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Teddy
I LOSE SIGHT OF TARYN and I’ve no idea where she is. Shit. I run in the direction I think she went, but there’s no sign of her. I call her name, and nothing.
Oh God.
My phone buzzes.
Where are you? The text is from Victoria. You’re late.
Late? My eyes widen and I check the time and date. Shit, she’ll be waiting for me now. Her practice with Mr. Vikas finished five minutes ago. For a second, I consider telling her I’ll be even later than I’d be if I went straight there now. Or that I won’t be going there at all. Only I know I can’t do that again.
So, I rush to my room, grab my canvas flats, and then head down to Studio 7.
“Sorry,” I say when I arrive. “A lot has been happening.”
Victoria is stretching out at the barre. Her back is to me, and through her leotard I can see the nodules of her spine. They’re like water droplets dripping down her back.
“A lot is always happening around here,” she says. “So, it’s no excuse. If you want to learn all the choreography, you need to practice. So come on. You already cancelled our last four sessions, so if you’re as serious about getting into the company as I am, then you need to actually do the work.”
I nod. I don’t tell her I cancelled the last sessions because I was in hospital. I don’t want her pity. I don’t want her thinking I’m fragile and treating me differently. I’m a dancer. A professional dancer. And this is work. I am healthy, and I am strong. What is going on with my personal life won’t come into it. I mean, they’re wrong anyway. That collapse was a one-off. I had just misjudged my food intake, that’s all. I’ve been dancing since then, and training hard, and I haven’t collapsed any more, or even come close to it, so that’s proof. I am healthy.
I change into my flats and join her at the barre, warming up. She’s now doing grand pliés. I wonder if I should tell her that I’ve just outed her, but fear gets the better of me. I’ve heard from the others what she’s been like with Taryn. I know it’s selfish, but I don’t want her turning on me.
We are silent as we stretch. When it’s time to start dancing, Victoria takes control. She barks instructions at me, telling me what to do and walking me through the choreography again for the divertissement pas de deux.
“Start in first, but keep your lines clean with your arms... No, that’s too slow, and you’re wobbling. Start again... Yes, that’s better but you need to do it quicker. The music is faster here. You’re going to be several beats too slow.”
Huh. She’d make a good teacher.
We dance and dance, going over the same combinations for nearly an hour. Then we have a quick break. Delicately, Victoria takes a few sips of water from a purple bottle. I don’t need any water.
“Cops think I’ve been sending Jaidev those messages,” she says with a shrug. Her voice startles me. “They keep asking me all these questions, all sly like.”
“And have you been sending them?”
“No.” She scowls at me. “And you’re supposed to be on my side. We’re friends now, Teddy. I look out for you, so you look out for me. That’s fair, isn’t it?”
I nod. “Yes.”
“Good. Now let’s get back to it.”
I push myself harder and harder in the studio with Victoria—and it’s proof I’m fine. The doctors were wrong. I’ve not got this heart condition because I’m not collapsing. That was just a one-off. I hadn’t eaten then.
And I ate earlier today and now I’m fine. So that proves it.