His Tiny Dancer [COMPLETED]

XLV

~Saturday, May 14th~

I stand in the dressing room I share with Andrea - the one that I always remember as the "big girl dressing room" which was always given to the girls with the lead roles. It's still pretty surreal that I'm one of those girls now.

Our stage dressed rehearsal of Giselle is halfway through, we just finished running Act I in full hair and costume, meaning once the act was finished I had to change out of my peasant dress and into my Willis costume, and fix my hair back into a bun. The last scene of Act I is called the Mad Scene because this is when Giselle goes crazy from her broken heart, and during this scene her hair comes undone from its bun - to go along with the crazy act. So now during intermission, I have to fix my hair back into the classic Giselle low bun.

Andrea left to go backstage shortly after intermission started. She doesn't have any part in Act I and she is the first one on stage for Act II, so she was already ready when I returned to the dressing room and went to warm up and put rosin on her shoes to keep herself from slipping.

I am grateful for some alone time in the dressing room, needing a few moments to refocus after all the emotions that course through my body at the end of the first act.

I double check myself in the mirror, making sure my hair is slicked to perfection and my costume is fastened properly. Even though this is just a dressed rehearsal, being confident in my hair and costume helps me feel better about finishing the rest of the performance. I also double check my pointe shoes - I had switched to a new pair after the first act so that they would be strong enough for all of the partnering work. Now I make sure that my ribbons won't come untucked on stage, spraying a little bit of hairspray over the knot just beside my ankle bone in hopes that it will help them stay.

I'm taking multiple intentional, deep breaths to center myself in my body and calm my nerves when my momentary peace is interrupted by my phone ringing, vibrating on the table next to my makeup and hairspray. I glance at the screen and see that the call is from a number I don't already have in my contacts. Normally I ignore calls from people I don't know, assuming that it's a telemarketer or spam call, but the fact that this number has the area code for my town peaks my interest, so I pick up.

"Hello?' I say after picking up the phone.

"Teresina?" An older woman's voice says, surprising me by using my full name.

"Yes," I respond, now fully interested in who this could be and how she got my number.

"Oh thank goodness, this is Noah Thompson's aunt. There's been an emergency. Melody is with me but Noah is in the hospital."

"What?! What happened?" I respond in shock, not expecting those words in the slightest. Not only is Noah's aunt calling me, but Noah is in the hospital? Why?

"Their mom, she came back." I immediately feel my face drop and fade of all color at the mention of his mom. Noah's mom came back. "I don't know the whole story, but she's in police custody and Noah needs surgery. The police said he was saying your name before he blacked out so I found his phone and called your number, hoping you would come be with him. I have to watch Melody," Noah's aunt continues, her voice shaking slightly like I know mine will be when I speak.

"Oh my god," I whisper, barely able to comprehend what she's telling me. I nearly want to pretend it's not true, this isn't his aunt, this is some prank call meant to be some sick joke. But I know from her tone that it isn't. "Is he okay?" I ask, feeling my shakiness change from pre-performance jitters quickly turn into tremors of fear.

"He needs surgery for a stab wound in his abdomen, but the surgeon seemed pretty confident. Can you come see him?" She asks desperately. My head feels like it's spinning and I hold onto my chair to grasp reality. A stab wound in the abdomen? What on earth happened... Through my own pain and shock I feel awfully for Noah's aunt; she knows that her nephew who she has raised like her own son is in immense pain and needs surgery, but she can't even be with him because she needs to take care of his little sister - who I'm sure has been shielded from this information.