(French and English)
Classical music starts, filling in the air of the theatre, bouncing around the walls until it goes through a specific person's ear. Tong Yao's lips never drops her smile, no matter how much her cheeks starts to hurt, she continuously looks at her team with proudness.
'Elegant as ever,' Tong Yao thought as the ballerinas' dances in sync.
Her eyes never leave anyone, looking over to each one of her teammates faces and smiling wider and wider each second. Tong Yao feels like she's back home, however the little mentor self of hers never left and instant frown when one of her best ballerinas easily caused a slightly mistake in her turns and lost her smile for a while. Concern builds up in her and she starts to fidget with her fingers, something she always does, Tong Yao is aware of the harsh media words that consume her teammates...almost everyone in her team is like that, weak and get the best of their negative emotions...especially her.
Lu Yue glances down at his childhood friend, hissing lightly as he focuses back on the stage before he silently and smoothly snakes his hand between her fingers and held them tightly, giving her small comforting squeezes from time to time. Tong Yao looks up to Lu Yue and smiles softly before focusing back on stage.
"It'll be okay," Lu Yue bends slightly and whispers softly, "They will never get influenced by the media's words," he looks at her and flashes her a comforting smile, "You taught them that,"
Tong Yao rolls her eyes and pushes Lu Yue's face away from her before answering, "How can I have taught them that when I'm the weakest and always get influenced by the media?"
"Well, you don't show it," Lu Yue says, giving her another comforting squeeze, "They saw you brush it off and stand tall, you're their role model, they won't crumble that fast, not when Monsieur Mérante and Trey are there to look out for them,"
Tong Yao laughs and shake her head, "You've finally matured Yueyue," she pats his hand with her spare hand. Both seats in silence quietly enjoying and watching the rest of the show.
Moments after their small conversation, Trey Richard dances elegantly leading the show and the dancers within his enchantment of sways and jumps. Tong Yao seats up properly, slightly leaning forward but never letting go of Lu Yue's comforting and brotherly hold, her eyes stay close to every movement of Trey as though she is a predator waiting to pound down its prey the moment it makes a slightest and most unnoticeable mistake...but she finds none and Tong Yao smiles widely, relaxing back in her seat.
Trey sighs in relief ending the hardest movement he's ever learnt. A movement that took him years to perfection, whilst it took some only few years. A movement he always finds beautiful and elegant but painful...a movement that made him took interest into ballet. He forces a smile and stops the welling tears in his eyes to drop...no, he cannot cry, not right now, not in front of everyone, not in front of the media...he has a show to finish, and he will cry later at the backstage.
Looking around the theatre, eyes wandering around the dark and silence room, the classical music tunes into a pleasant background music to his ears. Landing upon one very familiar smile and face in the audience, Trey nearly lost his balance, nearly, however he smiles and continues in with his routine. The pleasant music finally tunes out into the back of his mind, moving his body by muscle memory and not music. The audiences he uses to find scary with their judgemental eyes and fake sweet smiles disappears as the faces of his friends, proud smiles were the only thing he can see.
Doing the last movement, Trey ends the show the silent theatre suddenly bursting into loud claps. Closing his eyes, Trey breaths out heavily and smiling, chuckling slightly when he hears the loud cheers from his friends. He glances up and meets the eyes of Tong Yao who claps the loudest in the room for him and smiles the brightest, Trey chuckles when Tong Yao wipes her tears, and the smiling face turns into a smiling sob. Flashing her one last smile the curtains closes and soon Trey's on the ground with his team on top of him all of them crying and smiling.
"We did," One of the ballerino laughs, crying on his shoulder, "We did, and Amora was watching," he sobs louder with a laugh.
Trey pats his head and nods, "She's proud," he says standing up from the ground as his team surround him with crying faces, make a mess from the salty tears, "For all of us,"
From the side Monsieur Louis Mérante smiles at his children before turning away and walking out of the stage, but not before he takes peak from the curtain and smiles even wider when he sees his other child in the audiences. Like a proud father, Louis Mérante walks away with a haughtily look and a proud look of a father.
∼✧∽
The moment the doors of the dance room opens everyone looks up and jump on the person who walks in. Tong Yao, laughs and hugs as many as she can, giving all of them a pat in the head. She laughs as Trey's presence in the room make the team part like the red sea, letting the two former partners have a hug.
"You guys did so well," Tong Yao starts, side hugging Trey as she looks at them.
The ballerina who made a mistake on the stage shakes her head, "I made a mistake because I was nervous," she admits, "It's so nerve wrecking because it's the first performance we have without you," she looks up at her role model, biting her lip to stop the tears from falling, "Are you really not going back to our world?"
Tong Yao sighs and hisses, not knowing what answer to give, "I haven't made up my mind," she says truthfully, knowing fully well they have heard her interview, "Yes, I have something going on back home in China, but that doesn't mean I'm completely leaving you guys behind,"
Trey nods and squeeze his friend in a hug looking at their teammate with a smile, "I can assure you guys, we'll see her back on the stage," he gives them a smile as Tong Yao nods in confirmation.
"Just not our stage," one of the ballerino says solemnly, looking down at the ground with a sad look.
"Still in the spotlight, at least," another ballerina says with positivity, patting the shoulder of the sad ballerino, "Just think it this way, Amora is going after another dream, standing on a different stage but she's still with us, it's confusing but it works for me, we'll still see her in the stage and in the TV,"
Another ballerino nods and wrap an around his sad friend, "She's just standing on a different stage...still a stage and in the spotlight," he comforts, "still a Prima ballerina just not doing ballet,"
Tong Yao laughs at her team nodding her head as she walks towards the ballerino, one of the youngest dancers they have, only a year or so younger than her, "Come on, don't cry, I'll still visit and watch the performance anytime I can," she reassures, "I won't leave you guys easily, so don't cry, I cannot take you all outside for dinner if you're crying,"
At the mention of free dinner, everyone in the room cheers and the crying young ballerino chuckles, lifting his head up and wiping his tears away before engulfing his older sister in a tight hug, sobbing on her shoulder, "I just don't want to work with another Prima, I'm so used to your patterns and routine, it's going to be challenging to change that for another Prima,"
Tong Yao chuckles and pats his head comfortingly, "Well, ballet is full of challenges," she says, "And if you are so worried about having another Prima, I'll choose her myself so that you guys can rest and relax alright? I'm not going to give you guys up into the wrong hands and suffer immensely,"
After their moment the doors of the dance studio opens again, Lu Yue sticks his head out and flashes his smile at everyone, "So, are we going to eat now?"
Tong Yao rolls her eyes and nods, facing her team, "Where do you guys wanna eat?"
"Fast food restaurant!" they cheer tummies already grumbling at the thoughts of devouring their favourite fast food. Being on a strict diet for months to be fit in for the performance, avoiding eating fast food and junk food were on the top of their list.
Tong Yao nods her head with a laugh, "Well, then let's eat as much junk as we can," she says.
∼✧∽
Filling in every seat of the second floor, the already noisy restaurant becomes a club, all look at the ballerinas and ballerinos who comes down to the second floor, dress in formals attire but eating the most casual and non-fancy restaurant ever. People who know them instantly takes out their phone, taking pictures of the team, whispering in excitement and some have the courage and politely ask for autograph and pictures, which the team politely did.
However, the moment Trey and Tong Yao walks down the stairs, everyone who knows of the two partners scream on top of their lungs and fight the urge to surround them. Tong Yao smiles and waves whilst Trey winks at their fans. Leaving the two celebrities, the fans watch at the two order their food before having slightly courage to go up to them and take pictures.
As Tong Yao signs of the fan's poster, she chuckles feeling the little kid's glistening eyes looking at her with a smile, "Are you going to be a ballerina too?" she asks squatting down to the child's height, noticing her ballet attire.
"Yes!" she nods viscously, "I'm going to be just like you!"
Tong Yao smiles and nods her head, patting the child's head, "I'm sure you're going to be a beautiful star, maybe even surpass me," she jokes however the kid frowns and shakes her head.
"I will never," she pouts, "I will be a Prima too, just like you, but I will not surpass you,"
Tong Yao chuckles at how adorable she looks, giving back the poster and permanent marker to the mother, the former Prima smiles brightly, "What is your name, little star?"
Smiling widely the child answers, "Margot Eloise LeNoir,"
"Well, Margot Eloise LeNoir, I'll be sure to watch your journey until you become a Prima and surpass me," Tong Yao lightly pats the child's head, "You'll become one of the best Prima the world will ever witness,"
Margot smiles widely and ask, "Can I hug you?" she blushes but jump into Tong Yao's arms the moment the former Prima nods her head, "I'll make sure to be the best Prima the world will ever witness, Miss Amora,"
Hugging the child back, Tong Yao smiles, "And I will be your number one fan," pulling out of the hug, Tong Yao stands up and wave goodbye to the child and her mother before she and Trey go back upstairs.
Trey chuckles as he slightly nudges his friend, "I'll tell Monsieur about her," he states softly, "I've seen her before, seen her practice and dance and she definitely have the potential and talent,"
Tong Yao nods before speaking her worry, "But she'll crumble fast under the mentor of Monsieur," she looks at Trey, "Margot, I've heard about her too whilst I was still Prima, seen her perform and train, she's been called prodigy, never receive any criticize, only compliments, she's break before she even becomes a gem,"
The ballerino look at his friend and shake his head, "You were like her too, Margot will never learn and will never become a Prima and star if she continues to have a coach that only compliment her and not actually coach her, and tell her the faults that she should fix," Trey sighs and yawns, "She'll never become a Prima...Monsieur Mérante will be the best coach for her and she will become the best Prima the world will ever witness, like you, under the eyes of Monsieur,"
Tong Yao thought for a bit, nodding as she understands what Trey was saying. Before she became a pupil of her second father figure, Tong Yao has only received compliments, no one has dared say anything bad about her. However, the moment she performed under Louis Mérante's presence, her confidence crumble, only hearing about the faults he found in her dance, she almost gave up on ballet...not until Trey came and comforted her about Louis Mérante's way of coaching.
Seating back with their friends, Trey and Tong Yao joins their loud chattering, laughing, and making jokes about them, even joking about the unnoticeable mistakes they did in the dance or the conversation they've had during the routine.
It was the best day for Tong Yao...she was back home and that is all she needed...to be surrounded by her family.