A.J

 

After the final bell had sounded the following afternoon, A.J headed straight to Rae’s classroom. When he got there, he found her setting up her laptop, but he could tell from the look on her face that she was starting to freak out. She let out a loud, frustrated scream when she couldn’t get the laptop to work as she had wanted it to.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” He asked as he took the laptop from her and finished setting it up.

“I don’t think I have a choice,” Rae sighed as she looked towards the door, and stopped. A.J followed her gaze and found Calum standing at the door, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but there.

“So, I’m here,” Calum said, remaining next to the door. He didn’t let his eyes meet either A.J’s or Rae’s, and A.J knew this kid was not happy about being there. “But I don’t know why I’m here, I told you that I am done with dancing, and I meant what I said.”

“I know you did,” Rae said as she smiled at the boy. “And if you still feel the same way once you leave here, then I give you my word, I will never mention it again. Is that fair?”

“I guess,” he shrugged but made no effort to move further into the room.

“Will you please take a seat?” She asked as she gave A.J a nervous glance.

He knew she was beyond terrified now. What she was about to do was probably the bravest and the most selfless thing he had ever seen anyone do, but part of him was afraid that she would regret her decision in time.

Calum sighed, as he walked further into the classroom, and slipped into one of the seats in the second row. Just as he sat down, the rest of the team arrived.

The moment Calum saw them, he stood back up and gave A.J a questioning look.

“I agreed to come and talk to you and Ms. Sullivan,” Calum said as he reached down and grabbed his backpack. “I didn’t agree to this.”

He went to walk towards the door, but Rae quickly stepped in front of him and gave him a pleading look.

“You’re just making things worse,” he whispered giving her a pleading look.

“Maybe,” Rae replied, and gave him a smile. “Or just maybe I am going to make things better.”

He looked at her for a moment, before he turned his gaze to A.J.

“Trust her,” A.J pleaded.

Calum looked back at Rae, before he looked towards the door, to where the rest of the team was standing. Letting out a deep sigh, he took a deep breath before he walked back to the chair he had been sitting on, and sat back down.

“Can you all please take a seat,” Rae asked, and A.J knew she was beyond terrified right at that moment.

As some of the boys took their seats, A.J noticed a few of them giving Calum a questioning look, and a tiny bubble of fear formed in the pit of his stomach, and for the very first time, he thought that maybe this was a mistake.

“Thank you for all coming here this afternoon,” Rae said as she closed the door. “I know you’re all probably wondering why you’re all here. I also know some of you don’t want to be here, and I promise to keep this as short as I possibly can.”

She turned and looked at A.J and gave him a nervous smile, then glanced at Calum before she continued.

“I know that some of you have had a…um difference of opinion on some things,” Rae said as she looked from Calum to the two boys she believed were involved in what happened to him. As A.J looked around the room, he knew that everyone that was sitting there in the room knew exactly what had happened to Calum. He looked back at Rae before she continued. “I know it makes no difference who I ask, none of you are going to tell me what happened the other night.”

The boys all looked at one another, and A.J knew they were all more than a little uncomfortable having to sit there and listen to Rae. It was clear they had no idea where she was going with this, and none of them wanted to sit there and wait for her to get to the point.

“Look,” she continued. “I’m not going to ask you to tell me what happened. I know that no one is going to volunteer that information. So instead I am going to tell you a story.”

She stopped and turned back to her laptop, and queued up what she wanted, switched on the projector she had set up earlier. Then she turned and nodded to A.J that it was time to hit the lights.

She hit play on the slide show she had put together, and a picture of her in her dancing costume flashed up on the white board that was hanging on the classroom wall.

A.J looked at the picture that was on the screen and smiled when he saw a happy, carefree Rae smiling back at him. She was beautiful, and looked so full of life, and more importantly, hope.

“This was me when I was not much older than you all are now,” Rae said as she looked back at the screen as the picture changed to another image. “From the time I could walk, all I wanted was to be a dancer.”

Again the picture changed, and another breathtaking image of her, captured as she was performing once more appeared on the screen.

“I trained morning, noon and night because dancing was my life. It was who I was,” Rae continued, and once more the image changed, but this time, instead of a photograph of her dancing, there was a photo of her and Dean. She stared at the image for a moment, and A.J knew she was fighting to keep hold of her emotions. “This was someone that I thought loved me. He was supposed to be my friend, my protector; he was supposed to support me and have my back.”

Again the image changed to another photo of Rae and Dean, but this time, the happy, carefree smile that had been in the other images, had faded a little, and Rae seem sadder in this photo.

Suddenly the image changed, and Rae’s bloodied, beaten face filled the screen, and A.J’s heart almost stopped.

“This was what he did to me because I refused to stop dancing,” Rae said simply, and A.J knew she was finding it a lot harder than she had thought it was going to be. Most of the boys sat up straight, and it was clear they were thrown by what they were looking at “I was rehearsing in my studio when he turned up drunk.”

The picture changed to another image of Rae’s injuries, and Calum instantly looked up at A.J.

“He broke my jaw,” Rae continued as once more the imaged changed. “My ribs, he punctured my lung…”

She stopped for a moment to compose herself, and a couple of the boys whispered to each other.

“He changed who I was,” she said finally as she turned off the slide show, and A.J turned the lights back on. “He almost killed me because he couldn’t see past his own insecurities and jealousy.”

Calum stared up at Rae, as tears danced in his eyes.

“So here’s what I don’t understand,” Rae continued. “I thought that being on a team was supposed to be important.”

“It is,” one of the boys at the back replied.

“Then being part of that team should mean you have each other’s backs, right?” She asked, as a couple of them nodded, while another said yes.

She walked down the aisle, stopped next to Calum, and softly placed her hand on his shoulder.

“Calum is your star player,” Rae continued. “You guys told me that yourself the night I went with you for milkshakes. Reece, you said he would go all the way.”

Reece didn’t reply. Instead he just glanced over at Calum, then back down at the desk in front of him.

“Calum turns up for every practice,” Rae continued once more. “He gives one hundred percent for every game. He works his ass off for the team, does he not?”

A chorus of yeses came from most of the boys.

“He has never let you guys down,” Rae said as she walked back towards her desk and sat on the edge. “But the first time he needs you, and you all let him down.”

A.J looked around the room, as the boys sat silently looking at Rae, and he knew she had gotten to them.

“You all turned your back on him because you thought he changed,” she said as she looked down at Calum and smiled. “Only he didn’t change; he is the same person that you thought was so amazing the night we all went to the diner. He loved dancing then, just like he loves it now.”

A.J sat and watched as the team all looked at one another, and he couldn’t help but smile.

“The thing is,” Rae said as she finally stood up and walked around her table, and closed down her laptop. “The pictures I showed you, they weren’t the first time he had hit me. So while you think Calum’s cuts and bruises aren’t as bad as mine were, ask yourself; what will happen the next time someone from the team does something you don’t understand or don’t like. Because if you think what happened to him is okay, it doesn’t take much to go from this to what happened to me.”

She looked over at A.J and gave him a nod, and he quickly stood up.

“I think what Ms. Sullivan is trying to say is,” A.J said as he walked to the front of the class. “You guys are a team, and that means you guys stick together. That means supporting each other, even if you don’t understand why the other person loves something that you don’t. If you have questions, ask them to talk about it. It is never okay to use your fists to make your point.”

He stopped and looked around the room, as all of the boys looked at each other once more.

“So I am asking you,” A.J finally said as he held his breath. “Who here has a problem with Calum dancing? If you do, say it now.”

No one answered.

“Reece,” A.J said as he looked directly at the boy. “Do you have a problem with Calum dancing?”

“No, Father,” Reece replied without looking up at A.J.

“James, do you,” A.J asked the other boy that had the busted lip.

“No, Father,” the boy replied.

“Good,” A.J said and nodded his head. “Because there is no place in the team for anyone that doesn’t have their team mates back. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Father,” both boys answered in unison.

“That goes for everyone,” A.J continued. “This year we have a shot at taking the title, we don’t have time for this crap. We are a team, act like it.”

All the boy’s looked at A.J, but none of them spoke.

“You can all go,” A.J said finally. “I will see everyone at practice tomorrow.”

All the boys stood up and headed for the door of the class. All boys, except Calum. As most of the boys filed out, they patted Calum on the back, and A.J knew that this meant they had his back now.

When all the boys were gone, Rae looked at Calum for a moment, who was still sitting in his seat, staring at the desk in front of him.

“Calum,” Rae said as she walked over to where he was sitting, turned the seat in front of him around and sat down. “Are you okay?”

“Why did you do that?” He asked as he slowly lifted his head and let his eyes meet Rae’s.

“I wanted to help,” Rae replied, and A.J could hear the worry in her voice.

“But I was so horrible to you,” Calum replied as fresh tears danced in his eyes. “I shouted at you and avoided you. I said you didn’t understand…I don’t understand why you would show them those pictures of you. Why you would do that for me?”

“Calum, I let someone take away who I was,” Rae explained as she reached out and took hold of his hand. A.J just stood there and watched unsure of what the boy was thinking. “I couldn’t stand by and watch that happen to you. Please don’t make that mistake too. Be proud of who you are.”

“What if they never understand?” Calum asked as he looked from Rae to A.J.

“They don’t have to,” A.J replied. “This is who you are. You don’t need to make them understand that, they just have to respect you. And I meant what I said; there is no place on the team for anyone who can’t respect and support their team mates.”

“Thank you,” Calum said as he gave A.J a grateful smile. He slowly stood up.

“Will I be seeing you in the morning at rehearsals?” Rae asked, as she too stood up.

“Can I think about it?” Calum asked as he picked up his backpack. “I am grateful for what you’ve done, but…”

“But you’re still worried,” Rae finished his thought. “I’ll tell you what. I will be in the studio in the morning. If you want to come, then I will be happy to see you there. And if you don’t, I will understand. I just hope you do what makes you happy, Calum.”

Calum smiled before he turned and headed for the door.

Rae didn’t speak for a moment. Instead she sat there and stared into space. A.J watched her for a moment, wondering what she was thinking right at that instant.

“Penny for your thoughts,” he finally asked as he leaned down next to Rae.

“I was just thinking,” Rae said as she turned and gave him a sad smile.

“Thinking about what?” He asked as he reached up and softly touched her face.

“If I will ever be brave enough to take my own advice,” she sighed, and smiled once more.

“Rae, what happened to you was a whole lot different than what happened to Calum,” A.J whispered as he brushed her hair back from her face. “But for the record, I think you’re one of the bravest people I know.”

“Thank you,” she replied as she closed her eyes and leaned into his hand.

“Hey, I have an idea,” A.J said as he stood up and pulled Rae up to him. “I know a great little restaurant, it’s a short drive up the coast to San Rafael’s, but it is worth it.”

“It would be our first date,” Rae said with a happy smile on her face. “Well, alone anyway.”

“It would,” A.J replied. “So is that a yes?”

“It is,” Rae nodded.

“Then go home,” he said as he pressed his lips to hers, and kissed her softly. “I will collect you at seven.”

“Seven it is,” she replied as she gave him another smile. “I can’t wait.”