It was obvious, beyond so, what had gone on between Cassandra and the ruffled up brunette that emerged together through the door and at the sight of them, and as the student sat down, Rachel could hear muffled laughter, and had to admit - she struggled to hold back chuckles also. But the lighthearted feel faded as soon as the blonde began speaking, suddenly Rachel was switched on, alert - prepared for any slurs or remarks sent her way, knowing ultimately, nothing was worse that the terror Santana Lopez had set on her in her years of high school.
Immediately standing up and joining the cluster of students that began to spread out, Rachel positioned herself so that she was neither at the back, nor at the front - she sheer fear she felt for Cassandra enough to force her away from the front, at least for this turn.
The first few minutes passed easily enough. Jazz was by no means easy to pull off, but most of the students seemed to have had their share of tap dancing classes in their youth, and so they were picking up the general concepts relatively well. Rachel would have nearly blended into the group entirely had Cassandra not been watching her directly. The brunette freshman wasn't the worst dancer in the room, and that just made it take a few moments longer before Cassandra caught a slip big enough to make an issue of. Concealing her accomplished smirk with a frown and quick exhale of breath, Cassandra stood suddenly, waving for the TA to cut off the music, "Stop, stop, stop."
"Schwimmer!" The blonde dancer called out with enthusiasm, moving across the room to the stilled students. "God, it would be you first thing this morning that has to make everyone stop so we can correct your mistakes." The nervous stiffness in Rachel's movements was evident, and Cassandra planned on making an example of her for it, moving to stand just behind her and look her in the eye through the floor length mirror across the room. "Do you even look at yourself in the mirror when you try to dance? Emphasis on 'try.'" Her hand patted condescendingly on her shoulder as she chided, "First, at least try to look like you knew you were leaving the house today. You just look... unkempt." She added the last with a curled lip and a shake of her head. By no means did Rachel actually look like she hadn't made an effort to look her best, but Cassandra knew Rachel would make a point to try even harder with her appearance in every other class for that comment alone. She'd need the discipline someday.
"But more importantly," she continued with a furrowed brow, placing her hands on either of Rachel's shoulders, squeezing the pressure points roughly for a moment, as if she were trying to help the girl out. "You gotta loosen up, Schwim. Have a drink or get laid or whatever else college kids do to relax," she took a step back, looking the girl up and down, "Because right now you're moving like the Bicentennial Girl, and it's throwing the whole group off."
