Motivation of Memories: The Second Book of the Labors of Love Series

First Day

Genevieve's POV

I wale up the next morning feeling refreshed and ready for the day. I decided not to go to the party. I wanted to be able to start this project with a clear mind. Duffel bag in hand, I get in the car and we head to the dance studio. I check in at the front desk and am escorted to a room towards the back if the building. I open the door and gasp at the size of the room. In the corner are a series of blocks and mats of varying sizes. I toss my bag in the corner and decide to start warming up. The dance isn't complicated but I still want to make sure I don't pull anything. One by one several men enter the room and begin to stretch as well talking amongst themselves.

An hour goes by and Madonna walks in with four more men. She runs over to me full of excitement and takes a seat beside me.

"Sorry I'm late, Girly Pop. The studio said they would build a smaller version of the set for us but they didn't have anyone on staff who could build it. I spent all morning looking for someone to work on it."

"What should we do in the meantime?"

"Teach us what you can for now. They have another room for us. We'll worry about everything else later." We stand up and walk with everyone to the room next door. The men return to the back wall while the two of us stand at the front of the room. " Alright everyone! This is Genevieve. Shes gonna be our choreographer." I have flashbacks to my first day of school in America standing beside her in front of all these eyes. It doesn't help that I'm at least five inches shorter than everyone else in this room. I feel small in this room of strangers. A tightness forms in my throat as she continues to talk but I can't hear her over the ringing in my ears.

You're a light in every room you walk in. Don't let fear or anything else tell you anything different.

Prince's voice cuts through the ringing. His words echo in my mind. I am a light in every room I walk in. I repeat the words to myself and feel my ficus returning. Madonna looks at me and smiles.

"Anything you want to say to everyone?"

"Hello. Like she said, my name is Genevieve. I also go by G. We've got a little bit of time and a lot of work to do. I need everyone to stay focused and stay present in rehearsals. When you enter that door Material Girl is the only thing that exists. I tend to move fast, but feel free to stop me if anything is unclear. Any questions?" I look across the room and see several determined faces staring back at me. I look to Madonna and she gives me an approving nod before she joins the group. Speech done. Lets get to work. "Before we start, has anyone seen Gentlemen Prefer Blondes?" A few of them nod. Most of them don't. I hadn't seen the movie before this either but when Madonna called
me and explained her idea I knew I needed to go to the source. Prince was able to rent it for me and even sat through it with me the first time. I watched and took notes of the characters and their mannerisms all throughout the movie, not just in the one scene. Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend was choreographed very simply, but it has a lot of moving parts. The transitions are clean and the spacing is even throughout each scene. I hope they can be that clean. "If you have a chance, you should watch it. It will help you understand what we're trying to accomplish. Madonna come up here and the four of you behind her." I point to each of the men and wait for them to step up. "I want you to stand beside her two and two. Now, two of you will be in a lower step but for now I'll have you all stand in a line so you can see. All you're doing is holding a heart at first. Madonna face the back wall and turn to face me the beat before the words start. Then, you'll out your hands on your chest. Right, left, then, push. Step out for the transition and the arms come in to give you a hug. Right arm comes up point to the temple, one, two, three four. When she gets to, 'I think they're okay' you'll all start swaying. Keep the heart between you and her but Seay towards her first." I play the music and show them their parts just so they can see all the cues. Working with Madonna first we solidify her part and build out. Once shes confident I focus on the men as the move around her. We work through the song like this bit by bit, stopping every now and then to put it all together. It seems fine so far. Everyone is picking up the choreography fast. No complaining, no sly comments, no cackling, no flirting, just dancers doing what they do.

Two hours go by and its time to start wrapping up. I ask them for one last one through and stand with my notebook ready to record my every thought. The music plays and I watch intently checking their lines, their spacing, their expressions. So far so good. The expressions aren't perfect but that can be fixed later. I write the last of my notes and stop the music. "Great work everyone. Already halfway through and things look wonderful.  Try to watch the movie if you haven't seen it. See you all tomorrow!"

The ride to the hotel is peaceful. I go up to my room and decide to change into more comfortable clothes. As I'm taking my clothes out an envelope falls from between two shirts. I pick it up feeling its weight in my hands. The front says 'nail money' and I smile feeling happy he remembered. I open it and immediately drop the envelope in shock. Why is he like this? I grab the phone and dial his number waiting impatiently for him to answer.

"Hello?" Ronnie answers.

"Hi, Ronnie. I need to talk to Prince."

"Oh hello, Miss Genevieve. Ill grab him for you." Theres some shuffling on the other end of the line. I tap my foot anxiously, waiting for him to pick up.

"Hey, mama. What's up?"

"How much money is in that envelope?"

"No hello? No how how was your day? Just straight to the interrogation." I sigh not wanting to play this game.

"How was your day?"

"It was good. Rehearsal went alright and everyone is wishing you well. How was your day? Today was the first rehearsal right?"

"Yea, it was. It went really well. We were supposed to have a practice set in our room but they didn't build it before hand. It should be done by Friday. The dancers are real professionals. They listened and focused well. We were able to get about half of the song learned."

"Thats good. Do you feel better about it?"

"Somewhat."

"Well, thats one way to start."

"Will you answer my question now?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Prince, you put a stack of cash in my luggage! I'm going to ask questions."

"You said you needed money for the salon. I just wanted to make sure you were covered."

"Its a stack of hundreds! My nails don't even cost one of these bills."

"I just wanted to make sure you had everything you needed."

"Everything is paid for. What could I possibly need all this money for?"

"Nails, hair, parties, shopping, the movies. I don't know, mama. Its your money." I want to scream. Theres no way he thinks I'm going to spend all this money.

"How. Much. Is. It."

"Guess." I can hear the smirk on his face. I'm so angry. He can never just do what I ask. He always has to take it to the next level.

"No, I'm not playing a game. Just tell me."

"I'll give you a hint. The first digit is the same as the number of zeros." I look into the envelope and try to do some quick math. I put my head in my hand and close my eyes tight.

"Tell me you didn't. Tell me you didn't put $3,000 in my suitcase."

"I would but you hate when I lie to you."

"Prince, why did you do that?"

"I know how crazy LA can get. Especially, riding around with someone like Madonna. I wanted you to be able to go out and have fun and not worry about it."

"But $3,000???"

"Its like a thousand a week. I've spent more than that in a couple days."

"Baby, I know you want me to have the best of everything but i can't even begin to think of what to do with all this money."

"Its yours to do whatever you want with."

"Whatever I want?"

"Anything you want."

"I'm buying you a plane ticket to come see me this weekend. I have two days to myself and I want you here."

"I'll just.."

"No you won't." I say interrupting him. "I'm buying the damn tickets. I'll see you Friday night."