Love, Loathing, and Limelight

Chapter Eleven

I was looking forward to picking up Megan. I went to the airport to meet her when she came home. There was so much I wanted to tell her, but at the same time, I couldn't tell her anything. I was sitting in the airport, texting Noah as usual, when I saw her coming down the escalator. She had vibrant red hair that I was jealous of. She typically wears not the most modest clothes, and today was no exception. She had coffee in one hand and carried her purse and suitcase in the other. I smiled when I saw her. She ran to me when she got off the escalator to hug me.

"You have the face of a teenage girl who's hiding something," she said. Of course, that was the first thing she said after a long trip. I rolled my eyes. I wanted to tell her about him. I really did. I don't keep secrets from Megan. She's my best friend. But I didn't know how I could.

"I'm not hiding anything," I said. "It's a long story. But I've got pizza at home." As we went to the car to go home, I had completely forgotten about the giant pile of stuffed animals that was left in the back seat

"What the hell?" she exclaimed when she saw it.

"What?" I asked. I looked back, and then I saw what she was staring at. I had to think fast. "Oh, it's a long story," I said.

"You know what?" she said. "I don't even want to know."

I told her I'd tell her the story when we got home because I needed to use the time she was driving to come up with my cover story. However, she insisted that I tell her immediately, so I had to come up with something on the spot.

"Okay," I said. "So basically I...went ice skating. And there was this guy named Noah...who was visiting his grandparents. He- we hung out a few times, got along really well, and agreed that we both wanted to keep in touch. So yeah, that's pretty much it."

"Is he hot?" she said instantly.

"I mean, yeah," I said. "But I know what you're thinking, and no. Absolutely not. Just friends."

"So tell me everything else," she said excitedly. I thought for a moment about all the things that had happened while she was gone. I wanted to tell her all of it. I knew she would enjoy hearing it.

"I got ballet captain," I said with a smile.

"Yay," she said. "When's freshman camp?"

"Next week," I said. "I'm excited. I get to be in charge."

"That's perfect for you," she said sarcastically as she pulled into the parking lot. "Tell me more about Noah." Then, as if he knew we were talking about him, he texted me. "Is that him?" she asked. I smiled.

"Yeah," I said.

"Okay, I won't bother you anymore," she said. "Go text him." I rolled my eyes and went to my room to talk to him.

Later in the weekend, as I prepared for freshman camp, I practiced some basic reps I would teach them. The great thing about being ballet captain is I basically ran freshman camp. The coaches came in to help, but it was all on me. This would give me great experience for when I could teach ballet. By the end of the weekend, I had spent ten hours practicing ballet. I had seventeen dances prepared, twenty-five warm-ups to choose from, a playlist of forty-seven songs, five outfits laid out, five lunches packed, and I talked to Noah at least a hundred times. I promised we'd video-chat during my breaks.

On Monday, I woke up excited. Flashbacks of my freshman camp came across my mind. I put on my LTA leotard and grabbed my bag. I put my hair up in a perfect bun and threw on my letterman jacket. It was still somewhat dark outside. I had chosen to be forty-five minutes early.

Mr. Lee and Madame set up the sign-in tables and printed out weekly schedules when I got there. Mr. Lee told me to go to a smaller classroom and run through some warm-ups. I put my earbuds in and turned on the playlist I had. I must have gotten lost in the dance because Chris had to physically stop me when he got there. I ran him through a couple of the warm-ups I prepared.

The freshmen started trickling in about fifteen minutes before it started. You could tell they were nervous. The time rolled around, and Mr. Lee gave me a smile that said, "you take it from here."

"Okay, guys, can all of you come to have a seat here?" They made their way over and sat in front of Chris and me. "Okay, my name is Sara, and I'll be your ballet captain this year," I said. I wasn't nervous at all. I was ready to take all my dance knowledge and teach it to all these kids. "This is Chris. He's our senior rep. So I know it's scary being here, especially if you're from out of state. Do we have any people from out of state?" About a third of the students raised their hands. "Okay, so a good bit of you. We know how that is. Chris moved here from Brazil. We understand, and we want you to know that there's nothing to be afraid of. We will do our best to make you feel at home." I looked at Chris. I remembered how he talked about wanting to be in leadership so bad. "Do you want to explain leadership to them?" He smiled. He was nervous, but he was a natural.

"Okay, so leadership," he said. "So there's a rep for every grade, the head ballet captain, and the assistant ballet captain. By the end of the week, we will have picked one of you to represent your class." Some of the first-year students perked up at this. I could tell who the overachievers were already. Chris looked at me for help on what to do next.

"So this week it's just you, but it'll be all of us the next two weeks after that- the whole program. We do have rehearsals on Wednesdays, but they're usually just a grade at a time. We have two shows a year, one per semester, to give you an idea of how we do things at LTA. We always do the nutcracker for the first one, and the second one usually has a spring or summer theme. It's not always the same, though."

"We have had freshmen get a lead role before," Chris added, growing more confident. "In fact, Sara here was Clara in the Nutcracker as a freshman." I blushed. You could hear a reaction from the freshmen. "So basically, it doesn't matter what grade you're in. If you're better than a senior, you will get a better part than a senior."

"Yes, exactly," I said. "Any questions?" Nobody raised their hand. I smiled. I was ready to be a teacher, a natural teacher, for the first time. And I was so excited to call Noah and tell him all about it.

*Hello, lovelies! Hope you are doing well. What do you think of Megan now that you've met her? Fun fact: Megan is based on my aunt.  LMK and don't forget to vote! Or don't. It's your choice. Have a good day :)*