Practice Makes Perfect (Completed)

Chapter 20

As it turned out, Allison liked the award ceremony far better than the performance. Being on stage had been a bundle of stress and nerves, but waiting for an award brought none of the pressure. When she had budgeted medical expenses for Tabitha, she hadn't expected to win any of her first few competitions, which meant she could relax and enjoy dreams coming true.

While Allison may not have been under pressure, she was quickly discovering that Coach Dobbs was under some sort of pressure. Whether from the company, the press, or his own ego, something about the award ceremony was making him nervous, which made him unusually, and annoyingly, chatty.

"You know Allison, I actually think my education from Charleston community college did me more good in the long run than my Advanced Art and Dance degree. There are certain things even a coach had to know."

He had started talking about education after recounting a drunk driving accident at his own college, which he had recalled after explaining his personal struggles to get a license, which he had brought up during a lectureabout the importance of driving after Allison had asked him for a ride home. She had never had the chance to mention she had her license, but was missing a car.

"Well who do you think will win today?" She asked, trying to get the conversation back to something related to their circumstances.

"Well there was this one Anastasia girl who would have been a shoe in for basically all of the competitions this year, but she hurt her leg and..."

Allison tuned out coach Dobbs. She assumed that his skill to talk for twenty minutes about anything in the world would work at least as well on his favorite topic in the world. She could probably tune him out for the rest of the ceremony without missing anything important.

There was little to look at in the auditorium. Ballerinas in various states of undress, spectators and families lingered, awaiting the start of the ceremony in a few minutes. A few tattered ribbons and makeshift signs advertised the event. An empty judges booth silently observed them all. Besides that, there was little else to see.

"...and of course, she wouldn't want to be locked out of the state meet, so...

Coach Dobbs droned on, and Allison searched for something remotely interesting to do. For gymnastics, she had her results nearly instantly, and there was none of this waiting around. She wasn't used to being along side a coach for an extended period of time. It was less fun than she would have anticipated.

Finally, after what felt like and eternity, the announcer came up on stage. She gave a speech about effort and inclusion, excellence and perseverance. Coach Dobbs whispered something about finishing his sentence later, which made Allison wish all the more that Luke had been able to drive her home. Unfortunately, his youngest brother had a basketball game, and it was apparently fly both fun and necessary to watch toddlers run around and throw a ball. Allison supposed she couldn't be mad about a free ride, whoever it was from, but she may need to in vest in some earplugs.

The ceremony went uneventfully until the end, when the hostess made a surprise announcement.

"As many of you know, the state meet is only a few short months away, and many young ballerinas are trying to qualify. While lowering point limits would be unfair to many participants, the United Ballet Association has authorized me to award a point today to a disqualified dancer. All three of our disqualified dances were sophisticated and clearly efforrdul, and today I am happy to announce that this effort will be rewarded. One of these three dancers will receive a tournament participation point for today's dance."

Allison listened with little interest. At least the other awards had been deserved, and had brought people smiles. There was a certain allure to watching the joy of other, but Allison had to admit that this award seemed...cheap.

"Without further ado, we would like to announce the winner of this participation point....Miss Allison Walker, could you please join me on stage?"

Allison turned to Coach Dobbs, who looked a little guilty. "How could it be me? I wasn't even disqualified."

"Actually...you have to do at least some form of pointe work to compete in your division."

She stated at him in disbelief. The auditorium clapped hesitantly, unsure if the award was really an honor, and unsure the winner would claim her prize.

"Get up there Allison. The press coverage will be great for you."

She didn't dare ask how the press would hear about something like this, and didn't bother figuring out how it would be beneficial if they did. Instead she listened to her coach and made her way to the stage. The applause grew more confident as she took her place next to the announcer, and something about that made her smile.

"Now Allison, as we understand, you are relatively new to the sport of ballet." The announcer stated. "Could you tell us a little about why you chose to get involved in the sport?"

She was handed a microphone, and at first felt uncomfortable holding it. There were too many people staring, and instead of her athletic prowess, they were waiting to hear her speak. It was somewhat nerve wracking.

"Um...there was this girl I mentored through this charity at my church and she was really excited about ballet." She said, voice a bit shaky and uncertain.

"That would be the young miss Tabitha you preformed with at the regional meet?"

"Yeah. It was all her idea, and she had a really great time."

"And why could Miss Tabitha not dance with you today?"

"She's not doing great, medically speaking." It took a lot of willpower for Allison to keep a steady voice and facial expression as she remembered the girl in the hospital.

"Well Miss Allison, we at the American Ballet Association find your efforts absolutely outstanding, and want to award a participation point for your routine. Congratulations on every thing you have accomplished."

There was somewhat more applause as she made her way back to her seats. Talking about Tabitha made her seem like a good person, which was easier to celebrate than her participation point.

She expected a high five from coach Dobbs, or at least something like that, when she got back to her seat. But her coach was on his phone, talking in a voice not quite hushed enough to be ignorable.

"I'm very busy with the new girl right now...no, I can't be there in ten minutes. I'm giving her a ride home...yeab, Steve is here, but he has his own kids to worry about...alright, fine."

When coach Dobbs hung up the phone, the speaker still hadn't finished her closing remarks. Coach Dobbs nodded at the aisle and led Allison to seats on the other side of the theater. She was instructed to sit in the seat of an older man who got up to talked coach Dobbs, next to a girl with crutches and a scowl.

After a few tense minutes, coach Dobbs turned back to Allison.

"One of the little kids in the studio broke a leg, and they think someone might sue. Coach Steve here will drive you home, just hang out with his students until then."

Allison would have asked if she could just ride to the studio now instead of inconveniencing these strangers, but coach Dobbs seemed to be in a hurry and was out of earshot before she could mention anything of the sort. Somewhat awkwardly, she turned to the girl with crutches.

"I'm Anastasia," the injured girl introduced. "The best Ballerina here."

Allison stuck out a hand to shake. "Well I'm no one that special. My names Allison."

Anastasia's jaw dropped.