The Last Dance

by Kiki Hamilton

  MIRA PICKED ME up in Jefferson an hour later. If my mom knew Mira and I were having a fight, she didn’t let on.

  “It’s a school night, Ivy. Is your math done?”

  “Yes, Ma. And I practiced my piano at school.” I didn’t tell her what I’d practiced, however. “Plus, I’ve already done violin.” I leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I won’t be too late.”

  “Is Mira still dating that nice boy we met at your concert?”

  I turned back in surprise. There had to be something strange in the water. Or maybe—and this thought scared me a bit—my mother knew a lot more about my life than I gave her credit for. Sneaky, that woman.

  “No, Ma. She never dated him. They’re just friends.”

  “Ummm hmmm.” My mother was knitting a sweater for Tuan. She didn’t look up from her flying knitting needles. “Don’t be late.”

  “I gotta go, Ma. Love you.” I ran for the door. I couldn’t possibly decipher the coded messages my mother might be sending me right now. I was already on emotional overload.

  I ran down the porch steps toward Jefferson, excited and nervous, too. It was so weird— everything was just exactly the same as always, but it was all so different, too. I was going to let Mira do the talking first. Hopefully, she wouldn’t yell at me. Or call me names. Inside my mittens I crossed my fingers. On both hands.

  I opened the door and peered into the car. “Hey.”

  Mira looked over at me and smiled. Even though she’d re-done her makeup I could tell she’d been crying. “Hey.”

  I gasped. “Mira, what are you wearing?”

  Mira looked down at her outfit as if she couldn’t remember. Regular skinny leg blue jeans, a plain black hoodie—even her hair was all one color: sort of a blondy-brown. I’d never seen her look so bland before. I hated to admit it, but she was dressed like me.

  “Oh yeah. Q said the same thing the other day.”

  I stiffened at the mention of Q.

  She waved her hand, motioning for me to get in the car. “Are you going to get in? It’s freezing out there.”

  I slid into the seat and slammed the door shut. Mira shifted into gear and glided backwards out of my driveway.

  “Wow.” I looked at her in surprise, forgetting I was going to let her talk first. “That was smooth.”

  She braked to a stop and pushed the clutch in as she ground the gears into first. “I know,” she grimaced. “It only seems to happen in reverse though.” Then she let the clutch out and we jerked down the road.

  It was dark, but not as dark as normal because we had a snow sky. When it snowed around here, it was like there was a big light on above the clouds, that illuminated everything, so you could see perfectly well, even though it was normally pitch black at nine o’clock at night.

  I sat with my hands on my lap, my fingers crossed inside my red mittens, and waited for Mira to start talking. I had no idea where we were at in the fight. She had to give me a sign.

  She turned the corner and shifted into third as we motored past the high school. The stadium, which was used as a community sports field, was lit up for a soccer game. I could see people huddled in the stands.

  She took a deep breath. “Q asked me to apologize to you.”

  I froze. This was not what I’d expected. “He did?”

  “He told me that you told him that you wouldn’t date him because I liked him and that I was being a selfish pig for being mad at you for no reason.”

  I frowned as I tried to decipher what she’d just said. “Q said that?”

  “Well—not exactly. But that’s what he meant.” We sailed past the dark windows of the South Street mini mart where kids went to buy candy and pop during lunch, even though Griffin was a closed campus. “And he was right.”

  I unclenched my fingers a little bit. Not all the way – but a little.

  “I was wrong, Ivy and I’m sorry.” She stared straight ahead as she drove. “I shouldn’t have acted like that. I shouldn’t have said those things. Q’s never been interested in me. Not even for a minute. It’s always been you.” We turned and drove past the graveyard. I could see all the grave markers stretching across the field in the milky light. “I guess I’ve always known it, too—I just didn’t want to admit it.” She peeked a glance at me. “Can you ever forgive me?”

  I was silent. I wasn’t sure what to make of all her ramblings about Q. Since when did she have a window into his soul? Based on this afternoon, not only did Q not have any interest in me, I don’t think he even liked me. I pulled at the end of my mittens. “Will you take back the slut remark?”

  “Oh yeah, that.” She gave me a guilty look. “That was pretty bad, wasn’t it?”

  “Yeah.” I looked out the window. It still hurt to think about it.

  Mira gripped the steering wheel with both hands and stared straight ahead. “You know I didn’t really mean it. I was distressed.”

  “As Ron would say, you were completely mental.”

  “Harry said that.”

  “Whatever.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Okay.”

  Mira jerked her head toward me, her face lit up with hope. “You forgive me?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Oh, get the Twinkies out of the back seat! It’s time to celebrate.” She stared talking fast, suddenly sounding like the old Mira. “I’ve been sick to my stomach the whole entire break.” She downshifted to make a turn and we jerked around the corner. “I didn’t have anything to do, and I didn’t have anyone to talk to and there was this terrible night with Tank and CJ was there and he had to save me—” she groaned— “it was like I didn’t even know who I was anymore.” She waved at her jeans. “And look at how I’m dressed!”

  I uncrossed my fingers and reached for the screamer strap. “Yeah, I missed you too.”

  At that moment snowflakes drifted down out of the sky and landed on the windshield.

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Kellen

  First period Calculus was weird without Ivy there but Jesse sat by me again. He kept a running dialogue of cracks about Mrs. Cooper that sort of made me laugh. When I wasn’t thinking about Ivy. Which was never.

  Science was science—enough said. I walked into French and scanned the room for Mira. She was sitting on the far side again, doodling in her notebook. I walked over and sat next to her. She wore a green fitted jacket over a short checked skirt. Purple striped socks stretched over her knees and her hair was pink. I took her bizarre outfit as a good sign.

  “Hey Mira. You look..um..nice.”

  She looked up and smiled. “Hey Q.” She pointed. “Your leg must be feeling better, you don’t even limp anymore.”

  I nodded. “I’m gettin’ there.”

  She went back to doodling in her notebook. “I talked to Ivy last night.”

  I tried not to show my interest. “How’d that go?”

  Mira looked over at me and smiled. I noticed for the first time that her eyes were green. I wondered if that was her real color or not. They were pretty. “Good. We’re friends again.”

  “Good.” I nodded at her, a small bubble of hope rose in my chest. “And Mira—thanks.”

  She smiled. “You’re welcome.”

  CJ FLAGGED ME down after third period. “Hey Peterson, I heard Laurel showed up at your house on New Year’s Eve.”

  I don’t know why I was surprised he knew. There were no secrets in this school. I wondered how long it would take to get out that Laurel and I had ditched school together yesterday.

  He peered closer at me. “Are you guys going out again?”

  “No.” I kept moving down the hall. “Were you lookin’ for me?”

  “Oh, yeah—” he jerked a thumb over his shoulder— “Coach wants to see you.”

  “Okay. Thanks. Catch you later, man.” I was headed to the gym for fourth period so I made a detour to Coach’s office. As I knocked on the blue metal doorframe I wondered if Laurel would tell people about yesterday. My stomach twisted.
Nothing had happened. We’d just driven down to the beach and spent the day there. It was over a two hour drive to the ocean and I’d gone there partly so no one would see us together. What would Ivy think if she knew?

  I pushed the thought away. Why did I care? She was going out with Brandon. I leaned my head in the door. “CJ said you wanted to see me?”

  Coach looked up from where he was working on a diagram of something. His flattop was the same year round, as were his white and blue Griffin Eagles t-shirt and dark blue gym shorts over bowed legs.

  “Oh, Kellen. Yes, yes, come in.” He set his clipboard aside and shuffled through some papers. “I’m glad Charlie found you. I’ve got some…..” he paused as he dug through another stack of papers, “…news for you.”

  I sank into the plastic chair in front of the Coach’s desk and sucked in the sweat-stained air of the gym. The place was so familiar it was like a second home. Hard to believe I’d be leaving forever in less than six months. “About what, Coach?”

  He peered at me over a nose that had been broken more than once. “Your college football career, of course.”

  A chill raced through my body as my heart started pounding in my chest.

  “I’ve received two more letters of commitment for you, son.” He slapped his hand down on the desk. “It’s your pick, Kellen. You’re the most-recruited athlete we’ve ever had at Griffin, even after your injury. Those training films we made last week paid off. The scouts could see that you were as strong as ever.”

  He pulled two letters from the pile of junk on his desk and held them out for me to take. “From Stanford and Oregon State University. Take these home and talk it over with your parents. Tell them to call me if they want to discuss any of these offers.”

  Coach stood up and stuck out his hand. “It’s been an honor to coach you, Kellen. You’re an exceptional athlete with a very bright future ahead of you. Play it smart, son, and you’ve got it made. You can go to the college of your choice.”

  I shook the coach’s hand and accepted the letters. “Thank you, sir. It’s been an honor to have you coach me.”

  “Aw, get out of here.” He looked embarrassed but pleased at the same time. “Go celebrate, kid.”

  I looked at the letters as I exited the room. Both had a fancy letterhead with a building etched on the top by the name of the school. They were all addressed to Mr. Kellen Peterson, care of Coach Branson, Griffin High School. I carefully folded them and slipped them inside my jacket.

  MY NEW FIFTH period class was an AP English Lit class. I’d missed the entire first semester but the teacher had okayed for me to start second semester as they had started a new curriculum. I walked in seconds before the bell rang. I glanced around as I headed for the back of the room and my eyes riveted on a familiar dark head. My heart skipped a beat. Ivy was in this class?

  I slid into one of the two vacant seats in the back row trying to decide how I felt about that. Just as the bell rang, Laurel rushed in the door. She was wearing her cheerleader outfit for a basketball game tonight and her long legs were lean and tan—even in January.

  “Sorry, Mr. Pitman,” she called out as she rushed to her seat, as if she and the teacher were best buds. She slid into the desk next to mine. “Hi,” she whispered at me. “What a surprise.” There was a grin on her face that made me think that somehow she already knew I was in this class.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Ivy

  I’d heard the gossip before I got to fifth period. It was all over school that Q and Laurel had gotten back together. I tried to convince myself I was happy for him, but it felt like I’d swallowed a chicken head. And there was nothing holy about that.

  “It can’t be true,” Mira whispered when we were at the locker. She had a perplexed look on her face.

  I pulled my heavy trig book off the shelf. “I think he really liked her, Mira.” It was true, even though it practically killed me to say the words. “I saw his face last fall when she came into the classroom to deliver a note to the teacher. He was like a love-sick puppy.”

  Mira made her vampire noise in the back of her throat. “But she dumped him when he needed her most.”

  The words rang with a damning resonance. So had I. “Apparently, he forgave her.” I tugged on Mira’s arm. “C’mon, let’s go. I’m sick of talking about Q anyway.”

  I WAS SITTING in fifth period counting the minutes until I could escape from school. Today had been the longest day of my life. I just wanted to get away from Griffin High and not think about any of it anymore. Not Q. Not Laurel. Not true love. What? Why did I think that? I wanted to think about college—and the glorious, exciting future I was going to have somewhere far away from here.

  I was drawing wings in the margins of my notebook as I waited for class to start. Just as the bell rang someone breezed in the door and sang out ‘sorry!’ in a way that didn’t sound like they were sorry at all. I looked up in disbelief. Laurel Simmons was in this class?

  My gaze followed her as she hurried to the back of the room to find a vacant chair. She was very pretty. In a blond, cheerleader sort of way. A pair of broad shoulders caught my eye. He had his head turned toward Laurel to say something to her but I’d recognize those sun-kissed locks of hair anywhere. The chicken head in my stomach squawked. Both Laurel and Q were in this class?

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Kellen

  “Hey Ivy, wait up.” I hurried through the crowded hallway trying to catch up with her. She’d bolted from class like a cat in front of a hose. I slid up next to her and readjusted my backpack over my shoulder. “That’s funny we have fifth period together still, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah.” She gave me a weird look. “Funny.” She kept walking. I wondered if she’d heard about Laurel.

  I dodged a few people in the hallway. “What class do you have now?”

  I swore she blushed. “I still have study hall. With Mira. Same as always.”

  I didn’t tell her that I had study hall still, too. When I’d changed my schedule I couldn’t bring myself to totally remove every chance I’d have to see her. I’d decided if I couldn’t handle being around her, I’d just leave.

  She glanced up at me then looked away fast. “How did your classes go today? You know….”

  “Without my tutor?”

  She was wearing a tight jade green sweater with a scoop neck and a carved jade necklace. I could see black lace peeking out from the neckline of her sweater. Elegant was a word that described her perfectly. As well as lovely.

  “Yeah.” She threaded her long hair behind her ear, looking guilty. “Without your tutor.”

  “Fine.” I slid my hand under her elbow and pulled her toward the double doors of the library. I grabbed one of the heavy blue doors and yanked it open as I tipped my head toward the room. “Can you come in for a minute and talk?”

  “Uh…okay.”

  I led her around the tables to a back corner where we could have some privacy. Though the bookcases were short, big plants overflowed on top of them, creating visual walls. I pulled out a chair for her to sit on, then sat across from her.

  “You were right, Ivy. I’m ready to handle school on my own again. It was time for me to get back to normal.” If I wanted to do this right—we had to go back to being friends first. “I want you to know that I understand why you quit tutoring me and it’s okay. But I couldn’t have done it without your help. I’d never have been able to maintain my grades and get caught up again if it weren’t for you—so I’m really grateful for that.”

  Her shoulders sagged with relief. “I was glad to help, Q.”

  There was a bit of an awkward silence as I tried to figure out what to say next. “How was your break?”

  “Long.” She said it with such emphasis that I smiled. Maybe she’d wanted that break to end as badly as I had. “How was yours?”

  “Long.” We both laughed.

  “Listen—”

  “Listen—”

  We stopped and la
ughed again. Then she kept talking, which wasn’t like Ivy at all.

  “Q, I’m sorry things worked out the way they did. You know—all of it.” She seemed like she wanted to say more, so I waited. Instead she looked at her hands, rubbing her thumb over fingers. Finally she just said, “I’m really sorry.”

  “It’s all right, Ivy.” I was trying to being super-cool, even though I ached with all the things I wanted to say. “I’m glad we’re friends. That’s what’s most important right now.”

  She nodded. “Thanks.” She searched my face and I swear there was something there…something that looked like what I was feeling. “Well,” she stood up. “I better get going.”

  “Wait.” I wrapped my hand around her wrist, my fingers easily circling her thin arm. “Before you go—I…I was wondering if I could talk to you about something.”

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Ivy

  I sank back down, my heart pounding against my ribs. “Sure, Q, what is it?”

  He brushed his hand across his forehead, his beautiful fingers smoothing his hair to the side. He still wore it long, the way I liked it.

  “I need your advice.”

  “About what?”

  “I’ve been offered scholarships to several colleges to play football, but—” he braced his elbows on his knees and looked down at his hands as if struggling to complete his sentence.

  “But what?”

  “My doctor and my mom—” he hesitated, a pained expression crossed his face— “and my sister, don’t want me to play football again. Ever.” He sighed as he dropped his head to run his fingers through his hair. When he looked up again I could see the anguish in his eyes. “I don’t know what to do, Ivy.”

  Just like that—I could see the young man behind the curtain again. Q was being totally open and honest, so different from the star quarterback that everybody else saw. My heart zinged. Why, oh why did he do this to me?

  “We’re a lot alike, Ivy. We put the same kind of pressure on ourselves—have the same need to succeed. What do you think I should do?”

  I was flattered and surprised that he’d want my opinion, but at the same time, it was a dangerous question. Q had grown up dreaming of being a football star. Did he really want me to tell him I didn’t want him to play? That I thought football was a stupid and brutal sport?