Chapter 6 - The silent party

I dreamt of a show.

I was right in the middle of a stage, all eyes on me. I was blinded by the lights, but I could see a crowd of shadowy people sitting in front of me, rows and rows of people, every single one of them cheering me on.

The skintight blue suit I wore was just like the ones I saw gymnasts wear on TV, some from the Olympics, others from smaller competitions. My hair was pushed back in a tight bun on the back of my head.

Then the music started.

Unaware of my body, I started dancing. I had no control over my arms and legs as they spun around and took me to the front and back again. It was contemporary, that much I knew, but the choreography was a mystery to me, even if I performed flawlessly.

My heart beat faster and faster as the music grew louder. I was the centre of attention, a feather being blown by the wind in their eyes. Weightless.

I could hear the voice of my former teacher in my eardrums telling me to do better and better.

All seemed so distant now... I should be over five back then. It all started with ballet, soon moved on to contemporary and all similar styles. Dancing with a partner never worked for me. The idea of depending on someone always bothered me, so I refused to try. I was eight when I watched Step Up for the first time. Andy had me mesmerised, so I learned to breakdance and anything that looked like it. All my life, I wanted to be a street dancer, just like her.

The music ended. I stopped in the middle of the stage and bowed artistically. The crowd went wild, some yelling and whistling.

My parents were in the front, holding hands, smiles plastered on their faces. They looked proud.

The front row was also occupied by Courtney, Chris, Jade, and Reed. They were all cheering for me.

My heart was throbbing in my chest. I was so happy.

I was about to get down and hug my parents when the most horrifying sound made it all blur away, melting into my conscience and turning black.

Someone was shaking me.

I opened one eye and saw the commotion in the dark. I stuffed my head into the pillow again, but whoever was trying to wake me up was persistent.

My head now facing the ceiling, I turned around and looked at Jade. "What?" I snapped.

"Calm down. We're going now. Care to join us?" she asked as she placed a towel over her shoulder.

I sat up and took in the disorder of girls, grabbing things and lights being turned on. We were not supposed to draw any attention, so everything was done as silently as possible and in the dim lights. Only the corridors lamps remained on at these late hours and they were close enough to the washrooms to be confused together, so it was safe to change into our swimsuits in its safety.

I wasn't worried. After all, the last patrol was hours ago, and there shouldn't be any nosy teachers looking around anymore.

Although I was late compared to everyone else, I slipped into my brand new pink swimsuit and again in my nightgown rather quickly. Finding my towel in the middle of the dark was a harder task, but at the last minute, I found it at the bottom of the wardrobe. They were all left without me, except for Jade, who patiently helped me look, and we had to run to catch them at the stairs where we were scolded for being too loud. We didn't want to wake up Beth or any of the guides.

It was midnight. I saw it on the big watch that hung from the white walls of the hall once we reached the bottom of the stairs.

Inaudibly, we went to the canteen. Courtney's pocket torch was enough to avoid stumbling over tables and chairs but getting a group of forty-something girls through such a large space with such a short sight in the pitch-black night was hard and I was beyond surprised when we reached the kitchen with no one tripping over. I shouldn't have been so confident. We still had the trip back.

Someone pressed the button, and the ceiling shone bright, clearing our vision. I don't know who was deciding when it was or wasn't safe to have light, but I needed that person to explain the criteria because I just didn't get it. I still don't.

I found a basket in one of the top cabinets whilst the others grabbed a bunch of food and gathered it in the centre of the island. We loaded it with everything they found in the fridge and pantry and got ready for the rest of our journey.

The basket was heavy, and it was taken by Jade and another girl with dark hair and a pointy nose. I think she took Arts and her name might've been Debbie or Devi or maybe Dawn.

No one was paying attention to them or to the fact that they were having a hard time carrying it. When they hit the table and pushed it completely out of its way, knocking out several chairs and falling harshly to the ground, we all stopped dead in our tracks.

Several pairs of eyes were on them, Court's light the only thing allowing us to see them trying to get up.

"Maybe we should go back to our rooms," someone whispered. "If we get there fast enough, they'll never know it was us"

Silence.

I looked over at them. "We're on the ground floor. All the teachers are upstairs. Why are we even worrying so much? There's no way they heard us"

More silence.

They whispered between themselves as Jade and Dawn got up and gently put the table and the chairs back in their original position.

Minutes passed, and we heard nothing from the upper levels, so we resumed our original plan.

The few lights we had enlightened our path once we reached the chilly outside were from the moon and around the school lamps.

Our group moved fast and furtive through the wet lawn and slippy pavement. One shared goal in everyone's minds.

The swimming pool seemed even more beautiful at night. Its crystal water reflected the night sky and every one of its sparkling dots. The few light bulbs on the building were the only thing allowing us to see.

"Are the boys coming?" asked Dawn as she dropped the basket on top of one of the many blankets we laid on the grass all around the pool.

Some of them shrugged, unsure of who was invited and who wasn't. Truth be told, I'm pretty sure only we knew about our secret escape and no one else would step into our party.

"I wouldn't mind seeing Ray here," Jade mumbled under her breath.

Juice bottles, bread, jam, butter and ham were being scattered on the thick fabric of the blanket, and I stole a bit of bread with butter before letting them take out everything else.

I sat by the pool, dipping my legs in the cold water. Jade was already there, tensely kicking the water forward.

"If someone catches us, we're screwed," she said.

No student could walk around after ten, and I wasn't very sure what punishment could they have for us, but whatever it was, it couldn't be that bad. The only ones who could hear us were the girls from the first floor, and we could easily bargain with them. What I was afraid of was Beth, but she was way too high on the building to hear a thing in sweet dreamland.

"Relax, nobody is going to know," I assured her. "Wanna go for a swim?"

She nodded, and I threw myself into the water at once, the cold not bothering me. She winced at the sight and lowered herself slowly, getting used to the temperature. Soon all girls were swimming and splashing water around.

We were going to start a game of volleyball, so Courtney and I volunteered to go get a ball.

I grabbed a towel and dried myself as best as possible. It was cold, so I wrapped it around me and waited for Courtney to come.

The storage rooms were on the other side of the building, so we went all the way around the school to the boy's side and entered the gym. It was unlocked, and we grabbed one ball and got out quickly.

On our way back, we passed close to the basketball field and heard a ball hitting the floor consecutively. We looked through the green net, locking the players in. Whoever was in there had had no trouble turning on all the lights.

I didn't recognise him at first, but once he turned to us, Courtney squealed. He gawked at us as soon as he heard her.

He grabbed the ball with one hand and walked towards us with a scowl. I stepped back when he advanced. Although he didn't seem threatening before, now, in the dark, towering over us, friendly was not the word I would use to describe him.

"What are you doing here?" Michael Deeks asked. Oh crap, even his voice is scary.

"We... uh..." started Courtney, but she couldn't find an answer or stop stuttering.

If we told him, he would probably tell the teachers, and we were going to be screwed.

"What are you doing here? No one is allowed to be outside the dorms after ten o'clock," I said.

He smirked, not seeming so scary now. "Well, if you find a way of kicking me out of this place, please, tell me"

"Aren't you worried about being punished?" I asked, out of curiosity.

"No. Well, ladies, as much fun as this might be, I have stuff to do, so have fun in the pool"

How does he... oh right, we're in bathing suits and soaking wet.

He disappeared into the dark, heading back inside, and we turned around and went back to our friends.

"What do you think he meant by that?" wondered Courtney.

"Maybe he doesn't want to be here"

We got to the pool and separated ourselves into two different teams. I didn't know the names of most of my teammates, but that didn't stop us from playing.

I suck at volleyball, but Jade is exceptional at it, so we scored some points, but not enough to win.

Jade was really sad that we lost. I didn't quite understand why did it affect her so much. After all, it was just a friendly game.

"Hey, Jade? Are you okay?" I tried to talk to her.

"Yeah, yeah" she brushed it off with a hand gesture but it didn't seem fine. I didn't push it either. She might've been just tired.

It was almost two in the morning when we got back to the dorms after a little snack. I threw myself onto the mattress after getting rid of my swimsuit and back to the comfort of my nightgown. And then, I dreamt again.

I was back on the stage, all lights on me, now dressing in some weird pink dress. Everything was silent and I could see the crowd staring at me from the bed I was lying on.

Someone ran to the stage and knelt next to my bed. It was Micah, dressed in the most ridiculous knight costume I had ever seen. He leaned over, reciting his lines, and kissed me.

It was so soft; he was barely touching me but I felt a million butterflies erupting in my stomach. And the crowd cheered and my heart thumped in my chest, trying to jump out. I was out of breath, not knowing how to react, and it seemed so warm.

And I woke up. As the play should go. But in reality, it was the bloody alarm clock that made my sweet dream melt into a puddle of darkness beyond my grasp.

I sat up and turned off the clock. Courtney looked at me inquisitively from the other bed.

"Why the smug look?"

"I'm going to play Aurora"

☕☕☕

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