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Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Charlotte

I couldn't believe that he had the nerve to come up to me after school when I said I didn't want to hear what he had to say.  God, he didn't always used to be this much of an idiot.  Maybe all of the girls he had sex with passed on some disease that killed most of his brain cells.  Yeah, that's what happened.  Stupid asshole.

There was only one thing that made me forget about everything so I started toward the dance studio that Liz had told me about a few days before.  I was going to hunt for one but since she'd heard about it already, I figured it wouldn't hurt if I signed up so I could use a private room to dance. 

I had put my dance clothes and shoes in my bag before I left the house so I didn't have to go get anything.  So when I pulled into the studio, I grabbed my bag and went inside. 

I walked to the receptionist desk and waited before she got off the phone. 

"Hi, can I help you?" she asked.

"Yeah, do you have any of the private rooms open that I could practice in?  I'm not signed up or anything so I'll have to do that also."

"Alright," she said, turning to her computer.  "If I can just get your information and credit card number, you'll be all set."

After she had everything, I went to the changing rooms and dressed.  When I walked back out in my black sports bra, yoga pants, and dance shoes and had put my clothes in my bag, there were a few more people in the front room than there were before. 

I walked back up to the receptionist's desk to see what room I would be in.  As she got the information, I looked back into an office where a woman and teenage girl were talking in the doorway.  They looked familiar and then I realized who they were.

"Mrs. Macpherson?" I asked hesitantly just in case she wasn't.

The woman looked up with familiar green eyes.  "Yes?" she asked.  She looked at me for a long moment before her eyes widened.  "Charlotte?"

I smiled.  "Yeah, it's me," I said.

She ran over and gave me a long hug.  "I heard you and your father moved back to town," she said, pulling away but leaving her hands on my shoulders.  She looked me up and down, smiling.  "You look amazing!  How've you been?  How's your father?"

"I'm great.  He's great.  He got married almost two years ago so I have a new stepmom and stepbrother.  They're amazing and I love them.  What about you?  Do you own this place?" I asked.

"I opened it just after you guys left.  I needed something to do.  We've done pretty good business," she said.  She looked at my clothes.  "So you dance now?  You've got the body for it, that's for sure!"

"Yeah, I have been for a few years now.  It was ballet at first but I got into other types a few years ago."

Mrs. Macpherson looked over her shoulder at the girl she was talking about.  "Ellie, you need to get into your class.  They started five minutes ago," she said.

I looked over at the young teenage girl standing a few feet away.  She was looking at me with wide eyes.  I smiled. 

"Hey, Ellie, you grew up," I said, going over to hug her. 

She laughed.  "Yeah, and so did you," she said, looking up at me.  "So you're the new hot girl everyone was talking about today."

"I wouldn't say that I was hot but I guess I am," I said, laughing. 

"Did you see Ian at school?" Mrs. Macpherson asked. 

"Yeah, but I didn't talk to him."

"You know," Ellie said.  "After you left, he turned into a total jerk."