• AMALIA •
At three o'clock, the door to the office opens again, but it isn't Xander who walks in this time, nor is it his friend Leo. It's Elijah.
He smiles at me. "Hi, angel."
I wave hello.
He walks over to me and looks over my shoulder at the movie playing, then back down at me.
"Are you ready to go?"
I return his gaze and furrow my eyebrows.
"Xander didn't tell you?"
I shake my head. Xander hasn't come in since he left after Leo.
"Oh." There's an emotion I can't quite place in his eyes before he's smiling brightly again. "Well, I got off of work early, so I can take you home."
Part of me doesn't want to leave, but the other part of me is grateful. My back is beginning to hurt from sitting in this chair for most of the day. Is this how Xander feels?
I shove my phone into my backpack and stand, flinging it over my shoulder. He smiles and motions to the door. I follow him out of the room and into the main part of the restaurant. Xander is in the open kitchen, and he looks at me for a second.
I wave goodbye. He looks away. I frown and continue to follow Elijah out of the restaurant and into the packed car park, over to his car. He opens the passenger door for me, and I smile gratefully before climbing in and fastening my seatbelt. He gets into the drivers seat.
"I have a surprise for you." Elijah says after a few minutes of driving, interrupting the comfortable silence.
I tilt my head.
"You don't have to do it if you don't want to, but when we got some of your school files, they said that you like to do dance, and that you're good at it, too."
He glances at me as he says that, a small look of pride in his expression, and I blush. No one really ever compliments me.
"There's a dance studio a few blocks away from our house, and I signed you up for it. Well, I paid for the first ten sessions, because that's required, but that doesn't mean you have to. I just thought it'd be nice. And a lot of the people who go there go to the school dad's sending you to, I think, so maybe you can make some friends beforehand."
He must see the reluctance in my expression, because he adds: "they already know about how you don't talk. And you don't need to speak to dance." He suddenly looks nervous. "So, what do you think?"
I bite my lip and, after a second, nod. He grins.
"That's good, because I already bought you a load of stuff, and your first class is in an hour and a half."
I smile.
"Grab the bag from the backseat. I guessed your size, so if it's not right we can go back and change it. We have more than enough time."
I look in the backseat and grab the large plastic bag. How much stuff did he buy?
I pull out a white hoodie that has the words ALL STARS written on the back in bold black.
"That's from the company. It's supposed to be a little big, I think."
I smile gratefully at him and set it on my lap, pulling out next a pair of pink ballet slippers.
I fight the urge to squeal with excitement.
Suddenly I want to scream the words thank you, but when I open my mouth I pause. The last time I spoke.. that's a moment I'd rather not relive. And one I don't want to experience again.
So instead I smile brightly and continue to pull things out: a leotard, a ballet skirt, tights, and a personalised, black bag that has my name imprinted in white, along with a matching water bottle. When did he do all of this?
After it's all put back into the plastic bag, I lean over the console and wrap my arms around his neck at a red light. He's surprised for a second before he wraps an arm around my waist and hugs me back.
When I sit back in my seat, I'm grinning.
•
I'm wearing the hoodie, leggings and leotard, and I have the bag that has the water bottle, ballet slippers and the skirt folded neatly flung over my shoulder. My phone is in my pocket, and my trainers are loud on the wooden floor we walk on inside the reception of the dance studio.
Elijah smiles at me as he rings a small bell on the desk. Within a second, a short woman with dark skin and black hair pinned back into a ponytail is walking out to us, lips turned upwards into a kind smile.
"You must be Amalia!" She exclaims happily. "My name is Keira. I'm gonna be one of your main dance teachers."
I wave at her. Her smile widens.
"For today, we'll have a solo session. You know, to see what you can do. I'll also teach you a dance that you can perform at one of our upcoming shows, along with the group dances you'll become part of."
I want to jump with joy.
"Now that I think of it, you're perfect for a duo piece we're trying to put together."
I blush, even though it probably wasn't fully meant as a compliment.
"That sounds good." Elijah comments. I nod.
"It's Elijah, isn't it?" Keira questions. My brother nods. "You can wait in the lounge area we have or leave and pick her up in two hours, it's up to you."
"What do you want me to do?" Elijah questions. "Do you want me to stay?"
I shrug.
"How about you stay for today and Amalia can see how she feels for future sessions?" Keira suggests.
I nod. Elijah smiles.
"Okay." He says. "Where's the lounge?"
"It's on our way." Keira says, walking out of the reception area and over to us. She motions for us to follow, and we do to the end of a hall where a few sofa chairs sit. "You can sit here, we'll be in this room over here." She points to a door that has windows that allow us to see inside.
"Okay." Elijah repeats, sitting down. "Here, Lia, I'll take your bag. Get your water out."
I do, setting my bag down on the end of the couch to unzip it and pull my personalised water bottle out before handing it to Elijah.
I wonder what he'll do for two hours, and I feel bad. He has a life. He shouldn't have to stay here for me because I want to do something.
Before I can try to express that to him, Keira is opening the door to the studio. "Come on, honey."
I send a tentative smile to Elijah, who grins reassuringly back to me, before following her.
•
"Can you turn?"
Keira has been testing what I can and can't do for about half an hour now. We stretched for fifteen minutes before beginning, and I'm not tired at all. It's refreshing to do something I'm used to again.
I nod.
"Go on."
So far, she's been impressed—I think. I hope—by my dancing skills. I've been able to do everything she's requested: acro, leg lifts, stuff like that. She's been testing my flexibility.
I move to the middle of the wooden floor and get into a starting position. There's faint music playing, which helps to get me in the setting and feeling of dance.
Before I know it, I'm spinning, and my body has taken over. I don't know how many times I turn, but I pirouette and fouetté, bringing my leg up into a lift before stopping.
When my dizzy mind clears over, I see Keira grinning.
"That was brilliant! I'll definitely put that in your solo."
I blush.
"Speaking of, let's get started on that."