Cooks 1

Draft 4
The Last Dance
The walk from the make-shift dressing area to Exhibit Hall A where the finals were
taking place seemed to take forever to Joselyn. The sun sparkled harshly through the windows,
and she stared, amazed at where she was. Through the palm trees and past the parking lot the
ocean twinkled blue and white. Just two days before she was sure that she would be laying out
on the beach for the rest of the week, doubting their team would make it to the finals, but here
they were. They watched the girls stretching in their warm-up suits as we went by. One girl,
probably eight years old, with thick black eyeliner and a blonde bun pulled tight on top of her
head held her leg by her ear and stared forward with a look of concentration never seen before on
a girl that size. A group of girls sat by the wall with a blanket stretched over their knees and their
heads on each other's shoulders. They looked absolutely exhausted. Joselyn thought they seemed
to be going in slow motion, savoring the last moments before their final dance together as a
team. It hadn't really sunk in yet that this would be the last time she would ever performed with
the girls.
After what seemed like forever, they turned the corner toward the auditorium. They
passed by an array of scents from the popcorn cart, the roasted peanuts, and the cotton candy. It
made Joselyn cringe and her stomach knot up even smelling the overpoweringly sweet and
buttery smells. Then, she saw her parents. They were standing outside the door of the hall
smiling tightly. This was the expression she was used to seeing on them since the recent affair.
She sighed, half way wishing she hadn't begged them to come and full heartedly wishing she
didn't have to beg for them to be there. If only they could set aside their differences for one day
to support her in her last dance. There was a definite pit in her stomach as she gave them each a

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hug and forced an excited smile. They just nodded back, and her dad ushered her stepmom in to
find a place to sit. Shake it off, Joselyn. This is your time, she thought. She couldn't worry about
them at that moment. This was it. This was the climax of the ten years of grueling, hard work she
had put herself through. Pride swelled in her chest because she knew she had earned this.
She thought back on all the memories that led her to this convention center in Myrtle
Beach on that hot, July day. Although she had plenty of amazing and challenging experiences in
classes and workshops over the past ten years, none of them seemed significant when she
thought of all the people who had shaped her dancing career. First, her grandmother who had
instilled her love of dance in Joselyn when she was only a few years old by taking her to see the
Nutcracker Ballet every Christmas. She thought of all the amazing teachers and friends whom
she could never forget, but there were three people in particular who she felt she owed this
moment to. Angela, David, and Shelby Bisher, her mentors since she was eleven and her second
family. They were the only ones Joselyn could think of while she walked away from her parents
and into the crowded hall where she would perform the most important piece of her entire life.
It was dim and there was a thin fog laying over the hall. One could practically see tiny
particles of glitter hanging in the air. The walls stretched high above their heads, probably over
thirty feet tall. It was impossible to even see the ceiling because it was so far up. One side of the
huge room was lined with bleachers stretching all the way up to the infinite ceiling. It sat about
50,000 people, and that day every seat was filled. Joselyn tried not to look at them when she
walked by to go backstage. There was a huge black divider in the middle of the room to act as a
curtain on either side of the stag. Ten foot sparkly blue and yellow letters spelled out the name of
the competition: STARSYSTEMS. The stage itself was enormous, and Joselyn wondered how

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sticky it was. Were there any bumps or feathers from costumes she needed to watch out for? She
couldn't wait to be on it with the lights beating down and every eye in the room watching her.
They all huddled backstage shivering with excitement as Dana, their instructor, checked
them in with the young man at the little table near the stairs to the stage. He didn't look very nice.
They never did. "Oh, he's cute," Summer said. She was the only one who would notice
something like that at such a crucial time. Then, they heard the music of the next group of
performers start. It was a slow piece. Good, ours will look awesome after that. We just have to
bring our energy. She fluffed the tulle in my skirt nervously. "I think we're on after this." Not
yet. "We must be next...someone go ask." Still they waited. The waiting was the worst part.
Joselyn remembered other times in her life when I had to wait. She checked the mail twice a day
for a month straight for the results of her first big audition. She waited for five minutes that felt
like at least five hours before her first solo. She felt the same panicky feeling that day, like if she
thought too hard about what was about to happen she might faint. What if my legs just give up on
me? What if I forget the dance? Of course, each one of them could probably do the dance in their
sleep, but they couldn't help but go over all the tiny details again and again. "Okay, remember,
the lines changed for the final turn section." "Yeah, and don't forget it's one, two, chaines and the
second one you hold on the third." Joselyn kept kicking my leg as high as she could, trying to
touch her face to her knee. It released energy and made her feel ready. She was jittery and sweaty
and could feel her heart vibrating in her chest. Finally, their name was up next. They were right
after a dance from Southern Strut, the team to beat at this competition. They all looked at each
other wide-eyed and scared as they climbed the stairs and stood in the wings. Even Lauren
looked nervous, and she never did. Each one of them were all thinking the same thing, but their
mouths stayed tightly shut. We're after Southern Strut... We're doomed.

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Casey Tuttle, the announcer the team had grown fond of teasing at the regional's over the
years walked on stage to announce them. They gathered behind the stage to say a quick prayer.
The exact words were unimportant, but the feeling of love and encouragement for one another
had never been so strong among the group. They had really become like a family, arguing and
bickering every week, but always watching out for the good of the team. Yes, they had their
differences in the past, but now was the time to put all the pettiness and drama aside and come
together to win. Joselyn forgot all the jealous gossip and name-calling she had heard and sadly
been a part of over the years and felt an overwhelming sense of family.
All of a sudden, they were lining up. McKenna counted "five, six, seven, eight" and they
marched on stage. Oh god, this is it. The team stood together in their matching pose with their
right leg popped, left hand on their hip, and body slightly arched in that confident, puffed out
way all dancers know. The music started and everything fell away. Joselyn was immersed in that
indescribable feeling she always got when she was onstage. Her body didn't feel like it was an
actual part of herself. She seemed to watch herself dance from high up above the stage. Good
job, Joselyn. This is it. Ouch, a little wobbly on that turn. Don't even think about your feet
cramping or else they will. Here we go. Wink! Yes, cute. You got this. The bass was so deep and
the music so loud, but somehow it sounded far away. Lauren and Jazmine were less than a foot
away from her, but she forgot that they existed. This was her last opportunity to really shine
onstage and do what she knew she was meant to do. She could not have thought of a better way
to end her amateur dancing career than performing at the Star Systems National Finals. She was
so proud of herself and she hoped her parents, grandma, and the Bisher family were too.
She went through the movements effortlessly, hitting everything harder than she had ever
done before. As she flicked her right foot and ball changed onto the left she held my breath.

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Nailed it. She skipped backstage, holding character until she couldn't see the judges, then caught
my breath for a split second as she got in position to go back on. She watched Lauren, Alex, and
McKenna cross step and snap their way to the center of the stage then chaines, down, down, and
barrel leap high into the air, throwing their heads back to add emphasis. This was her cue. She
walked in on tip toes, rolling her shoulders and smiling at what she assumed was the audience.
All she could see was a black blur where people's faces must have been. It was better not to look
too hard.
The rest of the dance went by in a blur, and suddenly, they were almost to the end. Dana
had changed this part only the day before, and Joselyn was a little nervous about nailing it. Okay,
she was a lot nervous. She slid one spot over so that she was on the outside of Mary Margaret,
ball changed, and began the turn section. She felt herself get a little off, but hopefully the judges
didn't notice. One, and two, and three, and hold, chaines, shimmy! She smiled widely to hide the
imperfection of the previous eight-count and stretched her arms high above her head. She could
feel the energy shooting out of her fingers. Flick, flick! This was her favorite part of the dance. In
that small eight-count she always felt alive in a way that was not possible anywhere but the
stage. Then, she booked in into the center of the stage, turning and falling to one knee and
pointing straight at the judges. It was over. She waited a few second and somehow, like they
always did, they all stood up at the same moment and walked sassily off the stage. The
exhilarating feeling was still coursing through her veins. We did it! It was over. I felt like they
had just lined up, but Joselyn wished those three minutes could have lasted a lifetime.
As she drove home that night she was overwhelmed with a sense of sadness and loss. The
competition was over. Dance was over. She was not sad because they didn't win, in fact, she was
incredibly proud with how well they had done, but she was devastated that it was her last dance.