Three days until recruitment! I heard from Brody today. I think he really misses me a lot, for whatever reason. Anyway, here is the second part of the story I started yesterday!
Later that evening, we had Songfest practice. The gloom from the afternoon when I had first met Evan had turned into rain sometime between the start of our dinner exchange and the start of Trivia Bowl.
We had sloshed through the rain to Trivia Bowl and then later to Songfest. As of late, we had been practicing outside. Since it was raining, we obviously weren’t about to do that. When it had been colder weather, we had practiced inside, but pushed the Pi Kapp’s furniture outside on to their basketball court. We weren’t able to do this either. So the boys had the bright idea of stacking the pieces of furniture on top of each other. Tables were stacked on tables with couches piled on top of them. It didn’t seem very safe…
Because we were sharing the dining room space with furniture, Tasha, the choreographer, had split our big Songfest group into two smaller groups: Group A and Group B. Evan and I were both in group A. We both ended up on the left wing of the stage after the partner dance, during the A-team dance, so we chatted quietly during the A-team dance (the dance with the girls who were actually trained dancers) until the boys’ dance directly afterward. We continued this during the next few days of practice, but this was the day it started.
The run-through of the performance started with Group A performing a dance followed by Group B performing the same dance. Then, the run-through changed to Group A performing the entire ten minute performance, followed by Group B doing the entire thing, and then alternating.
We were only supposed to be dancing until eleven o’clock, and around ten forty-five, Group B was about to perform a run-through. Evan and I were sitting off to the side by a stack of furniture that included: a table, a table stacked upside down on top of it, another table stacked on that, and a couch sitting on the top table.
He touched my shoulder. “I’m gonna lay down for a minute.”
I thought nothing of it and simply nodded and said, “Yeah, we’re probably not performing again… For at least a while anyway.” I then looked at my phone. “Actually, our group is probably done performing anyway…” I turned to where Evan used to be standing, only to find him gone. “Wait… Did you just climb the stacked furniture?” I looked up slightly.
A hand dangled at eye level.
“Come join me.” Evan moved his fingers ever so slightly.
“Is that even safe enough for one person?”
And apparently, it was… Not that I would have ever considered climbing up there though. And I didn’t.
That same year, one of my dance partners was Neil Cole. I fluctuated between calling him “Neil” and “Cole” then, but I almost certainly call him “Cole” now—like all the other brothers.
Cole was a very busy freshman. He served as a delegate to IFC for Pi Kapp and was also a double major in a few science majors. IPHY may have been one of them, I don’t really remember. My point is that he was rarely around to dance with me in the dance we were partners for.
We were having a practice on Sunday morning the day before the Songfest competition. The night before, the Pi Kapps had thrown a major party, and so the basketball court was covered in broken glass and bottle remnants. Us girls were concerned with falling to the ground in the intro, because we didn’t want to get cut up, understandably.
Tasha was getting annoyed at everyone’s lack of real performing and asked the guys if they would clean up the court. The rest of us hung around inside while they did. Near the end of the sweeping, Cole had discovered the box that all the glass had been put in. He picked up the box. “Look at all these bottles… They need recycling!”
I nodded, but I was also a bit apprehensive. “Probably… But just come back in time to dance.”
Cole was gone before I could ask him to be here for our partner dance.
Twenty minutes later, Cole was still gone.
Evan had crossed his arms and was leaning against the red truck of one of the brothers. “I don’t think he’s coming back…”
I put my head into my hands and groaned. “Not again!…”
Evan put his hand on my shoulder, “Hey, since I don’t have a partner for that dance anymore, if Cole doesn’t show up tomorrow, I’ll dance with you.” He smiled.
I couldn’t help but smile back at him. “Um, okay…”
This would have been great, except Cole did show up on Monday. The one day I would have happily seen him gone, he decided to show up. Oh Cole….
Help! I'm Post-Grad... 