Jeté to Stardom

10. It All Ends Here

Yawning widely, Paloma makes her way into the hotel bathroom. She goes through her daily routine of brushing her teeth, washing her face, moisturizing said face before returning to the bedroom. As she goes about getting ready for the day, she feels eyes on her and turns to see Marcin watching her.

"Morning, love," she crawls on the bed, peeking him on the cheek. "Did you sleep well?"

Marcin smiles leisurely. "I was with you; of course I did. What time is it?"

"It's six-fifteen. I'm glad you slept well, though, because we have to tell the girls about their school plans next semester."

He sighs, rising from the bed. "The first time I've seen them in four weeks, and I'm given them bad news."

"I'm sorry, love."

He smiles, waving her off. "I'm just glad I'm here. I thought I was going to enjoy the peace and quiet-- Lord knows we never get any. I didn't realize how lonely it would be at home."

"I can only imagine. Should we wake the girls up now or wait a bit?" The door to her suite opens, revealing Lux and Nova, both in their pajamas. "Never mind."

"Mam-" a yawn cuts Lux off. "We heard voices; it sounded like-" his eyes popped open when she caught sight of Marcin.

"Tata!" Nova yells, running over to him.

He kneels just in time for the two of them to tackle him. "Hello, princesas," he kisses both their cheeks. "Oh, how I missed you."

Paloma watches with soft eyes as the three of them get reacquainted. It sucks that she had to interrupt them. "Girls, your Tata and I have something to talk to you two about."

Grabbing Nova, she sits on the bed, Nova, on her lap. Marcin does the same with Lux.

"What is it?" Nova asks. "You look serious."

Paloma looks over at her husband, her eyes pleading for him to start the conversation.

"If you two could choose between dance and going to school, what would you choose?" Marcin asks them.

Paloma blinks at him. That was smart; if the girls decided to go with school, they wouldn't need to be homeschool but would no longer be part of the show and, subsequently, the team. But if they choose dance, then they would continue with their plan to homeschool them.

Lux and Nova didn't even hesitate. "Dance."

"Why?" Lux wonders, pulling on her sleeves.

Marcin looks over to her before looking down at them. "Well, you Mamá and I have decided that the coming school year, you two will be homeschooled."

"What!"

"No!"

"Why?"

"¡Paren!" Paloma orders softly, rubbing Nova's back. "Stop this frantic behavior and listen to us. The two of you just told us that you would rather dance than attend school."

"Yeah... but that was before we knew what you were planning," Lux argues.

"And now that you know?" Marcin asks. "Does that change your mind?"

"But our friends!" Nova tries.

"Exactly," Paloma tells them. "Yeah, but your health. It's not good for you guys to be awake at eleven, twelve o'clock doing homework. Your grades have slipped. You two are A student's and Lux. You almost got a D on your English test."

"I made it up, though! I got an A+ on the retake."

"And we're very proud of you. But your teachers have reported to us that you're sleeping in class, that you're not turning in some of your work. It's obvious to your Tata and me that you two are exhausted."