CHERILICIOUS SWEET

2. REHEARSAL

"Good morning Princess" Ms. Peterson sang out, when I walked into the studio at exactly 11 AM. I shuttered at the Princess reference and turned crimson when the small group of little girls from her previous class giggled as they pranced out of the studio with their parents.

Ms. Peterson was dressed for work, wearing white tights, a pink leotard, a pink sheer ballet skirt, and pink low heeled dance shoes. Her makeup and blonde curly hair looked perfect.

"Now", she said jumping right into the lesson, "we don't have a ton of time to learn all this, so we are going to have to move lightning fast. That means I will need your full cooperation, no backtalk, and no second guessing anything I say. Is that understood??"

"Yes Ma'am." I said, compliantly.

With that, Ms. Peterson queued up some princess soundtrack songs, showed me some basic dance moves, like how to "dream dance" with a lot of waving my arms, and touching my heart and looking far off into an imaginary distance. She emphasized that I need to maintain a smile the entire time, no matter what the circumstances, and need to present a "twinkle" in my eyes. So much of this was foreign to me, but she often complimented that I have a strange knack for the role. Because of the time constraints she insisted that we meet daily until the party.

After the third day of practice I was leaving the studio, and as I went out the door, saw Scott and Ricardo walking down the sidewalk. They didn't see me and I wanted it kept that way. How would I explain why I was coming out of Ms. Peterson's house? So, I shut the door quietly and just paused there, motionless, hoping they would pass by. Then my plan was thwarted when Ms. Peterson flew open the door and said, intentionally louder than necessary, "Princess, tomorrow we begin dress rehearsal, so you will need to show up early." She gave me a wink, and looked at them, then shut the door, leaving me standing there, exposed.

"Shane? Dude, is that you?? Scott called out.

"Did Ms. Peterson just call you Princess? What the fuck are you doing there anyway Shane?" added Ricardo.

Ugh. "Er, um no. I think she was talking to one of her ballerinas or some shit like that."

"I didn't see no kids. What were you doing there?" Scott shot back.

"Um. Long story. I kinda knocked her down the other day and she took my skateboard. I came to get it."

"Oh? Well, where is it then?" Scott asked, looking me over.

"Um. She told me she was busy and to come back another time to get it."

I had had enough of this conversation. I needed to change the subject. "What are you two stiffs up to anyway? Let's go into the woods and blow shit up. I got some firecrackers at home."

The following day, as with previous days, I showed up at the studio at 11 AM. Ms. Peterson apparently did not have a class before me, so I was spared that humiliation, but she looked crossly at me.

"Princess, when did I say to arrive today?" She said sternly.

"Um, like, 11 AM, like, right now." I said aloof.

"No! I said today is a dress rehearsal, so arrive early! Do you not remember me saying that when you were ogling at those cute boys yesterday? Now, I know I wasn't specific about what early means, and that's on me, but you certainly did not arrive early! So now we have wasted time, not only not being ready but going through this ridiculous discussion! Now get your butt in the dressing room. Everything is in there for you!" She then turned on her heels and went into her office.

In the dressing room, hanging from a hook was the dress I had tried on earlier in the week, the pair of glittery heels neatly placed on the floor, and a pair of white pantyhose and pink panties sat on the bench. "What the fuhhh", I mumbled to myself, "I'm not putting on all that shit.", so I stripped down to my boxers, threw the dress on over top, and walked out with the heels in hand, expecting to just slip them on when absolutely necessary. This was a mistake. Ms. Peterson's face made that evident.