✔️ | 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 ─ 𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔

EIGHT

Everyone looked surprised to see the new girl taking Carla's spot upfront. As for Carla, she didn't mind. Neveah already talked to her in the morning asking if she could use her spot. Carla only said yes because she needed to talk to Shane and that she was avoiding someone. And also the fact that Neveah asked her. 

Carla walked inside, everyone looking to see her reaction. They were even more surprised to see Carla smile at Neveah as she made her way towards the back with Shane.

"Hey stranger." Carla said, putting down her bag.

"What are you doing?" Shane eyed the girl in confusion. 

"Stretching."

"No I mean. Here. Next to me." Shane asked.

"I can't stand here?"

"It's not that but... you like the front. And why is Neveah in your spot?" The boy's eyes widened. 

Carla sighed. "Two things. One she wants to know what being in the front feels like and two, something happened with the who should not be named that I still need to tell you about so I'm trying to stay as far away from him as possible."

"Kinda hard when he's staring creepily in your direction."

Carla turned around to in fact her ex staring in her direction. She simply shrugged and turned her attention back to stretching.

"Partnering. It's about working together but it's also about opposition." Master Brooks explained. "Sarah, you will dance Kirill. Gwen, you'll dance with Josh. Lily, you'll be with Evgeni. Emily with Lucas. Esme with Caleb. Neveah with Zachary. Carla, you'll dance with Oren." The girl's eyes immediately met the boy's. "June with Nabil. And Bette, you will be with Shane."

Everyone started to pile towards the back to get ready.

"Good luck." Both Carla and Shane said to each other.

"Try not to drop me. Yeah?" Carla said to Oren as they got into position.

"Let us begin. And that's right. Piqué into fifth. Tombé straight from that attitude, no hesitation. Turn out those petit battements, ladies. Good job Carla. No one needs to see that transition en face! Nabil, nice evaluation on the lift. Zachary, get her further over her leg. Good job adjusting. Bette, no, it's straight into passé relevé. There's no extra pas de bourrée. Stop cheating."

Carla rolled her eyes when she heard Bette complaining that it was Shane's fault she couldn't get the technique down. Brooks ordered both of them to redo it only when Shane lifted Bette up in the air, she fell onto the floor.

"Lordy fuck. Are you okay?" Shane asked.

Carla tried to contain the laughter coming out of her mouth.

"I'm fine." Bette said.

"I'll spare you. If you don't properly prepare for a lift, it will never work. If your timing isn't in sync, you need to find a way to save it, to adapt. Would anyone like to show us? Or will I have to bring out Carla and Nabil again?"

"We will." Neveah said as she and Zach took the floor.

Carla Chalamet isn't easy to impress. Nobody in this studio has ever been able to match her level besides Cassie, but she couldn't help but smile as she watched her cousin and roommate dance. They are definitely gonna get together later, she thought.

"Thank you. We'll continue tomorrow." Master Brooks said, clearly satisfied at what he saw.

"Tomorrow's spoken for." Ramon Costa said. "Tomorrow we begin auditions. The rep this term is no longer Sleeping Beauty. Tomorrow I work on a new ballet. We'll create a ballet of passion and darkness on the edge of desire. We'll tell the story of Jack the Ripper."

"The sex maniac who killed those women like a hundred years ago?" Shane questioned as Master Brooks walked out the door.

"We'll find something more appropriate." Madame DuBois said.

"What could be better?" Carla looked at Shane, both not liking the idea. "We live in a dark, twisted world full of loss, lies, and brutality. Monique DuBois, you have your ballet. Auditions tomorrow. Go."

For once in Carla's life, she was not looking forward to tomorrow. 

✄-----------------------------

Finally finished with the first episode! Also, I wanted to say thank you to everyone who's giving this book a chance! It really means a lot to me! Now on to the next episode! Don't forget to vote and comment! I'd love to hear what you guys think about the book! :)

edited: august 16, 2021