She had forgot to set her alarm. Of course she had forgotten, after the previous night. And so she slept in until the sunlight fully covered her body. As the light hit her eyes, she rolled over to her side and her eyes opened just enough to catch the red numbers staring back at her through the clock. 8:42 AM. She had to be at the studio in 18 minutes. This was not going to happen.
She flew out of the sheets. Forget making the bed. She was busy racing to the bathroom. Her breath smelled like alcohol. Her body smelled like chlorine. Her hair was all over the place.
She was in and out of the shower in under a minute. Her teeth were brushed, her hair was combed. She had on clothes, which was good, and the same shoe on each foot. She passed on packing lunch (she needed to use that time to be working, anyway), and raced towards the door.
She didn't check her phone. She didn't open her laptop. She didn't turn on the tv. She didn't have time for news.
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The drive to the studio was most definitely illegal. She sped half of the way, and was stuck in traffic for the other half. She considered ditching her car and running the rest of the way, but decided against it.
She arrived in studio thirty minutes late, mostly on account of the LA traffic. She raced through the doors of the studio and quickly found her way into the group practice room.
"I'm sorry for being late." She gasped as she stumbled into the room. The pros and troupe members were all huddled in a circle with the cameramen and producers. When they saw her come in, they all turned.
No one was speaking. All were looking at her. Karina suddenly felt self conscious. "It won't happen again." She offered as she looked over them. Tony was shaking his head. Peta looked hurt. Val wouldn't look at her. Sharna looked pissed. She didn't have time to see the rest. The producer was speaking to her.
"Karina, can I talk with you in the hall for a moment?"
She followed him out of the room.
"I promise sir, it won't happen again. I forgot to set my alarm and-"
"Karina, I don't care about your chosen work schedule, however tardy you were today. What I do care about is the integrity of this group and the ability of our dancers to collaborate successfully both on and offstage."
"If you want me to be working harder, I will. I've already scheduled an additional hour at the gym and with a dance instructor. I will have jazz and hip hop down by the end of this season."
"Karina, I don't doubt your dance ability or your work ethic. What I do doubt sometimes is your moral choices?"
"What?"
"You see, some of your actions have come to my attention and I find them, well, to be very blatant, disrespectful and disturbing."
"Sir, I can assure you, I have good morals. I go to church every Sunday-"
"But do you listen to the word of God? To be fair, I could care less about your religious tendencies, however, I find your recent conduct to be unbecoming of a member of the ABC family."
"I don't understand. What are you talking about?"
"Your inability to comprehend what you have done wrong only furthers my belief that my decision is correct. Karina, I will ask that you terminate your involvement with this production for the time being. Your actions will be reviewed by a higher committee. After a certain time, if you would like to be reinstated with the program, you can present your case to us, and we will finalize our decision. I strongly believe that if you behave morally for the next month, you will regain your position within Dancing With The Stars franchise. If, however, your actions do not improve, or you see no reason to change them, then I suggest you start looking for a new job."
