Love, Loathing, and Limelight

Chapter Twenty-Four

I felt a leather cushion under me, and then I smelled hand sanitizer. I felt a cold fan and quickly realized that I wasn't in my own home. I bolted up, and my thigh burned. I looked around, and I was under the harsh lights of the MinuteClinic.

"Sara, don't make sudden movements," I heard a familiar voice say. I looked over, and there was Chris, Ari, and Megan.

"Somebody explain what's going on," I said, tired.

"Well, It's two in the morning, and you decided to fall down a flight of stairs, so Mr. Lee woke us up for emotional support," said Ari.

"Ari, don't make jokes right now," Chris snapped.

"Ari, make all the jokes you want. I need to be distracted," I said. I had only fallen for the first time a month or two earlier, which shook me to my core. I was facing a potential injury. I may never dance the same again. I needed to be devastated, but my emotions were numb. It was like I had a tank inside me, filled with all the emotions I could ever feel, and it had drained completely.

Moments later, a doctor came in, and Mr. Lee followed him.

"Good news," he said. "No serious long-term injuries from the fall." Chris, Ari, Megan, and Mr. Lee looked more relieved than I was. "As far as your leg, you've severely strained your hamstring. A few months of physical therapy, and you'll be fine. Until then, absolutely no physical training."

I was fine until that last bit. No physical training? No gym? No stretching? No dancing?

"What?" I asked him as if it was his fault. And at that moment, it was. He's the doctor. He's supposed to fix me. You could feel the furiousness brooding in me.

"Sara," Mr. Lee said. He wanted me to let him handle it. Chris and Ari exchanged worried looks. "Sir, she has to be dancing the lead in The Nutcracker by December. Is there any way that that's possible?"

"No, I'm afraid not," he said. I started breathing heavily. He kept talking, but I tuned him out and barely understood what he said. "Even with physical therapy every day, the injury needs time to heal." My face got hot.

Mr. Lee looked at him.

"Thank you for your time," he said. He saw I was about to lose my mind and ushered the doctor out of the room, leaving me with Chris, Ari, and Megan. I felt like my stomach was about to drop out of me.

"I think I'm gonna throw up," I said as I clutched my stomach. My nausea melted away, and it was just pure anguish. I started crying and buried my face in my hands.

"Are you ok?" Megan said, rubbing my back.

"No, I am not ok!" I screamed. "Because if I can't dance, then he is always on my mind!" They stared at me to let me properly vent. I cried out all the feelings I had left. But I have to go on. The show must go on.

Later that week at school, Hallie was called into Mr. Lee's office. I only walked by, but he sounded furious. Considering Hallie was the next alternative for ballet captain, Mr. Lee offered to let me keep my position. My job would be to spectate everyone and tell them how to be better. But I could no longer dance, so I decided I didn't deserve the position and made the painful decision to step down.