Irregular Dancing | Teen Ink

Irregular Dancing

September 22, 2021
By Leo22Lai BRONZE, Irvine, California
Leo22Lai BRONZE, Irvine, California
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Timothy was nervous. He was at his boss’s mansion for the grand ball. It was his first time being invited to a dance. Timothy was a recently promoted researcher at a technology company. As a child, he had always liked going to musicals and seeing the stars dancing and singing on stage. He aspired to be like them, he always auditioned for school plays, participated in dance competitions, and had tried to learn to sing. Unfortunately, it was all in vain because Timothy had a big problem. Timothy couldn’t dance. He had no sense of rhythm and had horrible body coordination. No matter how hard he tried, he would always get self-conscious halfway through and start stumbling and making mistakes. 

For him, receiving the invitation was like a dream come true. However, it was also his greatest nightmare, Timothy spent countless sleepless nights writhing in agony, imagining the other guests laughing and pointing at him while watching him squirm on the dance floor. But now that he had arrived at the mansion, there was no point in dwelling on his fears. After all, nobody would care about watching him dance, right? Timothy kept murmuring reassuring comments to calm his nerves. He entered and looked around. 

The interior of the mansion was huge and magnificent. Large grandiose chandeliers hung from the ceiling, glittering like stars. All guests wore elegant, stylish attires and were drinking champagne. There was a chamber orchestra at the back of the dance floor, and classical music was playing to entertain the guests. Men in expensive suits and women in exquisite gowns danced across the floor. Timothy noticed there was a little girl at the center of the dance floor. She was dancing and smiling. She looked extremely happy and was having a lot of fun. To be honest, she wasn’t the best dancer. In fact, she couldn’t dance. The people beside her also seemed to be having fun, but for a different reason. They were smirking and laughing at the little girl who was dancing so clumsily. They didn’t show it, since that girl’s parents were extremely influential and wealthy. Her father was Timothy’s boss, and he was extremely protective of her. 

Nevertheless, Timothy was astounded at the little girl’s bravery. She wasn’t good at dancing, yet she still bravely moved around the dance floor, smiling even! This inspired Timothy. Today, he would not let his nervousness get the better of him. He was going to dance, and he was going to do it confidently. He slowly walked toward the dance floor. Just as he was about to start, the band changed tune and started to play a fast-paced song. Timothy stopped, his plan was to dance with that slow song that the band was playing a moment ago. He wouldn’t even be able to keep up with this new song’s tempo. Timothy began to hesitate and doubt his plan. Then, he looked at the girl. She didn’t seem to care. She was still dancing to her own little song. 

Timothy made up his mind and began to move. Of course, his movements were jerky and awkward. At first, he was extremely self-conscious and kept on glancing at other people to see if they were staring at him. As he was dancing, he began to develop his own rhythm. Gradually, Timothy’s movements became more natural. His dancing mimicked a fire, it was unpredictable and free. People began to notice and started watching him. Timothy was nervous and prepared for the worst. However, they were smiling and nodding! The band began to change up their songs and ramp up the rhythm. Timothy kept on dancing. For the first time ever in his life, he was able to enjoy dancing. Timothy smiled and danced throughout the night.


The author's comments:

My name is Leo. I am submitting a fiction short story called “Irregular Dancing”. It is about 600 words and has not been published. I do not have any published works. Thank you for considering my submission.


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