“Violet, you have no say about who dances for me!” Walt snapped in her face at the foot of the stage. “I understand you are upset, but every moment I waste trying to tend to your ego is a minute not training them.”
“She isn’t good enough to replace me,” she hissed through her teeth.
“In your mind, who is?”
She clenched the cane in her hands so tightly, I wondered if she was considering using it as a bat.
“Ms. Harper, step forward,” I called, taking a seat in one of the red chairs of the front row. All their attention fell on me. Felicity’s hazel eyes widened, but she put down her water bottle and did as she was asked. There was a first time for everything, it seemed.
“Melrose, you are the understudy, correct?” I asked the redhead standing by Felicity. “Both of you go through the whole first movement for us.”
“Theo, we haven’t—”
“Now.” I cut Walt off, signaling for the music to start.
I noticed the glare and the same look of superiority Violet had given her. Felicity looked more annoyed with me than she did them.
Walt sat beside me, and Violet beside him.
“If she messes up even a little bit, the rest of the dancers will tear her apart,” he whispered.
“Don’t you believe in her?” I asked softly.
On the count of three, the music began, and Felicity and Melrose mirrored each other. If you took into account that Melrose had been training for years, the fact Felicity could do this much within such a short period of time was amazing. It was also why they were so pissed at her. It was hard to forgive someone who could do something naturally when they had slaved their whole life to accomplish. It was even worse when that person outshined you…just as Felicity did when she leaped to the air just a bit higher, and returned to the ground with gracefully while Melrose was just a moment off beat. If I hadn’t seen this routine a thousand times, it would have gone unnoticed. And if I could notice, so could Melrose. She was so annoyed with herself she slowly broke down… until she just stopped dancing altogether. She wasn’t bad, but she wasn’t the best, so she stopped.
Felicity didn’t notice. She wasn’t paying attention to anyone and danced in the middle of the stage by herself. She was beautiful.
I faced Violet to see what her reaction would be. She bit her lip so hard you would have thought she was trying to draw blood.
“Felicity, that’s enough!” Walt stood up. But she didn’t stop. “Felicity.”
“Felicity!” I yelled, and she froze.
Her chest was rising and falling over and over again. She had her hands on her waist as she took deep breaths.
“Felicity, rest for a few moments and come back. Everyone else, your break is over. Let’s run it again. We only have three hours before the musicians need the stage to practice.” Walt headed back to them, leaving only Violet in the chairs.
“I don’t care how well she dances,” she sneered, looking at me. “She isn’t better than me, and—”
“If it were Melrose, you would probably say thing the same thing, which is why she messed up. No one is trying to be better than you, Violet. She’s just dancing.”
“Mr. Darcy, the event planner wishes to see you,” a staffer said.
“Go, Violet, and rest.” Felicity had taken her place, and there was nothing she could do about it.
Felicity
4:50 p.m.
I was backstage, stretching my legs, when Melrose came over to me. Sighing, I looked away, but she sat in front of me.
“You piss me off,” she muttered.
That sounds like a personal problem is what I wanted to say, but I didn’t need to deal with any more shit today. So I said nothing.
“I’ve worked at dancing all my life. You just did a few years of school, and all of sudden—”
“Not just school,” I yelled at her, sitting up straight. “I was dancing before I knew how to walk. My mother was a dancer for the American Ballet Theatre. She would practice with me in her arms. And I would watch, wanting to be just like her. She was the one who taught me how to dance. Hell, she taught me how do everything. When she died, all I had were music and dance. I practiced every day and night for sixteen years. It wasn’t just dance school; it was Juilliard. It’s been a long time, and every part of me is aching right now, so please give me a break. I get that you people hate me.”