Chapter 222 - 222: Dance On (pt.5)

And so, the dance auditions continued into the contemporary section.

This was the bridge, that emotion-filled section of the signal song. The perfect place for contemporary, where, as one of my personal favorite choreographers and a huge inspiration once said:

"Art first, technique second."

Okay, I just rephrased it.

But it was said by the amazing Mia Michaels, and the sentiment still stands.

Contemporary is about letting the heart and the art lead, while technical mastery takes a supporting role. It's where a dancer's individuality, vulnerability, and artistry get to truly shine.

"Okay, everybody! We're moving to the contemporary section!" Hyouka announced.

"Better dance like your lives depend on it, because if you don't already know, our big boss over here..." Tuesday pointed toward Foca.

Foca had finally polished off his croissant and was currently wiping his mouth with a handkerchief, somehow making the simple act of cleaning his face look like the most elegant thing anyone had ever witnessed.

"Foca is a dancer, period. But he started off in contemporary. So if you think he was critical with ballroom, then you really ain't seen nothin' yet."

Who knows what Tuesday's purpose was in saying that when the trainees were already stressed, exhausted, and hanging on by whatever scraps of sanity they had left.

Maybe it was a genuine warning.

Maybe she just enjoyed watching them squirm.

Who knows?

Only God knows.

Anyway, what she said did not help.

Like.

At.

All.

Nope.

If the trainees were looking for encouragement, they weren't going to get it.

At least not from Tuesday.

"Alright, everyone, don't be nervous. We're almost done!" Foca said, now returning to his usual warm tone. "I know you're all tired. Just a little bit more push. I know you guys can do it!"

And he meant it.

Sincerely.

Because once upon a time, Foca had also been in their shoes, back during his Juilliard days. He knew exactly how exhausting these auditions could get. The body was tired, the brain was fried, and at some point, you started questioning every life decision that had led you to voluntarily subject yourself to this particular form of suffering.

"Yes!" the trainees shouted, energized by the encouragement.

"Good." Foca nodded proudly. "Now, first group, please."

And for the first group, the faces that stepped forward came as no surprise.

Jordan, Andrew, and Kitty were all known for their technical skills, with all three having classical ballet and contemporary backgrounds.

Javi was a trained ballet and contemporary dancer, as well as a former Cirque du Soleil contortionist and aerialist.

So seeing those four step up in the first group?

No surprise there.

In fact, if they hadn't stepped up first, that would've been the real shock.

Everything was proceeding according to nature.

The ecosystem was balanced.

The laws of the universe remained intact.

Until suddenly...

An anomaly.

A sore thumb sticking out, if you will.

A glitch in the Matrix.

Because stepping up alongside the other four was Johnny.

Yes.

Our very own lovable boy failure.

Yes.

That Johnny.

Even his fellow trainees couldn't help but call out to him.

"Johnny! What are you doing?!" Toma whisper-shouted.

"Dude! The hell is you thinking?! Get yo ass back here!" Kayden called out, genuinely concerned.

Because, yes.

What in God's green planet was going on inside that head of yours, Johnny?

Me, the author, asking.

I love you.

I deeply care about you.

But even I cannot save you from the humiliation that is about to come from dancing beside four technically trained dancers.

Anyway, Johnny pretended he didn't hear his fellow trainees desperately trying to save him from the incoming rude awakening.

As far as everyone else was concerned, Johnny had officially entered Delulu Land.

Even Dora and Foca looked genuinely surprised that Johnny had chosen to group himself with the other four.

Because there were only two possible explanations.

Either Johnny was really, really confident...

Or this man had balls of steel.

Or both.

Johnny stretched his muscles, getting himself into position alongside the other four.

"You guys ready?" Foca asked warmly, checking on the first group.

The five nodded with determination.

"Alright. Cue music."

As the music started, let's just say the first group absolutely delivered.

As expected.

But at the same time...

It was completely unexpected.

Because Johnny wasn't getting devoured.

He wasn't getting swallowed whole by the other four dancers.

He wasn't even struggling to keep up.

He was keeping pace.

With them.

It was an absolute marvel to watch.

And yes, I already knew this would happen!

This author never doubted you for a single second!

I always had faith in you, Johnny boy!

WHOOOO!

The extension of the legs.

The lines.

The jumps.

The transitions.

The expression.

The musicality.

Johnny did it all.

And he did it surprisingly well.

Just as well as the other four.

"What am I even seeing right now?" Kayden asked in disbelief.

Benimaru stood nearby with his arms crossed, making his arms and pecs look even more defined...

And big...

And voluptuous...

And lickable...

And...

Ahem.

Please do not mind me thirsting over my own fictional men.

I am allowed.

I made them.

Anyway.

Benimaru's expression shifted.

There was something in his eyes.

A flicker of something.

Affirmation, perhaps.

Recognition.

Whatever it was, something had clicked.

What exactly had been affirmed?

Well...

We're not sure yet.

"Dude! What is even happening right now?" Toma asked, staring at the stage in disbelief.

"Let's go, Johnny! WOOOO!" Timmy cheered, fully committing himself to his role as Johnny's number-one cheerleader.

And when the performance finally came to an end, thunderous applause rained down across the room.

The five dancers had genuinely delivered an excellent performance.

It might have been an audition...

But they danced like they had already gotten the part.

The evaluators clapped and nodded their heads in approval.

Well...

Almost all of them.

Foca raised one hand into a fist. ✊

The entire room immediately quieted down.

Then he spoke.

"Guys, can you all do the part with the renversé going into the jump, then plié in second position? I just want to see something."

The other four immediately moved into position.

Johnny, meanwhile...

"...Huh?"

He knew the terms jump and plié.

Those were easy enough.

But renversé?

What in the world was a renversé?

Was it edible?

Was it a French pastry?

Was he about to be asked to perform some kind of dance maneuver that would send his spine directly into the afterlife?

His face absolutely showed every single one of these thoughts.

"Psst!"

Johnny discreetly sent an SOS signal to Jordan, who was standing in front of him.

Jordan turned.

Thankfully, he had received Johnny's distress call.

"What's a renversé?" Johnny mouthed, his face a mixture of confusion and mild panic.

"Oh, it's the..."

Jordan immediately gave him a quick, swift demonstration.

Johnny's eyes widened.

"Ohhhhhh. That."

He immediately understood once he saw the movement.

"Thanks!" Johnny mouthed.

Jordan gave him two thumbs up.

"Alright. And cue music."

The music started.

And the five dancers, now perfectly synchronized, executed the renversé into the jump and plié in second position.

Perfectly.

"Thank you, everyone!" Foca said warmly once they finished.

"I have to say, I expected nothing less from Jordan, Kitty, Javi, and Andrew. You all did excellent."

"Thank you," Jordan and Andrew said.

"Staph! It's just me," Kitty said, as though being excellent was simply their natural state of existence.

"Gracias, big boss!" Javi said.

"But I have to say, Johnny..."

Foca smiled.

"You were quite a pleasant surprise."

Johnny's face immediately brightened.

"Who would've expected you to dance on equal footing with these other four?" Foca continued. "It was such a surprise that I don't think any of us would've expected it."

"Awww, gosh. Thank you!" Johnny said, blushing bashfully as he rubbed the back of his head.

"No, really. You should be proud of yourself, Johnny," Luca said. "Foca even forgot that you weren't classically trained and started calling out classical terminology. But you still killed it!"

"Shout-out to my boy Jordan for coming in clutch!" Johnny said. "He absolutely saved my ass by giving me a quick demonstration of the step. Thanks, JorJor!"

Jordan gave him two thumbs up again with a smile.

"Absolutely, what Luca said," Foca added. "I do apologize for not clarifying the step. You danced so excellently that I started thinking you were classically trained as well."

He chuckled.

"That's how good you were today."

"But then, looking back, I started noticing bits and pieces of mannerisms you had when dancing that I've only seen in two other places."

Foca's expression became thoughtful.

"There were moments when you had a certain stiffness or rigidity in some of your movements that reminded me of rhythmic gymnasts or cheerleaders."

He tilted his head.

"So, tell me. Am I just seeing things?"

"Wow."

Johnny couldn't help but let out a surprised chuckle.

"I never thought I would be revealing it this way."

He paused.

"Well, back in university, I was part of the varsity cheer team. In my senior year, I was vice captain."

Almost everyone reacted at once.

"What?!"

Johnny laughed.

"We did have a little bit of ballet, jazz, and contemporary training along with gymnastics. So I was holding it off as my secret weapon."

He grinned proudly.

"And I figured the day had finally come to show it so I could impress you, sir. And seeing all of you surprised?"

Johnny's grin widened.

"I'd say I did a pretty great job."

He looked incredibly pleased with himself.

Everything was according to keikaku.

And yes, for those who don't know, keikaku means plan.

"Although, the renversé thing threw the biggest wrench into my plans," Johnny admitted. "But hey, all is well in the end."

"I thought so..." Foca said with a knowing nod. "You did excellent today, Johnny. You should be proud of yourself."

"Thank you, sir! Really means a lot!"

Johnny flashed his huge, himbo-coded, ridiculously adorable smile.

"What a perfect way to reveal your cards, Johnny!" Tuesday said.

Then her expression changed.

She became contemplative.

Almost suspicious.

"Y'know..."

Johnny looked at her.

"I feel like you have more cards up your sleeve."

The room slowly quieted.

"You play it like you're clueless and you've adopted this whole boy-failure image. I may be thinking way too much into this..."

Tuesday narrowed her eyes.

"But I feel like you're much smarter than everyone has been led to believe."

Johnny's smile remained.

Barely.

"I've watched enough survival shows to trust my gut. And my gut is telling me you've been playing the game that is LEAVEN..."

She pointed at him.

"...and you're doing it really well."

Johnny's expression didn't change.

"But whether you admit it or not, I know deep in my gut that you're still hiding something."

She grinned.

"And I'm so excited for the day you finally show all your cards and go all in."

And then...

Something happened.

For the briefest moment, Johnny's usual happy-go-lucky expression disappeared.

His face became calm.

Still.

A tiny smirk tugged at the corner of his lips.

And in his eyes...

There was something sharp.

Something calculating.

Something that looked dangerously close to a genius who had just been seen through.

It lasted for less than a second.

So quickly that anyone who blinked would've missed it.

And then...

Gone.

Johnny was back.

Happy.

Goofy.

Lovable.

Completely harmless.

Or at least, that's what he looked like.

"Thank you, queen!" Johnny said with a laugh. "I'm not sure why you think so highly of little ol' me, but I'll do my best not to disappoint your expectations."

"I'm watching you, Johansson!"

Tuesday made the classic two-fingers-to-her-eyes-then-pointing-at-him gesture.

Everybody burst out laughing.

Some might think Tuesday was overthinking things.

Maybe she was.

Johnny being able to dance on equal footing with the most technically trained dancers in LEAVEN could very well have been a stroke of luck.

A hidden skill.

A one-time surprise.

Maybe there was nothing more to it.

Maybe.

But Foca could see it.

And suddenly, he had a very interesting dilemma on his hands.

A good one.

A problem he was more than happy to have.

Because Johnny had never been on his list of debut candidates.

Not even close.

And now?

Johnny was bulldozing his way onto that list.

When Johnny had first started the show, he had presented himself as this happy-go-lucky guy who was just happy to be there.

Someone who was perfectly content staying in the background.

Someone who seemed genuinely happy to make everyone else shine before himself.

But thinking back on it now...

Johnny had actually been doing well throughout the entire competition.

He just hadn't been making a big deal about it.

He'd been quietly collecting his cards.

One by one.

And now...

He was finally choosing to play them.

Little by little.

And Foca had the distinct feeling that Johnny had only just begun.