a circle.”
“Do you think she’ll put on any music anytime during this class?” Alexandra whispered to Grace.
“I don’t know,” Grace whispered back, “but I’m totally going to go crazy if she doesn’t.”
“Now lie on your backs, close your eyes, and breathe,” Sequoia continued. “I want you to imagine that you are walking in a beautiful forest. Imagine how it feels, and find peace in your enjoyment of this forest. Let your arms rest loosely at your sides, and let your lower back find a comfortable position. Now start rocking up and down, starting the motion from your heels. Yes, that’s right.” Standing over Kaitlyn, she asked, “What’s your name?”
“Kaitlyn,” she said, smiling up at Sequoia smugly.
“Very good, Kaitlyn!”
Anna pushed her heels violently into the floor, sending her body to the side by accident. “Careful, careful. Not too vigorously, now,” Sequoia cautioned. After the rocking exercise, they slowly progressed to floor work.
During a “just move across the floor concentrating on your feet, don’t hurry, move at your own pace” exercise, Alexandra looked at the clock for the twentieth time and noticed that the hands had actually moved. “Look!” she whispered excitedly to Tristan. “We’re finished soon!”
“Thank god,” Tristan whispered back. “I was that close to just running out the door when she was telling me to just ‘be the deer’!”
“Everyone, come and sit down,” said Sequoia. “Let your breath slowly return.”
“We weren’t doing anything! My breath is intact!” Alexandra complained to Tristan.
“Please do not to talk during class,” Sequoia said, a slight frown creasing her brow. “It is disrespectful to your classmates. Now, I believe that in order to become a successful dancer, you must know yourself. When I say successful dancer, I do not mean one that is successful in the eyes of teachers or judges. I mean someone who knows themselves so completely, that they can transcend their body to connect with an audience. To be able to accomplish this is to be a truly great dancer. When you dance, you should feel goosebumps on your arms. It is only when you have really come out of yourself that you have truly experienced what it is to dance.” Alexandra tried to smother a yawn. “During this class, I feel that I have really been able to get to know the real you, so I am going to attempt to act as a mirror, and show you bits of yourself that you may not have known before. What’s your name?” Sequoia asked Tristan.
“Ah … Tristan?”
“Now, that’s interesting, Tristan. Did you notice that you just said your name as a question? Are you quite sure that your name is Tristan?”
“Yes, my name is Tristan,” Tristan said, a bit confused and annoyed.
“That’s much better, Tristan! Now, Tristan, I want you to just close your eyes and think. I want you to imagine that a fly is coming to rest on your head. Swat it away. Good, good, that’s very good. Now stand up … and then put all your weight on one leg. Good! You can open your eyes now.”
“Great,” Tristan answered sarcastically.
“Now, Tristan,” Sequoia said with an understanding smile, “if you were angry with me right now, would you most want to punch me or call me names?”
“Call you names,” Tristan answered without hesitation. Delilah giggled.
“Ah, I think you are not in touch enough with your masculine side. You are really going to have to work on that to become more well-rounded.” Tristan looked at her in disbelief, and everyone started to giggle. “Might I suggest maybe focusing on some pursuits that bring out your manly side?” Sequoia was apparently oblivious to the class’s reaction. “Maybe try some baseball or soccer … you know, even just doing some extra math might help.”
Alexandra raised her hand to her mouth, trying not to laugh.
“Oh my God, do you believe that woman?” Tristan said angrily as they walked down the stairs after class. “Like, does she even know what gay means?”
“No, I don’t think she does,” Alexandra laughed.
“Even I know what gay means, and I’m Japanese,” Kageki said in disgust.
“I am so not taking that class again,” Tristan jumped into the lost and found bin. Taking a lost doll out, he held in front of his face. “I think you need to get in touch with your masculine side,” he said in a high-pitched voice, imitating Sequoia.
“And Mrs. Demidovski said we had to tell everyone to come to this class.” Delilah shook her head scornfully. “As if!”
“Yeah! Yeah right!” Tristan stuffed the doll violently back in the lost and found.
“Hey, Tristan,” said Alexandra, doing up her shoes, “do you want to come with Grace, Anna, and me? We’re going shopping.”
“Where?” Tristan brightened up.
“Robson, duh!”
“That sounds like fun …” Delilah hinted. Alexandra and Tristan ignored her.
“Oh, Lexi,” Grace said, “I think I’m actually going to just go home? I’m kind of tired. Anna, we can still hang out though, if you want. We’ve been planning this for such a long time. Do you want to come sleep over?”
“Sure,” Anna grinned at Alexandra.
“Well, do you still want to go?” Alexandra asked Tristan, trying to keep the anger out of her voice. Glancing over at Delilah, Alexandra added, “You can come, too, if you want.”
“Sure!” Delilah said happily.
“That sounds fun,” Tristan smirked at Alexandra, who was watching Grace and Anna leave. She looked nauseated.
“So, what’s the new guy like?” Alexandra asked as they waited for the bus. She suddenly remembered how little sleep she had gotten the night before, and yawned.
“Oh, Jules? He’s really cool, and nice,” said Tristan enthusiastically. Alexandra looked at him sharply. “He homestays at Mr. Yu’s. I went over there yesterday. We had a lot of fun, except it was laundry day, so nobody was supposed to come over. I tried hiding in Keiko ’s closet every time Mr. Yu came by, ’cause me, Jules, and Keiko were playing cards in her room, but then he heard my voice, and he was like ‘Wazzat? Who there?’ and so he gave me a lecture and hit me with the broom. It was fun though.”
“Jules sounds nice,” Alexandra said neutrally. “He seems straight, is he?”
“Oh, I don’t know.”
“He is definitely straight,” Delilah said, giggling. “He couldn’t be that clueless and be gay.” Tristan glared at her, annoyed.
“Some people are gay and clueless,” he said. “And it’s okay that he’s clueless, because he’s kind of smart.”
“It doesn’t really matter, right?” Alexandra said firmly as they got on the bus. “Where do
