Shaping Destiny Read Online Free PDF Page A

large circular
building with rooms on the outside and stairs that led to a big
open floor in the middle.
    In my orange and yellow
salsa costume and my three-inch heels, I walked out of the
restroom. I spotted Jared leaning against a pillar next to the
dance floor. He wore black pants and an orange and yellow glittery
vest that exposed his chest.
    Jared didn’t see me start
descending the stairs, so I sneakily inched my way closer to
surprise him. He was engrossed in a paper he held in his hands. His
brow furrowed, and his fingers massaged his temples. I looked down
at the letter and put my hand on his shoulder.
    He jumped, crinkled up the
letter in one fluid motion, and stuffed it in his pocket. “I didn’t
see you there.”
    “Obviously. What were you
reading?”
    “Nothing. Just a letter
from Mom.”
    “Is something wrong? You
looked so worried.”
    “Wrong? No nothing’s
wrong.” He put his arm around my shoulder and started to walk.
“Let’s go sign up and get our numbers.”
    I racked my brain to pull
out anything on the paper I saw so briefly, but it wasn’t enough to
know what the letter stated. Sparks , weak , stronger , and Almont were the only four words I
noticed. The word Sparks was nothing to me. Weak and stronger were words that could mean
many different things. Almont , did
he mean Almont, Colorado?
    Jared said it was nothing,
so that’s what it would be, nothing. Who was I to judge? I had lied
to Jared. He didn’t ask me for further explanation then, and I
would do the same now.
    “Lucky number seven.”
Jared pinned the number on my back and I did the same for him. “Are
you nervous?” Jared asked.
    “No, not at
all.”
    ***
    Couple after couple had
their turn until they called number seven an hour later. I wasn’t
nervous until then. There were so many beautiful and technical
dancers before us, and the judges were so subtle.
    “Relax, you’ll be great.”
Jared squeezed my hand as we paraded our way onto the
floor.
    I put on a fake smile and
walked to the middle. Jared nodded to the judge who had our music,
and within minutes we danced flawlessly our well-rehearsed
routine.
    “Thank you,” the middle
judge said. “The list of the team will be posted Monday morning
here on the billboard. Next, number 8.”
    “We did it!” Dance was my
adrenaline rush. “We didn’t even mess up once.”
    “It was perfect. You’re
amazing.”
    “I’m just so happy. What
do you want to do next?”
    Jared looked down. “Well,
that’s the problem: I’m not sure what I should do. Steve and Mark
wanted to look at trig homework tonight. I guess I’m the nerd that
needs to help them.”
    “Didn’t you tell them
about our night?”
    “Yes, of course I did, but
tomorrow Steve is heading home because of a death in his family,
and Mark would rather do it with Steve so they can work together
later. They’re way behind in class.”
    “Oh, I see.”
    “I’m sorry. Maybe I’ll
just call Steve and tell him I’m not coming.”
    “No, no, that’s OK.” I
tried to smile. “Go, he needs your help. Plus if he’s going home to
support his family, that’s important. I understand. You should
go.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “Definitely.”
    “I’ll go get changed,
then, but I’ll call you tomorrow?” He looked straight into my
eyes.
    “Yes, that’s
fine.”
    “OK. Love ya.” He kissed
me good-bye.
    ***
    After Jared left I didn’t
feel like sticking around anymore, so with a quick change of my
shoes, I headed home. My coat and my bag were the only things
keeping me warm from the night air.
    I should have asked Jared
to walk me home. He had rushed to leave, and I hadn’t thought about
the loneliness of the dark. The lights from campus started to fade,
and fear started to creep up my body. After what happened a week
ago, it was reason enough not to take any chances. Knowing I was
almost home, I argued with myself whether to keep going or to walk
all the way back. You’re almost home now.
It’ll