Page 76 of Just a Little White Lie

“On your feet, people. Let’s get ready to work.”

I refer to the lesson plan Jack helped me put together, and we run through a few quick dance warm-ups before launching into the real thing.

I show them the first four bars of the song and manage to not make myself look like a complete idiot. I can tell because no one laughs or snickers. I then break it down, and we go through one bar at a time—eight beats of music. It’s slow going, but by the time the morning break bell rings, we’ve managed to get through the first twenty bars of the song.

The misfits are picking it up super quickly, and I’m both excited and relieved by the ease of the morning lesson.

So, of course, the second period doesn’t go as smoothly.

We get to bar twenty-seven, just around the change-up to the next song in the remix, and Maverick starts shaking his head.

“I don’t like that.” He points to my crossed feet, and I finish off my spin before he tells me that it looks dumb.

Of course Dante agrees with him, and then Arlo jumps on board, because the three musketeers love to gang up on me.

I cross my arms with a huff. “What’s wrong with it?”

“It’s not strong. It’s too fairy.” Maverick frowns. “Or old-school or something. I just don’t like it.”

“Every move can’t be strong and powerful. The dance needs dynamic, otherwise it’ll be boring.” I’m parroting Jack, trying to stand up for him as I worry that changing some of his moves might offend him.

“Agreed.” Dante nods. “But not with that move. We should try something like this.” He starts a few bars before the change-up, repeating the steps, then breaking into the Humpty with a complex twist I didn’t see coming.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Maverick gets excited. “Then I say one of us steps forward and does this.” He pulls off a break-dancing move that has my jaw reaching for the floor.

“I didn’t know you could do that.” I point at him. He gives me a smile that’s borderline proud, and something in my chest pops. I grin back at him and tap my finger on my bicep. “What would the people behind you do?”

“This.” Arlo steps up, pulling out a simple sidestep, followed by a Biz Markie. I can’t believe I’m remembering the names of all these moves. I’m proud of myself—and these kids as I watch them quickly pull together a sequence that looks amazing.

These guys have skills, and I could either stand here arguing with them for the sake of Jack’s pride… or I could give the misfits some ownership of their dance number.

“Okay.” I finally nod. “Okay, let me show you what Jack and I came up with to the end of bar thirty or maybe thirty-five, and then we can go back and adapt it to accommodate your ideas. I love that break-dancing move, and, Arlo, that background stuff looks fantastic.”

They all seem surprised by my openness, and by the time our session is done for the day, I feel like I’ve won a Nobel Peace Prize.

“Thanks, Miss!” Arlo raises his hand as he walks out the door. “See you tomorrow.”

“See ya!” I call after him, and as soon as I’m on my own, I let out an excited whoop and text Jack the good news.

Bubbles of excitement pop through my chest when he replies. He’s excited to see what they’ve come up with—phew!—and is free to come down and see it tomorrow.

“Yay!” I text back, then follow it up with a bunch of kissing gifs, and my lunchtime is spent cracking up at my phone while the text chain between us gets filled with one gif after another.

I practically bounce into my English cover class; pretty sure nothing in the world can dampen my mood. As I call the class to order and we discuss the lesson’s work, I scan the crowd, looking for just one misfit. None of them are there. Instead, it’s filled with neatly dressed, well-behaved elite kids, and much to my surprise, I find myself missing the banter and streetwise attitude of my dancers. Sure, they’re hard work, but man, do those guys have character.

JACK

True to my word, I show up the next morning to see what the misfits have put together. Lauren didn’t have to ask me twice. I was stoked by her excitement over how well the lesson went. She needed that break. And sure, it stings the pride a little to have my choreography messed with, but that’s creativity, right? You have to be open to all ideas.

And damn, I’m kinda glad I am, because these kids have got some natural talent that I’m pretty sure they’re totally unaware of.

Maverick finishes his spin while Dante pulls off a stylish pose to complement the move. That sequence flows easily into the next part I came up with, but Lauren pauses the music before I can see it.

She looks nervous as she glances up at me, her teeth scraping the edge of her glossy lip.

“Well? What do you think?” she asks.

I take my time, not wanting to be flippant, and replay the sequence in my head before finally nodding. “I like it. The moves are a little sloppy and need sharpening up, but that’s pretty awesome, you guys. Well done.” I throw a smile at the boys and score myself a sharp frown from Maverick.

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