Slip Jig Summer Read online

  “Like I did?” Molly asked.

  “No, I didn’t mean that,” I said. “I’ve just never competed in anything before. I don’t want to get up onstage and forget what I’m doing.”

  “I’ve done that before too! Many times! It’s even more embarrassing than falling,” Molly said.

  “But your mom said you don’t have to compete anymore, right? So that’s good, isn’t it?” While we talked I danced around the room, practicing my reel.

  “Yeah, but she still makes me go to the stupid classes,” Molly said.

  “You really dislike dancing that much? But you’re so good!”

  “It’s boring,” Molly said.

  I stopped and looked at her. “Well, maybe you need to have another chat with your mom.”

  “Yeah, maybe…” Molly said and went back to looking at her fish book.

  Nineteen

  I was a bit anxious about that evening’s class. Anna had promised I would finally learn a slip jig. After we had done warm-up, reels and light jigs, Anna asked a girl named Cora to teach me her slip jig. It was similar to the one Molly had shown me, so I caught on quickly. It was beautiful. When I had mastered it, we returned to the classroom. It felt amazing to get in line with the other dancers. I danced my slip jig alongside Cora, and this time Anna looked pleased.

  “Well done today,” Anna told me as I took off my ghillies at the end of class. “Make sure your aunt sends off the registration for the feis as soon as possible.”

  “She already did!”

  “Wonderful!” Anna said. “Keep up the hard work.”

  “Thank you,” I said. Then suddenly I realized something. “But what am I going to wear?”

  “Don’t worry. The school has some rental dresses,” Anna said. “I’ll bring the ones I think might fit you to our next class, and you can pick one out, okay?”

  “That sounds great. Thank you!”

  My mom called that night, and I told her all about my new ghillies, learning the slip jig and the upcoming feis.

  “I’m so happy you’re having a good summer,” she said.

  I guessed my summer was turning out okay. Even if I hadn’t heard from Yumi or Amber for over a week now.

  “How about you? Still super busy?” I asked.

  “Yes. I should be done by the last week of August.”

  “I wish you could come and see me dance at the feis,” I said.

  “I know. I am so sorry I can’t be there. I’ve never missed a performance. I’ll be thinking of you.”

  The night before the feis, my cousins put my hair in curlers. They used Molly’s, since she wouldn’t be competing.

  “I will not miss soft spikes,” Molly said with a laugh. “Actually, I don’t think there’s anything I’ll miss about competing.”

  “Suit yourself, fish girl,” Lissa teased.

  Once they were done with the curlers, I stole a glance in the mirror. I looked ridiculous! The bright purple spikes were sticking out from my head at every possible angle. I’d seen my cousins with the curlers in their hair a few times now, but it was different to see myself wearing the crazy curlers.

  “And I have to sleep with these in?” I asked.

  “It’s not that bad,” Fiona said as she looked in the mirror and adjusted a few of hers. “They’re called soft spikes for a reason—they’re soft!”

  “They’re still not that great to sleep in,” Molly said to me. “Good luck.”

  The curlers ended up not being that bad. The main thing that kept me awake was thinking about being onstage the next day. Even so, I woke up early to get ready. I asked Molly to help me take the curlers out in the morning. I had never had curly hair before.

  I stood in front of the mirror and watched as Molly took out the first curler. The hair sprung right back up to my scalp.

  “It’s so short!” I gasped.

  “Don’t worry—the curls will relax a bit. And I’ll separate them for you,” Molly said.

  She continued her work, unrolling and separating the pieces of hair into smaller strands. By the time she was done I had a curly mass of hair that was at least five inches shorter than usual—the curls were bouncing above my shoulders!

  Fiona and Lissa peeked in the bathroom door that had been left ajar.

  “Oooh, looking good!” Lissa said.

  “C’mon, girls, time to leave!” Aunt Lydia called to us.

  I looked through my backpack to be sure I had everything and then grabbed the garment bag that held the solo dress I had borrowed from the school. I couldn’t wait to put it on at the feis—with my socks and ghillies and my hair in curls!

  The feis was at the local university recreation center, so we didn’t have far to drive. We found a spot to set up our camp and located all of our stages. I did some warm-ups with the twins—jogging on the spot, points, point hop backs, cuts and then some stretching.

  “You should probably get changed now. Beginner dances might be starting soon,” Fiona said. The twins had already changed into their school dresses and were about to head over to their two-hand-reel stage.

  I nodded and took my garment bag to the girls’ dressing room. Molly came with me to help.

  “It feels so nice to not have to worry about dancing!” Molly said as we entered the dressing room. “How are you feeling? Nervous? Excited? Wishing you never signed up for this?”

  “A bit of the first two,” I said. “Not so much the last one.”

  I quickly slipped off my street clothes and pulled on the solo dress. It was a sparkling blue, with pink and yellow sequins in Celtic knot designs—much fancier than any of my ballet costumes.

  “Now you look like an Irish dancer!” Molly said as she zipped me up and made sure everything was in its proper place.

  “I’m starting to get more nervous now,” I said, wringing my hands, which suddenly felt very sweaty. This wasn’t a typical dance performance—I wouldn’t be onstage performing the same dance as the rest of my ballet class. I would be dancing at the same time as a dancer I had never met before, and I’d be the only one dancing my steps—I couldn’t look to a fellow dancer for help if I forgot my next move. I’d never even done a solo in ballet before.

  “Oh, they have a mirror!” Molly said and dragged me over to the full-length mirror set up in the dressing room. “Check it out!”

  I gasped. I really did look like an Irish dancer, from head to toe. I felt a swarm of butterflies begin to flutter in my stomach.

  “Oh! I promised my mom a selfie,” I said. I grabbed my phone from my bag.

  I snapped a quick mirror pic and texted it to my mom. I was about to put my phone away but decided to send the picture to Yumi too. And to Amber. Then I shut my phone off and put it back in my bag.

  “C’mon. Let’s go,” Molly said.

  As we walked over to the first stage I spotted Thomas coming toward us. He was just a few steps away when he finally noticed me—and stopped dead in his tracks.

  “Natalie?” he said, taking in my sparkly dress and head of curls. “You look amazing! No one will know you’re secretly a ballerina!” He winked.

  I tried not to show how pleased I was by his words. I needed to concentrate!

  Twenty

  “Natalie’s dancing on stage two in a few minutes,” Molly told Thomas. “You should stick around and watch!”

  “Wouldn’t miss it,” Thomas said.

  I glared at Molly. What was she doing? Trying to make me even more nervous?

  There were still two dances ahead of mine, but Molly said it would be best for me to just wait at the stage, as sometimes it was hard to tell how much time each age group would take.

  I saw a few other girls and one boy about my age waiting around the stage too. The girls all had beautiful sparkly dresses and curly hair. Some of them even had rhinestone-encrusted tiaras perched in their curls.

  I felt a bit awkw
ard waiting with Molly and Thomas. Molly kept glancing from Thomas to me and back again, a huge grin on her freckled face.

  “Are you nervous?” Thomas asked me.

  “Yeah, a little…I mean…a lot,” I said, wringing my sweaty hands again.

  “I still get nervous,” Thomas said with a smile.

  “How many competitions have you been to?” I asked him.

  “Um…hundreds?” Thomas said. “My mom started me really young. At my first feis I did the Tir na Nog.”

  I couldn’t help but imagine how cute that would have been.

  “And you still get nervous?” I asked.

  “Yeah, but that’s part of the fun—the adrenaline,” he said.

  I nodded. “Yeah, I guess. Sometimes I feel that way during ballet recitals. And then suddenly I can kick higher than I’ve ever kicked before!”

  “Yeah, exactly!” Thomas said.

  My turn was coming up soon. The other dancers began to find seats in the waiting area. I followed them. Finally, our judge, a middle-aged man wearing a suit, arrived and took his seat at the table in front of the stage. I walked with the other dancers onto the stage. I was paired with a girl wearing a red-and-gold solo dress. We would be the third to dance. The musician started playing his accordion. My heart began to race.

  I watched the first two girls step forward and start their reels. They were both beginners and had beginner reels like my own, but they danced so well! They looked confident, not nervous at all. They finished, bowed to the judge and then to the musician. The next two girls began to dance.

  As the girls finished their second step on their left side, I stepped forward, and the girl next to me followed. The dancers bowed. We pointed our right feet, rose onto our tiptoes and began to dance. I concentrated on my steps, on keeping my legs and ankles crossed, on pointing my feet and keeping my arms straight at my sides. Before I knew it, my steps were done and I was bowing. I barely remembered a thing. I went back to my spot in line and watched the last few pairings dance their reels, my heart racing even faster. The last pair finished dancing and the musician ended his song. We all pointed our right feet and bowed to the judge once more before leaving the stage.

  Aunt Lydia, all three of my cousins and Thomas were waiting by the stage.

  “Great job, Natalie!” Fiona said.

  “One down, two to go!” Molly said.

  “Fiona and I have to go change into our solo dresses now, but we’ll try to catch the rest of your dances too!” Lissa said before running off with Fiona.

  “You were wonderful,” Aunt Lydia said. “I’m so happy you had the opportunity to dance this summer.”

  “Thank you for bringing me to classes and everything,” I said.

  “It was my pleasure,” Aunt Lydia said. “I should probably go help the girls get changed.”

  Aunt Lydia left with Molly, but not before glancing at Thomas with a small smile on her face. Molly looked over her shoulder at me and grinned. My face burned.

  “Yeah, like the others said, great job!” said Thomas.

  “Well, I had a good teacher!” I said, hoping Thomas knew I was referring to him.

  Thomas laughed. “I guess so,” he said. “Well, I better go check and see when my next dance is. Want to come with me?”

  “Yeah, sure,” I said.

  The next hour passed in a blur as I went from stage to stage—watching Thomas dance, watching the twins dance and dancing my own light jig. I checked the results board with Molly to see if I had placed in the reel, but no luck. Right before my slip jig was about to begin, I found out I hadn’t placed in my light jig either.

  “Don’t worry about it! This is your dance,” Molly whispered to me. “You can do this! Think gold medal.”

  I laughed and shooed her away. As we lined up onstage I realized I would be dancing last—this time with a girl wearing a green-and-black dress. I couldn’t see Thomas in the audience. I was a little disappointed that he’d seen my reel and light jig but would miss my slip jig. My heart was racing again, but I kept telling myself how the slip jig reminded me of a butterfly—quick, graceful, beautiful. I tried to focus on those words. Quick. Graceful. Beautiful. Just before I stepped forward, I saw Thomas walk up behind Molly. He smiled and waved at me. I smiled back, rose onto my toes and began the dance I had wanted to dance all summer long.

  Twenty-One

  Dancing my slip jig felt wonderful. I was quick. I was graceful. I felt beautiful. After the last bow I exited the stage and began to walk over to my audience. And there was my mom! When did she get here?

  “Mom!” I said, running into her outstretched arms. I felt a little embarrassed to be hugging my mom in front of Thomas, but I hadn’t realized until that moment how much I had missed her.

  “You were brilliant!” my mom said as she took a step back to get a good look at me in my solo dress. “You certainly don’t look like a ballerina today!”

  “That was slip jig. It’s my favorite Irish dance,” I said. “But I don’t want to stop ballet classes!” I quickly added.

  “I didn’t think you would!” my mom said.

  “But maybe we could help you find an Irish-dance school in Toronto?” Aunt Lydia suggested.

  I looked from Aunt Lydia to my mom.

  “If Natalie would like to, I don’t see why not,” she said.

  “Really?” I asked.

  “I got a promotion. We should be able to afford it,” my mom said with a smile.

  “That’s amazing, Mom! Congrats! And thank you!” I said and gave her another hug. “How did you get here? I thought you weren’t going to be done for another week!”

  My mom told me she had managed to wrap up her work assignment early and wanted to surprise me. She had phoned Aunt Lydia for directions. As I listened, I realized Thomas had disappeared. He probably had a dance coming up.

  After my mom had taken photos of me in my solo dress, I went to the dressing room to change. As I riffled through my bag, I found my phone. I turned it on. There were three messages, one from my mom, telling me I looked beautiful, and one from Yumi:

  Wowzers! That’s an Irish-dancing dress? So much bling! You look amazing, Natalie! Pinkies!

  And one from Amber:

  Wow, so you really have turned into an Irish dancer. Guess you don’t have to worry about what class you’re in if you don’t even come back to ballet.

  I frowned. What was her problem with me Irish dancing? I was going to ignore her. But then I thought, why not just ask her what her deal was?

  I’ll be coming back to ballet. Trust me, I miss it. I miss you. I miss Yumi. Heck, I even miss Madame Lebrun. I thought this summer would be awful without you guys and ballet. But I got to try something new and I’m glad I did. I don’t understand why you’re being so mean. I miss you. More than ballet.

  I took a deep breath and hit Send. I waited. Nothing. I chucked my phone back into my bag. I had just finished changing when I heard the familiar ding of my phone.

  Sorry. About…everything. I mean, you’re already good at ballet, and now you’re also an Irish dancer? I just felt like you were abandoning your ballet friends. But then you’re not even leaving ballet. You’re probably going to come back and not even miss a beat, while I’ve been slaving away with Madame Lebrun all summer. It’s not fair.

  Hey, it wasn’t my choice to leave ballet for an entire summer. To leave you.

  I know. I’m sorry. Class has been really hard this summer. And you’re usually my personal cheerleader. I’ve missed you.

  I miss you too. And I’ll be coming home very soon. I’ll see you in class in Sept.

  As long as I don’t get moved down a class. See you soon, Nat.

  As if that would ever happen. But I knew what it felt like to be worried about falling behind. I sent her one last text.

  I’ll see you IN CLASS. XOXOX

  Twenty-Two

  I fo
und Molly and my mom waiting at the results board. Molly was jumping up and down.

  “Look! There you are! Number 398!” Molly said, pointing to my number on the results board.

  “Are you sure? Is that right?” I asked.

  “Yes!” Molly exclaimed. “You won a gold medal!”

  “Gold!” my mom said. “Congratulations, Natalie!”

  Molly told me I had to check in with one of the officials at the desk. I showed them my number and they had me sign a paper. Then they gave me my medal! It had a green ribbon, and on the medal itself were the words Rose City Feis in the center and a border of tiny gold roses.

  I snapped a picture and sent it to Yumi. And then I also sent it to Amber. I hoped she wouldn’t think I was rubbing it in her face. I hoped she would be happy for me, now that we had made up.

  I ate lunch with my mom while we waited for Fiona’s and Lissa’s final dances. They both ended up getting silver medals—Lissa in hornpipe and Fiona in slip jig. I looked for Thomas but didn’t see him anywhere. As we got ready to leave, I did one more scan.

  “Looking for your boyfriend?” Molly asked.

  “No!” I said.

  My mom glanced at me.

  “She’s kidding!” I said. I spotted Thomas walking over to us.

  “Hi,” he said shyly. “Can I talk to you? Before you go?”

  “Um…sure,” I said.

  “Over…somewhere,” he said, sounding a little awkward.

  “We get it,” Aunt Lydia said and nudged my mom and the girls to leave Thomas and me alone.

  “Who’s that?” I heard my mom ask as she walked off with them.

  “So that’s your mom,” Thomas said with a nervous laugh.

  “Yeah, she finished her work thing early. I guess I get to go home now,” I said.

  “I just…wanted to say goodbye before you left,” he said. “And tell you I’m really happy you got that gold medal for your slip jig. I know how hard you worked for it.”

  “Thanks,” I said, unsure of what else to say.