Making Our Mark

Chapter 9: Learning

"You look fantastic."

I smiled at Brynn through my full-body mirror before glancing back at my reflection, admiring the flowing black Latin dress with short sleeves that hugged my every curve. Ruffles went down to just above my knees. The dress was tied behind my neck and had a triangular cut-out, exposing part of my back. It lacked the usual Swarvosclaw crystals that typically adorned my competition dresses, but was sexy just like them.

"How are you feeling about your first dance class?" Brynn asked, watching me pull my wavy locks into an upper ponytail. "Teaching it, I mean."

"Okay, I guess," I answered with my hands full of hair. "A little bit anxious though because I've never done something like this before."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll do great," Brynn told me optimistically as she pushed herself off of her stomach to sit upright on my bed.

"I appreciate your positivity, Brynn," I told her, securing my ponytail with a scrunchie that matched my dress. "Hopefully, I won't be too tired after class because I want to get back to studying for midterms."

"What's your first midterm?" Brynn asked.

"Our Introduction to Literary Studies one next week," I answered, turning to her. "You?"

"Same," Brynn replied. "I heard it's a doozy."

I nodded in agreement. "Supposedly, if you write down everything that Professor Rocasolano says and regurgitate it onto your exam paper, you should be golden."

"Basically," said Brynn. "It's hard to keep up with her. I don't see how you have managed to do that."

"Why do you think I barely talk to anyone in that class?" I asked with a laugh.

"Hey, that ball of fur that sits behind me is really cute," Brynn protested defensively. "Can you blame me?"

"Hey, anything Professor Rocasolano says is fair game for exams," I reminded her. "I don't know about you, but I'm not one to gamble."

"True," said Brynn. She paused before asking, "Would you mind if I compare my notes with yours and see if I missed anything important that I should write down?"

"I don't mind at all," I answered with a smile. "You're welcome to do that while I'm gone and we can study together after I get back from class, that is, if you're feeling up to it."

"I would like that," said Brynn, "but won't the party make things too noisy?"

I raised an eyebrow at her. "What party?"

"Violet said Sulley plans on throwing a party on the third floor of the dorm building tonight," Brynn explained. "I'm surprised you didn't hear about it considering that you live here."

"I don't really talk to anyone in the building to be honest," I admitted. Whenever I was in the building, it was because I was either sleeping, doing schoolwork, or studying in my dorm. Any socializing that I did took place elsewhere on campus. "I'm surprised to hear about a party being thrown on a school night though. Do you know what for?"

Brynn shrugged. "No idea, but Sulley couldn't wait until the weekend to throw it, I've heard."

I frowned at yet another reason for disliking the blue behemoth. "Well, we're here on the fifth floor and the party's on the third, so a floor between us and the party floor will give us the peace and quiet that we need."

"Sounds good to me," Brynn agreed.

A sudden knock at the door caused Brynn and me to exchange looks; hers asked if I was expecting anybody and mine told her that I had no idea who was at the door.

"I'll get it," I spoke up, heading straight for the door. "My Introduction to Literary Studies binder is on the middle shelf of my bookshelf if you want to get started comparing notes."

Brynn nodded, hopped off of the bed, and wandered over to the bookshelf.

Opening the door, I came face-to-face with a monster hidden behind a beautifully-arranged bouquet of fresh flowers: a mix of pink tulips and white gardenias in a glass mason jar filled halfway with water. "May I help you?"

"Special delivery, Miss Worthington," the monster announced whose voice I recognized as belonging to the one who worked the front desk of the building.

I blinked in surprise. "For me, Mister Daniels?"

"Yes," Mister Daniels answered promptly. "A delivery monster from Floral Designs of Monstropolis just dropped it off at the front desk."

"Oh," I murmured as I accepted the bouquet and revealed his smiling face. "Thank you."

"My pleasure, Miss Worthington," Mister Daniels replied cheerfully. "Have a pleasant evening."

"You too," I told him before stepping back and shutting the door.

Brynn, from her place by the bookshelf, stared at the bouquet in my arms in awe. "Wow, whose eye did you catch now?"

I shrugged in response as I placed the vase onto my desk next to my messenger bag. It seemed like an ordinary bouquet, but not to someone who knew the meanings behind flowers from doing a lot of reading in her spare time. While the white gardenias symbolized good luck, the pink tulips represented good wishes and confidence. I silently questioned if these flowers were intentionally selected to convey the message that it did.

"There's a card," Brynn pointed out, jabbing a claw towards a piece of cardstock resting between the leaves of the bouquet.

I reached forward to pluck the card in question and found four words scrawled on it.

Bueña suerte esta noche!

"So," said Brynn, rocking on her heels in anticipation, "who's it from?"

"There's no name," I answered, though I had a feeling I knew who sent the bouquet.

Brynn took me by surprise by swiping the card from my claws to read it. "Good luck tonight. That's what it says."

"I know what it says, Brynn," I told her. "You're not the only Spanish Studies major in this room."

A smirk began to form on Brynn's face as she shifted her gaze from the card back to me. "Does Javier know that you're the new Latin Fusion dance instructor?"

"Yeah, he does," I responded simply. I was not about to tell Brynn that Javier was going to be one of my students. Only Violet and I were aware of Javier's interest in Latin dancing and I fully intended for it to stay that way for as long as Javier wanted it to remain a secret. One of the most important practises of a teacher was exercising confidentiality.

"Does he know that your first class starts tonight?" Brynn asked.

"It came up in conversation," I answered nonchalantly.

Brynn clasped her hands together, her eyes alight with pure happiness. "Aww, how romantic!"

I smiled, amused by her behaviour. "I don't know about romantic, but it was very thoughtful of him to send flowers."

Sending me a knowing look, Brynn said, "He really likes you."

"I know that," I replied, fingering the soft petals of the tulips.

"Well, what are you going to do about it?" Brynn asked in an attempt to prompt some reaction to Javier's sweet gesture from me.

"Nothing now," I answered, rummaging through my bag to make sure that I had everything that I needed: my dorm room key, my Latin dance shoes, my choreography notes, my laptop, and the file of documentation given to me by Violet. "I have to get going or I'll be late."

"Fine," Brynn relented; however, the coy smile lingered on her lips, "but we're so discussing this later."

"There's nothing to discuss!" I exclaimed with an air of slight exasperation as I slipped my leather jacket on and swung my bag over my shoulder. Never before was I thankful to have a reason to cut a conversation short.

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, honey," said Brynn, hiding her grin behind my Introduction to Literary Studies binder now in her hands.

I shook my head before opening the door and exiting my dorm room to begin the short and silent trek over to the campus fitness center, which was located within walking distance of the dorm building. As I walked, I shifted my focus from Javier and the flowers to my upcoming lesson, mentally running through the choreography and lesson plan in my mind to ensure that I would be fully prepared by the time I arrived.

The fitness center lobby, which was brightly lit and had various sports jerseys and memorabilia lining the walls, was quiet when I arrived. The leather armchairs were empty as well as the adjacent room that housed the indoor basketball courts and track. A flat screen television was hanging from the ceiling, with the screen changing every ten seconds to promote upcoming campus events like dance classes and the football game against Fear Tech.

Violet was flipping through some files at the front desk when she looked up and smiled at the sight of me. "Hey, Danica, ready for you first class?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," I answered with a smile as I approached her.

"Cool," said Violet as she looked up and smiled at me. "I'll let you go and set up in Studio D. Holler if you need anything, okay?"

"Will do," I promised before leaving her to her administrative-related duties.

A framed map of the fitness center hanging nearby told me to head down the hallway of bleached-white walls next to the main desk. Coming across a fork, the directional sign hanging above me instructed me to turn down the hallway to the right. I passed Studios A, B, and C before finally coming across Studio D.

"D is for dance," I murmured to myself. Exhaling any last-minute jitters, I opened the door and stepped inside.

Studio D was a spacious rectangular room with ceiling-high mirrors plastered along the walls and a tessellated hardwood floor. A sound system sandwiched a table that had some extension cords dangling from it, which was probably where I would be able to hook up my laptop to play music when needed. Wooden cubbies lined the wall behind the sound system, presumably to store bags and any unused gear during classes.

After removing my laptop and Latin dance shoes from my bag, I tucked my bag into one of the cubbies. I strapped on my dance shoes and then proceeded to connect my laptop to the sound system. As setup progressed, I felt myself getting more excited and nervous. I was moments away from kicking off my first dance class as an instructor and I was really hoping that it would go well.

I was testing the volume on the sound system when an enthusiastic voice greeted me from the doorway.

"Danica!"

Glancing up from my laptop, I smiled brightly at Terri and Terry walking into the studio, wearing sweatbands around their heads that matched their sweater. "Guys, what brings you by?"

"We signed up for your beginner-level dance class," Terri explained with a smile. "I was so excited when Violet told us that you would be the one teaching it."

"That's great!" I exclaimed happily. "It'll be nice to know some friendly faces in the studio."

"Yeah, you made dancing kinda fun when we went out to the Chili Steppers Dance Club," Terry admitted, "so I figured going along with this because Terri wanted to take the class wouldn't be so bad."

I smiled kindly. "I'm not going to lie though, guys, I'm definitely a bit nervous about this first class."

"Why?" Terri asked curiously. "You're a great teacher."

"Thanks," I answered sincerely before continuing, "but I've never taught a class before, let alone a dance class. I just want things to go well."

"And they will," Terri promised with an abundance of certainty. "If tonight is anything like Latin Night was, your classes will surely become popular with the campus community."

I rested a hand over my beating heart. "You guys are so sweet."

The twins and I continued to chat as monsters started filing in at different times, some looking hesitant and others exuding excitement. I made sure to greet each of them with a nod of acknowledgement and a reassuring smile as they passed me to tuck their bags into cubbies; if I learned anything thus far from my education classes, it was how important it was to show your students that you were happy to be there and happy to see them. How I behaved as a teacher would shape the environment in which my students learned and I wanted to foster a safe environment in which they could learn how to dance and make mistakes without fearing judgement from their peers.

Terry was in the middle of telling me a funny story about Art when I noticed that the analog clock on the wall read seven o'clock on the dot. Me noting the time was the cue that Terry took to cut the story short and walk over with Terri to the middle of the studio where the other twelve students were gathered, some chatting amicably with each other and some waiting patiently for the class to start.

Moving to stand in front of the table, facing the students, I realized then and there that I had pretty much decided on everything for today's class – the warmup, the choreography, the cool down – except for how I was going to introduce myself. I thought back to how I addressed the different dance teachers that I had over the years such as Madame Kotova of the Monstropolis Ballet Academy and Miss Lavinia of the Kenna Grace Dance Centre. Giving out my last name was out of the question for personal reasons. I gazed out at the students standing before me and remembered that I was just like them; students at Monsters University. Even though I was their dance teacher, I wanted them to be able to relate to me and I knew that they could do that better without the formalities.

After taking a deep breath and letting it out, I said in a loud and chipper voice, "Good evening everyone!"

That got the attention of the monsters before me; all the chatter ceased immediately and everyone, including the twins, watched me expectantly for my next words.

I smiled at their attentiveness and continued, "My name is Danica and I'll be your dance instructor for the Latin Fusion beginner-level dance class for the rest of the school year. Please note that this is a safe and judgement-free environment. I would like for all of us to have fun dancing and not worry about what others may think of us."

Once I uttered that statement, I noticed that many of the students breathed sighs of immense relief, including those whom I recognized from the campus's Greek community. It made me smile to see some of the fraternity brothers and sorority sisters venture outside of the Greek community to seek extracurricular involvement; it indicated that they knew that there was more to life than just scaring human children and partying.

"So," I said with a clap of my hands, "let's do a little warm-up before I introduce you to the basics of the cha-cha-cha."

By the time we reached the halfway point of the lesson, I was unsure which surprised me more: my ability to clearly convey the choreography through spoken words and demonstrations or the rate at which the students were able to pick up the steps and performing them repeatedly in hopes of having them down pat by the end of the class. The icing on the cake was that they all appeared to be having fun, so much fun that I did not catch any of them glance at the clock on the wall to count down the time that remained until class ended.

After introducing the closed basic, the New Yorker, and the spot turn following the warm-up, I instructed the students to pair up and rehearse the basic steps. All of the pairs had scattered around the studio, allocating enough space between pairs to practise the steps without bumping into each other. I circulated the studio to observe each of the pairs up close, studying their footwork and technique and offering both compliments and carefully-chosen words of constructive criticism.

"Good job George," I praised the JΘX brother of orange fur, "but remember to transfer your weight to the right foot on the count of three when you're doing the New Yorker, yeah?"

George nodded before turning back to his choice of partner: the one-eyed Debbie Gabler from Slugma Slugma Kappa. Both sported their Greek gear with pride as they practised, counting the steps out loud as they danced.

"What a graceful spot turn, Sophia," I commended a petite squid-like monster of shocking pink who was an avid yogi based on the gossip reports courtesy of Brynn.

"Thanks!" Sophia chirped as she resumed the series of steps with her partner: a Gamma Roar Roar fraternity brother.

A sudden yelp caused me to whip around in alarm. Hopping repeatedly on one foot nearby was Crystal, one of two redheads from Python Nu Kappa. The look of agony on her face, her gritted teeth, and the manner in which she gripped her other foot told me all that I needed to know.

"Sorry, Crystal!" said her partner: a brawny monster from the varsity football team with rather large feet and thick legs.

"Everything okay?" I asked, drifting over to the duo immediately.

"He kicked my foot!" Crystal shrieked, sounding very much like a kindergartener who had gotten her toy stolen.

"I said I was sorry!" the football player told her, seeming peeved by her outburst.

I smiled gently and said to the duo, "This wouldn't be the first foot injury to occur during a dance lesson."

"Klutz," Crystal mumbled, shaking her sore foot as though she could eradicate the pain in doing so.

"Ah, ah, ah," I said in a chiding manner, "this is a judgement-free environment, remember?"

Crystal sighed and nodded before giving her silky red hair a flip over her slender shoulders.

"Now, let's try the basics again," I suggested as calmly and encouragingly as I could. "The steps are choreographed in a way that allows a pair of monsters to dance together without worrying about breaking any part of the foot." Turning to the football player, I continued, "Danny, try taking smaller steps from this point forward."

Danny nodded, taking Crystal's right hand in his left and resting his right hand just under her left shoulder blade.

Shifting my attention to Crystal, I said, "Crystal, keep your eyes on Danny and trust that his foot placement will improve with this little tweak."

"And if they don't?" Crystal asked, giving Danny a look of apprehension.

"They will with smaller steps," I promised with a reassuring smile, looking between her and Danny. "Trust me. It's all about trust."

Crystal bit her bottom lip and reluctantly got back into a closed hold with Danny, resting her left set of manicured claws over his right bicep.

"Okay, I'll count you both in," I told the duo as I began to clap. "Five, six, seven, eight…"

On the next beat of one, Crystal and Danny kicked off the routine with a series of closed basics. As I examined their footwork, they partially broke hold and performed a set of New Yorkers, mumbling the count of the beats under their breaths. After the third New Yorker, they fully broke hold to perform a spot turn to my right, returned to closed position, shuffled to my left in a cha-cha-like manner, and finally executed another spot turn to my left before ffinding themselves back in hold.

"Yes!" I cheered, beaming with pride at their success. "You guys did it!"

"Thank goodness!" Crystal exclaimed, possibly at the miraculous survival of her unbruised foot.

"Hell yeah!" Danny boomed, punching a fist into the air triumphantly.

I exhaled, feeling completely relaxed at the sight of the six pairs of students repeating the series of basics steps that I had taught them. I, as a teacher, lived for moments like these. Seeing someone accomplish a goal, especially someone who doubted their abilities from the beginning, was what made the profession so rewarding. If the beginner's class could accomplish the basics in just one class, I was looking forward to seeing what they could do by the end of the school year.

Clapping my hands to get the attention of all the monsters in attendance, I announced, "Good job with the steps everyone! Let's see if you can dance them in time with the music."

I was both surprised and touched at the sight of the disappointed expressions on my students' faces when the time came to dismiss them from class (I took that as a sign that they had enjoyed my first lesson and were reluctant for it to end). They packed up and left with the excitement to return next week. Those from the Greek community hoped to see me at the party that Sulley was hosting back at the dorm building, which I still had no intention of attending.

While I unstrapped my dance shoes and placed them into my bag, Terri and Terry stayed behind to keep me company and talk about the class. We ended up leaving the campus fitness center together, but split up near the troll bridge to continue on to our separate destinations; them to the Oozma Kappa house and me to my dorm building.

The journey back to my dorm appeared to have flown by and I think it was because I was mentally reflecting on my first dance class that I had taught: what went well and what I could improve on. It only really hit me that I had arrived back at the dorm building when the elevator in the lobby dinged and its doors slid open to accommodate a dragon-like monster and me. As the elevator ascended, I relaxed, knowing that I was mere moments from being back in the comfort of my room and getting back to studying.

The elevator slowed to a stop on the third floor. When the doors slid open, exposing the events that was taking place outside of it, my fellow elevator occupant cheered happily and zipped out to join in the fun or in the chaos depending on whom you asked. Curiosity definitely possessed me because I soon found myself stepping out of the elevator to check out just how wild Sulley's party was getting.

Twisted blue streamers ping ponged from one wall to the next. About two dozen yelling monsters and a powerful rock tune filled the hallway. One of the monsters, a pudgy orange one, was proudly wearing a lampshade as he violently jammed away to a broom as though it was an electric guitar, his actions fuelled by the enthusiastic cheers of the monsters around him.

"What the –" I stuttered, completely appalled at the scene playing out before me.

A scrawny chartreuse monster with four tentacles zipped down the hallway, armed with cans of silly string, spraying its contents on everyone and everything that he passed.

"Hey!" I cried in outrage as I dragged my claws through my ombre ponytail to comb out the green and yellow silly string that fell onto me.

No one seemed to have heard my objection over Roy's screaming; he was at one end of the hallway, decked out in an MU varsity jacket rather than in his usual JΘX one, raising his fists in dominance and excitement. From behind him, a ball-like triclops of chartreuse and spikes and a teal-coloured squid with only two tentacles for appendages were dangling from the ceiling and appeared to have no concern for their safety, much less for the safety of anyone else.

From behind a crowd of partygoers, Sulley emerged with an evil grin on his lips and a bottle of gleww in one of his hands. A glint of determination was evident in his eyes as he passed me by. He clearly had a plan formulating in his mind and, whatever it was, I had a sinking feeling that some poor sap was going to fall victim to it and I really did not want to be around when that happened.

"Chica!"

Recognizing the accent, I turned around and watched Javier maneuver his way around monsters to get to me. As he got closer, I felt my eyes widen even more upon realizing that he was not wearing his RΩR cardigan. In fact, he was shirtless and seemed to have no problem partying with his sculpted chest on display. I actually found it quite distracting.

"How was your first dance class?" Javier asked once he was directly in front of me.

I cleared my throat when I realized that the words that I wanted to say in response were not coming out. "Fine, very fine."

Javier chuckled. "Glad to hear that."

"Yes, well, um" I began as I forced my gaze up to his eyes, "thank you for the flowers."

"Ah, you got them?" Javier asked.

"Yeah, I hot them," I replied before quickly correcting myself. "Got them! Yes, I got them!" I coughed and added, "I, um, really appreciate the gesture."

Javier grinned amusedly at my flustered behaviour. "Stay for the party?"

I shook my head. "Can't, Brynn's waiting for me in my dorm. We're going to squeeze in more review for midterms."

"More studying?" Javier asked, tilting his head at me.

"Yeah, Brynn ab, I mean grabbed, a book from the library over the weekend that might come in handy," I stuttered before shaking my head in disappointment at my second Freudian slip in less than a minute.

Javier nodded, looking as though he was restraining a laugh. "Mmhm."

I decided to joke a bit in an attempt to diffuse the awkwardness that I felt was trying to suffocate me. "Don't party too hard. You have midterms coming up too. The last thing Johnny wants is one of his brothers bringing shame to the RΩR fraternity."

"I promise I won't," Javier vowed with another chuckle, "but you should get some rest too if you want to kick tail on your midterms."

"Of course," I replied, my voice a few octaves higher than where I wanted them to be. "I mean, Brynn and I are just going to study a bit and then get some chest, I mean, rest!"

Javier arched an eyebrow at what I would call my sudden lack of composure and smirked widely. "Alright, well, bueñas noches."

I simply nodded in response, not trusting my mouth to say anything further, and turned around to slap the up elevator button rather forcefully. I wasted no time in darting inside once the doors slid open and jabbing the button that would take me to the fifth floor. As the doors slid closed again and the elevator began to ascend, I leaned against the back of the car and took deep breaths, but was unable to dissolve the image of Javier and his impeccable physique that had recently formed in my mind.

Upon arriving at the fifth floor, I bolted out of the elevator and down the hallway to my dorm. I fished out my key and jammed it into the keyhole. Once I heard the unmistakable sound of the door unlocking, I dashed into my room and slammed the door behind me, caring less about disturbing the monsters who lived on the same floor and may have already turned in for the night.

"Easy there, honey," Brynn spoke up as I breezed past her spot at my desk. "Where's the fire?"

Ignoring her question, I tossed my bag onto my bed and then collapsed next to it, facing upward. I closed my eyes and exhaled again, this time rather loudly.

"You okay, Danica?" Brynn asked, her voice exuding concern. "You look like you just saw a human kid."

"Worse," I told her, my eyes falling closed again. "I just saw Javier without a shirt on."

Brynn catcalled, grinning wickedly. "And?"

I sighed in defeat. "Holy fangs, he's hot."

Brynn laughed heartily. "Ah, so he's the fire."

I responded with a frustrated, "Ugh!"