Chapter Two:
DANCE FEVER
Monday, when we opened the door to the gym, I knew the news was out. Music boomed and thumped like a party. Instead of starting warm-up exercises, Mr. Best grinned, spun around, and slid his feet from side to side.
“Go, Mr. B! Go, Mr. B!” kids cheered and danced along.
“Okay,” he said, laughing. “Everybody take a seat around the circle. I have exciting news. In less than two weeks, we’re having a dance to raise money for coats for kids who need them. There will be a challenge, too: ten dances for you to try. The more you do, the more money you raise.”
“All right!”
“Yes!”
Miles and his best friend RJ high-fived. Simone looked at me and Lena and grinned. I knew what she was thinking. They loved to jump rope and had moves like dancers on TV. I stared at the shiny wooden floor.
“Today, we’re changing gym class to dance class to kick off the fun,” Mr. Best said. Soon, the sounds of the line dance the Cupid Shuffle echoed in the room.
“Follow me.”
Mr. Best led us through the steps, one at a time. Walking to the right, I could do that. Walking to the left, okay. Kicking then walking and turning. This wasn’t so bad. But when it was time to put it all together, that’s when things fell apart. Every time the line turned, I was a beat behind. I bumped into someone. I tripped over my feet. I was lost. I moved to the back and hoped nobody caught my stumbles. Thankfully, the bell rang and set me free.
Simone and Lena didn’t seem to notice.
“You know we have to do the challenge together,” Simone said.
“Yeah,” Lena said. “This is going to be awesome.”
I smiled and nodded even though my head was throbbing. They were my best friends, but no way could I keep up with them. What was I going to do?
In class, Miss Taylor passed out the kindness checklists and pledge sheets. The more sponsors we signed up and dances we tried, the more money we could raise. No one would keep track of what dances we completed. It was up to us to be honest.
I scanned the list of dances the Council Crew came up with: the Cupid Shuffle, Whip and Nae Nae, Chicken Dance, the Floss. It went on and on. As I read each one, I felt the jitters jamming in my stomach.
After school, I finished my homework and then started working on my poster for Caring Week. Everyone on the Council Crew was making them to hang up in the hallway. I drew a pair of sneakers on a piece of yellow construction paper and wrote beneath it in bubble letters: Put yourself in someone else’s shoes.
I thought back to the note I read in the meeting. I wondered who wrote it. What if it were Jackson and me who needed new coats? Tough times happen to everybody.
I remembered a couple years back when Daddy was laid off and looking for a new job. There wasn’t money for extras.
I would do whatever I could to help raise money for coats, even if I had to dance with everyone watching. I found the Cupid Shuffle song and tried the moves again.
“What are you doing?” my little brother Jackson asked, standing in the doorway to my room. “You look funny. Want me to show you how?”
He moved to the right, to the left, kicked, walked and turned in time with the beat. I couldn’t believe it. Not one mess-up. Not one missed step. He did the dance like he knew it his whole life.
“Where did you learn that?” I asked.
“In gym class.”
My heart dropped. Jax could do the dance, but I couldn’t. This just wasn’t my day.