Dancing for the Lord The Academy - By Emily Goodman Page 0,10
tossed her own pillows onto the bed, pulled her Bible and devotional book out and tucked them into place on the nightstand, and plugged in the charger for her cell phone. Her room, she’d noticed, shared a bathroom with the room next door; her toothbrush and toothpaste, as well as her shower bag, went in there.
There were towels already in the bathroom and under the sink, she noticed—the Academy did provide those for students’ use, just as they provided sheets and other bed coverings—but her mother had sent her with her own anyway. As she unpacked one bag after another, Danni found herself making a couple of trips to the bathroom with a stack of towels, her extra toiletries—her mother was terrified that she would run out of something important and not have time to go get it, so she’d packed what looked to Danni like enough of everything to get her through to the summer—and her bag of hair things. Danni’s hair, when it was unbound, reached about halfway down her back. While she expected to spend most of her time here with it in a bun, she also hoped that there would be opportunities to wear it down, at least every once in awhile.
Then there were the sheets her mother had sent from home. Danni considered putting them on the bed then and there; but she had the feeling that the bed had been made up just for her, and she didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. She left everything where it was and put the rest up in the closet, telling herself that she would change the sheets out in a week or so, when she started to get really homesick.
As she began unpacking the box of books her father had brought up, Danni had the uncomfortable sensation that someone was watching her. She turned to find someone peering out of the bathroom.
“Hi!” the girl said, grinning brightly at her. “You must be Danni. I’m Madalyn—I have the room through the bathroom.” She gestured behind her enthusiastically. “It must be so crazy, getting here in the middle of the semester and all—but don’t worry, people will be helpful, I think. Or I’ll be helpful, anyway. Besides, I don’t think we’ll be competing a lot. I’m much taller than you.”
Taller than her Madalyn might be, Danni thought wryly, but the girl definitely seemed to be a bundle of energy. “It’s nice to meet you,” she said tentatively.
“Oh, it’s great to meet you, too!” Madalyn bubbled. “I really hope we’re going to get to be friends. Rachel—that’s the girl who had the room before you—didn’t like me very much; but I don’t think it was fair of her to say so.” She made a face. “She was only here for a few weeks, you know? And then Helen quit, and Rachel jumped at the chance to have her room. She said it was horrible, not having enough space.” She rolled her eyes. “Personally, I think this room is much nicer. Mine’s not all that much bigger, and I picked it on purpose. We’ve got a great view, you know.” She gestured out the windows, finally stopping to take a breath.
“It’s beautiful here,” Danni admitted.
“I think they want it to inspire us.” Madalyn grinned. “Dance in the beauty of the mountains and all.”
“It’s got to be amazing,” Danni said quietly. “Being able to dance right here, under the clear evidence of God’s majesty.”
Madalyn nodded, but she was silent long enough that Danni knew immediately that she had thrown her for a loop. “You’re a Christian, huh?” Danni nodded. “Me, too. I mean, I’m not just crazy about it or anything, but I pray, and I believe in God.”
Danni turned away to hide her wince. “My parents raised me to put God first,” she said simply. “And to worship Him in everything I do. When I dance, I dance for Him.”
Madalyn was quiet even longer that time. When she did speak, her voice was oddly wistful. “I wish I had that,” she admitted. “But me…I just dance.”
“There’s no shame in that,” Danni said quickly. The last thing she wanted was to make the other girl feel badly, especially on first acquaintance. “It’s just…not the way I’ve ever done it. God calls us all to different things, right?”
“Right.” Madalyn looked more cheerful at that. “Hey, do you think you’ll get to dance Helen’s part in the Christmas performance? It’s just The Nutcracker, but it could be fun. We were doing snowflakes together.”