The First Dance Lesson

Flora goes to her first dance class on Thursday evening. The class is for beginners. The teacher puts everyone in pairs. Flora's partner is a tall man named Raoul.

Flora pergi ke kelas dansa pertamanya pada Kamis malam. Kelas itu untuk pemula. Guru menempatkan semua orang berpasangan. Pasangan Flora adalah seorang pria tinggi bernama Raoul.

"We start with the basic step," the teacher says. "Slow, slow, quick, quick."

"Kita mulai dengan langkah dasar," kata guru itu. "Pelan, pelan, cepat, cepat."

The music starts. Raoul steps on Flora's foot.

Musik mulai diputar. Raoul menginjak kaki Flora.

"Sorry," he says.

"Maaf," katanya.

One minute later, he does it again. "Sorry!" Then a third time. Flora's toes hurt. Raoul looks at the wall and not at his feet. She thinks he is careless.

Semenit kemudian, ia melakukannya lagi. "Maaf!" Lalu untuk ketiga kalinya. Jari-jari kaki Flora sakit. Raoul menatap dinding, bukan kakinya. Flora mengira ia ceroboh.

After the fifth "sorry," Flora stops. "You can stop saying sorry," she says. "Just look at your feet."

Setelah "maaf" kelima, Flora berhenti. "Kamu boleh berhenti bilang maaf," katanya. "Lihat saja kakimu."

"I know," Raoul says. His face is red, and his hands are wet. "I want to look at them. But I forget everything when the music starts. This is my first class too. I am very nervous."

"Aku tahu," kata Raoul. Wajahnya merah, dan tangannya basah. "Aku ingin melihatnya. Tapi aku lupa semuanya begitu musik mulai. Ini juga kelas pertamaku. Aku gugup sekali."

Flora looks at him again. He is not careless. He is afraid.

Flora memandangnya lagi. Pria itu tidak ceroboh. Ia takut.

She laughs. "I am nervous too," she says. "My knees shake."

Flora tertawa. "Aku juga gugup," katanya. "Lututku gemetar."

Raoul laughs as well. "What can we do?"

Raoul ikut tertawa. "Lalu apa yang bisa kita lakukan?"

"Let's go slowly," says Flora. "We can count out loud."

"Ayo pelan-pelan saja," kata Flora. "Kita bisa berhitung dengan suara keras."

They start again. "One, two, three, four," they say together, very quietly. For ten minutes, nobody steps on anybody.

Mereka mulai lagi. "Satu, dua, tiga, empat," kata mereka bersama-sama, sangat pelan. Selama sepuluh menit, tidak ada yang menginjak siapa pun.

At the end of the class, the teacher claps. Raoul steps on her foot one last time.

Di akhir kelas, guru bertepuk tangan. Raoul menginjak kaki Flora sekali lagi.

"Sorry," he says.

"Maaf," katanya.

"It's okay," says Flora. "Again from the start. One, two…"

"Tidak apa-apa," kata Flora. "Ulangi dari awal. Satu, dua…"