Bright Lights .:3:.

CHAPTER 4:

Mom sighs regretfully. “Let’s get lunch, okay?”

I’m not really in the mood to talk but I nod. “Sure. Where?”

“I saw a deli place on the way up in the cab, does that sound okay?”

“Sounds fine,” I say. If I wasn’t in such a blah mood I would be stunned. Delis are deadly in her opinion.

She actually lets me order for myself. I order an Italian sub and she shoots me a look. I look back, wondering what she’ll do.

“That, two chips, two sodas, and a cannoli,” she orders, reaching into her purse.

I would be ticked that I have to split my sandwich with her but I’m actually amazed that she ordered us a cannoli. They’re delicious and she knows I love them but they’re loaded with calories.

“So…” Mom says when we have sat down and our plates our loaded.

“So,” I say, not really because I want to talk but because I don’t want to be rude.

“The audition went well.”

I bite back a sigh. I don’t want to talk about the audition. “Yeah…I guess,” I say, twisting open my Diet Coke.

That was the wrong thing to say. Mom immediately perks up and gets her excited smile. “You guess. She singled you out twice that’s amazing. I can’t wait to see what happens next.”

I can’t help smiling a little at her. “Probably nothing.”

“Well the face that she was impressed enough to let you lead is a good sign. Maybe you’ll get in!”

I bite my lip. I don’t mind that she sounds as if she doubted before. So did I. I still do. But maybe--”Let’s not jinx it,” I say, picking up my sandwich.

She smiles at me. “Yeah.”

We continue eating in silence. When we’ve both finished she looks at my untouched chip bag. “You going to eat that?”

“Later.”

“Okay. Let’s split the cannoli now.”

“Okay.”

She sighs again. “I’m sorry if I upset you earlier. I’m glad you took it out in your dance though.”

I smile at her, but don’t answer. She didn’t upset me, she irritated me. And I had to put it out of my mind while I danced, not focus on it. Just like I’ll have to put this out of my mind when I return for the second part of the audition.
~*~
“And five, six, seven, eight, and lift, and kick, and point your toe! And up! Pique, down. Attitude, sutanu, and extend! Arabesque. Good!” The music pauses and we all catch our breath. I’m already sweating but I think I did pretty well.

She approaches a tall girl with dark blonde hair who has amazingly perfect technique. “What’s your name?”

“Elizabeth,” she answers, on a pant, chancing a smile at Mme. I immediately like her personality.

“Elizabeth, lead the combination. We will do this again as a group and then I want to see you in groups of three, then one at a time. This is the exclusive part of the audition,” she informs us. I think everyone’s pulse quickens and the air is noticeably tenser. If she eliminates any of us in the group or on our own, we do not get to say for the third audition.

Relax. Focus.

The music starts again and Elizabeth leads. I pay careful attention to her and try to make my moves identical to hers. She’s sure to get in she’s professional quality already.

We finish the combination without any eliminations. I glance at the other three instructors who are judging. They look impressed.

“Good,” Madame says. “Again. You, you, you--Group One.” And she sections us off in groups. Elizabeth and I are in the same group.

She sends me a quick, nervous but excited smile. I smile back. “Good job leading,” I whisper to her, barely audible.

“No talking!” Madame Lymkosky snaps out. “It is unacceptable here. It’s extremely rude to me and your fellow dancers, it breaks our concentration and it certainly doesn’t help you. I hoped I wouldn’t have to say this but there’s one dancer in each group who has to push the limits.”

Well that’s it. I’m out. I can’t believe I would be so stupid. I focus hard on the combination, and for once I’m actually confident of my dancing. But inappropriate decorum cancels out the best of technique. I can’t believe I would blow it like that. I never talked in my classes in Great Falls and that wasn’t even a school.

However, after I’ve finished the combination on my own, Madame nods and sends me another brief smile. “Good.”

This has got to be the most foreign place I have ever been. And I definitely like it. I really want to study here. And I might still have a tiny chance even though the talking thing is a huge strike against me.

“Fifteen minute break. Au revoir, eliminates,” Mme. says, and the dejected dancers drop a low curtsy, thank her quietly, and leave head down.

I haven’t been eliminated. Yet.

“Elizabeth, Barbara, Carly, and Breanna. I’d like to see you for a moment,” she adds as we all start to return to the waiting room.