Baker Boy

Chapter Thirteen

Althaia Artino wailed. "It's too big for you again!" she complained, pulling out her pincushion.

"You look like a corpse," noted McKayla. "Have you been eating?"

"You've eaten most of my meals with me," Andy pointed out.

Mrs Artino clicked her tongue, pinning the tattered dress' excess fabric down. She shook her head every so often, muttering to herself.

"So what is wrong with you, Adrianne?" asked Althaia. "You've been losing weight, but you insist that you've been eating."

"Must be the rehearsals," Andy said. "Principal Richard is pretty hard on all of us."

McKayla shrugged. "I suppose."

As if he had heard Andy's mention of his name, Richard Kensington walked into the room. He turned to where Althaia was working on costumes in the corner and raised a brow.

"Will you be done soon?" he asked.

Mrs Artino shook her head. "I'll have to alter Andy's dresses; they're too large for her."

"Made a mistake on her measurements?"

"She keeps losing weight."

Principal Richard turned to look at her. "Perhaps you should visit the nutritionist."

Andy had to take off her costume and wear her rehearsal skirt for the full dress run. Richard Kensington sat at the front, scribbling notes down as he watched in silence.

Counting in her head, Andy walked onto stage and wandered through the crowd. Ethan was in the spot Principal Richard assigned him, watching the other dancers and waiting for Cinderella.

She felt so out of place in her leotard and plain skirt. Everyone was dressed in his or her performance finery, waltzing around gracefully. Then the crowd cleared to reveal Ethan.

He pauses when he saw her, and then he walked forward slowly. A slow smile spread across his face as they drew closer. The music changes and the other students move to the sides as they start their pas de duex.

Ethan and Andy move together with each other and the music, flowing with the swells and ebbs. All the weeks of practicing together had allowed them to learn and memorise how each other moved.

"Very good," said Richard Kensington as they took a small bow.

Smiling gently, he led her off stage as the other students moved back in for another dance. As they waited in the corner, Ethan pretended to talk to her.

Andy's face was sore from smiling so much as she packed her things. Beside her, Ethan munched on a cereal bar, humming to himself as he gathered his stuff and put them in his bag.

They left their things together since Principal Richard liked to hold them back and the other students were usually in a rush. Andy and Ethan were done with having their things wrongly taken.

"Want to go grab lunch again?" she asked as she pulled her brown hair out of its tight bun.

Ethan shrugged. "You liked my mother's little nook?"

"It's really nice," Andy admitted, combing out the tangles.

"You think so?" he asked. "I've never taken anyone there."

"I'm honoured, Ethan Anthony James." She dug out a spray bottle of water and wet her hair before combing through it again to get rid of the weird waves the bun had given her.

They walked out of the rehearsal space together, both of them stopping to refill their bottles at the watercooler. Andy splashed some of the cold water onto her face, waking herself up.

After signing out at the guard post, Ethan led the way back into town again. The walk to Mrs James' shop was quick, Ethan skipping the fancy stroll through the charming little shops. Andy did not realise how much she had missed the smell of Mrs James' food until she walked in.

"The same thing?" asked Ethan.

Andy shrugged. "It's your mom, you know her food best."

The beef stew and rice was as good as it was the first time. They ate in silence, both devouring the food. Every rehearsal was getting tougher as they got closer to the big day.

"Ethan," Andy said, getting his attention. "Can I tell you something? It's been weighing on my mind, I just have to get it off my chest."

"Sure, go ahead." He smiled reassuringly.

Andy sighed, and shook her head. "There's this guy that started working at the Brew House a while back. He's just wrong on so many levels."

Patiently, Ethan waited for her to tell him whatever she wished. Mrs James brought over coffee and cleared the table. Ethan weaved his fingers together and rested his chin on it, listening intently.

"And you want to help him?" Ethan asked.

She nodded. "I just want the best for him. Eli's so messed up; I don't know where to start."

Sucking in a breath, Ethan was silent for a moment, just thinking. Then he shook his head.

"You should turn him in," he said. "There's not much you can do."

"He'd hate me for that." Andy's voice was little more than a whisper.

"It's the only way."

She sighed again. "Who do I go to first?"

"I'm really sorry about this, but I have to tell you something too," said Ethan.

She frowned. "What are you sorry about?"

"Changing the topic?" He shrugged. "I don't know. This really isn't ideal."

She watched him as he scratched his head, looking increasingly like a fish out of water.

"Andy, you're a really great person. I mean, you care about everyone and you've got such a great heart."

"Now that's considered lying," she pointed out. "I'm really not that good."

Chuckling, Ethan leant back into the cushioned seat. "I'm telling the truth, Andy. We never got the chance to dance together or even interact much, but you've always been a friend to me.'

"Hey, I only brought you coffee once."

"But you've made me drinks countless times," he reasoned. "Look, I've always seen you around, but maybe it just never registered to me; maybe I just need it to hit my hard in the head before I finally realised that I'm in love with you."

Andy almost dropped her coffee. "What?" she spluttered.

That could not have been good for Ethan's impression of her.

"I love you, Adrianne," he repeated. "I've always loved you; I was just too blind to see that you made my day each time you smiled."

Andy was panicking.

"Ethan, look, I'm sorry. We can't do this."

He looked like she had just stabbed him in the back. "Please don't do this to me, don't say this to me," he whispered.

"We're too close to opening night for this," she muttered. "If we fallout, the audience will know, we won't dance like we're supposed to. It'll be a disaster."

"Give it a chance, won't you?"

She shook her head. "Maybe after the performance, then we'll see."

He nodded, picking up his mug to take a sip of coffee. His body relaxed as he leant back again.

"I'll wait," he decided. "You're worth it."