Chapter 7
Kaisa
The Mynt Mingle and Jingle event has taken over our team’s rehearsal space for the entire morning, so our schedule has been thrown completely off. I received an invitation because I’m the lead dancer for the event, but I want to rehearse with Ledger.
Or rather, I should be rehearsing with Ledger.
My gut burns with the memory of the conversation with him and his trainer,
even after he called me a…what was it? Oh yeah. A control freak with a tiara complex.
Whatever that means.
I grumble to myself as I adjust my trim black blazer and white pencil skirt. Honestly, it’s more clothing than I’m used to wearing, but the dress code for the Mingle and Jingle is business casual. Even though it’s nice to wear my hair down for a change, I’m itchy in the layers and long sleeves.
I’m at a table with six other people, and from the lanyards they’re wearing, it’s clear they’re all either athletes or employees of the resort.
Barry Mynt, the owner of the Mynt Peak resort and Mynt Athletic Wear, gives a speech. He’s wearing a dark green suit, and the suit coat has a tiny peppermint candy pattern all over it. He looks to be in his sixties, with white hair and a closely trimmed, white beard.
I can see why he’s such an influential guy. He has star power, which is something I need to have if I’m going to show Wynn Clark that I deserve to stay on the show. I study Mr. Mynt like I’m readying for a test, the way he holds his head, and the way his voice and demeanor command attention.
That’s what I need to solidify my place for next season. No more beige for me. After he concludes his speech, we’re asked to play a game with the others at our table, answering getting-to-know-you questions.
Playing games and making small talk isn’t easy for me, and a lump instantly forms in my throat.
Kaisa Halberg—the person who’s dancing and choreographing on a network television show—is reduced to a ball of nerves at having to talk to a few perfectly nice strangers about which reindeer she’d be and why?
It’s pathetic that I’m dying here, but I am dying here.
I’d much rather dance at a public event than talk to people. Without a doubt.
I catch sight of Ledger across the way. Thank goodness he wasn’t assigned to my table. But as I watch him, I’m struck with a couple of things. First off, he looks remarkably handsome in his blue gingham button down and straight leg jeans.
Plus, he has an ease about him, like this isn’t a big deal. At one point, he’s even laughing it up with the others at the table like they’ve known each other for years.
How do they do that? Just thinking about being that relaxed gets my heart rate up.
I manage to stumble through my answers to the questions up on the screen. When I linger, not quite sure how to answer what I would do if I were Elf on a Shelf, someone saves me by saying. “It’s okay. Maybe that’s more of an American thing. Aren’t you from Finland?”
I nod and one of the athletes at the table decides to help my cluelessness about Elf on a Shelf by explaining how it works.
“Wait—you spy on your children with a toy?” I say with a laugh. The others around the table laugh, too, and then begin discussing other strange holiday traditions.
I breathe in and out. Okay. Maybe I’ll sort of survive this.
After several minutes, the athletes are asked to line up so that the community members who’ve paid for VIP tickets can come meet them.
Double nightmare.
Since I’m not one of the athletes, I can go, right?
I respond to Malia’s text offering to help with the lighting plot we need to turn into the backstage crew. I finished it already, but thanks for the offer! and gather my things. I beeline for the door and nearly make it when Barry Mynt and his wife stop me.
“You’re Kaisa Halberg from Lights, Camera, Dance!” Mrs. Mynt says.
I nod, pasting on my brightest smile. “Thanks for hosting this event. It’s quite the thing!”
Barry Mynt chuckles in his bigger-than-life way. “This is my wife, Mary. I wanted to thank you, Kaisa, for heading up the Peppermynt Twist Showdown. Can’t wait to see it. Did you know it was sold out months ago? It’s really the biggest ticketed experience this whole week.”
I feel my eyes widen. I hadn’t heard we sold out. “So no pressure, right?” I joke, even while my heart riots against my ribcage.
He laughs. “Oh, we’ve seen you dance on TV. You’re a star. All your dancers are stars.”
Mary nods. “Are you being taken care of here at the resort? Is there anything you need?”
Ensuring Ledger performs impeccably would be great.
I shake my head. “It’s beautiful here and we’ve been well taken care of, thanks.”
A bit more small talk, and when I turn to leave, Mary touches my elbow. “Would you be able to stay for the VIP meet and greet? I know this event is mostly about the athletes, but like Barry says, you’re a star. I think our patrons would be thrilled to meet you.”
I swallow hard, my throat frozen. Why can’t I get over these social anxieties?
It’s ridiculous. I understood them when I was younger, a fourteen-year-old in the US for the first time, trying to perfect my English.
Anyone in that situation would be nervous.
But I’ve been here for twelve years and speak fluent English, with nary an accent most of the time.
Barry must notice my hesitation. “But if you need to go, that’s—” he says, his brow furrowing.
“No, I’d be honored to join in and meet everybody,” I manage. I really am honored they asked. I just wish there wasn’t a bowling ball weighing down my lungs.
I’m steered to the end of the line and placed next to Chloe Reynolds, a figure skater, and the chitchat, miraculously, doesn’t kill me. Soon, the patrons who paid to meet everyone start pouring in, their passes on lanyards around their necks, a low buzz of excitement in the room.
My eyes travel back to Ledger, like they have been all night.
Am I drawn to him because I need to keep my eye on him?
I do need to make sure he’s being responsible and holds up his end of the bargain here.
Like it or not, he’s representing Lights, Camera, Dance!
now that he’s affiliated with the Showdown.
But I know it’s more than that. He’s simply gorgeous. And I see the way he talks to people, especially the kids, signing their merch and making their day. He spends a lot of time with each person, and it’s obvious he’s making them feel special.
I’m staring at him once again when there’s a tug on my blazer sleeve and I turn to see a little girl in a wheelchair next to me. Her mom has a look of apprehension on her face.
“I hate to bother you, but my daughter, Sydney, needs to get home sooner than planned. Can I introduce you before we leave?”
“Oh, definitely,” I say.
“She was so excited to see you,” her mom continues. “We had no idea you’d be here. She’s your biggest fan. She’s watched every episode of the show.”
I crouch down so I’m at her level, taking in her large brown eyes. “Hi, Sydney. I’m Kaisa.”
The girl, who looks to be about eight and has black ponytails behind each ear, smiles. “I know you’re Kaisa Halberg.”
“I’m happy you like the show.”
“I don’t like it. I love it!”
This makes me laugh. “Thanks for clarifying. Do you have any favorite dances?”
Sydney thinks for a moment. “It’s a tie between the cowboy one and the Egyptian one.”
I beam. “Those are a couple of my favorites, as well.” In season two, I danced to the song “Texas Hold ’Em” with the character actor Tim Howe. “I was proud of Tim’s efforts on that one.”
I’m also quite proud of the concepts and choreography I came up with. Practically the whole set was draped in faux suede fabrics and cow print. But the judges said they were bored to tears by Tim’s lack of enthusiasm.
“He messed up, though,” Sydney says.
“Sydney, you don’t have to point that out,” her mom says, smoothing her daughter’s sleeve.
I laugh. “She’s kind of right, though. And Tim will be the first to admit it wasn’t his best dance. The cha-cha isn’t easy.”
Sydney starts moving her hands as if she’s dancing the cha-cha, humming the song. She’s got the rhythm and syncopation down.
“Wow! That’s really good technique. You’ve got nice arms for dance.” I turn to her mom. “Can I dance with her for a bit?”
Her mom’s face crumples with a grateful smile. “Oh, she would love that so much.”
“Wanna dance?” I ask Sydney. At her beaming grin, I take her hands in mine and begin to dance with her as best as we can, showing her some moves.
It’s hard to do them in a wheelchair of course, but we manage with help from her mom, who tilts it back and helps spin it around as I guide Sydney’s hands.
I realize, as I start to feel out of breath, that I’m actually having fun. The anxiousness in my chest is beginning to float away.
The line of people is backed up, waiting for me to say goodbye to Sydney, but I can’t. There’s something about the wistful look in her eye and her spunky attitude that draws me to her.
Finally, though, her mom insists she needs to get home and after multiple hugs and photos, they leave.
I catch Ledger’s grin across the way. It’s aimed at me. It’s brief because the line is stretching long, but it’s definitely there.
My insides do a funny little flip at that smile. I press my hand against my stomach to try to calm myself down.
He’s a handsome man who smiled at me. Any woman would feel a little blip. It doesn’t mean anything.
I don’t see him much the rest of the night, which ends up being more fun than I thought it would be. The enthusiasm people display when they see me makes me feel good. Everyone’s so nice, saying how much they love me in the show. It’s surreal that I’m being recognized by so many.
But also? As good as it feels, there’s that added pressure coming up again. That I’m under a microscope—that my failures will be cast out onto the sea of the world, for all to witness.
As I’m leaving, I catch a glimpse of Ledger carrying silver platters, stacked like six high, in his arms.
He’s helping the caterers now? What’s going on?
I scratch my head. Tonight was…unexpected.
I wonder what unexpected things tomorrow will bring.