Red Star

After the Fire Part 6

The laces of Rosa's dancing shoes keep coming undone. 

She can barely get through a count of eight without a lace loosening and slipping under her shoe. The laces are too thin, she decides, and ties as many knots into the bows as she can, counting nine knots when she finds that the lace has become too short to tie any more. 

She does the same to the other shoe before she stands and gets into place in the middle of the studio. Turns her head toward Julian, the tap teacher that Frank hired specifically for her, and nods. 

The music flares out of the stereo at the corner of the room, and she lifts her left heel before bringing it back down onto the floor after she kicks out, resulting in a metallic click to reverberate across the room, even louder than the music. 

She turns her head towards Julian again. 

"Why am I not allowed to do any advanced combinations?" She asks, raising an eyebrow. It feels like she was three, all over again. 

"Frank's orders," He replies, moving across the room to pause the song. "He doesn't think your physiotherapy is moving along quickly enough."

"So this is a punishment for not working hard enough? Bullshit."

Frank has no idea how hard she's working. It took her all the strength in the world to say the word 'tap', when Frank asked her which type of dance she was interested in doing during her time here. She originally said none, but he told her it was a requirement to take up a hobby. She then said kick boxing, and that was a no-go, he said, until she could look at a gun again. 

So, tap it was.

The only problem was, that they don't provide tap at the facility, but Frank wasn't going to tell her no seeing as it has been the one thing she had agreed to so far.

So they hired Julian and bought her a pair of tap shoes.

"No, it's a precaution," Julian reasoned, standing in front of her. "He thinks that you could do some serious physical damage to yourself if you do too much activity." 

"But what if I told you I can already do tap and that you don't have to teach me anything?" 

"What if I told you that I already know?"

Wait, what? 

"I could see it in your feet the moment you walked in here," Julian smirks. "Plus, I'm pretty sure we used to dance with each other." 

Holy shit. Holy shit.

"Julian...Micheals?...Oh my God. It's been years." Rosa laughs a shaky laugh and tries to smile as best she can at him. 

"I'm just as surprised as you are," Julian grins, and then softens, his eyes laced with pity. "I would have said something when I first realised, but I wanted to talk to you first. A lot has changed hasn't it?" 

"Don't," Rosa gasps, suddenly feeling very very sick. "Please don't say it."

He looks highly conflicted, and bites his lip a little before he answers.

"Not yet," He moves away from her and towards the stereo again, starting the music again. "Don't tell Frank," He waits for her to nod. "Go ahead. I know you want to." 

She lifts her right foot, waits for the music to kick into action, and dances.

She's back on the stage at Ohio, aged sixteen, dancing to her Dad's favourite jazz music, in a red sequinned flapper dress which matches her glittering red tap shoes, smiling at her parents and her brother and the judges and every audience member. She sees her other competitors watch her in awe, anxiously pulling their coaches' legs, begging to pull out. Her sister, Rosie, aged thirteen, beams at her from the front row, untying her ballet shoes, still wearing the exhilaration from performing. 

When the music stops, and her feet stop creating clicks that ricochet around the studio, she finds that her cheeks are covered in her own tears. 

"I won," She whispers to Julian. "I won in Ohio, didn't I?" 

"There were agents and talent scouts begging everyone for your name that night, Ivy. They wanted you in adverts and music videos and shows."

Her face hardens for the first time since she can remember being here, and she squats to unlace her shoes. The nine knots are making it much more difficult than it should have been. "Life got in the way." She mutters, not looking him in the eye. 

"I know. We thought you died." 

"Well, things are not always the way they seem."

A door opens, and Rosa can't even look around to see who it is. 

"How are we getting on in here?" Frank asks with clear strain in his voice. He hasn't been the same since he's gotten back, only meeting her once in the two weeks he's been back. 

"I'd best get going," Julian says, grabbing his bag and moving to leave the room. "I'll be back same time next week." 

Before Frank can even protest, Julian is out of the door, scurrying down the stairs. 

"What did you do this time?" Even though he's smiling, Frank is clearly concerned.  

"I knew him from my childhood," Rosa eventually admits, turning her head to look at Frank fully. "We danced together." 

"What?" 

"I used to be a national tap dancing champion." She says as if it's something to be ashamed of and in a way that almost makes it seem like a joke.

Frank moves closer and sits himself opposite her. They stare at each other for a while before either speaks.  

"Now, Rosa-"

"Ivy."

"What?"

Rosa looks up from her endeavour of untying the abundance of knots and sticks out her left arm towards Frank.

"I think we should start again," Rosa breathes, her throat beginning to close. "My name is Ivy White, and it's very nice to meet you." 

Frank falters.

"Are Ivy and Rosa the same person?"

Her hand falls away. 

"How do I know if they are?" She whispers, her voice sounding meek and small. "I think they blend." 

"It's fine if you think you are both." 

"Is it?" 

Frank takes a moment to reply. 

"Of course," He says, almost sadly. "Just let me know what I need to be calling you, okay?" 

"I'm Rosa Waters," Rosa looks up at him, her eyes brimming with tears. "I was born to be Rosa Waters."

~

The song of the chapter is 'Something like Happiness'  by The Maccabees.