Chapter Eleven
After my turn was finished, I was still grinning. Jonathan had gotten every single move right. He didn't drop me, he didn't complain about my weight, and the best part was, he didn't stop me from being friends with who I wanted to be with. He was perfect.
"I swear you and Jonathan were like, the best out of the lot. Even the love birds struggled," Jamie whispered to me.
I just smiled and shrugged. It was good to hear that Tyson and Jacqueline were having difficulty. It made me feel smug. Oh well, Tyson shouldn't have dropped me in the first place.
I looked at my watch. There was still over an hour and a half until jazz. Ugh, time went so slowly here.
"You should think of auditioning for Juliet," Jamie whispered, but not soft enough. One of the Barbie twins heard, and I saw her lean in a little closer to us.
"Nah. I don't think I would be good enough for that. I don't have the right body type," I replied.
"Pfft, body-type my ass. Who cares? You were the best out of that selection, and so far, the best out of the group. That is until you see me," she said with a wink.
I giggled and folded my arms. "I just don't think I will be chosen. I reckon Jacqueline will. She's pretty good."
Jamie snorted. "Please. She has been here for years. She has only been chosen as mains because her mother works here. Her mother was a dancer over in Paris for the Moulin Rouge. One of the top acts. But this year, I heard the teachers say that they were actually going to choose someone this year, not just base it on what she wants."
I sighed, thinking. Barbie One was still listening into us. I glared at her, and she turned away.
"I guess it wouldn't hurt to try out," I said.
"That's a girl," Jamie said.
I laughed and looked up, seeing Jonathan staring at me. He was talking to his friends, and they were pointing at me and grinning as well, hitting Jonathan playfully on the arm. I tried to ignore them, and continued talking to Jamie.
After five more minutes, Ms Reeves had chosen six girls and six boys that she thought were good enough to be the main parts. Luckily for me, I was chosen, and so was Jonathan. Tyson and Jacqueline were chosen as well, but I didn't care about that. I really wanted to be with Jonathan. There was something about him that just made me all happy and feel girly.
He smiled at me when he and I were partnered. He circled his arms around me and brought me into a massive hug.
"You were something special, before," he said to me, lightly brushing my arm with his fingertips. "Pretty good for an Aussie."
"Thanks. You weren't too shabby yourself," I joked.
Ms Reeves interrupted us and told us to work on our next movements. She demonstrated with one of the other teachers, what we had to do. It looked pretty difficult, but hey, that was why I was here, wasn't it?
I stood there, watching carefully. The lifts were amazing; the moves were done with such elegance and grace. Surely I couldn't do this.
I glanced over at Jamie and she gave me thumbs up. She had been picked as well, but by the look on her face, I knew she would rather have been elsewhere.
Ms Reeves and the other teacher had finished, and Ms Reeves signalled for the rest of us to begin practise. Jonathan and I stood facing each other, a huge grin spread across his face. We had to start as if we were going to ballroom dance, so I placed my right hand on his shoulder, and gripped his right hand firmly with my left. Jonathan placed his hand on the small of my back and pulled me in towards him a little more. It was a while before I realised that our bodies were touching. I slowly pulled back a little, trying to not make it look obvious.
The music started, and I looked at Jonathan. He smiled and winked, assuring me that everything was going to be alright. God, I hoped I was picked to be the main, and if I was, I prayed I would be picked to dance with Jonathan. He just had this carefree attitude, and he had faith in me, where everyone else didn't.
My leg stretched through Jonathan and my body, and I stepped forward, following exactly what Ms Reeves had done. I leaned forward, balancing on my front leg, and lifting my back leg up behind me. Jonathan's arms were around my waist, and he lifted me up into the air, high above his head. I flung my leg high, and all of a sudden, I had a flashback to when a few days ago, when I was running away from Tyson. He had picked me up, in a similar way, and I had kicked my legs around, similar to now. I shuddered to myself, and continued my dancing.
I had to play a girl who was playing "hard to get", and I think I was doing well. Jonathan placed me back on the ground, and I ran away, acting flirty and shy. He ran over to me, acting the same way I was. He leaned forward, as if to grab me, and I threw my leg up high, in a nice round kick. Jonathan came and wrapped one arm around my waist, holding me up. I fell back over his arm, just as Ms Reeves had done, and I could hear people gasp. Again, I was lifted above Jonathan's head, and I lifted my leg high in the air, making sure my legs looked like a perfect line.
He placed me back on the floor, and kneeled at my feet. I bent down, and gave him a kiss on the forehead. I could feel my cheeks grow hot, and I turned away. Arms around my waist again, Jonathan's face was against my neck. I wondered if people thought we were actual lovers, because that was what I was thinking at that very minute. I raised my arm, and Jonathan's hand slid down from the tips of my fingers, all the way down to my hips. I stood on my very toe, and he spun me around, hitching my leg against his hip, preparing to lift both my legs off the floor and spin me again. I smiled, and slid my arm against my neck as he spun me around, and around.
Once he put me down, I remembered that I had to walk away. I took a step away from Jonathan, when a hand gripped my lower arm. I looked back, and gave Jonathan a small smile. He slowly pulled me to his body, pressing him firmly against me. He lifted a hand, and slowly brushed the strands of hair from my face, and resting his hand behind my neck. He angled my head to his, and rested his forehead against mine, gently blowing his sweet breath in my face. Our lips were inches from each other, and I realised that this was the part in the act where we would actually have to kiss. I remembered that Jonathan was just acting, and I acted like I was falling in love with him. I closed my eyes, and lifted my face a little closer to his. Our lips were so close, almost touching...
Then Ms Reeves called "Enough!" I relaxed and grinned at Jonathan. I was a bit disappointed, but relieved at the same time. I glanced at Tyson, and saw the look in his eyes. He didn't look happy.
Ms Reeves was so impressed. She looked like she was about to burst into tears.
"That was absolutely beautiful, you two! Oh gosh, you have lifted the bar, I'm telling you that! Please, another round of applause for these two," she exclaimed.
Everyone miserably put their hands together. There were only a few who actually meant it. I had a look at my watch. Just over an hour until jazz. I couldn't wait. I was so excited. I walked over to my bag, and sat down. I was by myself in the corner, but not for long. Tyson came and sat next to me. I groaned and continued watching the next couple. They didn't look that good, and I was surprised that Ms Reeves had chosen them. I could feel Tyson's eyes on me, and I just wanted to hit him. Eventually, I got sick of him staring.
"What?" I hissed.
"You were beautiful," he said.
I turned and smiled at him. "Thank you, brother. See what happens when you have the right partner?"
He rolled his eyes. "You shouldn't have kicked me."
"You shouldn't have called me fat."
"I didn't call you fat!"
"You called me heavy! That counts!"
"You're an idiot, I swear."
I leaned over, so that my mouth was inches from his, noses almost touching. "At least I'm going to get the part."
"You don't know that."
"Neither do you."
"At least I have a chance."
"You want to make a bet?"
"Sure."
"Fine."
"Ok. If I get the part, you have to let me be friends with whoever I want, including Jonathan."
"Ok, and if I get the part, you have to come to my room and make out with me for an hour."
I narrowed my eyes, and he started laughing. "No," I said, firmly.
"Fine. If I win, you have to clean my room, and make my bed, for the rest of the week."
"Can you not do anything yourself?"
"I like the way you make my bed, better."
I frowned and held out my hand. "Deal." Tyson shook it and agreed. Jacqueline called him over, and he waved back. He leaned in, gave me a quick kiss on my cheek, and was gone before I could push him away. I felt my face go red and hot, and looked up to see Jacqueline glaring at me. I smiled and she beamed sarcastically back. I rolled my eyes, and watched the couple in front of us finish off. Jacqueline and Tyson were next. They were holding hands, and beaming like they were going on stage.
They got ready, and already I knew they were going to be great. I groaned to myself, and covered my eyes. I felt someone sit next to me, and looked up to see Jonathan's gorgeous face grinning back at me.
"You nervous?" he asked.
I nodded. "My brother and I have a bet going. If he gets the part, I have to clean his room for the rest of the week."
"And if you get the part?"
I bit my lip, and thought. I didn't want to reveal to Jonathan that Tyson didn't trust him. So I did what any normal person would do. I lied.
"He has to clean my room for the rest of the week."
We laughed together. "I'm sure that won't be too much of a chore for him. Jacqueline will probably be around quite a bit to "help" him, if you know what I mean."
I nodded. "Probably."
I peeked at Tyson and Jacqueline dancing. They looked fantastic, but they weren't as good as I thought they would be. Jacqueline's leg was wrapped around Tyson's body, and her arm was up against his face. Tyson's hand gripped her inner thigh as he spun his partner around. My heart ached with envy, and I had no idea why.
"So, Jordon," Jonathan said, interrupting my thoughts, thankfully. I turned and looked at him. "Yeah?"
His face went red, and he lowered his eyes. This was a side of him that I hadn't seen before. He went quiet and shy.
"I was just wondering if you were doing anything tonight."
My eyes widened, and for a second I imagined that it was just him and me in the room. I looked into his gorgeous green eyes and shook my head. "Nothing that I can think of. Unless we get a tonne of homework."
"That's great. I was just wondering if you maybe wanted to maybe come and see a movie with me tonight."
I immediately thought of Tyson, and I was completely clueless as to why. I mentally shook myself, and nodded my head. "Sure, I'd love to."
A grin lit up Jonathan's face. "Awesome. I'll come to your room at about seven o'clock?"
"Sure. Sounds great."
He gave me smile, and my heart melted. Whenever he gave me that award winning grin, it made me feel so happy and like I had a friend.
I had a look over at Jacqueline and Tyson. They were almost finished. He had brushed a strand of hair away from Jacqueline's face, and leaned his face in. Not wanting to be beaten, Jacqueline raised her face, and her lips met Tyson's. His eyes widened in shock, but I could see him melt. I felt Jonathan tense next to me, and my heart ripped with envy. Before anything else could happen, Ms Reeves dived in and separated them.
"That was...good. Alright, next!"
There were quite a few couples to go through. One couple had to do their dance again, because they kept stuffing up. This couple was a boy about a year older than me, who was quite skinny, and a girl who was a little on the curvy side, but not bigger than me.
There was only five minutes left when the last couple finished, so Ms Reeves let us off early. I followed Jonathan to jazz, and realised that Tyson and Jacqueline weren't in our class.
"So," Jonathan said. "Your brother is going out with Jacqueline, is he?"
I didn't really want to talk about this, but I knew he wasn't going to let it go. He was hurt because Jacqueline had dumped him just a few days before my boss–I mean, my brother, and I arrived here. I felt sorry for him. He had really loved her, and she had just torn his heart out. I knew there was something wrong with her.
"Yeah, I guess. I hope it doesn't last. I don't like her."
He smiled. "Why not?"
"There's just something about her that I don't like. She seems like she has to be in control, like she has to be the leader. She's very...demanding."
"You have that right. She is very self-centred, and she acts like she is absolutely innocent, but it's just a mask."
I nodded. "I agree with that."
He jumped in front of me, and held the door open as I walked in, doing a very dorky curtsey. I started giggling, and walked inside. I was really glad that I had met Jonathan. Very glad.
