Ballerina

November

- No way! I shouted out loud. Everyone in the classroom turned to look at me.

- Anthony! I've never heard you so loud! I love that, Penelope said even though I just declined her latest idea.

- But would you consider? This has been very popular way in bigger cities and in universities to raise money for fundraising but I guess we can use this idea to raise money for our fieldtrip. And we all get along so well..., Penelope coughed when she realised that it wasn't actually true.

- I'm not taking my shirt of. Not in million years.

- Nobody wants you to do that. You're gross, Marcus said.

- You don't have to do that. Keep your shirt on. But please come to the photoshoot. Everyone can decide what they wear or don't wear. This calender is a great idea. The town's going wild and money comes our way, Penelope tried. Someone whistled in the room.

- We are going to Europe! Larry shouted.

- Maybe not that crazy, Penelope laughed.

- Let's turn it up a notch and ask the volunteer fire department if we could use their department as a backround for the photo, Samuel suggested. His big brother worked there.

- Great idea! You handle that and hopefully this weeked we will be able to shoot our class calender!

The class went wild but I felt petrified.

*

Saturday came too quickly. Way too quickly. And it was a long day for the photographer to take individual photo of each of us. That was done one by one in private which was good and I enjoyed it really. Then was the time of the cover where everyone gathered together.

- You know how to do split right? The photographer asked me.

- Yes.

- Go in the middle and everyone gather around him.

- One.. two.. three... Say cheese!

All of a sudden I felt ice cold water poured over me. And the silence that followed was so intense you could easily hear a feather fall. I shaked my hair and spat out water. I got up and walked calmly to the locker room slash bathroom. I was so upset didn't even notice to lock the door.

*

Samuel was terrified. Where did Larry and Marcus get that bucket of water and why the hell did they have to do that? Samuel laughed among the others but his heart wasn't with him. When the others didn't see him he went to follow Anthony. He opened the door that wasn't locked and froze in place gasping for air. All he could do was to stare at Anthony's bare stomach that had nasty looking scars. It took him awhile to realize what he was seeing. And when he did realize all Samuel could hear was his grandfather saying: someone's life is never a joke.

I had taken my shirt off and from the mirror I could see Samuel entering the room. He froze in place. I ran towards the door to prevent him from running away and hissed behind my teeth:

- You saw nothing.

Samuel had hard time to get his eyes away.

- But you need to tell someone. Get help.

- No one tells anyone. And... I haven't done it.. not in awhile.

There was a moment of silence. We just stared at each other. Samuel looked like he would go shout it from the rooftops so I came up with a little white lie.

- You know. There's a cctv in the ballet studio. If you know what I mean.

As I had thought Samuel's face melted.