Stolen Kisses and Competitions

Friends and Enemies - 4

"I'm in the third year acro dance class!" Ella excitedly told her friend.

"Really? How?" Amber was not as excited for her as Ella hoped she'd be.

"Apparently they saw that my acro was strong at the auditions so I've been put in the third year class straight away! Isn't that cool?"

Amber shrugged "I've got to go to ballet. See you."

Ella didn't let Amber's lack of enthusiasm bring her down, she'd learnt not to expect too much form her. Amber was a good friend in almost every other way. She never abandoned Ella of made her feel alone, she was never unkind and she got on very well with Jamie, which Ella thought was important. She didn't want Amber to be perfect, she was already everything Ella needed.

Ella skipped off to her acro class, thrilled to be given the opportunity. She texted Megan on the way. Megan was genuinely thrilled for her and Ella thought again about how Megan had to be the sweetest girl she'd ever met.

Jamie was also thrilled and Ella wondered how she had managed to find the perfect boyfriend.

Jamie: You'll probably be with Kara then.

Ella: Who's Kara?

Jamie: She's in her third year, does acro dance lol. Megan's friend, remember? She's actually been showing me around the building.

Ella: Is she nice?

Ella wasn't the jealous type of girl at all, she'd never minded Jamie being friends with girls and knew he'd always be honest with her.

Jamie: Yeah she's super nice.

When Ella arrived at the studio for her class she found a tall muscular boy with beautiful lidded eyes talking to a small blonde with her long hair wrenched back into a tight ponytail. The boy seemed quite a bit older than them and he nodded at Ella in a friendly way while the girl simply ignored her. Ella was conflicted but decided to approach them.

"Hi." She said.

"Hi." The boy replied

The girl looked Ella up and down "Are you lost babe?"

"No. I'm in this class. My name's Ella."

"Oh yes, you're the first year student." The boy said "I'm Rafael."

"Nice to meet you."

The girl stayed quiet, trying her hardest to be intimidating. Ella wasn't afraid, at least Rafael seemed cool.

"I was put in third year acro class in my first year too." He told her "But I was twenty then, so not as young as you. I can't believe you're sixteen and your already in this class, you must be really talented."

Ella heard the girl scoff under her breath, so she turned to her and asked "What's your name?"

"Kara."

"You're Kara?" Ella's surprise slipped out before she could control it. Jamie told her this girl was nice.

"So you know me?" Kara smirked.

"Apparently you've met my boyfriend, Jamie." A flash of something hostile entered Kara's smirk "He told me you're nice."

"Yeah, he did find me nice." Kara purred, glancing at Ella through her false lashes.

Ella recognised the attempt to get into her head and didn't engage with it. She wondered how sweet Megan had been friends with Kara since childhood.

Then the teacher entered.

"Welcome back, Kara, Rafael! It's good to see you again!"

"I'm glad to be here." Kara said, smiling sweetly.

"Yes, you're finally in my class! I always thought you should have been moved up earlier."

"Well I've had to work hard to be here." Ella noticed the slight dig at her "This is where I'm meant to be, even if The Academy didn't realise it."

The teacher laughed and Ella suddenly felt a weird sensation of guilt.

"And you must be Ella!" The teacher exclaimed "I'm Ms Sara. I've never had a student as young as you in this class, you must be a real protégé."

"I hope so!" Ella replied confidently.

"Well I can't wait to see what you're capable of, we're going to start right now." Ms Sara addressed all three students "As Rafael will know, we do a bit of freestyle at the start of every term. No pressure, it just gives you a chance to show off and helps me get to know you and all your abilities."

"Sounds fun!" Ella said.

"I'll go first." Kara announced.

Ella watched Kara intensely. She was good, there was no denying that, but she was far from the perfection that her confidence led people to expect. Still, Kara was a strong acro dancer and Ella knew she'd have to work hard to keep up.

Rafael went next and he was incredible, Ella had never seen anyone d flips as high as him! Neither of the girls were quite at his level.

Then it was Ella's turn. She did her best despite the knowledge that Kara was harshly judging her. Ms Sara seemed to be impressed.

"Well done Ella! I can tell you'll do wonderfully in this class. Kara, did you see how clean Ella's landings were? That's what I was talking to you about in the workshops."

Kara took this surprisingly well, only using her eyes to try and kill Ella. She didn't say a word to her after that, but Ella knew it wasn't over.