I was managing to juggle soccer, practice for the Cultural Center and keep up with my homework. At this point, everyone in school knew about my dancing. Tanner really had done me a favor. I didn’t have to hide anymore, and the range of reactions from people was kind of funny. Kids I didn’t even know came up and told me they thought it was kind of cool. Jen decided she might like to take the class with Santee and the girls sometime. The librarian pressed a couple of books into my hands about the history of First Nations people and their celebrations. There was still the odd idiot…like the racist jerk who started whooping and dancing around me in the hallway. But I just kept walking, and Aiden checked the kid into the wall with his shoulder. It was kind of worth it to see the look on the kid’s face when he bounced off the wall. Aside from rare instances like that, people were actually pretty cool.
Like my math teacher, Mr. Beckham. He had handed back my algebra quiz along with a high five that morning.
“Good job, John. Nice to see you can solve equations as well as you multitask. Really good work.”
I liked Mr. Beckham and grinned back at him. “Thanks, sir. I try.”
The fact was, I was doing pretty well, all things considered. But the next day was Saturday—time to go back to the Cultural Center for the Pow Wow group. I was beyond nervous. I had started to second-guess the backflip, and I was still stumbling on some of the tricks. I kept running through my routine in my head and messing up the sequence of the steps.
It was late. Or early, depending how you looked at it. The moon was huge and full, and it lit up the backyard with a soft glow that made the lawn look like it was alive. I stepped into the backyard and stopped, feeling the grass under my bare feet. I put earbuds into my ears and strapped my iPod to my arm. I closed my eyes and ran my fingers down the cord, pressing Play and waiting for the familiar drumbeats to start pounding their way into my head and flowing down through my body.
Under the full moon, I heard the music. I felt it. And with no one watching and no concern about the boys at the Cultural Center, I opened my eyes and started to dance.