Uninvited
Like anyone would be, I am flattered by your
fascination with me.
Like any hot-blooded woman, I have simply wanted an
object to crave.
But you, you're not allowed.
You're uninvited
An unfortunate slight*
Andrea watched out of the corner of her eye as the
first notes of the piano began. Sure
enough, he was there again. She could
feel his presence during her whole practice time, but by now, he knew the order
of her songs, and would come out to the arena and sit during this song
only. She moved to the center of the
ice, motioning for her trainer to start the song again.
As the first notes of the haunting music floated
through the arena, anyone else was forgotten.
This song seemed to lift Andrea outside of herself, making her body as
light as a feather. She remained
immobile through the first two lines, then began to let the music lead
her. Every time she skated to this song
her choreography was different, as if she were learning the song anew each
time.
She enjoyed the feeling of the man's eyes on her,
but it was not something she concentrated on.
Her mind was totally focused on two things: the music in the air, and
the ice under her blades.
Must be strangely exciting, to watch the stoic
squirm
Must be somewhat heartening, to watch shepherd lead
shepherd
But you, you're not allowed
You're uninvited
An unfortunate slight*
As a few more instruments of the orchestra joined
the piano and voice, Andrea began to do simple figure eights, allowing her body
to sway to the music. She remained in
the simple pattern, however, as long as the music stayed simple. She felt the urgency in the vocals, the
urgency underneath the restraint. At
the last line, both the vocalist and the orchestra seemed to burst from
confinement, and Andrea burst from the figure eight and flew across the ice,
doing a few single jumps, a toe loop here, an axle there. There was no longer anyone in the entire
arena; no one but Andrea and the music.
Like an uncharted territory, I must seem greatly
intriguing
You speak of my love like you have experienced love
like mine before
But this is not allowed
You're uninvited
An unfortunate slight
The strings wove in a melody that reminded one of a
Far Eastern chant. Andrea's skates flew
across the ice in dazzling footwork that mimicked the flow of the violins and
cellos. She could feel the invasion of
privacy of the vocalist, and angrily flowed from spin to spin as the music rose
to a climax, then faded once again to the simple notes of the piano.
I don't think you unworthy
I need a moment to deliberate
Andrea felt the unspoken apology of the vocalist as
she slowed her spin and came to a complete stop. She raised her hands to the sky, and then crossed them over her
chest, bowing her head. Then, once
again, the orchestra sprang to life, filling the arena with cross paths of
melodies and harmonies. She was
suddenly in motion, going from spin to spin, jump to jump, with footwork in
between. She followed the tempo of the
music, filling in motions that she had never seen before, and had never created
until this moment.
As the music came to a close, she slowly glided to
a stop by the boards, not far from where the man was sitting. She looked at him breathlessly, before
skating to the other side of the arena to get her water and towel.
A hand tapped Jordan on the shoulder, waking him
from the dreamlike trance he had been in for the last three or four
minutes. "Jordan, man, why are you
always here when I come to meet you?
Let's go, bro," Jordan's brother Jonathan tugged at his shirt. "I'm starving!"
"Coming," Jordan said absentmindedly,
watching the petite figure put the guards on her blades before packing her
bag. He followed Jonathan down to the
doorway, purposely loitering in the office and talking to Jim, Andrea's
trainer. He had been friends with Jim
for years, and it had been about six months earlier when he had come to visit
Jim at the arena, and first saw Andrea.
For him, it was love at first site, though she would say nothing but
hello and goodbye, even after Jim had introduced them.
"Sorry, J.
There's no getting through that wall.
I don't know what it is, but something or someone hurt Andi bad, and she
hardly talks to anyone." Jim had
explained. "Skating is some kind
of therapy for her."
"Oh, well," Jordan said with fake
cheerfullness. "I'll just have to
be happy with hello and goodbye, then."
He always arrived about ten minutes into her
practices, but did not come into the arena to watch until she skated to this
song. The song had such power, and it
perfectly reflected how he would sit and watch her from afar. He loved her choreography for this song, for
it always changed.
"Come on, Jordan! There's a steak with my name on it waiting at Mom's!" Jonathan complained.
"All right," Jordan grumbled, waving
goodbye to Jim. As they walked towards
the door, Jordan heard light footsteps behind him. He whirled around.
"Andrea, hello," he said gently, giving
her his sweetest smile.
"Hello, Jordan," she said shyly. She smiled slightly at Jonathan as
well.
"Good practice," Jordan remarked. She nodded, and slowly walked past them out
to the parking lot.
"Jordan, why don't you just ask her out? Ask her out or let it go?" Jonathan said, his hunger making him
snappy.
"I can't, Jon. She doesn't want me to ask her out. I'm happy just looking at her."
"Well, I'd be happy just looking at a steak
right now." Jonathan unlocked his
car doors. He got in, but Jordan stood
for one more moment, watching the girl with the saddest eyes he had ever seen
climb
into
her car and drive away.
THE END
Please tell Lara
what you thought of this story!
