and when they do upbeat dance like hip hop or tap dance it makes me feel great! And I want to be just like them!
Ukai was back at the front now, scribbling 'Ideas' in the middle of the board.
"Alright! Give me some answers… You, the blonde hair! Not you, glasses, the short one!" Kenma gulped audibly, before reading out his answer in an almost silent voice.
"I think that dancing is a way to express yourself, but anyone can interpret it however they like…"
"Good, good, I like it!" Ukai cheered, writing down bullet points from what Kenma had said. "Uhhh… you there! Grey hair!" Suga stood up, paper held in front of him.
"Dance is how you move in relation to sound. It's how you affect those around you with your artistic movement and how you make them feel differently by the way you perform."
"Interesting, Suga, nice." Responded the teacher as he wrote more on the board. "Shirmpy, what about your answer?"
Though a little offended by the nickname, Hinata stood up, and said in a loud voice:
"Dancing is like how you feel! You dance happy stuff to be happy and sad stuff to be sad." He heard the tall glasses guy snigger at his answer, and blushed in earnest. "And- and dancing is like… you go all 'whoosh' and 'swee' and 'whap'! And it makes people go 'woah!'" This only resulted in laughter from more people, including Ukai.
"Alright, sure." He said, writing down 'whoosh' and 'whap' on the board. Hinata's face was burning as he sat back down.
How embarrassing!
Click. Click. Click.
Stop clicking your pen.
No.
You'll make everyone annoyed.
So what?
Click. Click. Cli-
"Stop with that clicking, will you?" Came the irritated voice of Irihata - the teacher of the S Class.
I heard he got 99% in the test.
Really? Wow, he's so cool!
I wish I was as handsome as he is…
I bet you he's not actually that good at dance.
"Aha, sorry, sir." came the apathetic response of a boy, tall, with chocolatey hair in a series of thick curls.
Maybe he cheated?
Don't be silly. You're just jealous of him!
Of course I'm jealous of him! All the girls adore him!
You sure got that right.
"Anyway, seeing as you disrupted the lesson, will you please read your answer for us, Oikawa-san?"
"As you wish, sir." He stood up, leaving his blank paper on the desk. A few people whispered to one another as he cleared his throat.
"Dance is an amazing thing. A flick of the wrist, a flow of the hair, a leap of the mind, of the body, of the 's what dancing is. Yes, hard work is needed. You sweat and cry and ache. But, it's worth it. It's all worth it.
But sometimes dance can hurt. Not just hurt your body; it can hurt you. Dance is dangerous, it's lethal. The ribbons around your leg are like tight bindings, restricting your movement; the circle of a spotlight is like a circle of predators, prowling towards their helpless prey in hope of a feast; the audience is a raging sea of judgemental people who expect you to be flawless..!" Someone at the back of the class giggled, and Oikawa joined them. "Don't take me seriously, sir, I'm just messing around." He sat back down.
"Well, thank you for that speech, Oikawa. Now, let's go back to normal learning, shall we?"
