Two to Tango (2 page)

Since Miss Toni had been a dancer her whole life, Rochelle knew she understood this. But the two of them always butted heads. Miss Toni
wanted her to wear toe shoes when she preferred to dance barefoot. Toni expected her to spend hours at the
barre
practicing boring positions when Rochelle wanted to leap and spin through the air.

“You cannot be a great dancer without foundation,” Toni insisted. “Technique is everything.” But Rochelle was convinced that great dancers were born, not made. She wanted to fly across the studio floor while her dance coach made her take baby steps.

It was no secret among the Divas that Rochelle liked to dance to her own beat. She had a reputation for being a bit of a rebel. Scarlett was always afraid that one day she'd push Toni too far—and she'd kick her off the competition team. One time, she came pretty close. A day before the Movin' Up competition in Indiana, Rochelle decided to “redesign” her costume so it would be more comfy.

“You like?” she asked her teammates, modeling an astronaut costume she'd cut off at the legs.

“Oh, boy.” Bria gulped. “You chopped off the whole bottom of the costume.”

“Not the
whole
bottom,” Rochelle insisted. “Just the big balloony legs so I can move better.”

“But Rock, Toni had these costumes made to look exactly like space suits,” Scarlett reminded her. “She's not gonna be happy you changed her design.”

Scarlett was right. The moment Rochelle walked in the studio—without the legs of her space suit—Toni flipped.

“You're supposed to be walking on the moon!” the dance coach shrieked. “You can't walk on the moon in booty shorts!”

“I couldn't dance in that big, bulky space suit,” Rochelle insisted. “I felt like a giant marshmallow.”

“That was the point!” Toni bellowed. “The authenticity of the struggle! Do you think it was easy for men to walk on the moon?”

Luckily, it was too late to restage the routine. Toni told all the Divas to wear silver shorts and crop tops instead. But as punishment, Rochelle had to wear an astronaut bubble helmet and sit on top of the moon, waving an American flag.

“I feel like I'm inside a fishbowl,” she moaned.

“Serves you right,” Liberty said. “Too bad Toni didn't make you dress like the man in the moon and wear Swiss cheese.”

Scarlett tried to sympathize. “Sorry, Rock. But you knew Miss Toni would go ballistic.”

“I can't help it,” Rochelle confided in her BFF. “I just have to be me.”

She hoped that Toni would one day give up, give in, and stop trying to change her.

Maybe today was the day.

When she arrived at the studio, the door was open but the front lobby and hallways were quiet and dark. Dance Divas was usually abuzz with activity and dancers rushing to classes, but it was too early for any of them to begin. She tiptoed toward studio 2, where Miss Toni told her to meet.

The shades were pulled over the studio windows, so Rochelle couldn't see in. But she could hear Miss Toni's voice booming. “And one, and two, and shoulders back, straight knees!”

She pushed the door open slowly and saw a blond bun at the
barre
. . .

Liberty!

“Glad you could join us, Rochelle,” Toni called. “Come in. Warm up. Let's get to work.”

Rochelle froze in her tracks. “What's she doing here?” she began. “You said this was my dance,
my
solo.”

“I never said I was giving you a solo. In fact, I was envisioning a duet,” Toni explained.

“No way. I am not dancing with her!” Rochelle cried.

“Me, neither!” Liberty said.

Miss Toni clapped her hands in the air. “Enough! Stop bickering or neither of you will dance at Leaps and Bounds. You're not dancing
together.
”

“We're not?” Rochelle scratched her head. “So who is the duet with?”

The door to the studio suddenly pushed open and a tall, dark-haired teenage boy in a backward baseball cap walked in.

“With this young man,” Toni said, motioning for him to come in. “Ladies, I'd like you to meet
Hayden Finley. I discovered him at the Feet on Fire competition. He lives in New Jersey, and he wants to be a guest Diva.”

“Seriously? You want to be a Diva?” Rochelle asked. “You're a boy.”

“And boys can't dance, right?” Hayden said. He did a smooth twirl on the floor, then stood on the tips of his jazz shoes. “How's that?”

Rochelle felt a strange flutter in the pit of her stomach—like a butterfly tickling her with its wings. “Um, okay,” she said. But it was more than okay. It was amazing. Hayden could dance all right. He could dance circles around any Diva.

“But can you do lyrical? Or ballet?” Liberty challenged him.

Hayden launched into a thrilling
saut de basque
, traveling across the entire studio floor in a series of breathtaking turns. He landed on bended knee back at Liberty's feet. That shut her up. For once, Liberty was actually speechless. She couldn't take her eyes off him.

Miss Toni cleared her throat to get their
attention, but both girls were too busy staring at Hayden to hear her. “Hello?” she asked. “Can we start the choreography, or are you girls going to just stand there with your mouths hanging open?”

Hayden smiled and rose to his feet.

OMG,
thought Rochelle,
he has dimples, too!

Miss Toni continued. “Like I was saying, I envisioned a duet between a boy and a girl—and Hayden says he's up for being the male lead. That leaves the female lead.”

If Rochelle was excited before, the idea of dancing with Hayden made her feel even more giddy. “So, that would be me?” she asked Miss Toni.

“Not so fast . . .,” Toni corrected her. “Liberty came to me yesterday and asked for a special dance as well. Fair is fair. She did win the National Junior Solo title.”

Rochelle fumed. It was so like Liberty to try and manipulate everyone! And Miss Toni seemed to be buying it!

“So I've decided to choreograph
two
duets with Hayden. We'll try out your routines at a few of the smaller competitions. Whichever girl brings it more, gets to perform with him at Leaps and Bounds.”

“So that would be me!” Liberty said, cozying up to Hayden. She batted her eyelashes. “You get to dance with the National Junior Solo champ!”

Rochelle gritted her teeth. Liberty was pulling out all the stops. First, she went behind her back to Miss Toni. Now, she was trying her best to charm Hayden into picking her as his partner.

Toni turned to Rochelle. “Your dance is called ‘Inferno.' It's about a girl who is literally on fire on the dance floor,” she explained. “It's a contemporary dance with Latin rhythms. A little salsa, a little
paso doble
, and lots of smoke machines.”

Rochelle was confused; she had never heard of those dances before. What was Toni getting her into this time?

Hayden read her mind. “The only salsa I like is the kind you eat with tortilla chips,” he joked to Rochelle. “Can I have some guacamole on the side?”

Toni ignored the wisecrack and continued. “Hayden, you will chase Rochelle around the floor, trying to capture her—but if you get too close, you get burned. Clear?”

Hayden nodded . . . then winked at Rochelle. There went that flip-flop feeling in her stomach again!

“The other duet will be between Liberty and Hayden, and I call it ‘Love's First Kiss.' ”

Rochelle didn't like the sound of that one bit. Especially if it meant Liberty got to lock lips with Hayden.

“It's a contemporary lyrical number set to a haunting ballad. I see you dancing in shadow behind flowing white curtains suspended from the ceiling.”

“Like shadow puppets.” Hayden chuckled, making a bunny with his fingers.

Toni frowned. “If we want to beat City Feet, there will be no more joking around.”

The very mention of their rival dance team made Rochelle's skin crawl. City Feet Dance Studio was led by Toni's former ballet school bestie-turned-enemy Justine Chase. The Divas knew Justine had a one-track mind: all she ever thought about was one-upping Toni.

“What's with City Feet?” Hayden whispered. “Sounds like a war.”

“Oh, it is,” Liberty explained. “We beat them at the Reach for the Stars competition, and you can bet that evil little troll Mandy Hammond and the rest of her team are going to try everything they can to get even.”

“So we kick their butts,” Hayden said calmly. “Piece of cake.”

Rochelle wished she had his confidence. “It's not that easy. They're good.
Really
good.”

“They are.” Toni overheard the conversation. “They're going to have amazing routines, perfect technique, and stunning costumes. And I have . . .”
She paused to look at Rochelle, Liberty, and Hayden. “Three students who can't focus with time ticking away.”

Liberty's hand shot up. “I'm focused! I'm ready!”

“Then let's begin.” Toni sighed. “We have our work cut out for us.”

Liberty had studied ballet since she was in diapers, so a
pas de deux
with Hayden was right up her alley. Rochelle watched from the corner of the studio as Hayden held her hand. Liberty rose on her toes and did a
promenade en arabesque
. It looked perfect—Liberty's leg and arm were extended elegantly behind her—but Miss Toni shook her head. “No, no. Don't think of him as a
barre
. Balance, find your stability,
then
take his hand.”

Hayden smiled. “I don't mind if you lean on me now and then.”

Rochelle gritted her teeth. The only thing that
made her feel a little better was Toni's relentless correcting. “Liberty! What are you doing? Why is your leg drooping and drifting? Where is your form?”

Liberty sighed. “I'm trying. I think he needs to stand closer to me.”

Rochelle turned her back and tried not to watch them in the mirror. She could hear Liberty giggling.

“That's it!” Toni called. “Now look right into each other's eyes. The movement should be smooth and fluid. Liberty! Head up, shoulders back, and for goodness' sake, show me some emotion!”

“I promise not to bite,” Hayden said as he inched closer. “You know, Princess Aurora does this same move with her suitors in
Sleeping Beauty
.”

“Ooh!” Liberty gushed. “I would love to play Sleeping Beauty!”

“You're already a spoiled princess,” Rochelle muttered under her breath.

“Enough! Enough!” Miss Toni suddenly stopped
the music. “I want to see Hayden and Rochelle now.”

Rochelle sprang to attention. “I'm ready!” The silly orange ruffled skirt swirled around her hips. She felt like she was wearing a lamp shade.

“In
paso doble
, the man is the bullfighter and the woman is the cape,” Miss Toni explained.

“Are you sure she's not the bull?” Liberty commented. “It suits her better . . .”

“It's all about the legs and the hips,” Toni continued, ignoring Liberty. “And you need to look like a flamenco dancer, Rochelle.”

She showed her how to twirl her wrists and raise them slowly over her head with a dramatic flourish. “It looks like you're clicking castanets. Get it? You do this when you split apart.”

Split apart? Liberty got to spend the whole routine holding hands with Hayden, and Miss Toni was already planning how to split her and Hayden apart?

“Hayden, do this,” Miss Toni commanded. She stamped her foot on the floor. “Then you take
Rochelle by the hands and turn her around—like you're twirling a cape to bait the bull.”

“Bait the bull!” Liberty snickered. “This is too funny!”

“This move is called the
chasse cape,
” Toni said, ignoring Liberty. “The moves of
paso doble
should all be sharp and strong.”