Accolade

chapitre deux

I paid my respects to the directors, thanking them for letting this dream come true, and letting them know that I would not disappoint them. I gave Mrs. Jules a hug because I simply couldn't just shake her hand, she had become like a mother to me. Then, we were dismissed early for the rest of the afternoon. 

"Come on!" Lucy linked arms with me, and gently pulled me along with her, "This calls for a celebratory lunch!"

☼ ☼ ☼

A little bayside cafe welcomed us.

We managed to ditch the paparazzi and news media somewhere four blocks ago. I swore, they knew everything. They had been waiting outside the studio entrance for someone to emerge. Lucy and I had made no comment, as I was sure Mrs. Jules would speak for us. I rarely gave the paparazzi any facts, they could be quite nosey. 

Flashing cameras and microphones were shoved in our faces, nearly twenty people shouting questions from every direction around us. Someone must have tipped them off that today would be the day they announced roles on Broadway, that happened a lot as well. Sometimes they would know things before I did. 

But, today, I grabbed Lucy's hand and ducked for the nearest opening in the people. We laughed as we darted down the sidewalk and some of them followed us. I took a few turns, crossed a few streets, and eventually, they gave up. 

We had settled in a booth nestled in the corner of the cafe, overlooking the harbor of New York City. Lady Liberty stood tall and proud a short distance away. Lucy was ecstatic about the menu options. 

"Can I order this?" She had asked me--several times--and pointed to a delicious dish that was loaded with carbs and entirely against our diet regime. 

"Get what you want!" I partially scolded her, and then chuckled. 

Our waitress came back around and took our orders. We chatted about the exciting news while we waited for our food. I hadn't totally drifted down from cloud nine. I felt as if I had grown wings, and they sprung from my back as I took flight into the open, blue sky. 

"Oh, lord," Lucy drooled over the food set down in front of us, "Don't tell Mrs. Jules, she might have a heart attack that we've cheated on our diet." 

I smiled devilishly, "No one will ever know." 

"You're so right," She mumbled, distracted by the chocolate drizzle over her pancakes and strawberries, "This is a celebration, after all." 

"Indeed."

Lucy moaned, "This is absolute heaven." 

She was right, the food was amazing. I think I cleaned my plate off in about five minutes. I would have licked up the chocolate syrup if it hadn't been socially unacceptable. Plus, you never knew when the paparazzi were spying. I politely wiped my mouth with a napkin and then noticed Lucy grinning at me. 

"What?" I asked, a small smile of my own. 

"I'm really proud of you," She didn't stop smiling, as if she was watching her little sister grow up, "I knew that you would get the role, I mean, not that I totally didn't love seeing Eliana's face when she realized she wouldn't be the star of the show." 

I laughed, "I missed it, I was in too much shock myself." 

"She was pissed, and I honestly thought she might cry." 

"Queen Eliana, crying?" 

We burst into more laughter at the absurd thought. Eliana had never once shown a positive emotion, always negative and deceitful. Even her mother was horrid. She seemed to have a heart of stone and cared nothing for others. Her only chance in life was ballet, the one thing she had some talent for, but even she couldn't fake the emotion for true ballet. It was to be from the heart, one of passion and love.