Ballet class on Saturday is awkward. Well, at first. Lady Whisp is working one-on-one with me at eight in the morning. It’s not really ballet. It’s the lyrical again. All the things she has me doing is strange, but beautiful. The awkward part is that Luther walks in when our practice is finishing up. Lady Whisp gets really excited, and starts getting off track by teaching Luther a few things in lyrical, so I sit on the floor, drink out of my water bottle while stretching in the right and left leg splits.
Hazel and Toby come in a little later. I wave at Hazel, smiling. She places her bag down beside mine against the wall and stretches beside me. “What exactly is she doing?” she murmurs to me.
“Teaching Luther how to be a guy all the way,” I mutter sarcastically.
Hazel laughs. “Luther’s far from that, no offense.”
“None taken,” I sigh. “I just hope we don’t later find out that he’s gay…”
Hazel rolls her eyes. “If he isn’t constantly checking himself out in the mirror, then I think you’re safe. Actually, you’re more than safe because he’s constantly checking you out.”
I slide out of the splits and sit with my legs in front of me. “Jeez…”
“All right!” Lady Whisp says, clasping her hands together. “Let’s get started!”
We do a few barre stretches on the ones she has in the ballroom storage room. Lady Whisp urged me to put my pointe shoes on, and I’m regretting it more and more. I feel like my toes are actually touching the floor.
After practice, I tell Lady Whisp about it, and she sighs. “I knew they wouldn’t last too long, and it probably wasn’t wise of me to give you those. You know what? Tomorrow afternoon I’ll take you into town to get fitted for new shoes.”
“Really?” I ask. Luther hands me my dance bag, and I take it subconsciously. Hazel and Toby wave goodbye, but I only raise my hand and put it back at my side.
“There’s a small shop that my friend owns. She opened it up during the summer, but it hasn’t gotten much business. I’ll take you down there tomorrow and get you all fitted. But are you good at sewing?”
I shake my head.
“I am,” Luther suddenly says.
I stare at him wide-eyed. “Since when?”
He shrugs. “I know how to sew.”
I just sigh. “All right then.”
Lady Whisp grins. “Wonderful. I’ll tell you what to do. Oh, Luther, you’re welcome to come.”
He smiles at me. “Wouldn’t miss it for anything.”
We say goodbye to her and leave the ballroom. It’s only noon, so Luther and I head back to our dorms to change into normal clothes and put our stuff away. Then we’ll probably meet up later.
When I open my door, I flinch at the sound of something glass breaking. A screaming voice shouting at someone else. Another shouting voice screaming back.
Please don’t be Henrietta and Maya… My two best friends…
But it’s not. It’s Maya and Adelyn.
“Are you trying to kill me?” Maya shrieks, ducking just as Adelyn chucks a pretty vase at Maya’s head. It hits the wall beside the bathroom door and shatters to pieces. I close the door and throw my bag on my bed.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“I can’t stand her!” Adelyn screams. “I want all of you out of my room!”
