Page 10 of I Don't Need Your Love

I launch off my bed. “Why didn’t I think of it? A dance club is perfect! And it would look really good on my resume when I try to become a professional dancer. Oh my gosh, you’re awesome!” I dash over to her and fling my arms around her. “You’re like one of the best things to happen to me.”

She squeezes me back. “Thanks. I feel the same way.”

“I’m going to talk to Harrington first thing tomorrow and tell her I want to start a dance club. And then we can have tryouts! Do you think people will join?”

“You know I’m in,” she tells me with a huge grin. “I love to dance.”

“Thanks! That’s two members already.” I frown. “What if no one else wants to join and it’s just the two of us?”

Addie lifts her shoulders. “Then we’ll have a two-women dance team. And we’ll kick major butt.”

“Yay!” I throw my arms around her again and squish the living daylights out of her. “You rock.”

“I might turn into a rock if you squeeze any harder,” she gasps.

“Whoops! Sorry.” I quickly release her and step away. “I’m so excited, Addie! You totally lifted my spirits.”

“That’s what friends are for, right?”

“Yes! And I have the most amazing friends in the world. Let’s go to Sophie and Raven’s room. We have to tell them the good news!”

Chapter Five

Carly

Principal Harrington is busy all day, so I have no choice but to miss my lunch periodagain. And when she finally does see me, she says she only has five minutes because she has another meeting planned.

“That’s okay,” I tell her as I lower myself on the chair across from her. “I thought about what you said and I realized how beneficial it would be for me to join a club.”

It’s always good to butter her up just in case she doesn’t want to approve my dance club idea, right?

She nods. “I’m glad you feel that way.”

“Cool. So.” I scoot closer to her desk and lock my fingers together like I mean business. “While there are so many clubs to choose from, I can’t help but feel like there isn’t a lot of variety. I mean, we have a science club, a chess club, debate…but we don’t have a lot of art ones.”

She nods for me to go on.

“I think it’s very important for the students to express themselves, and you know what’s the perfect way to express yourself? Through dance! If you’re okay with it, I’d love to start a dance club. I think a lot of students would be interested in it. If we’re good enough, we can compete in various competitions, and we’ll give to the school by performing at halftime during games. I feel really passionate about this, Principal Harrington, and I think this is the perfect way for me to contribute to the school.”

She leans back in her seat and rubs her chin, clearly deep in thought. I have no idea if I was convincing enough—I’ve always sucked at convincing my parents to buy me what I wanted when I was a kid—but I need to be hopeful. Because even though I wasinitially forced to join a club, being part of a dance club sounds like so much fun. The perfect thing for me.

“That’s not a bad idea,” she finally muses out loud. “I’m glad you’ve taken the initiative and are behaving in a mature and serious manner. I can tell this is something that resonates with you. I finally see a spark in you.”

“Thanks. I’m really excited about it.”

“Yes, the more I think about it, the more I like the idea. Are you aware we had a dance team a few years ago?”

“You did? I didn’t know that. That’s really cool.”

She starts to type something on her computer. “If we’re to make an official dance team, there are some conditions that must be met.”

My heart sinks. “Uh oh.”

“Nothing too difficult. You’ll need to have at least five members, you’ll need to find a location to meet, and you’ll need to find a dance coach. He or she needs to be a faculty member.”

“Oh…I don’t know any teacher who would want to coach us.”

She gives me an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, but you’ll need to have a faculty member as a coach if you want to start this club.”