Chapter Seven #2
Naya’s dark eyes grow big, like she wasn’t expecting to be called one of the first ones.
She hesitantly walks over to the center of the gym, standing before our table.
After she nods at me to play her music, she begins her routine.
She’s a little stiff at first and she stumbles a few times.
She’s obviously very nervous. But I have a good feeling about her.
She makes a few more mistakes and her worried eyes flit to mine.
I offer her an encouraging smile, letting her know she’s got this.
That seems to raise her confidence and she does a better job on her routine.
Even though she still makes a few mistakes, I know she has a ton of potential and raw talent. With every step she takes, her confidence grows and she does a very good job at the very end.
Her head is lowered in disappointment and I can see her berating herself.
“Great job, Naya!” I say.
She lifts her head in surprise.
I offer her another smile, and she relaxes. Then I lean to Coach Moreno. “She’s a diamond in the rough.”
“I agree.”
We continue with the tryouts, and I try my hardest to keep my focus on the dancers and not on the uninvited guest. But it’s kind of hard to ignore him.
He’s tall and big and commands the room, not to mention the fact that he’s the only guy in here.
No matter how much I try to jerk my eyes away, they slowly find their way to him.
He watches the dancers with a thoughtful and serious expression, one I can’t seem to decipher. What’s going on in that head of his?
Unfortunately, most of the hopefuls don’t have a good tryout. Addie was amazing and Naya has the potential to turn into one of the best dancers in the world. Another girl, Miriam, does a decent job, but everyone else…I’m sad to say they don’t have what it takes.
“This sucks,” I mutter as I squeeze my hands over my face.
“We still have one more tryout,” Coach Moreno reminds me.
“He’s wallpaper.”
“Carly, please be mature about this. If you want this team to be successful, you can’t behave like a child.”
I know she’s right. After all, my policy was that anyone could try out. And I have no idea what I’m worried about anyway. It’s not like he’ll do a good job.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask the coach to tell him to try out because I have no desire to talk to him, but I have to be mature about this. So I say, “Ryder Bennett, you’re up.”
He seems shocked, like he thought I wouldn’t let him have a go.
And then he smiles widely and runs to the center of the room, appearing very excited.
For some reason, I have this strange feeling that his smile and excitement are genuine.
Like he wants to try out because he wants to be on the team.
But that’s crazy. I know he’s only here to irritate me.
He stands there with a mix of excitement and joy, but also nervousness and anxiety. It kind of makes him look cute…
Wait, what?
“Carly?” Coach Moreno says.
“What? Oh.” I nod to Ryder. “Ready?”
He releases a breath and nods curtly. “Ready.”
I play his music and he starts his routine. My eyes bug out and my mouth falls open as I watch him move his body around the gym. He’s so graceful and fluid, but also powerful and sharp. He matches the beat of the music perfectly and he has great form. Even his jumps are perfect.
Since when does Ryder Bennett know how to dance?
Most of his routine is a mix of various styles, including hip-hop, tap, and even ballroom.
Has he been taking classes all these years?
How the heck did I not know about this? Then again, I don’t actually know Ryder Bennett.
I know him as the guy who was always annoyed with me and destroyed my Lego and rejected me as a kid, but I realize I don’t know him.
All that about dance club being corny…was that his way of ticking me off?
Coach Moreno leans closer to me. “He’s really good.”
That’s an understatement. I can’t keep my eyes off him. And it seems like everyone else in the room feels the same.
When he’s done, everyone claps, including the coach. My friends seem just as shocked as me.
Coach Moreno must realize I can’t seem to use my vocal cords because she thanks everyone for trying out and tells them they’ll hear from us soon.
I watch as a few girls surround Ryder and gush to him.
He loves the attention. A part of me wants to race over to him and ask him how the heck he’s such a good dancer, but I force myself to remain in my seat.
That’s all he needs, for me to compliment him. His head is far too big already.
“Carly, I don’t think we have enough applicants,” Coach Moreno tells me. “We might have enough to keep the team alive, but we won’t win competitions with such a small group or have great performances at halftime.”
My heart sinks. “So we should just quit before we make a fool of ourselves?”
“No, of course not. I think we should extend the tryouts to tomorrow.”
“Why would people try out tomorrow when they didn’t try out today?”
“You need to get the word out,” she tells me. “Let the students know how much they’ll miss out on if they don’t join the team. Sell it to them.”
Sell it to them? How can I possibly do that?
“We can make a video and post it on the school app,” Addie says as she approaches the table. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I have the perfect idea for a video.”
“That sounds like a great idea!” Coach Moreno says. “I know you girls can do it. I have faith in you.” She squeezes my shoulder. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She leaves the gym.
“We can record ourselves doing one of your best routines and make it look really fun,” Addie tells me with bright eyes. “Add some lighting and some special effects. Kids will feel major FOMO.”
“You think so?” I ask.
She grins. “Don’t you believe in my skills?”
“Of course! Yeah, it sounds like a great idea. I just hope you won’t work too hard.”
“It’s worth it,” she assures me.
Ryder saunters over to us and beams. “Caught you off guard, didn’t I?”
“Did you kidnap a dance instructor in the last few hours and demand she teach you a kickbutt routine?” I demand.
He blinks at me. “What on earth…? Uh, no. I didn’t kidnap anyone. That’s years of dance.”
“You took lessons?”
He shakes his head. “I taught myself in my room.”
I just gape at him. Is he serious? I didn’t know he was into dance. He’s always teased me about it.
Is it possible…he taught himself to dance to, I don’t know, impress me or something? No, that’s crazy. He probably did it to show me up. The guy always feels like he has to be better than me.
“Am I on the team?” he asks.
“You mean the corny team?”
He smirks. “It won’t be corny if I’m on it.” When he notices my murderous glare, he holds up his hands. “Geez, Carly, can’t you take a joke? So did I make the cut?”
“Do you think you deserve special treatment or something? You’ll find out when everyone else does.”
“Is Addie on the team?”
“Of course she’s on the team! Didn’t you see her routine? She was on fire.”
He chuckles. “So she can get special treatment?”
“Duh. She’s my best friend.”
“And I’m your brother’s best friend.” He grins widely, showing off perfect white teeth.
“You’re wallpaper,” I say.
He rolls his eyes. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Better to be ridiculous than a cretin. Come, Addie. Let’s go.”
I turn my back on him before he can say anything else and meet the rest of our friends outside the gym.
Raven and Caleb congratulate Addie on her awesome routine, and we decide to meet in Sophie and Raven’s room to celebrate with my favorite snack—chocolate bars.
But before we leave, I glance at Ryder. He’s back to talking to a group of girls.
As if he feels me watching him, he turns his head and looks at me. He smiles and waves, then winks.
I force my gaze away and follow my friends to our dorm.