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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BACKSTAGE AT THE EXHIBITION
RANADA'S POV
"Hail Mary, full of grace. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women_"
"_and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus."
Looking up from my rosary, I stared into the mirror as I saw Madame Deveraux standing at the door with a soft smile on her face. I smiled back at her, despite my nerves, before continuing my prayer. "Hail Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen."
"Amen." Madame Deveraux concluded before walking up to me. "'The hour of our death?' You seem nervous." She said, placing her hands on my shoulders.
"I am." I blurted. Seriously, I felt like I was going to pass out or throw up...or both. Today was all a blur. I woke up super early for another practice. It was grueling but very short. Then I had to do my fitting for my outfit and a bunch of other tedious shit that kept me from seeing Rico and Kentrell today. "I can't do this." I said quickly.
I was starting to have a panic attack. I hadn't had one since my last performance with my dance school, early this year, which was when Julliard came to see me and decided that they were going to extend an offer to me. Seriously, I projectile vomited right before I went outside. It was such a horrible scene.
"Shh, shh. Look at you." Madame Deveraux instructed, making me look up in the vanity mirror I was sitting at. "Magnifique." She complimented with a knowing smile before motioning for me to turn to her. "You are my most promising student. The best of the best. There's a reason I submitted your name for this out of all the others. I believe in you and your abilities." She told me, making me nod. She was easing my nerves a little.
Madame Deveraux tried her hardest not to play favorites, but she did single me out often. I thought it was because I was black and she wanted to test me, but it may have just been her being hard on me because she felt I was better than the other students were.
"Are my friends here?" I asked her wishing that they could come back stage and see me.
She nodded. "You have a few minutes. Would you like to see them before we have to be seated?" She asked, surprising the shit outta me. Usually she would discourage anything or anyone from coming backstage that could distract us, but tonight showed a different woman. I nodded eagerly and she grinned before walking to the door to open it and signal for someone to come inside.
