That was all that was needed. A meeting...
Selene ignored the giggles of Rose and her friends, and hurried to her dance teacher's office.
She knocked three light and barely audible knocks on the ebony door.
"-Enter my dear." She heard in a dry voice.
She timidly opened the door, a multitude of thoughts and questions invading her almost broken mind.
Leonidova was sitting at her desk, pouring hot tea into a porcelain cup. The young ballerina stood straight, her head raised towards her superior.
"-My dear Selene, I must say that you have disappointed me today.
-I know, madam."
The old lady looked at her pupil seriously and with a touch of pity.
"You're not cut out to play Odile, Selene. Odette, no doubt you are perfect for this role.
-But the star role must be able to embody these two opposites, yes I know.
-You have the grace, the sweetness and the beauty of the White Swan."
Selene looked away, embarrassed. Everyone was telling her so, despite her protests.
"-Diana and Rose, however, have the qualities needed for the role.
-So why not choose one of them?
-Rose has the sensuality and the charming look of the Black Swan. However, she has none of the qualities of Odette.
-So the opposite of me...?
-That's right.
-But what about Diana? She can perfectly embody both.
-But it's you, Selene, that I want in the lead role."
She let out a sigh.
"I don't understand, Madam..."
Leonidova took a sip of her tea. Selene could smell the mixture of cinnamon and apple. A quality choice...
"-You are one of the best ballerinas in this company, if not the best in every way. You had that spark and passion that I detected when you danced.
-You talk about it as if it was in the past, Madam...It still is.
-No, and I noticed it right away. What were you thinking when you were dancing?"
That question again...If Lilas had noticed, no doubt a professional would notice too.
"In all honesty, I just didn't want to fail...To succeed, to show that I was capable of playing a character that wasn't meant for me. I wanted to prove what I could do."
Her mentor slowly stood up and walked over to her to look her straight in the eye:
"-To whom did you want to prove this?"
Selene fell silent. To tell the truth...she didn't know. Maybe to herself? Or to someone who didn't exist?
"-I don't know, madam."
The lady sighed again and slowly returned to her seat.
"Dancing is not about knowing whether you will fail or succeed. It's knowing how to transmit emotions through it.
-Yes Madam...
-I expect more from you, Selene. I have high hopes for you."
She waved her off. As the young woman was about to open the door, Miss Leonidova spoke again:
" -Why did you choose Odile's Variation? "
Selene looked at her in a corner, as if frightened and hesitant.
"I just wanted to show that I was not the little white swan and that I could also have a less sensitive side.
-I'm sorry, but it was a failure.
-I have my suspicions, ma'am.
-By the way, is your ankle okay?
-Yes, it's nothing, just a little sprain of nothing at all.
-Well, that's reassuring."
And Selene went to the changing rooms to change. She looked at her phone for a moment. Diana had left her a message.
"I'm sorry my darling that I didn't wait for you, Rose wanted us both to go out. I'm sorry for what happened to you during class, don't be too hard on yourself okay?"
She didn't answer, she just sighed.
She hastily changed her clothes and combed her hair as she left the building.
It must have been approximately eight o'clock. It was strangely dark for a summer night. Selene could already see the stars and the full moon.
She wandered slowly down the street, replaying her conversation with her teacher over and over again.
"I was ridiculous. What's the point?"
At the time she hated herself. She wanted to work harder, apparently it wasn't enough.
She stopped and turned around to look at the Opera House that was a few feet away from her.
" -I work so hard to accomplish my dream...Then why do I only fail?" She thought.
She breathed in and buried these negative thoughts deep inside her. No one seemed to understand her. Lilas was too busy with her own future...Diana only had eyes for Rose.
At that moment she felt horribly alone. She wanted to confide in someone totally outside her life as a dancer, but she had no one. She persisted in keeping her nose to the grindstone in her dance, and this had the effect of isolating her further from any social life.
"But what an idiot I am! Me a star dancer? What a vast joke!" She had almost shouted while throwing a pebble with a kick of her shoe.
" -Timmu!"
Selene jumped. She looked around, searching for the source of the strange, high-pitched scream. The surroundings were deserted...
"I'm going crazy now..."
She continued to walk while humming the tune of Swan Lake.
" -Timmu Timmu!"
She stopped dead in her tracks. The noise came from behind her. She turned around but no one...She looked down and found herself face to face with a strange fluffy creature.
"-What the hell..."
The creature was an adorable furry ball, straight out of a fantasy world. Selene thought it was a chick, but chicks were never blue. She was torn between confusion and questioning.
"-Hum...Can you talk...?
-Timmu!
-I see that you can't. What are you doing here...?
-Timmu Timmu!"
The creature began to hop rapidly in her direction, as if trying to show her a way to go.
"-Hey wait!"
She began to follow the little ball as it ran. Why was she following it? That was what she was wondering. After all, maybe it was a dangerous creature? But her instinct and a strange feeling made her want to follow it...
The creature continued its way among the few passers-by. Moreover, nobody seemed to have noticed its presence.
"Am I the only one to see this thing or what?"
The blue ball began to cross the road.
" -Goddamn it, it's going to get run over!!!"
Selene rushed straight to the crosswalk and heard several tires screeching, as if cars were braking suddenly. She hadn't noticed that the pedestrian light was red, what a headcase.
"-I'm sorry!!!" She yelled, but she was far too focused on this chick she didn't want to lose sight of under any circumstances.
At the time she compared herself to Alice, chasing the white rabbit.
"-Am I going to fall down a hole too?"
The little monster turned into an alley on the left. Selene stopped for a moment. She knew this place and something caught her eye immediately. From where she was, she noticed glows of all colors.
"It's strange...it looks like neon lights..."
It was unusual, especially in narrow streets like these. She slowly walked towards the intersection and turned her head. What she saw fascinated her.
Besides the fact that she saw the little creature walking straight ahead, at the end of the street was a theater.
"-I don't remember any theater here though...?"
Was this the famous hole she was about to step into?
She slowly approached the building. She had the impression that something invisible was pushing her forward. It was a surprisingly pleasant feeling in her eyes.
As she moved forward, she had been able to decipher the strange, half-functioning sign that was lit up with a thousand lights.
"-Wonderworld?"
She saw the little creature enter through the double wooden doors.
The theater was rather small. To her right, she could see a sign with a shadow in the foreground. But her main question...
"-I'm sure there was nothing here...How is that possible?"
Magic no doubt? Impossible, magic only existed in books. She thought to herself that she must be in a dream.
She felt that force again, urging her to enter. She felt the desire to enter. She was so curious, she couldn't just turn back and pretend nothing was happening.
She walked slowly forward, and opened the doors of the place that was offered to her.
And she disappeared in a breeze, without a trace.