Edited 2019
AN: As promised a longer chapter 14. Thank you all for coming back and reading after my weekend break/ move. That is all I have so enjoy the chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own them but if I did the things I would do with a few good men.
Chapter 14
When I got to the auditorium it was surprisingly full. I looked around to find Amelia she was down at the front with Lafayette and Tara. I walked down to where they standing and I passed Preston on the way. "What are you doing here?" I asked surprised.
"I came with a few of the guys because we wanted to support you. I thought that you might like to have a cheering section." Preston said.
"That is nice. Um, I need to go check in with Tara I will see you all later." I retorted walking down to the front. Lala was in all his glorious splendor. He had on a bedazzled purple jersey and do-rag. He also had on a pair of yoga pants and his feet were bare. Tara not to be outdone had on tights, a leotard, shorts, and a wrap. She looked like a classic dancer just in jewel tones.
"Sookie you look like just too cute. Are you gonna do a point routine like I was hoping, and did you think about the JV captainship?" Tara asked as she pulled me into a hug.
"Yeah I am and I would like to. Do y'all normally have an audience for tryouts?" I retorted. I then noticed Godric sitting alone in the second row. He had on a t-shirt and a pair of sleep pants. I waved at him turning back to listen to Tara's answer.
"Actually no we don't usually let anyone into watch but it seems that the boys on the basketball team wanted to support one of our aspiring dancers." She said smirking. I started to blush. "You should go take a seat. We are going to start soon. I will give you a heads up like, I did with Amelia. We are going to have everyone do their solo and tell them to stay or go right away. After we have seen everyone do a solo we are going to teach everyone some new choreography. It is going to be jazz so make sure you have the right shoes on. Also, we are going to test everyone on some basic dance moves, but they will be incorporated into the dance so if they can't do them they won't last. We want to see who has the foundation of training already and who we are going to need to work with. I wanted to ask you if you would be ok with going first so that everyone knows what they have to live up to."
"I could do that it would give me time to recover from the solo. I picked a longer song and I will need a bit to breathe afterward. Oh, and could you two go easy on Godric when he goes up cause I know that he is nervous about trying out. I helped him with his dance so that he had a chance to look like he knew what he was doing. He is not that bad and he can pick up choreography pretty good." I answered taking a deep breath.
"If you helped him I am sure he will be great. Besides Lala and I decided that any guy who went out would go straight to choreography. We want to do a partnering group routine for state so we are going to need all the guys we can get. Thanks for going first I need to get up there so we can start. Can I have your music so we can get going?" I handed her my cd. She handed it to one of the A.V. kids who were running the music and lights for them today. She then hopped up on stage joining Lafayette. I went and took a seat by Godric.
"Hi, Godric here is your music. I am going to be first up so I wanted to make sure you have it." I said quietly. I started lacing up my ballet shoes.
"All right everyone, sit down and shut it. We have a little to say before we start. Thank you all for coming. I know that some of you, are just here to watch that is fine but you need to keep your mouths shut while people are dancing. We don't mind if you cheer when they are finished just don't interrupt them or we will ask you to leave. Now if your name ain't on the sign-in sheet then you aren't dancing. So, when we get down, make sure your name is on the sheet. We will be calling you up based on the order of the list. When we call you, give your music to Clancy our tech guy for today. We will tell you all right away if you have made it to the next round and we will ask you to stay. We are going to have our JV captain go first so you know what we are looking for. Now don't be disappointed if you are not as good as her. She was trained by her grandmother who used to be a ballerina. We will give you all a few minutes to get ready and get your name on the list." Tara said walking off the stage with Lafayette following behind her. They came down and took a seat in the middle of the auditorium. I stood up and walked to the side of the stage. I sat down and stretched.
After a few minutes, I heard Lafayette's voice come over a walkie-talkie that Clancy has on the table with him. "Have Sookie get up on stage so she can start."
"I am guessing you are Sookie I have your cd here which song was it?" Clancy asked looking over at me.
"I am and it is number 11, Iris," I answered climbing the stairs to the stage. I got into position and waited for the music to start. All the nerves I was having earlier were forgotten when the music started. I got lost in the dance forgetting to think about the steps and just danced. I was so calm that when I came to the fouettés I just kept going I ended up doing ten. When I finished the auditorium erupted into applause. I curtsied and walked off the stage.
Lafayette stood up and said "Now that all y'all are scared shitless we will start. Amelia, go do your thing." She got up and danced and got almost as big of applauses as I did. "Go sit down you are through. Gladiola you are up." It went on like that until there were only three people left to go. The room had been pruned down to about by half. I thought that I was going to die when one of Preston's friends Remy Savoy got up there as a joke. The joke was on him when cause Tara put him through giggling. Holly had gotten through also, she had done a more contemporary piece. I had to laugh when Diantha got up there in her usual brightly colored garb and did a dance to Sweet Caroline. Godric was up next and looked like he might puke. Claude had gone right before him and did a dance that would have been appropriate for a strip club to Welcome to the Jungle by Guns and Roses.
"I don't know if I can do this Sookie what if I mess up," Godric asked in earnest.
"You will do fine besides Tara told me that any guy that tried out was going to get put through to choreography, so you have nothing to worry about," I said with an encouraging smile.
"Godric, get your ass up there if you are going to try out or we are moving on." Lafayette hollered from behind us. Godric stood up and walked onto the stage. He did just fine like I thought he would. He even got a nice round of applause. The last two that went up did not make it. There were 37 of us that had made it through to choreography. Tara and Lafayette got back on stage to talk again.
"Thank all of you for trying and giving it your all and some of you for being the funniest thing that I have seen in a long time. Because we had a bigger turn out then we thought we would have we will be doing the choreography in two parts we will teach you a dance tonight and tomorrow we will split you up into small groups to see if you learned it. I know that some of you might not be able to come back tomorrow so for those of you that can't we will watch you do the dance tonight. We will be taking a ten-minute break so you all can change, get a drink, pee or whatever you need to do. Just be back in here ready to go at 4:20 pm." Tara said exiting the stage. She walked down to where Godric and I were sitting. "Sookie we want you to sit in the audience and make notes on what you see. We already have a list with who we think we are going to put on varsity versus JV. Just mark down any comments that you have next to their names. We want to narrow it down to 20 with maybe a few alternates. I also want you to mark who you think should be in which group. We want to see them dance in groups of four. You should go talk to your Gran to let her know that you need to stay for a bit longer. She is sitting at the back of the auditorium with some of the other parents." I looked back to where she indicated and saw Gran sitting with Mrs. Hyde and Amelia's dad Mr. Carmichael. Holly's mother was there too. Amelia had taken her mother's last name because her dad was involved in a little bit everything. He was a very wealthy businessman and really well known so it made it hard for her to do things using his last name. Some people would just swoon over her if they found out trying to get her to put in a good word for them with her father.
"Do you want to come with me your mother is up there too?" I asked Godric standing up to make my way to the back. He nodded his head and followed me. His mother and Mr. Carmichael were having a conversation. Gran stood up to hug me when she saw me approach.
"Sookie you did so well. You did show off a bit there at the end but it was still lovely. You did not tell me that you were going to be the JV captain I am so proud of you." She said drawing me into a big hug.
"I just went for it at the end not really thinking about it. Also, I had not made my mind up till this morning if I wanted to take Tara and Lafayette up on their offer to be JV captain. I need to stay while they teach everyone the dance, they want me to take notes on how they are doing. Would you want to help me with that I would love to have your opinion to help me decide." I said returning her hug.
"I would love to dear. You did well to Godric." She said releasing me from the hug.
"Thank you, Gran. I was really nervous. I am a little worried about the choreography." He said bashfully.
"If you can pick up on the routine like you did with Sookie I think you will do just fine," Gran replied encouragingly giving him a hug as well.
"I am going to run and get a drink before we start again," I said walking out into the hallway and to the drinking fountain. I got a drink and then walked back into the auditorium. A lot of those who did not make it had left along with their friends. Preston and his friends were still sitting there waiting for Remy to get done. Gran had moved down to where Tara and Lafayette had been sitting I made my way down there. I sat down by Gran. I noticed that Gran had a clipboard in her hand. "What is that Gran?"
"Tara wanted me to give this to you so you could write down your thoughts on the dancers," Gran answered. Before I could say anything else Tara and Lafayette came back in and got back onto the stage.
"We are going to get started. Come on up to the stage and find a place to stand. Lafayette will be showing you the moves, I will be walking around to help and Sookie will be taking notes with her illustrious grandmother Adele Hale Stackhouse." Tara said walking to the back of the stage.
"The longer I have ta wait, the harder I will make this on y'all," Lafayette shouted tapping his foot. That got everyone moving. As Lala was teaching them I tried to keep my eyes moving to see how everyone was doing. I had to laugh at how bad some of them were doing. I put down big no's next to their names. They kept working until most of them had gotten the choreography. "Those of you that can't be bothered to come back tomorrow raise your hand, so we know who is gonna need to stay." Eight people raised their hands. "We will take another break for a half-hour so you can go get something to eat and practice. So you best get yourselves back here on time. The rest of you be back here tomorrow by two-thirty to finish this. We will be posting who makes it on the door Friday morning. Now scoot." Lala and Tara both came down to where Gran and I were sitting.
"Well who are the no's so I can focus on those that have a chance," Tara said flopping into the seat next to me. We went through the list discussing how they all were doing. "Well, I think Laffy and I can handle the rest of this for the day so you can get going if you need to."
"This was fun to watch. We are going to have a celebratory dinner tonight for Sookie making JV captain and I would love to have you both. I already invited Sookie's friends Godric, Amelia, and Holly along with their parents. We need to get going so we can get it done. Please be at the house by 7:30. I will see you two later. Come on Sookie we need to stop at the store before we head home." Gran said picking up her pocketbook and starting for the door.
"Bye guys I will see you at dinner," I said grabbing my stuff and running to catch up to Gran. We got in the car and drove to Wal-Mart to pick up some groceries. We decided to grill, so we got a mess of hotdogs and hamburgers with the makings for potato salad, sweet corn, and chips. I still wanted to make a coconut cake so we got the ingredients for that too. When we got home Gran got to work straight away on the eggs and potatoes for the potato salad.
I ran upstairs to get cleaned up. I took a quick shower washing my hair. I put on a simple sundress that was a light blue that almost matched my eyes. I left my hair down to dry. I went back downstairs to get to work. I grabbed one of Gran's aprons and put it on. I got my cake batter mixed and into the oven. I helped Gran chop up everything. We got the salad together by the time I needed to take the cake pans out to let them cool. We then got to work on shucking corn to boil. When we were done the boys had come home and said hello before they went to get cleaned after practice. Gran took out the meat and seasoned the hamburgers. She then sent me out to start the grill. She was a bit picky when it came to grilling food. Gran would only use charcoal cause she said that food cooked on propane did not taste right. At seven I mixed up the frosting for the cake. I was just frosting the first layer when the doorbell rang.
"I will get it Sookie don't you worry just finish that cake. I am going to send Eric out to start grilling the burgers and hotdogs." Gran said going to answer the door. Eric came into the kitchen picking up the platter of meat and the tongs. He also grabbed a second platter to put the cooked meat on and walked out the back door to the grill. Godric and his mother had been at the door. When Gran got them settled into the living room the doorbell rang again. This time it was Amelia, Holly with Amelia's father and Holly's mom. Holly's mom was real young when she had Holly. She was like a lot of girls in Bon Temps that got pregnant young. She had married Holly's father but he had died when we were in fifth grade. He was a truck driver. He had been hauling a gasoline tanker when he got broadsided by a pickup that was being driven by a drunk driver. Holly's mom had a hard time getting over it. She had been a stay at home mom and suddenly had to provide for her daughter. She got a job at the local bar to support them. The one good thing that had come out of that tragedy was that Mr. Cleary had a huge life insurance policy that would help them to pay for things. He had set it up so that they would have enough to pay for day to day things and then put a bunch of it into a trust that Holly could use to go to college.
I was pulled out of my thought by Eric shouting through the door. "Sookie, can you grab me a spatula the tongs are not working to turn the burgers?"
I got out the grill spatula the one that had the long handle so that you did not have to burn your hands to handle the food and took it out to him. "Here you go. Everyone but Tara and Lafayette are here but I expect them any minute. I have no idea where Gran is planning to put everyone. We have you, me, Gran, Jason, Amelia and her Dad, Holly and her mom, Godric and his mother, Lafayette, Tara, Alcide, Hoyt, and John."
"I don't know but I think she is planning on having the guys eat in the living room. You look pretty in that dress by the way. I am almost done here do you need any help getting things set?" He postulated turning a burger.
"Thank you I wanted to be comfortable tonight. No Gran decided that we would use paper plates and stuff so we did not have to work so hard to clean. We are going to set it up like a buffet so that it is easier to deal with basically, fewer dishes to do later." I said heading back inside. Gran was getting another round of drinks when I came in. I took off my apron and hung it up.
"Sookie, can you take this into the living room for me so I can finish setting things up in here? I am going to let the boys eat in the living room. You and your friends can sit in the dining room us adults will just suffer sitting at the kitchen table. I have told everyone where they were going to be eating." Gran said handing me the tray of drinks. I walked it into the crowded living room. Jason and the guys were on the floor sitting against the wall. I must have missed the door ring again cause Lala and Tara were sitting on the sofa with Amelia and Holly. Godric was sitting in the club chair. His mother, Holly's mom, and Mr. Carmichael were sitting on the other sofa across from them. That left me with the rocking chair or the love seat. I put the tray down on the coffee table and took a seat on the love seat. Gran usually sat in the rocking chair so I left it for her. Eric came in and looked around for somewhere to sit. He came and sat down with me on the love seat putting his arm on the back of the seat.
"Gran told me to tell you that everything is ready. So we should have everyone go get some food." He leaned over and whispered in my ear. I shivered a little at his closeness. I may have decided that I wanted to wait to date him but that did not mean that I was not affected by his presences.
"Eric says that Gran has everything ready so we can go and get plates," I said standing up. The parents in the room went first since it was only polite. Then the girl, Lala, Godric and I went followed by the boys. Everyone loaded up and went to their designated rooms. I sat down and the table with Godric on one side and Lala on the other. The girls sat on the other side.
"Since I don't feel like making any of you wait. I am gonna put you out of your misery all of you are on the team." Tara almost squeaked at us.
"Oh good, I was afraid that you would get rid of me after the choreography," Godric said sounding relieved.
"Sugar you were one of the better boys were had up there," Lafayette said reassuringly. "I wanted to ask you how do you feel about doing a partner dance. You would have to lead but I think that you could do that."
"How would I have to partner?" He asked.
"Um well, I think that you and Sook here would be a good match you are just tall enough to partner her and not look silly. Well if that is ok with you Sookie?" Lafayette asked.
"I am ok with that. I would rather it be him or you than the others. Dancing with Claude would be ok but I don't really know the others." I answered.
"I did not think about you yummy cousin Sook. You have to tell him that I just loved his dance today. I would go to his jungle any time if I got that kind of welcome." Lala retorted. We all kept talking until we were done eating. I had noticed the boys going back for thirds when I remembered my cake. I got up and went into the kitchen to cut it for serving. When I walked in all the adults were laughing.
"Gran, I am going to cut up the cake would y'all like yours now or prefer to wait?" I asked going to find a server and knife.
"I think that we will take ours now so that the boys don't eat it before we have any." She answered. I got to work cutting up the cake and putting it on small plates. I took four over to the table. They thanked me and I went back to cutting. I loaded up two trays to carry into the other room. One I sat at the table and the other I took into the living room for the boys. They descended on the tray muttering thank you before I even had it down on the coffee table. I took the tray back to the kitchen and picked up some clean forks for us. I hated to have to use a fork that I had eaten onions with for dessert. I sat down at the table and enjoyed the cake that I made.