Konan375
shylarah
Master EffeX
AlteredTundra
“Just follow me, okay?”
“Eh?”
Ran was pulled along. He floundered around for a couple of beats, and slowly adjusted his steps. He took smaller ones to accommodate the Nobody’s dainty steps. Ms. Anna was a really good teacher. How could she be so patient? She never stopped smiling even when he stepped on her foot. Surely a lady this magnanimous should have many other willing dance partners. He had no idea why she insisted on sticking to him.
Step. Touch. Step. Slide. Step. Press to the left. Step… step… come back to the starting position. Erm… why was Ms. Anna staring at him like that? His eyes fell on the couple in front, and he mimicked the man’s actions. Dip. Pull her up. He felt himself slip slightly. Must not drop her! Grab her arm to pull her up! Okay. Now step to the right then skip to the left. Ooops almost collided into that couple.
“Sorry!” Niran said hastily with a wink. He turned his attention back to the dance as he felt his face grow warm. The poor oblivious human didn’t notice that the other woman was giggling and attempting to wink back. Her dance partner sighed before trying to get her to notice him once more.
Skip some more. One more twirl… and bow. Ran smiled brightly as the couples gathered on the dance floor clapped. The members of the orchestra stood up and bowed. Dancing at the party didn’t seem too bad, though Ms. Anna had to take the lead at the start. He even enjoyed a couple of the dances. Those were dances that went with the faster songs.
The best dance was the group dance. Only because it was the easiest. The couples on the dance floor were instructed to form two lines. The men stood in one line facing the ladies who stood in another line. The music started after everyone bowed or curtsied. People bounced and clapped along to the music, and when the spot light shone on a randomly selected man and a randomly selected woman, the pair would head to the center and swing around a few times before returning to the nearest vacated spot in their respective lines. Sometimes three pairs were selected at once.
The whole scene reminded him of the Atlanta ball in Gone with the Wind. That was one of his mother’s favorite American movies. She could recite the entire plot verbatim even though she barely spoke any English. Thankfully she never forced any of them to learn ballroom dancing, especially Victorian ballroom dancing, though that would have been really useful right now.
The music only stopped after every each lady had the chance to dance with each man at least once. Yet somehow he was called up after every other pair. How odd. He danced with each lady twice and in some cases thrice. As for Ms. Anna, she was his partner four times in a row. Next time he should insist on standing in the middle. Those men hardly ever get selected.
“Ms. Anna, can I get you a drink and maybe more of those cream filled macaroons?”
Announcer said "And now, ladies, gentlemen, cheesecakes and apple biscuits. It's time for couples to hit the dance floor! Party goers, you better find that special man or lady! In a few moments, we'll be starting our dance competition, and the lucky couple that knocks our socks off will win 5,000 stars and five barrels of Mr. Cuddle's strawberry tarts!"
5000 stars? Are they serious? That was more than what he can earn in a month! He prayed Toby will be not be mad. The boy was probably not too happy to have been left alone. Honestly Toby was partly at fault. Even when he came back to check on the teen after transporting the hot water, delivering the party invites and deshelling the eggs, the kid was still asleep.
“Ms. Anna, would you like to be my partner?” He asked quickly just as she spoke.
Anna said "Do you hear that, sweetie? We should join the competition, don't you think so?"
Freaky! It’s almost as if she could read his mind. He chuckled and made no attempts to step away. Gosh Anna really reminded him of Mazu! Both woman are simply too awesome. They were fun and kind and don’t blush or giggle so much. Women at the clubs seem to always do that, and it made him extremely nervous. It’s like they were expecting something, but he always guessed wrongly. Most certainly didn’t want a free drink, and even fewer wanted him to call a taxi. Some actually looked offended when he pointed out where the taxi stand was. Still one or two would bluntly offer him their phone number before leaving. He never called back. There was a high chance that those women were insurance agents, and his older brother would flip if he bought another useless policy.
He stepped back and bowed. Then he offered Anna his arm as they made their way back onto the dance floor. They were one of the first few couples. Once again they faced each other. He bowed and she curtsied. He took her hand and wrapped another arm round her waist. The slow beat was killing him. How exactly were they supposed to stand out like this? He continued bobbing his head as he eyed the competition. This beat. Oh yeah! He can definitely squeeze in some funky moves. Thank god even techno can be slow at times.
“Now Ms. Anna, it is your turn to follow me.”
“Eh?” she responded, echoing what he had said earlier that evening.
He swished to the side and spun her round till her skirt flared out. He pulled her towards him and swung out again. Next he pulled their arms up and then slowly twisted it till both of them turned in a full circle on the spot. She seemed to be getting it. He grabbed her hand again as if to resume their former position. Instead of side stepping. He bounced on the spot and pumped his free hand up and down in the air. Dum… ba dum… da dum… dum dum.
Next he jumped two steps backwards. He swayed side to side. Hands up. Hands down. Rap style. Slide. Now a little moonwalk. Shoot pass Ms. Anna. Fall to the ground. Lie onto the side like break dancing. Lie flat and flip up. Remain down. Kick around. Drop once more and now spin around on his bum. Back to freestyle. Would the gangnum style be a bit too much? Yeah. It probably would. Continue with this slow motion dance then. Hell yeah! She totally gets it. He was pleased to see Ms. Anna joining in. Who would have guessed she knew these moves too! Why were so many people staring? He managed to make all those moves slow enough to match the tempo of the current song.
“Come on everyone! Join the party!” He yelled in an attempt to ease the awkwardness. Damn! Guess this wasn’t the typical dance competition after all. At least he didn’t boogie.
