Try to Stop Me
Title: Try to Stop Me
Author: Blackjackelf
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Swearing
Summary: Karah is a dancer, despite her mother’s wishes.
A/n: That was a really crappy summary wasn’t it? I’m doing this for FreeToTweet scholarship thing to encourage freedom of expression.
Karah scowled in annoyance at her mother. Who was she to tell her how to dance? The bitch just doesn’t have any idea of artistic freedom, Karah thought to herself.
Karah was in the magnet program for high school, and it was one of the best in the sate. Why was it such a problem that there were a lot of African Americans there? So what if it most of the kids qualified for the free lunch program? More kids graduated from her school than any high school in the state of North Carolina. It was also true that her friends had started to teach her how to dance, which could pretty much summed up into ass shaking.
“I don’t know what your father will have to say about this, but when he gets home you’re in big trouble.” The evil bitch barked out at her daughter.
When she was done, Karah stood up, grabbed her jacket and went for a walk. She left the neighborhood and walked a half a mile into the city of Raleigh where she took out her phone and made a phone call.
“Hey bitch, what’s up?” Denisha answered on the first ring.
Denisha was a year older than Karah, but she had been held back for a year so she would be in the same class as her younger brother. Karah had met the older girl in their freshman English honors class. They quickly became best friends and went out to dance in the streets together to get extra cash sometimes.
“My mom and I got into a fight again.” Karah said.
“Uh-oh,” Denisha said, already reaching for her jacket, “where do you wanna meet up?”
“Same place, I brought my speakers and I downloaded that new song we were practicing at school.”
“Okay,” Denisha said, walking out the front door of her house, waving to her mother as she went, “I can be there in five minutes.”
“See you then.” Karah said, hanging up her phone and walking to the small restaurant her friend owned.
When she walked in a couple of the costumers and employees waved at her.
“Hey, Karah,” one employee, Zad, greeted, “are you here to dance again?”
“Hey,” Karah said, taking a seat at a table, “yeah I am I’m just waiting for Denisha.”
“That’s cool,” Zad said, nodding his head, “I gotta work now, but when I’m done if ya’ll are still there I think I’ll dance too.”
“Cool,” Karah said, “and if you see Calder tell him thanks will you?”
“Sure thing.”
Calder was Karah’s next-door neighbor and he was the owner of his own little diner, Zad was his son and Karah’s childhood friend. When the two of them had started high school together and both had begun to dance Calder would let them dance outside the diner to attract costumers. It was fun, but Karah desperately wanted to be able to tell her own mother where she dance instead of just that she danced.
The door to the diner opened and Denisha walked in, hair done in sexy waves that would stay that way no matter what move she did. She walked over and sat down in front of Karah, and pushed a shoebox in her direction.
“What’s this?” Karah asked, a small smile playing at her lips.
“An early Christmas present,” Denisha said, pulling on her dancing shoes, “I wanted to give them to you next week, but I thought today would be better.”
Karah slowly opened the box and gasped. Inside was a new pair of dancing shoes. Immediately Karah took off her own converse sneakers and shoved her feet into the blue shoes. It was a perfect fit.
“Thank you!” Karah exclaimed, jumping up to give her friend a hug.
Denisha just laughed and hugged her friend back.
“Okay,” Karah said, grabbing her sneakers and iPod, “let’s go test them out.”
Outside Karah set down the equipment and put on her favorite hat while Denisha set down her own hat for whatever money people decided to toss in. Turning to the Dance playlist she set it on the first song, and lost herself in the music.
Karah and Denisha rarely ever danced to a song that was in English, so that way they knew that people were watching for dancing, not the music. But it was cool when people watched them enough to be able to sing along with the Korean songs, or even dance along with them.
Denisha walked up to a guy in the crowd and began to dance with him. Karah squinted and easily recognized Denisha’s boyfriend, Taiki. Suddenly there were two hands on Karah’s waist, making her gasp. Someone laughed, and Karah looked back to see that it was Zad that had jumped in to dance with her.
“You scared me!” Karah pouted, falling back into the music.
“You girls are on fire today, there a lot more costumers in the diner than usual.” Zad said, he began to fall in synch with girls’ dancing.
“Please,” Denisha pleaded, pulling Taiki in to dance with them.
He sighed and gave her a kiss on the cheek and began to dance with them. The four danced until the sun began to set. After the last song, they took a bow and the crowd cheered. Some people went into the diner, and some walked away to continue with their lives.
Denisha bent over to pick up her hat, and took it inside to begin to count the money. But inside the diner the four of them froze.
“Daddy?” Karah whispered.
Calder looked over at her as if to say that he was sorry before going back to work.
“Karah,” the man stood up and walked over to his daughter, “I saw you dancing.”
Denisha put an arm around her friend’s shoulders. Karah looked down at her sneakers, her beautiful blue sneakers, and began to think of reasons to convince her father to let her keep dancing.
“You really love it don’t you?” he smiled softly, remembering the way she danced.
Karah just nodded, not yet trusting her voice to speak.
“Then I’m not even going to try and stop you.” He sighed.
Karah blinked. Had she heard him right?
“B-bu-b-what?” Karah struggled to form words.
“I said I want you to keep dancing.” He repeated.
“Thank you Daddy!” Karah jumped up to wrap her arms around her father, “but what about Mom?”
“Your mother’s a detective,” he laughed, “she should know that it’s in the Bill of Rights that says you’re allowed to freely express yourself, and you dance.”
Karah smiled at her father’s statement, but frowned a little knowing they’d still have to talk to her mother about this.
* * *
That night Karah squirmed uncomfortably under her mother’s intense gaze.
“What?” the woman growled out.
“I’m going to keep dancing,” Karah whispered again, a little louder this time.
This time the glare was directed at Karah’s father, “And you’re okay with our daughter dancing like a slut?”
“I am not a slut!” Karah shouted, jumping up from her seat, “And you’ve never gone to see me dance!”
“I don’t need to see to know that’s not okay for a fourteen year old!” the woman stood up to shout at her daughter. “So if I say that you’re not dancing then you’re not dancing!”
“I hate you, you awful bitch.” Karah whispered, before running up to her bedroom.
* * *
The next day Karah stood outside Calder’s diner with Denisha.
“I can’t believe I said that to her.” Karah whispered after telling her friend what had happened the night before.
“Maybe now she’ll come and watch you dance though.” Denisha said, trying to cheer her friend up at least a little bit.
“Maybe.” Karah sighed, turning up the volume of her speakers before plugging her iPod in.
* * *
Karah’s mother sighed at the words that she couldn’t avoid in front of her. She had hoped to find a way to use a stronger force to get her daughter to stop dancing in the streets but now she felt all hope was lost. In the Bill of Rights the very first amendment kept her from stopping her daughter from dancing in public.
From nowhere her husband appeared behind her and whispered, “Will you please go somewhere with me?”
* * *
Karah carefully bent herself backwards so that she was able to stay in position a lot like a back bend but that still allowed her to roll her body. Then she carefully stood up from her position. Keeping her gaze fixed on the crowd in front of her she continued to pop and lock her body in different positions making sure to keep the flow of her movements so nothing looked too jerky. She had no idea that her own mother was watching the whole performance.
Slowly Karah left this reality and began to double pop her hips, threw her hands in air before dropping low and clapped her hands twice. The crowd cheered.
“Yeah you better get it white girl!” a lady cheered.
The song finished and Karah took a bow going to sit on a bench as Denisha took the floor for her own solo dance. Karah watched her best friend leave for her own reality just as she had done, and laughed at the energy that she had. Halfway through the song Taiki decided to join her and the two made the perfect dancing couple.
“Do you wanna try that?” Zad asked sitting next to Karah.
“What?” she asked innocently, putting his arm around her to try and fight off the cold air around them.
“A couple dance,” Zad squeezed her shoulders, “with me.”
Karah thought about it. Couple dances were usually done with your boyfriend/girlfriend for a reason. It was because it got so intense and you wanted that with someone you really liked.
“But if you don’t want that,” he whispered, “I’d settle with taking you out to the movies or dinner or something.”
Karah blushed, and whispered in a shy voice, “Okay.”
Denisha’s song ended and she walked over to Karah and grabbed her hand.
“It’s about time the two of you got together,” she whispered, making Karah blushed harder, “and I think we should do an innocent song now.”
“Why?”
“Because I think your mother is watching.”
The next dance Karah was nervous and she messed up a couple parts, but when she began to gain confidence that performance was one of their best. When it was over and they took their final bow Karah slipped into the diner to wait for her mother’s final decision.
The woman pulled out a seat in front of her daughter and stared at her. Karah looked down at the table.
“What song was that?” her mother began, “The one you used for your solo; I didn’t recognize it.”
“It’s Korean,” Karah, said, still looking at the table, “it was about freedom from oppression.”
“So why dance so sexy?”
“To make a point of how no one can control me.”
“There was another dance that you did that was almost cute.”
“That was the point of the song.”
“I see, and there was-”
“Is there a point to this line of questioning? I don’t like feeling as though I’m being interrogated.”
“I guess I’m trying to decide if you can keep dancing out there like that.”
“Mom,” Karah whispered, “please, I love dancing. People love watching me dance, and I’m really good.”
“Fine,” Karah’s mother gave in, “I guess I really can’t stop you.”
“Thank you.” Karah whispered, hugging her mother, “and I really don’t hate you.” Karah whispered before going off to join her friends.
Two months later Karah, Denisha, Taiki, and Zad finally got to dance in front a crowd of their peers. It was terrifying, but it helped knowing that Karah’s mother was finally cheering for them too.
Author: Blackjackelf
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Swearing
Summary: Karah is a dancer, despite her mother’s wishes.
A/n: That was a really crappy summary wasn’t it? I’m doing this for FreeToTweet scholarship thing to encourage freedom of expression.
Karah scowled in annoyance at her mother. Who was she to tell her how to dance? The bitch just doesn’t have any idea of artistic freedom, Karah thought to herself.
Karah was in the magnet program for high school, and it was one of the best in the sate. Why was it such a problem that there were a lot of African Americans there? So what if it most of the kids qualified for the free lunch program? More kids graduated from her school than any high school in the state of North Carolina. It was also true that her friends had started to teach her how to dance, which could pretty much summed up into ass shaking.
“I don’t know what your father will have to say about this, but when he gets home you’re in big trouble.” The evil bitch barked out at her daughter.
When she was done, Karah stood up, grabbed her jacket and went for a walk. She left the neighborhood and walked a half a mile into the city of Raleigh where she took out her phone and made a phone call.
“Hey bitch, what’s up?” Denisha answered on the first ring.
Denisha was a year older than Karah, but she had been held back for a year so she would be in the same class as her younger brother. Karah had met the older girl in their freshman English honors class. They quickly became best friends and went out to dance in the streets together to get extra cash sometimes.
“My mom and I got into a fight again.” Karah said.
“Uh-oh,” Denisha said, already reaching for her jacket, “where do you wanna meet up?”
“Same place, I brought my speakers and I downloaded that new song we were practicing at school.”
“Okay,” Denisha said, walking out the front door of her house, waving to her mother as she went, “I can be there in five minutes.”
“See you then.” Karah said, hanging up her phone and walking to the small restaurant her friend owned.
When she walked in a couple of the costumers and employees waved at her.
“Hey, Karah,” one employee, Zad, greeted, “are you here to dance again?”
“Hey,” Karah said, taking a seat at a table, “yeah I am I’m just waiting for Denisha.”
“That’s cool,” Zad said, nodding his head, “I gotta work now, but when I’m done if ya’ll are still there I think I’ll dance too.”
“Cool,” Karah said, “and if you see Calder tell him thanks will you?”
“Sure thing.”
Calder was Karah’s next-door neighbor and he was the owner of his own little diner, Zad was his son and Karah’s childhood friend. When the two of them had started high school together and both had begun to dance Calder would let them dance outside the diner to attract costumers. It was fun, but Karah desperately wanted to be able to tell her own mother where she dance instead of just that she danced.
The door to the diner opened and Denisha walked in, hair done in sexy waves that would stay that way no matter what move she did. She walked over and sat down in front of Karah, and pushed a shoebox in her direction.
“What’s this?” Karah asked, a small smile playing at her lips.
“An early Christmas present,” Denisha said, pulling on her dancing shoes, “I wanted to give them to you next week, but I thought today would be better.”
Karah slowly opened the box and gasped. Inside was a new pair of dancing shoes. Immediately Karah took off her own converse sneakers and shoved her feet into the blue shoes. It was a perfect fit.
“Thank you!” Karah exclaimed, jumping up to give her friend a hug.
Denisha just laughed and hugged her friend back.
“Okay,” Karah said, grabbing her sneakers and iPod, “let’s go test them out.”
Outside Karah set down the equipment and put on her favorite hat while Denisha set down her own hat for whatever money people decided to toss in. Turning to the Dance playlist she set it on the first song, and lost herself in the music.
Karah and Denisha rarely ever danced to a song that was in English, so that way they knew that people were watching for dancing, not the music. But it was cool when people watched them enough to be able to sing along with the Korean songs, or even dance along with them.
Denisha walked up to a guy in the crowd and began to dance with him. Karah squinted and easily recognized Denisha’s boyfriend, Taiki. Suddenly there were two hands on Karah’s waist, making her gasp. Someone laughed, and Karah looked back to see that it was Zad that had jumped in to dance with her.
“You scared me!” Karah pouted, falling back into the music.
“You girls are on fire today, there a lot more costumers in the diner than usual.” Zad said, he began to fall in synch with girls’ dancing.
“Please,” Denisha pleaded, pulling Taiki in to dance with them.
He sighed and gave her a kiss on the cheek and began to dance with them. The four danced until the sun began to set. After the last song, they took a bow and the crowd cheered. Some people went into the diner, and some walked away to continue with their lives.
Denisha bent over to pick up her hat, and took it inside to begin to count the money. But inside the diner the four of them froze.
“Daddy?” Karah whispered.
Calder looked over at her as if to say that he was sorry before going back to work.
“Karah,” the man stood up and walked over to his daughter, “I saw you dancing.”
Denisha put an arm around her friend’s shoulders. Karah looked down at her sneakers, her beautiful blue sneakers, and began to think of reasons to convince her father to let her keep dancing.
“You really love it don’t you?” he smiled softly, remembering the way she danced.
Karah just nodded, not yet trusting her voice to speak.
“Then I’m not even going to try and stop you.” He sighed.
Karah blinked. Had she heard him right?
“B-bu-b-what?” Karah struggled to form words.
“I said I want you to keep dancing.” He repeated.
“Thank you Daddy!” Karah jumped up to wrap her arms around her father, “but what about Mom?”
“Your mother’s a detective,” he laughed, “she should know that it’s in the Bill of Rights that says you’re allowed to freely express yourself, and you dance.”
Karah smiled at her father’s statement, but frowned a little knowing they’d still have to talk to her mother about this.
* * *
That night Karah squirmed uncomfortably under her mother’s intense gaze.
“What?” the woman growled out.
“I’m going to keep dancing,” Karah whispered again, a little louder this time.
This time the glare was directed at Karah’s father, “And you’re okay with our daughter dancing like a slut?”
“I am not a slut!” Karah shouted, jumping up from her seat, “And you’ve never gone to see me dance!”
“I don’t need to see to know that’s not okay for a fourteen year old!” the woman stood up to shout at her daughter. “So if I say that you’re not dancing then you’re not dancing!”
“I hate you, you awful bitch.” Karah whispered, before running up to her bedroom.
* * *
The next day Karah stood outside Calder’s diner with Denisha.
“I can’t believe I said that to her.” Karah whispered after telling her friend what had happened the night before.
“Maybe now she’ll come and watch you dance though.” Denisha said, trying to cheer her friend up at least a little bit.
“Maybe.” Karah sighed, turning up the volume of her speakers before plugging her iPod in.
* * *
Karah’s mother sighed at the words that she couldn’t avoid in front of her. She had hoped to find a way to use a stronger force to get her daughter to stop dancing in the streets but now she felt all hope was lost. In the Bill of Rights the very first amendment kept her from stopping her daughter from dancing in public.
From nowhere her husband appeared behind her and whispered, “Will you please go somewhere with me?”
* * *
Karah carefully bent herself backwards so that she was able to stay in position a lot like a back bend but that still allowed her to roll her body. Then she carefully stood up from her position. Keeping her gaze fixed on the crowd in front of her she continued to pop and lock her body in different positions making sure to keep the flow of her movements so nothing looked too jerky. She had no idea that her own mother was watching the whole performance.
Slowly Karah left this reality and began to double pop her hips, threw her hands in air before dropping low and clapped her hands twice. The crowd cheered.
“Yeah you better get it white girl!” a lady cheered.
The song finished and Karah took a bow going to sit on a bench as Denisha took the floor for her own solo dance. Karah watched her best friend leave for her own reality just as she had done, and laughed at the energy that she had. Halfway through the song Taiki decided to join her and the two made the perfect dancing couple.
“Do you wanna try that?” Zad asked sitting next to Karah.
“What?” she asked innocently, putting his arm around her to try and fight off the cold air around them.
“A couple dance,” Zad squeezed her shoulders, “with me.”
Karah thought about it. Couple dances were usually done with your boyfriend/girlfriend for a reason. It was because it got so intense and you wanted that with someone you really liked.
“But if you don’t want that,” he whispered, “I’d settle with taking you out to the movies or dinner or something.”
Karah blushed, and whispered in a shy voice, “Okay.”
Denisha’s song ended and she walked over to Karah and grabbed her hand.
“It’s about time the two of you got together,” she whispered, making Karah blushed harder, “and I think we should do an innocent song now.”
“Why?”
“Because I think your mother is watching.”
The next dance Karah was nervous and she messed up a couple parts, but when she began to gain confidence that performance was one of their best. When it was over and they took their final bow Karah slipped into the diner to wait for her mother’s final decision.
The woman pulled out a seat in front of her daughter and stared at her. Karah looked down at the table.
“What song was that?” her mother began, “The one you used for your solo; I didn’t recognize it.”
“It’s Korean,” Karah, said, still looking at the table, “it was about freedom from oppression.”
“So why dance so sexy?”
“To make a point of how no one can control me.”
“There was another dance that you did that was almost cute.”
“That was the point of the song.”
“I see, and there was-”
“Is there a point to this line of questioning? I don’t like feeling as though I’m being interrogated.”
“I guess I’m trying to decide if you can keep dancing out there like that.”
“Mom,” Karah whispered, “please, I love dancing. People love watching me dance, and I’m really good.”
“Fine,” Karah’s mother gave in, “I guess I really can’t stop you.”
“Thank you.” Karah whispered, hugging her mother, “and I really don’t hate you.” Karah whispered before going off to join her friends.
Two months later Karah, Denisha, Taiki, and Zad finally got to dance in front a crowd of their peers. It was terrifying, but it helped knowing that Karah’s mother was finally cheering for them too.