💋
“1, 2, drop, roll up, 5,” she whispered as she practiced in front of the wall. “6, 7, pop, and, 1, 2, 3, 4, bounce and bounce, 7, 8…” she remained focused as she tried to memorize carefully the choreography.
It was imperative that she got this right when they would come back from their break. The ‘foreigner privilege’ did not exist when it came to entertainment; therefore, she had to work even harder to be acknowledged. She had raised the bar so hard for herself in every aspects of her life.
“1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, 8…dang it, I was supposed to take two steps, before that twirl and that whip…” she accidentally cursed as she walked towards the radio and stopped the music.
She sighed and resumed her practice counting loudly. Her moves were more fluid at least. She remembered receiving a reprimand about looking like a robot. It was quite embarrassing especially if she wanted to teach others how to dance. She could remember that moment clearly enough. There were some who were saying everything that came to their mind out loud not even caring if it hurt. She remembered mocking her for being ‘not black enough’, because ‘African could all dance’. Obviously, it was science, it was common knowledge. Then, the leader of the slander team reminded everyone that she was ‘half-black’.
“1, 2, drop, roll up, 5…” she restarted from the beginning of the section. “1, 2, step, step, turn and whip, 8,” she did correctly this time around.
“Keep up with the good work, Alex,” said someone from the door. It was one of the dancers that she could vaguely recall the name. She went to the radio and plugged her iPod into it. “But, Jihye-unni said to take a break. It’s good to rest sometimes.” The girl said before starting to play WANNA B’s Attention. “I still love this song. Do you know it?”
Alex shook her head. The melody was pretty good though. She liked the beat and started to move to it. It made the other girl smile even more.
“Let me show you the point dance,” the girl announced. “It’s pretty simple. I think you are familiar to Little Mix’s Salute? Because, when they say ‘Attention’, they salute. And then, the chorus comes.” She showed Alex the choreography a couple of times. It had been a while that the American had that much fun with someone who was not exactly part of her friend group. She was not even the slightest anxious.
“I love the rapper’s part a lot,” Alex ended up saying while she continued to practice the chorus.
The girl acknowledged it with a nod. “There are really not half bad. You should check them out really. It’s sad that not everybody can make it big. They deserve some recognition. So many groups deserve some actually.” She sighed. “Okay, let’s have a little battle. Who can do this part better?” She exclaimed accompanied with a giggle.
Wariness began to grow in her heart. She was really self-conscious when it came to any forms of competition after what happened to her. The latter assured her that they were just doing it for fun; therefore, Alex should relax a bit. Tying her hair with a scrunchy, the young woman inhaled and exhaled until she reached a calmer state. It was just a harmless dance off. That was what she kept on telling herself; yet, it did not quite help. The girl even went first, which made Alex even more wary of the latter’s intention until the girl clasped her hands on Alex’s cheeks.
“It is just for fun,” she said once more. “It is a game,” she added in ‘engrish’ to make sure that Alex understood.
In the end, she declared Alex the winner. “I even have proof that you know how to dance pretty well, so don’t get too frustrated and don’t overdo it. It has been hard for you these days, right? We all kind of noticed that, because you train a lot more these days. Jihye-unni asked me to keep an eye on you.” Her words made Alex teary that she had to fight to hold back those tears. Moreover, those words, which she took for encouragement, gave her strength.
event.
