You are our hope.
You are our hope.
She sighed when she saw it was Mr B calling. After blowing up at him the other day and had even called him a son of a B. She was pretty sure he was going to return the favour now and probably say he didn't ever want to see her again.
"Hello? Mia?" His eager voice asked.
"Yes?" She said carefully.
"I just wanted to say I am sorry for the other day and how I reacted... Are you free right now?"
Mia's brows furrowed in confusion. What was happening?
"I'm on my way home from school.. why?"
"Good! Can you come over to the studio? There is a great opportunity for all of us... for you.. you don't want to miss this Mia.. you really do not want to"
"A great opportunity?" Mia asked in confusion as her steps halted.
"Yes. Remember the annual street dancing competition? Another one is coming up by the end of this month. I think The Exclusives tried to block us from getting this information but I eventually got it and have gotten our tickets. The first place award is triple the previous one!" He said excitedly and stopped to catch his breath.
"Triple? Really" She asked with interest.
"I swear. Mia you have to come here now. This isn't something I can explain on the phone. Just come here and I'll put you through. But please tell me you are in." He asked with a pleading and eager voice.
All Mia could hear was Triple Triple Triple.. If they could win, she would have enough money to pay for at least two months in advance to the loan sharks.
"Alright. I'm on my way." She said before turning around.
****************
Leo frowned when he saw Louis outside his door. He checked the time and noted Mia would be back from classes soon. He didn't want Louis to meet Mia there. He didn't want him to know that Mia was the girl staying with him.
"You don't look happy to see me." Louis said with a smile. Everyone wasn't happy to see him and he didn't really seem to mind much.
"You could have called first. What if I wasn't around."
"I was in the neighborhood and decided to stop by. It didn't matter whether you are in or not little brother." He said before he sat on the couch.
"Don't call me that." Leo said with a frown before sitting beside him..
"Where is your girlfriend?" Louis asked as he looked at the direction of her room.
"She... is out." Leo answered casually. He really hoped Mia wouldn't come home soon.
Louis looked at Leo suspiciously. He had a girlfriend who was living with him so why was he also interested in Mia just like Chloe had said?
"I saw Mia in school today.." Louis started..
"What.. Mia?"
"Yes. We also met at the café opposite the hospital the other day. I don't know whether she told you"
"She did tell me about it..... How is Doctor Lily?" Leo asked. He didn't want to continue with that conversation since it made him feel uncomfortable.
"Don't even think about running from this little brother... what is your relationship with Mia?"
"That shouldn't concern you. And stop calling me little brother!" Leo reminded him in annoyance.
"You have a girlfriend already. How come you also like her?"
Leo said nothing. He didn't see any reason why he should explain himself to his brother but he knew his brother was not going to leave until he got a proper answer.
"It's her." He said in resignation.
Louis looked at him in confusion as he wondered what Leo was talking about. Who was who?
"My girlfriend that stays here. It's Mia." Leo said.
"What?" Louis looked at him in surprise. Is Mia really your girlfriend or you are just messing with me?" He asked with a frown. If they had truly been dating, they both could have easily said so since friday night. Everything just didn't make sense.
"She is really my girlfriend." Leo tried to convince him.
"You know I can always tell when someone is lying. Maybe she stays here but she is obviously not your girlfriend. So I think it's best you tell me the truth and how she got to start living with you." Louis said as he relaxed his body on the couch.
Leo sighed in frustration. Louis had always been like that. It was always difficult to lie to him because he always saw through whoever tried to lie to him.
*************
"Mia... you need to understand that this is going to be a bit different from the normal dance you do." Mr B explained to her in a private corner away from the other dancers.
Mr B was the team leader and choreographer but he never danced with them. He was in his late thirties, tall, had an athletic body– all thanks to his many years of dancing. His hair was a bit long and tied in a ponytail which dangled about with every step he took.
"By different you mean?" She asked curiously.
"I mean.. it's a couple kind of dance. You have to... you know.. dance together, rub bodies together.." He explained as he moved his waist... hoping she would get his point.
"Like we are going to rock each other on stage?" She asked bluntly.
"Well... something like that." He said with a casual head shake.
"I can't do that." Mia said with a frown. Even though she had danced with the team for years and they were all friendly with each other, she had never for once agreed to dance like that. It was the exact reason her mother hated dancing. Linda always said it was too worldly and dirty. Mia had promised her she was going to show her it wasn't like that but her mother had forbade her from ever dancing. It was the reason she always hid to do it and wore heavy make ups or masks sometimes so no one could recognize her.
"Mia... that's the concept. This is money." He tried to cajole her. "You won't have to work odd jobs for 2 full months if we take first place. And this creates a lifetime opportunity to be one of the biggest dancing crew in the country. Mia..." He cupped her face and looked into her eyes.
"We can only rely on you to do this and take us there. You are our hope."