Dancing for the Lord: The Academy (7 page)

Danni nodded noncommittally.  The truth was, what she wanted more than anything was to go home for the summer.  Yeah, she’d spend it dancing, probably volunteer to help Carolyn with whatever she was doing for the summer; but she would do it at
home
, with her parents, and her friends, and the people she had known since she was just a kid. 

She would do it with
Michael
. 

Funny how much he meant to her now that she was away.  Danni hadn’t realized how important her partner really was until all these miles had separated them.

Suddenly, she was desperate just to hear his voice—to hear him telling her that no matter how bad things might have seemed, she was still where she was supposed to be, doing exactly what she was supposed to do.

In spite of the heavy load that both her books and her dance bag made—a load that, she had been assured, she wouldn’t have to carry all the time, since for the most part, her books would stay back in her room—Danni hurried back to the dorm.  Her cell phone was exactly where she had left it, sitting beside her bed.  She hadn’t wanted any distractions this morning; and anyway, if Michael got caught texting in class one more time, he was going to end up getting his phone taken away. 

He wasn’t in school anymore. 

Danni pressed the speed dial button that would get her her best friend, half praying in impatience until he picked up. 

“Hey, Dragonfly.”  The familiar voice rang over the line, cool, calm, and confident—Michael all over.

Danni bit her lip, suddenly unable to speak.  What was she going to say to him? 
Hey, Michael, my first day was completely lousy.  Wish you were here.

But it hadn’t all been bad…had it?  After all, Mlle Kirby seemed to like her.  And Madalyn was going to be a pretty good friend, if Danni could ever get past her tendency to gossip about everyone she knew. 

“Hi, Michael,” she managed to get out, aware that the silence had stretched on for far too long.  “How are you doing?”

“Missing you already.”  But he said it so cheerfully that she knew he was all right.  “How was your first day of classes?  I was just thinking about calling you, but we hadn’t talked all weekend, so I wasn’t sure when you would be free.  Wouldn’t want to interrupt dance practice or anything.” 

“It’s over.” That was probably the best thing she could say for it: she would never have to go through this terrible
first day
again. 

No, there was just tomorrow, with a whole new set of classes that she would have to scurry to find.  At least tomorrow, she wouldn’t have to worry about the dance classes.  She knew where
those
were.

Somehow, that wasn’t as comforting as it could have been. 

“That bad, huh?”  She could almost hear Michael slouching down on whatever piece of furniture was handy—and if she closed her eyes, she
could
picture it.  He would have the phone propped between his ear and his shoulder, completely comfortable and at ease no matter where he was.  As long as the conversation went on, he would be completely focused on the person on the other end of the phone.

Or, at least, he would be as long as it was her.  If she had been beside him and it had been one of his girlfriends, on the other hand, she probably would have been teasing him—tickling his sides; running her fingers up his arm; anything that might distract him and get him to break the so-serious tone of the conversation. 

“It…I just wish you were here.”  She felt safer admitting that to him than she would have with anyone else.  Michael understood her better than anyone else in the world.  He would know that she wasn’t coming on to him, or making a pass.  She just missed him—furiously. 

“I will be next year,” he offered. 

“Yeah, well, right now, next year seems like a really long way away.”  Danni sighed.  “I’ll be all right.  And I think I may have made a friend.  This girl, Madalyn, is really nice.  I share a bathroom with her….”  She chattered on for a few minutes, doing her best not to sound as though she was feeling sorry for herself.  It wasn’t Michael’s fault that she had been miserable, after all—and it would just depress him if he thought the Academy wasn’t everything they had dreamed it would be.

“And I’m dancing pretty much all day every day, which is wonderful,” she added. 

“That’s my girl.”  There was genuine warmth and pride in his voice as he said the words.  “I knew you’d find a way to make the best of things, even if today has been rough.” 

“It’s definitely been that.”  She sighed.  “But tomorrow will be better—and next week will be even better than that.”

“And by this time next month, you’ll be insisting that you love it,” he agreed warmly.  “Now—much as I’d love to keep talking to you, unlike you, I haven’t gotten to dance yet today.” 

It was Monday—that meant Michael had class at six.  Danni glanced at her watch, surprised—had they really been talking for more than an hour?

He laughed when she made that observation aloud.  “You and me, on the phone for an hour?  How on earth could that happen?” he teased. 

Since they were usually
together
all day, the phone wasn’t actually necessary for the two of them; but Danni understood what he meant.  On the rare occasions when one of them had been away from the other, they had been known to run up the minutes on their cell phone plans. 

“Oh, go dance,” she told him, grinning.  The smile almost felt right on her face again; and to her surprise, Danni realized that she had been grinning throughout most of the conversation. 

“I miss you.  It’s going to be weird in there without you,” Michael said seriously. 

“Oh, yeah, it’ll be such a hardship—all those girls drooling over you,” she teased.

“Well, there is that.”  He responded instantly, his own humor back in place.  “After all, I’m such a desirable partner, you’ll be lucky if I’m still waiting for you by the time we’re together again.” 

“Oh, you’ll wait for me,” she retorted immediately.  “If for no other reason than because you’ll never find someone as good for you as I am.”

“Well, there is that.”  Michael sobered suddenly.  “Listen, Dragonfly,” he told her, and despite his use of the nickname, she knew that this was serious.  “Things are going
to get better out there.  I believe that—and you should, too.  God didn’t send you out there just to give you a hard time—and you and I both know that He sent you out there alone for a purpose.  Keep watch for it, and trust that He’ll show you what it is when it comes, okay?”

“Okay.”  No matter how many times she saw it, this serious Michael always surprised her.  He was a true man of God, Danni knew—that was something that she had seen in him from the very beginning, and appreciated almost as long. 

“I’ll be praying for you,” he promised fervently.  “And hey—call again, okay?  It’s good to hear your voice.”

“It’s good to hear yours, too.” 

Danni hung up the phone with a smile on her face.  She’d talked to Michael much longer than she meant to—she still hadn’t showered, and she had a lot of homework to get started on, after all—but it had made her feel a lot better to talk to him.  She’d have to be careful, though.  It would be easy to call Michael every day to get her dose of sunshine; and that was a good way to find herself putting off the things that she needed to do now, waiting for next year, when he was with her.

Tempting as that sounded, it also wasn’t the right road for her to travel.  With a sigh, Danni got up off of the bed, stripping off her sweatshirt and slinging it toward her hamper as she walked. 

Somehow, it didn’t surprise her when Madalyn chose that exact moment to tap on the connecting door to the bathrooms.  “Hey!” she said cheerfully.

Danni turned, not the least bit embarrassed to be caught in her leotard. 

“Oh, wow, you haven’t even had time for a shower yet, huh?”  Madalyn frowned at her.  “I’ll just leave you alone, then.”

“No, it’s okay—come on in.”  Danni gestured to the foot of her bed.  “I’m going to take a quick shower, but you can talk to me while I do.”  She left the bathroom door cracked, stripping the rest of the way and slinging the leotard—now stiff with dried sweat—around it at the hamper without looking.  If it missed, she’d pick it up later. 

“So, who was that on the phone?” Madalyn asked curiously, as the water in the shower began to run.  “Your boyfriend back home?”

“What?  No!”  Danni laughed at even the suggestion.  “No, Michael’s not my boyfriend.  My best friend, sure, but boyfriend?  Not in this lifetime.”

“Oh.”  Madalyn was quiet for a moment, then admitted, “it sounded like you were really into the conversation—that’s why I didn’t want to interrupt you.” 

“I needed to hear a friendly voice.”  Danni sighed, luxuriating in the hot water—though she didn’t take the time to enjoy it the way she would have if she had been at home.  There were a dozen girls living in this dorm; if she used all of the hot water, most of them would be furious with her. 

“I’m not friendly?”  Thankfully, Danni already knew Madalyn well enough to realize that she was teasing. 

“Not as friendly as Michael,” she shot back lightly. 

The girls bantered back and forth as Danni showered—something that she’d never had the chance to do before, really.  Oh, there had been friends in her dance classes from time to time; and when you changed in a locker room full of other girls, you
got over any modesty issues in a hurry.  She’d carried on shower conversations before, too, especially in those locker rooms. 

This was different, though.  More intimate—like something you’d only do with your best friend.

Danni smiled faintly at the thought.  Wouldn’t her mother have had a
fit
if it had been Michael sitting in the other room?  No, he was the one who had to wait downstairs on the sofa, patiently trying to make conversation with Lizzie while she finished up in the shower. 

Funny, how much like a date that would have seemed to someone who didn’t know the two of them.  Funny how Danni had never considered it before—and that it would occur to her now.

She wrapped a huge, fluffy towel around herself and padded on bare feet back to her bedroom.  She was in for the night; so rather than dragging out another pair of jeans, she pulled out a pair of pajama pants and a T-shirt.  Madalyn, she had noticed, was dressed the same way; this seemed fairly common for the girls when they were back in their rooms for the night. 

“So,” she said cheerfully.  “Want to do some homework with me?”

By Friday, Danni had successfully managed to find all of her classes on time and to get to them with everything she needed to have.  She had even managed to dig her pink ballet slippers out of the closet—impressive, since they’d been at the bottom of a box of things that she hadn’t even been sure why she had packed to begin with.  She was proud of herself, and feeling more than just a little bit relieved.

Friday was wonderful, too, because she didn’t actually have any of her academic classes.  That meant two blissfully free hours that she could fill any way she wanted—and if she chose to fill them with homework, well, Danni was still determined to get ahead as fast as she could.  Her teachers had been impressed with the work she had handed on Wednesday and Thursday; she wanted them to be equally happy with her when Monday and Tuesday came around again.

Which was why she was sitting in the corner of one of the dance rooms, a book and several pieces of paper spread out around her.  She’d nearly been late to the children’s class the day before, thanks primarily to the fact that she had been engrossed in a history assignment.  On learning that Danni was trying desperately to make up the time she had missed at the beginning of the year in her academic classes, Mlle Kirby had mentioned that the room was empty prior to the class they were teaching together; if Danni wanted to study there until the students started arriving, she was more than welcome to do so.

Danni had jumped at the chance.  She had her own little corner, and she was very happy there.  It was quiet.  No one had interrupted her for more than an hour, and she had gotten a
lot
done. 

Thanks for this, Lord,
she prayed silently, sliding a completed science assignment into her book and arching her back to stretch it. 
If I can just keep it up this way, I’ll get a lot more done, and I won’t have to worry so much about where I’m going to find time for it all.
  This studio was empty after the kids’ class, too; and Danni was already considering taking advantage of another hour in the quiet.  She liked Madalyn well enough; but the other girl wasn’t really a good study partner.  She tended to talk too much, and to get frustrated when she didn’t get an answer when she thought she needed one.  That meant that Danni spent a lot of time pointing out to her that they were supposed to be working—and it was hard on her concentration, too. 

A noise at the door made Danni look up, startled.  No one was supposed to be back here yet.  She still had thirty minutes before the beginning of class; Mlle Kirby wouldn’t let the students back here until ten minutes before, and that only so that they could start warming up,

She was prepared to tell whichever of the students it was that they couldn’t come back yet—even prepared to deal with a healthy dose of disappointment.  Every class she’d worked with so far absolutely loved to dance, and none of them had been pressured into being there.