Hear the Dance

HTD#11

The number you have dialed is now unattended. Please try to call later.

The voice machine repeated the same intercept message again for the 20th time today. It has been 2 days ever since the day Bada met Helene. And in those 2 days Mauve hasn't answered her messages or her calls. It's like she's completely off the grid. This did not help the heaviness in her chest that she had been feeling when she left the state a few days ago.

Bada drops her hand that was holding her phone to her sides and turns off the call. Her knees felt weak under her so she crouched down, her head falls down between her legs making her hair curtain her face. Bada's eyes were closed in frustration while her mind ran through hundreds of reasons why Mauve won't pick up and won't reply to her.

"Bada-ssaem."

A gentle voice from a girl invaded her trail of thoughts. Bada looked up to see the familiar face of one of her student looking down at her. She looks like she felt guilty on what she just did.

Bada then remembered where she is right now and what's happening.

Stupid! She forgot she has a class going on and she excused herself out of the dance room to make a phone call during their 5 minute break.

Bada didn't realized its been more than 5 minutes since and she had spent 15 minutes in the hallways trying to call Mauve.

"Everyone is waiting."

"Kath, oh God. I'm sorry, I was just stuck on the phone. I'll go back now."

She explained herself, the student just awkwardly laughed and then bid to go inside the room first. With one last peek on her phone, Bada tucked her thoughts of Mauve away from her mind and went back to her class.

It was already 2 P.M. when her last class finished. The whole day she was distracted and everyone, her students and the other dance instructors, saw it too. Tatter, who was inside the room where her last class was being held, came up to Bada to talk to her about her recent behavior.

"Bada-unnie, are you okay? You kept forgetting the steps today."

Bada knew how out of it she was today and all the previous days after the weekend when she last saw Mauve. At first she was denial that its because of the girl but after the 50th call she made today in between her breaks and after a lot of thinking which in turn distracted her, she now admits how worried she is for Mauve and how unsettled she is for the lack of her presence.

"You still haven't been able to contact her?"

Tatter added as she saw how Bada seem to not have intentions of answering the first question. Bada had told her about what happened over some barbeque the other day and so she knows its Mauve that has been on her mind the whole day.

Bada deeply sighed, her hands landed on the table and leaned in them for support.

"No. I can't reach her and she hasn't replied to any of my texts yet."

Tatter saw that worried expression on Bada's face that she'd been trying so hard to mask for the past few days. When was the last time she saw her like this? Can't remember. She hasn't been this worried to anyone in the past.

Well maybe she was worried for her friends and her families during the times she saw Bada getting worried for them, but atleast those times she'd receive a call or text to comfort Bada. This time though, there's nothing from Mauve's end.

"Bada! Tatter! Let's go! The rest are waiting already."

Hyein called out for them from the door frame. The academy instructors decided earlier to go out for dinner and so now that classes are over their night is about to start.