Page 9 of Head Over Wheels
Soon another woman joins us. She introduces herself as Alicia, and she’s from Toronto. Before long there’s a group of six of us standing together, chattering away and sharing our love of Elevate. The room is pretty noisy now, a buzz of conversation filling the air. When the lights flicker a few times, we all stop talking and turn our attention to the entrance. Loud music crashes through the speakers, setting my senses on high. Then a voice starts talking, and I search the room to find where it’s coming from. My eyes fall upon a stage that I hadn’t noticed before. It’s set back against the far wall, and big spotlights start crisscrossing the room.
Welcome, Elevate members, to our Celebration Weekend!
We’re so happy to have you with us, and we can’t wait to meet every single one of you.
Before we go a moment further down this journey, it’s time for our instructors to join us!
Please give a big hand to welcome each one:
Alex
John
Kathy
Raj
Alia
Jayenne
Deb
Jace
The room gets louder and louder with cheers and claps as each instructor comes in and runs up onto the stage. I’m yelling and cheering, and my eyes are almost teary, I’m so excited to see each person. These instructors have gotten me through so much over the past year and it’s a little overwhelming to be here. I can’t believe I’ll get to meet each of them by the end of the weekend. I hope they’re all as nice as Jace and Deb. And speaking of them, I notice that their names are called together and they run up to the stage side-by-side. I stare between them, trying to figure out if they’re still a couple since they stand together, shoulders touching. Ugh, I need to stop worrying about it as it doesn’t make any difference to my life. Jace looks amazing dressed in a black Henley that molds to his upper body perfectly and dark jeans that just make him look even leaner and taller than he already is. He’s the very definition of a tall drink of water. I look around at my companions and everyone is staring at him with a bit of longing in their eyes.
He is peering out from his place on the stage, making eye contact with people, smiling, and nodding hello. I’m sure he recognizes them from social media. There are also always people standing outside the studio hoping to run into instructors so they can say hello and get a picture. I’ve done it once or twice when I’ve been in town but never run into anyone. I always just do a quick walk by to see if anyone is there, but have never stood there for hours waiting like I know some people do. This is why the weekend is going to be so fun for me.
The room quiets back down enough for the emcee to tell everyone to enjoy the meet and greet and mingle with the instructors.
“I don’t have the energy to fight through that crowd right now.” Tara points over to where the super eager people are lined up three deep to get to their favourite instructors first.
“We’ve got all weekend. Let’s just hang out here and wait for them to thin out.” Lisa leans against the bar and takes a sip of her drink.
We continue to chat amongst ourselves and watch the instructors from afar. After a while, I feel the heat of someone watching me, so I turn around. I don’t see anyone I recognize, but a moment later a man approaches.
“Hi, I’m Jeff. Nice to meet you.” He’s taller than me, just under six feet I’d guess. His blond hair is cropped short, and he has warm brown eyes.
“Hi, I’m Ella.” I let go of his hand and introduce him to the rest of the group.
“Sorry to crash your party like this, but I came alone and thought I recognized some of you from the Elevate group online.” He looks around at us, gently biting his lip.
“It’s fine, we’ve all just met as well.” Tara pats the space next to her for him to slide in.
He seems friendly enough and absorbs easily into our chatter. When I peek over my shoulder to see if the bartender is free, Jeff notices.
“Hey, can I get you a refill or something different? I was going to grab a coffee.” He smirks at me, and his eyes crinkle.
“Coffee? Won’t that keep you up all night?” I raise an eyebrow at him.
“No, I’m weird with coffee. I can drink it any time and it doesn’t affect my sleep.”
“Okay, that must mean you’re a serial killer.” I laugh to make sure he knows I’m teasing.
“Ha, well no one has found out my secret yet, so please keep it between us.” His eyes dance back at me. “So, did you want a refill or…?”
“Yes! Sorry. All that coffee talk distracted me. I love coffee, but it’s definitely too late in the day for me to partake. How about another ginger ale?” I point at my empty glass.