\SATURDAY/
-@Cyan's-
.
[Cyan] (This should be enough, right?) (I've finished creating the steps)
[Cyan] (Let's listen to the song one more time.) \plays song\
[Cyan] \imagines\ (Yeah.)
*These past few days, Cyan has been randomly thinking about "That Way" and now he has the whole day to compile his thoughts.
[Cyan] (Remember that time, remember that feeling, and put it into this dance.) \Cyan's remembering the time\
*Cyan's memories.
.
\BEFORE COLLEGE/
...
[Adviser] Okay class, we need to make up our decisions for today.
[Class] …
[Adviser] This year, there is this dance contest. And as a dance teacher, I'll offer you a proposition.
[Adviser] If this class decides to enter this year's school dance competition, then extra credit will be given to everyone here.
[Adviser] If not, then you will just take the exams as usual.
[Adviser] To be clear, this offer is for the whole class, the entire class should agree to participate or none at all.
[Class] …*chatters
*A student raises their hand.
[Student M] Teacher, do we have to win? What's the criteria for extra credit?
[Adviser] Win, huh. \thinks\ Here's how I will judge this class if it decides to join the dance.
[Adviser] You will follow everything I say, every move, every practice, you will follow.
[Adviser] You don't have to win. But if you follow everything I say, you will win! \grins\
[Class] …*chatters
*Example chatters: Isn't that scary? Are we joining the military? This sounds more like slavery?
[Adviser] \smiles\ Did I forget to mention, all snacks, drinks, during practice are free.
[Class] \turns to the Adviser and back to themselves\ *chatters
*Example chatters: Hey, ask what snacks? No, you ask! Must just be bread. Maybe it could be pizzas! Go ask!
*A student raises their hand.
[Student T] Teacher, what kind of snacks? And drinks?
[Adviser] \grins\ Who knows? That will all depend on your effort.
[Adviser] But my last class had pizzas, donuts, burgers, even fries.
[Adviser] They also had cola, iced tea, and even iced coffee after the performance. \grins\
[Class] … *chatters
*Example chatters: Let's do it! Free food! I can save my allowance, we got free food! What you want to buy? Maybe I'll finally buy that whale pack on that gacha.
[Student U] Teacher, what if we accept but we gave up along the way?
[Adviser] Then, instead of extra credit, you will have a credit you need to pay using extra work, just to break even.
[Class] ...Ugh. What do we do?
[Student I] Teacher! Can we stand, and group up to discuss our decision!?
[Adviser] Sure.
*The whole class groups up and debates about their arguments.
*Example: Guys, let's do this, we have nothing to lose. Hey! Aren't we forgetting something, are any of us even dancers? … \raises hand\ I'm in our Adviser's dance club.
*...\everyone focuses on the dancer\ So spill the tea! Is our Adviser strict? Should we accept this deal? Uhm. \decides\ Yeah, just accept it guys, like you said, you have nothing to lose.
*...Hmmm. Free food and drinks, free break. And we don't have to win. But the Adviser said we will win? That's just being optimistic. So, are we all in? \stares at each other\ \thinks\
[Student P] Teacher! What will happen if one of us skips practice?
[Adviser] Then that one will have to do the credit of the entire class.
[Class] …(Isn't that scary?) \stares at each other\ (At the very least now, we can be sure no one will skip practice.)
*The class accepts the challenge.
*Their Adviser makes them dance and see where they are at.
*The Adviser then makes a remix just for them.
*They also made the full choreography for the dance.
*So, they practiced, every club time. They're now basically an adopted dance club.
*They even practice when they're free.
[Adviser] Cyan, come here.
[Cyan] Yes. \goes to the Teacher\
[Adviser] Cyan, you do track and field, right? High jump?
[Cyan] Yes?
[Adviser] Do you know how to backflip?
[Cyan] No?
[Adviser] Do you want to? I'll teach you.
[Cyan] Do I have to? I don't think that's in the choreography.
[Adviser] Who knows? I could change my mind. \grins\
[Cyan] \hesitant\
[Adviser] Ah! The class is supposed to follow everything, correct? \gaslights Cyan\
[Cyan] (Ugh.) Okay.
*The Teacher assists Cyan during backflip practice; jump, tuck and flip.
[Adviser] Okay, now try it without my help. \readies to catch\
[Cyan] \does a simple backflip, successfully\ (!) \loses balance and drops\
[Adviser] So how is it? Was it fun?
[Cyan] Yeah. It was scary, and fun. \grins\
[Cyan] \stares at his knees\ But I don't want to do it again. \determined gaze\
[Adviser] \laughs\ It's okay, you don't have to. Just practice so you don't forget, okay?
[Cyan] Okay?
*They practice again, and again and again until someone notices something suspicious.
[Cyan] \practicing\ Hey, isn't something weird going on?
[Student C] What do you mean?
[Cyan] Our Adviser, is the dance club instructor, has full access to the dance hall. But they never let us use the mirrors.
[Student C] \thinks back\ Oh, yeah. Why are we practicing without mirrors? Wait, our Adviser also prevented us from recording our practice session. \suspicious\
[Cyan] \suspicious\
[Student C] Does that mean... we're practicing without even knowing if we're doing it right?
[Cyan] It seems so. We are practicing a dance, we can't even tell if we're improving.
[Student C] Are we being scammed? \sighs\ Well I see the pizza box over there so just dance.
[Cyan] \thinks\ But there's also an odd thing.
[Student C] What now?
[Cyan] You see that dancer in the front, our classmate.
[Student C] Yeah, that's the legit dancer, right? What's wrong?
[Cyan] They mastered the choreography weeks ago.
[Student C] So?
[Cyan] Why are they still practicing?
[Student C] Don't you need to practice to get free food?
[Cyan] Not really, you need to pass our Adviser's eye. They passed weeks ago. But they're still practicing. And it's not even low effort practice, their focus is even intense.
[Student C] They must really love dancing.
[Cyan] Yeah… or something else.
[Student C] Perfectionist?
[Cyan] I don't know, it doesn't fit the puzzle.
[Student C] Stop thinking and start dancing.
[Cyan] Ugh, you're right. \dances\
*The school's dance competition class vs class begins.
*Backstage.
[Class] I'm nervous. What should we do?
[Class] Ugh, same. Maybe if we can watch our competitions dance we can feel more at ease.
[Class] Well too bad, we can't. Our Adviser won't let us.
[Class] We're even going in blind? Aren't we doomed?
[Class] *stares at each other. \laughs\ Aren't we thinking too much? Like this is it guys! One final dance!
[Class] And our suffering is over! One All in! one All out! \laughs\ Go Class!! \huddles up, puts their hands in the middle and raises\ Let's go!
*Time to perform.
*Class dances with their all. Like it's their last dance.
*Finishes dancing.
[Class] We did it, yay! Finally over, goodbye free pizza. Haha, true, free pizza we will miss you.
[Adviser] \grins\ Good job everyone. You will all get the maximum amount of extra credits.
[Class] Woooh!!!
[Adviser] And, here are the recordings of the other dances, and your dance for the finale of course. Let's watch it while they're tallying scores.
[Class] Yes! Teacher!
*Watching, other dance performances.
[Class] Woah! So cool! They really did so many flips. We don't even have one flip. Look at their costumes, bruh budget unlimited. Their remix is so cool. Woah they're so fast. They're all in sync! Amazing.
*Their performance is now being shown.
[Class] … Is that really us? I don't know, but I've never seen myself like that. Who the f* is that? Wow!? Is this AI?
[Student-Legit Dancer] Haha no, that is you guys \grins\
[Class] Guys... aren't we winning? Yeah, I think so too. I can't tell why, but our dance just beats the other.
[Class] What's going on? We beat them, so overwhelmingly… \confused\
[Cyan] \turns to face the Adviser and stares at their eyes\
[Adviser] \notices Cyan, stares, then goes smile a big smirk and grin\
[Cyan] (The Teacher knows.) \realizes\ (So this is dancing.)
[Cyan] (How should I put this into words.) (It's like our dance gave the cleanest message.)
[Cyan] (Our Adviser's choreography yelled, and we practiced that yell. Until the voices in our heads were gone, and entirely thrown into the audience.)
[Cyan] \realizes\ (So that's why our Dancer-Classmate still practiced; even after perfecting it, even after looking tired, annoyed and even to the point of hating dancing.)
[Cyan] \realizes\ (Dancer-Classmate, understands the dance, and loves it.)
[Cyan] (...But now, they must make the audience understand that dance, that love.)
[Cyan] (...So that dancer threw their love for dancing away. All of it, given to the audience.)
[Cyan] \looks at the Dancer-Classmate\ (That smile... that happiness.) (Is that all the love of the audience coming back at them, all at once?)
*It was musicality. The word Cyan was looking for was musicality, and he experienced an overwhelming amount of it.
*Flashback over.
...
[Cyan] (The love for dancing knocked on my heart that day, but loving dancing to dance till you hate it. It just sounds like pain.)
[Cyan] (Though I understand that love, I sent it away.)
[Cyan] (...Time to ask it back.)
*Cyan enters the bubble.
~~~
<*Cyan's Dance monologue.>
*Music plays.
(You make me lose control.)
\embodies losing control\
(But no, I need control to tell you.)
\brings back control\
(There's no backing down. I will go in and dance.)
\center stage, prepares\
(You said that you're a dancer.)
\step\
(So let me offer this dance to you.)
\bows\
(Why did you do that?)
\face turns left and stares down\
(I can still hear the rain.)
\falls\
(You are driving me insane.)
\slides on the floor\
(You kept me up all night.)
\wakes up\
(So let's start this adventure.)
\jumps and drops\
(Our hearts are roaming around the school.)
\chest pumps forward and back in all directions\
(It's like we're playing.)
\plays hand\
(But you were really serious.)
\stands imagining a partner\
(So let me be serious too.)
\slowly kneels down to fake propose\
(But not yet.)
\flips to face the audience\
(Let's play/dance a little more.)
\playfully hops back\
(It's the way you walk.)
\walks forward\
(It's the way you talk.)
\covers eyes\
(It's the way you're turning everything red.)
\drops something\ \imagines petals\
(These flowers are for you.)
\gestures around\
(You are the girl in my phone.)
\phones\
(You are the girl in my social media feed.)
\scrolls\
(You are the girl beside me.)
\beside a placeholder\
(You are the girl in my mind and heart.)
\points mind and chest\
(You are the dance in the music I hear.)
\dances a short graceful femme gesture\
(You turned me into yours in a single day.)
\a sudden fast sequence of moves\
(Let me paint you for my art exhibit.)
\shows\
(Do not be too surprised.)
\stops\
(I'm dancing to return, I love you, right.)
\dances\
(It started at that rooftop.)
\falls and climbs back like walking stairs\
(And the sun.)
\sun hands\
(Focuses on your lips.)
\hands to lip\
(Remembers the kiss.)
\stand, bows, spins and stares away from audience\
(You make me want to fly.)
\turns back to the audience with a plead\
(*You are the wings I need to fly away.)
\jumps, lands, collapses knees and kneel\
(What will happen if we get married, huh?)
\rises, waltz position, and spins\
(Kids?)
\drops hands, carries, throw up and over\ \then slide back catches\
(In this story, I don't mind seeing it.)
\opens hands down, free, like an open book\
(But, Now.)
\stands back to reality\
(Or yesterday.)
\motions falling back to remember\
(Concert.)
\motions, sings, dance, spins\
(And that lewd scene...)
\slowly ends the dance\
(Ember... you are too hot.)
\burn\
*Ember's dance, follows counts and structures.
*Ember's dance can exist without the music.
*Cyan's dance follows a lyric, a beat, a strum, any sound, even to the point of filling a silence with a beat, or changing the word with a rhyme.
*Cyan's dance alternates between them, chaotic... and harmonious.
*But this makes Cyan's dance only exist for the music.
*This difference, are their versions of dancing.
[Cyan] \watches recording\ It's done. (Is it okay though?)
*Song lyrics, You are the wings I need to fly away.
[Cyan] Maybe, a bigger statement. A bolder move. A clear move.
[Cyan] (You are my wings.)
*Fly away.
[Cyan] (Fly, huh? Should I do it?) \tense, curious, excited\
[Cyan] (How should I do it?) \thinks\ (Backflip?) \thinks\ (Not that, remove the tuck.)
[Cyan] (I need to jump higher, slower, and more free.)
[Cyan] ... Let's try it.
*Cyan dances, and when that lyrics comes.
*Pump with adrenaline.
[Cyan] \jumps! ... Flips!\
*Cyan flew.
[Cyan] \lands and absorbs the shock by kneeling and sliding forward\
[Cyan] (…What on earth did I just do?) (Wait, wasn't that really cool?)
[Cyan] \stares at himself\ (Ah, f*, I just made my routine harder.) \grins\
[Cyan] \fixes and adjust to sit comfortably on the floor\ (My knees are shivering again.)
[Cyan] (...Practicing until my inner voice is gone and all for the audience, communication, right!?) \giggles\
[Cyan] (Ah!) \lies down\ Let's move venturing to hell, next time. \laughs\