Speaking of April birthdays, it was Jay and Wooyoung's birthday as well. Not that there were plans for some kind of celebration because Wooyoung, as the class clown, always just tagged along with Min and Fei's joint celebration. I wonder if Jay was planning anything, of course, he still showed no indication of even liking the class so that remains to be found out.

Wednesdays were not something I looked forward to because on Wednesdays, we had Dance. It wasn't that I couldn't dance, not really, it was more of a...personal matter. This semester we had Social Dance, and that meant being partnered up. Since we were an even numbered class each girl had a guy, and guess who this girl has for her partner? Our teacher Park Namyong decided to do this in alphabetical order much to the chagrin of some of us in class. Most particularly Chansung because he was paired up with Sohee, and me because I got paired up with my ever so dearest seatmate Jay.

After a few lectures on the history of dance and the different genres we were going to attempt this year, we were finally going to start dancing. You see, this would have been a breeze for our more calisthenic classmates but for us who weren't as gifted, this proved to be a problem.

Today we were learning the Waltz, and Sohee was very excited and very much vocal about it. Chansung could only wince as Sohee attached herself to him again; he looked around the class for some support, but his so-called friends were giving him smiles of both amusement and pity. Sohee's friends were smiling at Sohee, reassuring her that it was the best set-up ever, while Miss A, Jia especially, jeered at her, whispering at her partner Kwon who only laughed every time.

I never actually knew why Jia loved antagonizing Sohee so much. Sure, Sohee was an easy target, she was easy to anger and easy to pacify, but I have always wondered what Jia has against Sohee personally for her to always go out of her way to provoke her.

“Okay people, partner up,” Mr. Park said, clapping his hands and circling the room.

Reluctantly, everyone paired up taking a spot inside the dance studio, an arm's distance between pairs. Jay and I were at the back as usual, this time more by choice than any actual set arrangement. I prayed to all omnipotent beings out there that since they graced me with Jay's cheery presence, they at least wouldn't arrange us-

“By height, please.”

Park Namyong staring at the both of us really wasn't of any help. Jay and I trudged the small distance to the front of the room with Junho and Minji, Kwon and Jia, and Changmin and Fei. It did not help that I was probably the only one who had absolutely no sense of coordination in this first row.

“Jia, switch with Min.”

Great. Now my lack of skill would be more apparent, or maybe not. Minji was scowling. True, there was nothing out of place there, but Minji hated anything that had to do with waking up in general, dancing was one of them. She wasn't bad, no, not at all, it was just that she couldn't be bothered with it. I wish I could have said the same thing about myself, however.

“Waltz? Who still does the waltz?” Jay muttered under his breath.

I couldn't help but agree. Who was it who even thought that it was a good idea to add Social Dance to the curriculum anyway?

The studio doors swung open, and the other new teacher, Mai Tran, came in. She gave us all a curt nod before proceeding to stand next to Mr. Park.

“Ms. Tran will be assisting me with this class, some of you may already know her from Modern Jazz,” Mr. Park said.

I can't help but think that this Waltz class was meant as a Chekhov's skill we were all going to use at some future point in our lives. Min and Kwon were obviously enjoying themselves; I turned to see if Mr. Park was going to change their partners again, but he just continued his conversation with Ms. Tran.

The class in general didn't seem to be anxious about this subject, truth be told neither should I considering I passed the auditions to get accepted to this school. Part of IDOL being an exclusive school was a written and practical exam that you needed to take and pass to get accepted. The exam included your basic subjects with extra weight on the arts, and after passing the basic high school admittance test you had to take the practical exam which was more of a series of auditions for singing, dancing, drawing and/or graphics making, and creative writing. Every student who had made it in had passed all those rigorous tests- every single one of us should be able to sing and dance on command. Let's just say it was more of a matter of confidence for me. Dancing, like Math, was not my strong suit.

The music started and a slow instrumental mix of an awfully familiar pop song started playing through the speakers. Mr. Park and Ms. Tran started with a demonstration, and one by one the pairs started to follow, even Junho and Minji were keeping time. I passed a look to my partner who simply arched an eyebrow at me. Why must I get stuck with you Jay Park?

He finally stepped closer to me, taking my hand and placing his on my back, below my shoulder blade. 1-2-3 I counted repeatedly in my head. I watched our feet as we-well, I, tried to follow the basic box step we were doing at the moment. I know, it's a basic step, but can we not ridicule me, please? This was extra complicated by the fact that we had to wear heels...which was not a normal occurrence for me.

“Eyes on your partner, people,” I heard Mr. Park say.

As much as I wanted to follow his instructions, this was not an easy task for me. 1-2-3-1-2-3, I kept counting, keeping my eyes on my feet, making sure I didn't trip on my own feet or injure Jay's.

“Yoobin, let Seulong lead, the man has to lead.”

“Ladies, arch your backs, think grace.”

“Kwon, Min, not so dramatic, gently, be graceful! Don't overdo it.”

“Taecyeon, stop trying to act so cute, be manly.”

“Wooyoung, Jia, very good.”

Mr. Park and Ms. Tran's alternating voices did nothing to draw me out of my little feet-viewing mode. I could imagine my classmates as they waltzed around the room anyway. 1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-3...Jay suddenly stopped moving, and I finally looked up.

“What is it?” I asked.

He cocked his head to the front of the room, and that's when I realized Ms. Tran had been calling my name.

“Mr. Jay Park is not too bad to look at, so look at him when you dance, not at your feet. He's been doing a good job at leading, so you have to trust him. Again, the closed position please.”

Jay resumed his position facing me, his hand snaking around my back to pull me closer. He was all business-like as if he were posing a mannequin, taking my left hand and placing it on his right shoulder and his right hand holding my left.

“I'm not a bad dancer, you know,” he said, in an almost teasing voice.

That was just it, Jay was probably an amazing dancer, it was another thing that came along with his bad b-boy reputation. He may have had a penchant for breaking certain rules, disinterest in most things, and probably even issues with authority figures, but he was what you could call a diamond in the rough. Jay was definitely rough around the edges, but he had the kind of potential that was once in a lifetime. He was that good and valuable to the school.

We started again- or rather, Jay started and I followed, as I should. I tried to keep my head up for the most part, which was not really a good idea as I stumbled over my own feet every now and then. Jay's arm around me was unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your point of view) the one thing that supported me and kept me upright as we made our way across the room, moving on from the basic box step to a modification of going around the box and additional turns. Every time I would slip or stumble, Jay would pull me back upright. He wouldn't say anything about it, he just kept on following Mr. Park's instructions and making sure I didn't hurt myself more than necessary. It was not something that I was prepared to know about him at the moment. Was Jay really this much of a gentleman? Or did he really just like to dance this much? Even if it was the Waltz.

By the end of the period the class had pretty much learned how to do a passable basic waltz. We were still working on it next week, but Mr. Park and Ms. Tran had agreed that we could move on to the more intermediate steps such as framing and twirling. Needless to say, I was not at all looking forward to next week.

As soon as class was over I slipped off my heels; my feet were killing me and I dragged my bare feet back to the locker room to change back into our uniforms. The girls were chattering as usual, and I tried to tune them out. Most of them were talking about Min and Fei's upcoming birthday bash. It looks like the girls were renting out an exclusive bar at the end of the month and were passing out invites to everybody, and I mean everybody who was somebody.

This was an especially big a deal because Jessica Jung's birthday fell on the same month as the two girls, and it had been another one of those long running petty rivalries to see whose party was bigger and better. It had started even before I met any of them, most of the students here came from another exclusive middle school affiliated with IDOL, and most rivalries originated from there, both rivalries and bonds.

“So Min, will your boyfriend be at your party? We'd love to meet him,” Sunye said, walking over to Miss A's side of the locker rooms.

Min looked a little flustered for a moment and she quickly turned to Jia and Fei. I had to admit, I wasn't particularly excited to get to my writing class at the moment. This was much more interesting, too bad Seulong was not allowed in the girl's locker room- no actually that was a good thing. It would have been oddly disturbing and alarming if Seulong actually did have access here.

“I'd love to meet this boyfriend of yours, I can bring mine right?” Sunye added.

Was it just me, or was Sunye instigating another confrontation with Miss A? Min's alleged boyfriend was not really the issue here, whether she actually had one or not didn't seem as pressing as Sunye trying to show off again. Was having a boyfriend really something to boast about? I don't get these girls.

“Sure, whatever,” Min replied coolly.

Sunye's brow arched and she smiled almost...evilly. She was definitely up to no good. Did I mention Sunye went to the same middle school as Min and Suzy? Sunye, Sohee, Min and Fei, along with a few other girls from class A and C, Jessica included, all went to the same middle school and have apparently retained old conflicts as well. Where all these really stemmed from I don't think I will ever find out, but that was never reason not to keep score, was it?

Well, I suppose this particular score will have to be settled at the party two weeks from now as the two groups finally dispersed into their respective electives. I followed them out to get to my own class as well.

Ms. Amihan was already there, as with the rest of my classmates when I arrived. I was not late, hardly, I still had seven minutes to spare. I sighed inwardly, though I was unsure just exactly why at this very moment. I shouldn't really have to be bothered by an early bird class, but perhaps it wasn't the time that I was really anxious about.