Larceny

16

Following the line I walk to the cafeteria and sit at my assigned table. The woman beside me slips folded piece of paper into my palm. I thank her, look at it and pass it along. I lean forward and signal Bruno as the paper gets to him. He gives a curt nod and flashes a smile. I scrunch my eyebrows at him but he continues smiling anyway raising his right eyebrow mischievously.

When our table is called, we line up in the same order we came in; the meal is served to us and we return to our seats. When everyone is finished eating we create another line to return the dishes to the kitchen, then its back to our seats again. Instead of leaving immediately as we normally do, the unlabeled door to the left of the kitchen opens. Victor walks in. 

The hair on the back of my neck shoots up, goose bumps rise on my arms and my breath shortens. Victor strides in with his hands clasped together behind him. His black Armai suit fits perfectly, snug on his slim body. He walks down the center of the room as his eyes take each person in one by one. When his eyes fall to me, a cold bead of sweat threatens to fall from my temple. The left corner of his mouth rises slightly for less than a second.  His straight face returns and he continues his walk. Once he's had a look at everyone he returns to the front of the room and walks out the door closing it behind him.

I swallow hard and try to calm down my chest rising and falling out of time with my heartbeat. Looking up, a familiar pair of deep brown eyes meet mine. Bruno's brows come together and he mouths.

"Are you ok?" I shake my head and his worried look grows.

"I'll be fine." I mouth back to him.

"You're not fine." He mouths. "We should talk." 

_______

After curfew when the hallways are empty and the lights are out I prepare to go and see Bruno. I get out of bed and swing my legs over the side. As my feet meet the floor, I roll my ankles getting the blood flowing. A satisfying pop resonates in the air as a warm feeling spreads up my legs. A feel a smile creep across my face as my legs perform a familiar movement, prepping for a turn. I complete one turn, stepping out of it almost perfectly. Grinning I try another turn completing it gracefully my hands set in position. I rush over to my closet, retrieving the first set of pointe shoes I received when I arrived here, a pair of stark white ones with short ribbons. Slipping my feet into them, my toes are comfortably pressed against the wood at the front while my heels are pressed to the backs of the shoes, the ribbon keeping everything in place. I hit shuffle on the dusty stereo positioned in the corner and stand in first position at the center if the room looking down.

The first piano key is struck and I look up starting a series of arm movements, leading in to positions with my feet and soft lifts followed by short turns as I make the most of my space.

The notes of each key vibrates through my veins guiding my arms to where they should go, how fast, how slow, how weak or how strong they are is dictated by the tempo of of the keys. My skin hums, my blood stream doused in excitement. As the tempo picks up I start a series turns controlling my body to stay in the same place as each is completed in tune with the dips in the music. My hand positions change with each turn but my feet stay the same.

The lyrics start.

I stop just in time to take slow strides across the floor, changing directions I false trip over one foot and regain my balance with a heel then a toe touch lifting my leg carefully as I shift my weight for a leap landing squarely on my toes before moving downward in to plie. Bouncing upward I display a series of positions including a series of lunges followed by a battment turn pointing my toes to align them with my entire leg. Next, I try a just as the verse breaks in to the chorus. I fly through the air, riding along the vocalist's run landing just as she ends the note. I run to one end of the room prep and run, prep and leap into the air spreading my legs into an almost-perfect split. A grand jete. Making my way across the room I choreograph on the fly, doing whatever comes naturally after every spontaneous movement.

So lost in the music I barely notice when it ends. I step put to of my final turn perfectly sinking down to the floor and the final chord dissipates. The well missed satisfaction of completing a piece makes my heart race, my chest heaving pleasantly and a brief 'yes!' Escapes my lips. All the work I've been doing has payed off. It wasn't perfect but it was definitely a start. I grab a water bottle, drinking half of it before I drop the bottle into my backpack and head for the door. My breathing regulates itself as I pad through the hallway keeping quiet. I enter Bruno's code.

His room is full; his fingers are pressed into key after key the sound resonating in the air. He leans over the piano as though he's monitoring each movement of his hands to make sure the notes are right. He produces note after note only pausing for seconds at time to find the right ones. I lock his door behind me, leave my bag by his bed and walk towards him. Taking a seat a few feet away I close my eyes and listen. The final chord of notes meets the air leaving me with a satisfying calmness in my chest. Bruno hits the keys again quickly before be stands. He turn around spotting me, a smile grows on his face.

"You must be some kind of ninja," he says tilting his head over to his desk as a form of calling me. I follow and sit at his desk as he sits on his bed. "I didn't even hear you come in."

"You were playing,  I didn't want to disturb you."

"Thanks," he runs his hand across th back of his neck. As he glances at the piano. "And thanks for the other night too. It would have taken me longer to bring myself to play since it's been so long."

"You'll get better," I assure him. 

"What happened to you earlier when Victor walked in?" His face grows serious.

"Nothing," I lie looking down at the floor.

"He did something to you, didn't he," Bruno says his voice low and heavy. "You're afraid of him, I can see it." My blood becomes cold with his observation and I take a deep breath. "What did he do to make you so scared? You don't seem to be afraid of anything."

"He forces me pretend to be her; his fiancé. Her name was Senchi Gabrielle Kikunoi, she was a model like he was. She was murdered when the Snatchers took Victor. After a while he began to blame himself for what happened and as a way to cope, he developed a second personality. One for when he interacts with you and everyone else and then how he is when he comes to see me. I have to wear her clothes, wear make-up the way she did, do my hair like her and call him 'Vic' like she used to all because I resemble her." My body shakes and tears sneak down my cheeks but my voice remains clear." When his personalities come close to merging, he becomes violent and he's progressively getting worse. He has attempted to...rape me...more than once." I look in to Bruno's eyes that are trained on me, he shifts uneasily. "He's getting close and I don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to hold him off." I swallow hard. "That's why I'm scared."

Bruno stands and walks forward, he squats down in front of me. "No matter what happens while we're here, as long as I can, I will protect you and take care of you like you have me. You deserve that much."

"Bruno, there's nothing you can do. You can't keep him from getting to me. You and I don't know what he'll do if you interfere."

"That doesn't matter. I will not let him hurt you understand me? We're friends, it's the least I can do but you have to trust me, alright?" his eyes are hardened but honest, even caring.

"Thank you."