Chapter Twenty-Two: Night Dancer:

Wallace was about to get into his apartment when his phone buzzed. He looked down and pulled it out of his pocket. New text from Julia? How did she get his number? Wallace used the buttons to open the message. He had a puzzled look on his face.

Check out this dance performance tonight. Meet us at the Stone Garden.

Wallace tilted his head. What is it? Was she inviting him out on a date? It’s seems so sudden. But wasn’t this what he wanted? The country boy stared at the text. Should he even reply back? But what would he say? Thank you? Was this for me?

The country boy lowered his finger. He couldn’t think of something to say. It would be better to just go out there and look. Wallace shoved his phone into his pocket and went into his apartment with his books in hand.

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You Stone Garden was just a few blocks from the college. Wallace had to ask for directions a couple of times. He even had to show the text message at one time. It took the country boy about thirty minutes to get to his destination. He found Julia standing around the entrance, looking around for someone.  Wallace perked up and dashed across the street.

“Hey!” he said, flagging her down. Julia paused with a confused look on her face.

“Wallace?” she asked.

“Hi,” the country boy said once he got close enough. Julia blinked at him at first.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I came here for the dancer show,” Wallace said. At first, his crush gave him a strange look.

“Huh?” she asked. The country boy blinked at her.

“I got your text,” he said. Wallace pulled out his phone and showed her the message. Julia read over the content. Her eyes grew wide as she covered her mouth.

“Oh!” she said. “I am so sorry. This wasn’t meant for you. I was supposed to send this to someone else.” The light slowly died in Wallace’s face.

“Oh…” he mumbled. Both stood there in awkward silence.

“Do you want me to go?” Wallace asked, pointing behind him.

“No!” Julia was quick to say. The country boy blinked at her.

“No?” he asked. His crush quickly shook her head.

“I mean no,” Julia said. “You’re already here. You might as well stay and watch.” Wallace began to perk up again.

“Cool,” he said. He followed Julia through the entrance of the Stone Garden. Wallace had to do this right. Sure, she invited him out here by mistake. But had to make her not regret it. Who was she trying to text though? Martin? The country boy shook his head to himself. Martin had a girlfriend. So then who?

“Is something wrong?” Julia asked. Wallace looked up to see her looking over her shoulder at him.

“Huh?” he asked. “Oh. Nothing, just thought of something dumb.” Julia doesn’t respond.

They made it down to the amphitheater in the middle of the garden. Students and adults were already taking their seats. Wallace turned to Julia.

“Where do you want to sit?” he asked. She pointed down towards the center.

“There,” she said. His crush hurried down the stone steps. Wallace shrugged and followed behind. He had to get her to at least like him. The country boy believed that he still had a chance.

Julia and Wallace sat down to the front row. The country boy could hear traffic in the distance. The crickets added to the atmosphere. Julia seemed to be looking around for people that she knew. Wallace took a look at her. He was tempted to take hold of her hand. Too forward? Should he ask permission first? That sounded like the way to go. Wallace was about to open his mouth. But then the crowd grew quiet.

“Look,” Julia whispered. Wallace turned back to the natural stage. A young man about their age, maybe a little bit older stepped out. He had on baggy jeans and a dirty shirt. His baseball was on backwards. He stared at the crowd through his glasses. Julia stared at him intend. The young man stood on stage, waiting. He looked up at the starry sky.

“What is he doing?” Wallace whispered.

“Shhh,” she said back. Suddenly, the music cut on. The young man on stage started to twirl like a ballerina to jazzy trip-hop. His arms went up into the air as he did a split. His body got lost in the beat. He closed his eyes at one point and disappeared into another twirl. The dancer leapt up into the air at one point. He laid down on the ground, moving up and down before standing back up. The audience stared at his every movement. Wallace nearly stood up out of his seat. The dancer’s body was covered in sweat as he got lost into the notes.

When he was done, the man posed and bowed. The audience clapped and cheered. Wallace’s eyes lit up.

“Wow…” was all that he could say. It was when he looked down and that he was holding Julia’s hand. His eyes trailed up to his crush with a confused look on his face. Julia stared at him, unable to speak. Wallace quickly drew back his hand.

“Oh gosh! I’m so sorry!” he shouted. Oh crap. When did that happen? How could he have messed up? Julia slowly shook her head.

“No?” Wallace asked.

“No,” his crush said. The country boy tried to figure out what that meant. They could only turn back and look at more dancers coming onto the stage.