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The way they all clung to the walls reminded him of middle-school dance mixers. Since becoming a fighter, he seemed to be surrounded by over-confident people all the time. There was something about these shy wallflowers that made him feel nostalgic.
Once they were all the way inside, the music faded out and the lights came up slightly.
“Welcome to the Dance Games,” Oberon announced. “You’re going to compete for prizes in a competition that will help you show off your rhythm and moves.”
“Oh no,” Alexis moaned.
“What?” Tiago said. “You’re literally a professional dancer.”
“Ballet is a set of very specific positions and movements,” she said. “There are endless combinations, but they all come from a single foundation of skills. Free improvisation isn’t part of it.”
“What are you saying?” he asked, feeling like she was turning a very simple question into a term paper.
“I’ve never danced in a club,” she said simply.
“What?” he repeated, feeling supremely stupid.
“Training for me means getting a lot of sleep and not risking my body on other forms of dance,” she told him.
“But you’ve danced at parties?” he ventured.
“Not really,” she said. “A slow dance here and there at a cast party, but I really have only danced formally. I assume you don’t fight for fun.”
She had a point, although he suspected that dancing at a party would turn out a lot better than punching someone. Maybe she just needed the right partner.
“Well, you’re going to love this,” he decided, offering her a big smile.
She smiled back at him gamely.
Oberon began to explain the instructions. They were to stay with the rhythm of the music, try to use some of the moves demonstrated on the hologram, and get extra points for hitting the tiles as they lit up.
“When the first one of you reaches one hundred points, it will stop raining and there will be a picnic on the beach for you and all attending staff members,” Oberon wrapped up.
So, it wasn’t going to be a team activity, then.
The people gathered along the walls cheered and Alexis’s eyes lit up.
Mother Stars, but she was competitive. Just like him.
Tiago jogged a little in place, loosening up.
Alexis’s eyebrows went up, then she began doing the same, stretching for the floor and brushing her palms flat against it without bending her knees like it was nothing, then stood and lifted her foot over her head.
One of the folks against the wall in a lab coat whistled as if to saywow.
Not to be outdone, Tiago threw a few shadow punches, and the room went wild.
He was pleased with himself until he looked over to see that Alexis was doing a handstand, her legs extended into a split. The applause was obviously for her.
“Show off,” he whispered.
She grinned at him upside down before flipping back to her feet.
The music started and a holo film began to play, showing dancers moving in a fairly simple way.
Tiago started in, putting his own flair on the moves.
But when he looked up at Alexis, she was simply staring at the moving images.
