by Casey Peeler
Chapter 23
Cadence
By the time the bell rings for the end of the day, I’m not as relieved as I hoped I’d be. Gran said I could go to dance but I still have to help on the farm. I know I need to get it together but I don’t know if I can. How can I when I have dance, homework and farm work to do? I quickly call Lauren on my way home to vent. She wishes me good luck and to not take any crap off of any two-stepping country line dancers. We both laugh and then I hang up when I get in the driveway. I am surprised that Barrick and Gran aren’t home.
Walking in the house, I see that Gran has left a note on the table in the foyer. Gone to bank. Barrick drove. I put it back on the table and hurry to my room. I toss my backpack on my bed and grab my dance bag that luckily has always been packed. I take a deep breath and hustle down to Jade’s car.
As I open the door, I catch a glimpse of Barrick’s truck coming up the drive, and I feel the irritation rise. As we pass Barrick, Jade gives him a smile and a wave. Please tell me she’s not into him. He’s such an ass.
“Ugh! Can’t he just pick some beans or something?” I say in frustration as I turn from looking at Barrick.
Jade begins to laugh. “I take it Barrick hasn’t turned on his charm?”
“Yeah, I don’t think I’d call stalking someone charm.”
She looks at me strangely. “What do you mean?” she asks with concern in her voice.
“Never mind. I mean if you want him, pleeeease take him.”
Jade looks at me with a blank look and then bursts out laughing until she’s crying.
“What’s so fucking funny, Jade?” I ask, feeling like the butt of a joke.
“Nothing. He’s just not my type,” she says, trying to gather herself.
Jade doesn’t say anything else for a few minutes, but turns up the radio, and of course it’s country.
“Can we listen to something else?” I ask.
“Sure. I just thought I’d drive you crazy,” she says with a laugh as she hits a preset button for a local pop station. I’ve never been so happy to hear Selena Gomez in my life.
After a few songs, Jade turns down the volume. “When we get there, Ms. Lyndsay will be at the desk. I’ll introduce you. She’s amazing. Seriously, I’ve never seen anyone move like her.”
“I bet I have,” I say with attitude. Jade looks at me like she wants to say something but she keeps her thoughts to herself.
When we get in the studio, Jade introduces me to the instructor, who is in phenomenal shape. She’s lean and it’s obvious she still dances on a daily basis. “Hi Cadence. My name is Lyndsay, and I’m the owner of Stars Dance Academy. We offer a wide range of levels and classes. What type of classes are you lookin’ into?” she says with a southern twang.
“I have been dancing since I was two, and have been taking intensive lessons in ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, and hip hop. I’ve competed at the competitive level since I was four years old, and have been working with my duet partner, Lauren, since we were minis. I’m a senior this year, and planned on joining a company based off of my senior routine. Well, until I was forced to move here,” I say with more attitude than I had planned.
“That’s impressive, Cadence. We have students of all levels here.” Great, here we go. “We also have had students work with Joffrey Ballet School as well as the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. We take pride in being a small town studio that can compete with the larger cities. Come on, let me show you around.”
I follow her and Jade excuses herself to get ready for class. She shows me the break room and two studio rooms. One is large and the other is smaller. The floor is worn and the building is musty-smelling. She then shows me a class schedule and says that I’m more than welcome to observe or participate in class today.
Unsure of how I feel about this, I want to say no but I also am dying to dance on the wooden floor with mirrors the entire length. I want to critique my moves and find others that believe dance is the most important thing in the world. I want to dance.
“Okay,” I say as I look at Lyndsay. She smiles and leads me to the break room. Jade shows me where I can store my belongings and then a few other girls enter the room. She introduces me to them and then we get ready for class to begin.
We start with our stretches just like any other class I’ve attended. When Lyndsay gives directions, I follow perfectly. It’s obvious by the look on her face that she’s impressed. When we take a break, she stops me.
“Cadence, your technique is amazing.”
“Thanks. Like I said, I’ve been training since I was two and competitive since I was four so I take dance pretty seriously,” I say before I turn and get a drink of water.
Jade stops me at the water fountain. “What’s your deal?” she questions.
“What do you mean?”
“How about you drop that chip off your shoulder and enjoy the next few hours,” she says, and I take a deep breath so that I don’t say anything inappropriate.
“Look, I just don’t know how a lady from here has that much experience but at this point I’ll take what I can get. You said yourself I have to keep doing something.” Jade starts to comment, but we are called back into the room.
Over the next two hours, we work on turns, leaps, and flexibility. Our last exercise was an impromptu session where a variety of music was played and we had to improvise.
“Cadence, that was excellent, but what if you took some of that emotion and twisted it like this?” Ms. Lyndsay suggests as she shows me a more graceful move. Being raw and edgy has always been my forte.
“Thanks but no thanks,” I say, moving to the opposite end of the room. Jade shows a flash of concern on her face.
“Can I speak to you in my office, Cadence?” Ms. Lyndsay asks in an authoritative voice. Great.
She takes a moment to gather her words, but I can see the anger rising. I try to refrain from laughing.
“I know you think that you’re better than this studio, but let me inform you of one thing. We are the best. These girls work hard each and every day to go above and beyond what I ask of them. You can either follow suit or not return tomorrow.” Well, damn.
Looking around, I notice a picture with a familiar-looking building. “What’s that?” I question and I can see her irritation flare yet again.
“Respect, Cadence. You might need to look up the definition before you return tomorrow,” she says and we both walk back to class.
After another forty-five minutes, we are dismissed for the night. Jade and I are sweating messes, and it feels amazing.
When we get in her car, Jade turns to me. “What the hell?” She says and I look at her like I’m clueless. “Drop the act. I brought you here because I thought it would be good for you, but you had to be a bitty to Ms. Lyndsay. You aren’t better than her or us.”
I feel the anger rise in my cheeks. I am better than them. “I think I did amazing in there tonight.”
“Agreed, but you didn’t have to have that high and mighty attitude. Ms. Lyndsay has given up a lot to be where she is right now. You might need to get off your high horse and think about other people for five damn minutes.” Holy shit! I’ve never heard Jade cuss.
“What do you mean?” I question.
“Ms. Lyndsay got into Juilliard, but her mom was killed. Her dad wasn’t in the picture and she had a brother that wasn’t eighteen. She gave up her dream so he wouldn’t have to go in foster care. She came home, took classes at the local community college and opened the studio. Life doesn’t always go as planned, but sometimes you have to take what’s left and move forward.”
I suddenly realize where the photo in her office was taken. There were three girls standing outside a performing hall, Juilliard. Suddenly, I feel ashamed of myself.
“I didn’t know,” I whisper to Jade.
“I know, but next time before you act like you’re better than others, d
o your research. I told you we were the best and she’s why.”
Our ride home is quiet, and I don’t know what to say to her. I realize I’ve been wrong about several things. When she drops me off at the house, I look at her before getting out of the car. “So can I ride with you tomorrow?” I ask.
“Of course, just leave that snotty attitude in the barn,” she says with a laugh.
I wave bye to Jade and enter the house to find Mom and Gran waiting to eat dinner with me.
“How was it?” Mom asks.
“Fine, but I think I might have misjudged that place.”
“I told ya!” Gran says and I cut my eyes to her.
“Did you know that the instructor went to Juilliard?” I ask Gran.
“Yup. I don’t know much about this dance stuff, but I know about Juilliard. You just never bothered to ask me. It’s too bad about her mom. To have to put your life on hold to take care of your brother like she did. That’s just sad,” she says as she shakes her head.
Gran excuses herself and I can tell that Mom is waiting for more information from me that isn’t related to dance.
“Heard any more?” she asks, referring to Dad.
“Nope,” I say as I stand to leave and avoid the conversation.
“Have a seat.” I still consider running to my room because I don’t want to talk about him but I decide to be respectful and sit. “He sent me an email today. He mentioned he wants you to visit for Thanksgiving,” she says.
“What do you want me to do?” I question Mom.
“Whatever you feel the most comfortable with. Gran and I would miss you but at least if you went, you could see Lauren.” She has a point.
I take out my phone and text him that I’ll come. Of course, I don’t hear anything. I would at least expect some response since he’s the one who asked me to come.
Barrick
This past month I’ve kept an eye on Cadence and noticed she’s different. She still doesn’t love milking the cows, but she doesn’t seem to have that chip on her shoulder like she used to. Ms. Mae talks about her nonstop during the day. She tells me how she’s doing at the studio and how she’s making new friends. She also mentioned that she is going to ease up on Cadence during the week so she can get her homework and dance practice in, and work more on the weekends. I hope Cadence is really trying this time. I think it would really hurt Ms. Mae’s feelings if she were just putting up a front to get what she wants. I guess time will tell.
