Sharing a Booty Smack

I recently resolved not to be a blob for the rest of graduate school. Therefore, I signed up for fitness classes at our campus gym and have been faithfully and happily attending cardio kickboxing classes, old school 80s aerobics classes, and now... Zumba. I have managed to escape running into students in a class or in the locker room, the latter of which is just about my worst nightmare. It happened once at my former university, but thankfully both parties were clothed. I do not need my student knowing what I look like without clothes on when I hand back papers with low grades. Let's be serious--I need all the credibility I can get.

But now I have a student who knows what I look like while pelvic thrusting. Because you do that in Zumba. A lot. And booty smacking motions, too. I like to think that I have some slick moves on the dance floor, and while that may be [at a wedding, with 1+ drink(s)], my preexisting confidence was shaken slightly when I walked through the door to see my student, Rachel. Now, if this had been any other student, I might have stumbled through something like, "Uh... I think I'm in the wrong class. Funny to run into you... Erm... bye" while backing quickly out the door. Rachel, however, is a doll. She's a first year theater major, fresh from high school. That should explain a lot to anyone who was ever in college. To open her last speech, she shook her butt (literally) on the stage to discuss the importance of self-expression. So, I proceeded with my original plan knowing I might look a little foolish.

As I walked into Zumba, Rachel promptly shouted for the room to hear, "OH MY GOSH! LAUREN! I am SO excited!!!" As class started, she was next to me in the lineup and, every time we turned around, she had a straight shot view of my rear as it popped, locked, rolled, shook, and (no doubt) jiggled. It didn't seem to matter, though, because she walked with me to my car asking rapid fire questions such as: how often I worked out, if I'd ever done Zumba before, if I had grading to do this afternoon, if I had dance background, if I had any tips for her outline due Tuesday, if Carlos was in town, if I wanted babies soon, and if I thought she should take time off before going to graduate school or if she should just try to make it big straight away. She made no mention of our shared experience of dancing to "Get Low." The good news is that now that we've shared a booty smack, she will now a) feel less nervous before speeches, and/or b) write me a really good review on RateMyProfessor.