MANCHILD
'noun'
"A boy or adolescent from the streets who was prematurely exposed to and knowledgeable about sex, violence and crime, incarceration, adult responsibility for younger siblings due to a dysfunctional home, and hustling to make a living...
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"Vos position, Mesdames!" Madame Deveraux, my ballet instructor, commanded as we posted at the barre.
I had been sitting Indian-style in the middle of the floor, but stood up once she walked into the room and clapped her hands. All of the other dancers around me scurried to take their places while I quickly found myself in fifth position. Sweat had been dripping from my body due to having a longer than usual practice. We had just finished our ten-minute break and were heading into our last round of dances for the day.
Rico wasn't going to be able to pick me up from practice, so I was going to ride a cab and then take the bus to her job to help her close and hang out with her. I hated doing this because it was already getting late and taxi drivers took so long to come out here and also the bus rides were long...BUT! I didn't have a car and my mom had to work late so I was going to have to deal.
Madame Deveraux picked up her remote and turned on the stereo. The sound of Shura Cherkassky's "Prelude Pathétique" began and we all started flouncing and dancing. From pliés to pirouettes to saut de chat leaps, Madame Deveraux lectured us throughout our entire routine, critiquing everyone on the placement of their feet and hands. She stopped the music and stood in the middle of the floor. Nothing but the breaths of all the dancers were heard. We were exhausted.
"Mademoiselle Landry, devant et centre." She eyed me from her fancy framed glasses. Fuck. She was about to use me to shame the other students...again. I pranced to the center right in front of her, standing in first position while she eyed me. "Show us the first counts of the prelude." I eyed her before nodding, listening and moving with the music in my head, carefully positioning my body in perfect stances. I could feel eyes from the other girls burning all over my body, but I maintained my focus on the task until I heard Madame Deveraux's voice tell me to stop. "Très bonne forme." She complemented and I nodded my head, resuming first position.
She continued with her lecture. "Mademoiselle Landry is truly exemplary in routine. I want you all to utilize her example. Please do not disappointment. We will meet every now and then for our practice sessions. Please review the bulletin board on practice dates. The formal recital is in December so I expect you all to utilize the time to practice on your performances." She said as we all rushed to gather our belongings. She dismissed practice and all of us filed out of the dance hall.
