Dance Academy Learning to Fly

by Meredith Costain

  ‘Taking your time?’ she quips, taking in the fact that I’m still not dressed for class. ‘You of all people can’t afford to be late.’

  She places her phone and keys on her bed and moves over to the wardrobe to get her crossover.

  ‘I’d better get a move on then,’ I say. While her back is turned I swipe her things from the bed, slip out the door and close it firmly behind me. Kat’s waiting for me in the corridor.

  ‘Hey!’ comes a muffled shout from the other side of the door.

  I pass Kat Abigail’s keys and she locks the door from the outside. ‘Perfect,’ she snorts, as the door handle rattles up and down.

  ‘What do you think you’re doing?’ Abigail yells.

  ‘Abigail?’ Kat calls sweetly. ‘Is that you in there?’

  ‘Open the door!’

  ‘It’s not like you to be late for Miss Raine’s class,’ Kat tells her. She jumps back in mock fright as Abigail’s fist connects with the door.

  ‘Let. Me. Out!’

  Kat squats down, a piece of paper in her hand. ‘Oh, don’t worry,’ she reassures Abigail. ‘I’m willing to unlock this door and help you maintain your sickeningly perfect attendance record.’ She slides a room change form under the door. ‘All you have to do is sign on the dotted line.’

  ‘Not in this lifetime,’ Abigail snarls, sending the form flying back out again.

  Kat shoves it back under with her foot, then giggling like a little girl, drags me down the stairs. I pick up my pace. Abigail was right. I really can’t afford to be late for Miss Raine’s class.

  Ten minutes later I’m changed and at my usual spot at the barre, warming up for class, the sound of Abigail’s pitiful appeals to be let out going round and round in my head.

  ‘No,’ I announce over my shoulder to Kat. ‘I can’t do it. I can’t stoop to her level.’

  ‘Relax!’ Kat’s voice comes from the barre behind me. ‘I’ll stoop for both of us.’

  I pull my leg down from the barre, my mind made up. ‘No. I’ve got to let her out.’

  Kat’s not impressed. ‘Hey, on a meanness scale of one to Abigail, you’re not even a seven.’

  But she’s wrong. It is mean to make Abigail miss class like this. It could go down badly on her record. I shoot Kat an apologetic smile for stuffing up her plan and head back to the boarding house.

  ‘Hope you know you’re no fun!’ Kat calls after me.

  I tentatively unlock the door, nervous about what I might find on the other side. Abigail wouldn’t trash my stuff, would she? But everything looks okay. My three trophies and laptop and the jewellery box Mum gave me when I was six still seem to be in one piece, exactly where I left them.

  Abigail’s standing in the middle of the room, holding the room change form.

  ‘I’m really sorry, Abigail,’ I tell her, meaning it.

  ‘Don’t be,’ she sniffs, ripping the form in half and letting the pieces float to the floor. Then she snatches her keys from me and storms out of the room.

  Guess I might as well go back to class myself.

  The first thing I notice on the way back to class is that everyone in the corridors is staring at me. Staring and shoving their hands across their mouths to stop themselves from laughing.

  The second thing I notice is that they’re either holding, or standing next to someone who’s holding, a mobile phone. I arrive at my warm-up class and the same thing is happening. What’s going on?

  Then Kat’s standing in front of me, her face a mask. She pushes Sammy’s phone into my hand. ‘Read it,’ her eyes say.

  I stare at the words on the tiny screen.

  The way he eats, the way he talks about things. Real things. And he smells like Christmas.

  What? But how? I scroll down.

  Negatives. I need to concentrate on my dancing. And Kat.

  I look up. She was never supposed to see–

  ‘So I’m a negative, huh?’ Kat says, her voice cold. ‘That’s good to know, Tara.’

  My guts turn to ice. ‘Wait! I–I can explain … I …’

  ‘Tara? Don’t. Just don’t.’ She strides away, head held high.

  I turn to Sammy, my heart pounding. What if Kat never speaks to me again? ‘Whuh?’

  ‘Abigail,’ Sammy explains gently. ‘She emailed your list of pros and cons to the whole school.’

  The room starts to spin. She must have found the list on my laptop somehow. If we hadn’t locked her in …

  The door opens and Abigail strolls in, taking her place at the barre. Then she moves straight into her warm-up routine, as though everything is perfectly fine.

  Except everything isn’t perfectly fine. Not if that email went out to the whole school.

  CHAPTER 9

  A couple of days after the pros and cons disaster, I’m at the beach, working on our ‘trust’ assignment for Patrick, our pas de deux class teacher. He says trust and communication are the keys to achieving better unity with our dance partners.

  ‘Pas de deux’ is the French name for ‘dance of two’, but Patrick reckons that it goes beyond that. He says it actually means ‘two bodies, one soul’. A guy and a girl dancing together to produce one pure emotion.

  Only trouble is, I’ve never actually danced with a guy before. Back at Patchewalling School of Dance, girls danced with girls. There weren’t any boys. So it was a bit of a shock to be paired with Christian, the new guy. Now he’s my partner for the trust assignment as well. We have to ask each other twenty questions to find out more about the other person. Which will be twenty more things I’ll know about him than I do now. He doesn’t give much away.

  Christian grabbed his skateboard and headed for the beach as soon as I started asking him questions. There was nothing I could do but follow him. At least I managed to convince Kat and Sean, her partner, to come along with me. Their trust assignment is to take turns acting as a guide dog, escorting their ‘blind’ partner around.

  The first thing Kat does when we arrive is to ‘guide’ Sean–the most annoying guy in first year–straight into a lamppost. I leave them to it. Christian mightn’t feel like answering my questions, but I don’t give up that easily. I find him at the skate ramp, doing tricks. He’s good.

  He sees me coming and zooms over. ‘You some kind of stalker?’

  ‘Not always,’ I tell him. ‘You’ve got nineteen questions left.’

  Christian takes off again then returns, dropping onto the side of the ramp right next to me.

  ‘So where’d you grow up?’ I ask him.

  ‘Next suburb down.’

  ‘By the beach? Lucky.’

  ‘Houso,’ Christian snorts. ‘Yeah, real lucky.’

  ‘Houso?’

  ‘Housing commission. You know? Where the poor people live.’

  What was that all about?

  ‘You think I’m rich?’

  Christian shrugs. ‘You’re at the Academy.’

  ‘So are you,’ I point out.

  Christian jumps on his board and skates away. He returns, his face dark. ‘Different. And I won’t be for long.’

  I try to find out why not but he’s not telling. Even his answers to questions about his family are vague. I find out he has a brother but that’s about it. And then suddenly we switch roles and he’s asking me the questions.

  ‘How far have you gone with a guy?’

  I stare at him.

  ‘Come on. First base? Second base? Ever even kissed a guy?’

  I look down at my feet, willing my cheeks to stop flushing.

  ‘You haven’t, have you?’

  ‘There’s nothing wrong with that,’ I say, angry now.

  Christian’s voice softens. ‘You’re right, there isn’t.’

  There’s a moment when I think we might be actually starting to make a connection, until he leans in towards me, his eyes dancing. ‘Maybe I can help out,’ he suggests.

  I push him away, furious. ‘And maybe you can get lost!’

  I head back to the
shore in search of Kat and Sean. It doesn’t take me long to find them. How many people wear a blindfold to the beach?

  ‘So how come you’re not with Christian?’ Kat asks, stumbling along beside me.

  I frown at Sean, who’s busy texting a friend rather than keeping an eye on Kat. ‘He’s impossible,’ I whine. ‘And it’s not like I’m even interested in his answers. I’m only doing this for school.’

  ‘So did he tell you anything?’ Kat asks me.

  Before I can answer a soccer ball comes out of nowhere, hitting Kat in the stomach. ‘Ow!’ she yells, ripping off her blindfold, glaring at Sean.

  ‘It was him!’ Sean tells her, pointing to a group of people further along the beach. One of them runs towards us, waving apologetically.

  Ethan.

  Kat turns on me, instantly suspicious. ‘So this is why you wanted to come to the beach?’

  I bite my lip. When it comes to her brother, things are still pretty shaky between Kat and me. She’s always warning me off, telling me not to expect any sympathy from her when he breaks my heart.

  ‘No, it’s because it was the only way I could do my task with Christian,’ I explain. ‘He headed off to the skate ramp. I didn’t know Ethan would be here. Honest.’

  It’s true. Ever since Abigail sent my pros and cons list out, I’ve been avoiding him, partly because I’m scared of what he’s going to say to me about it.

  Kat rolls her eyes. ‘Yeah, right.’ She turns to Ethan. ‘So what are you doing here?’ she asks as Sean ties her blindfold back on.

  He shrugs. ‘Perks of being a third year.’ He points to the ball I’m clutching. ‘Tara? Ball?’

  I drop kick it to him and he runs back up the beach to his friends. ‘You guys can play too if you want,’ he calls back.

  I definitely want. But I also know how Kat will feel about it. ‘Um …’ I begin.

  ‘Don’t look at me like that, Tara,’ she warns me. ‘I might be blindfolded, but I’m not blind.’

  ‘Come on,’ I plead, grabbing her arm and dragging her along the beach. ‘It’s just a game of soccer.’

  The next fifteen minutes are amazing. I’ve never been that great at sport but today I’m diving for the ball and kicking like I was a star player. Ethan obviously brings out the best in me.

  ‘Hey!’ shrieks Kat as the ball hits her in the head for the third time. She tears off her blindfold and hands it to Sean. ‘The target’s leaving,’ she calls out to everyone. Then, more quietly, ‘Coming, Tara?’

  I pick up the ball and stand there, rolling it around in my hands, uncertain about what to do. I want to stay, sure, but I also know how Kat feels about me and her brother.

  ‘Tara, come on.’ Ethan is impatient. ‘Kick it!’

  Go with your heart, a little voice inside my head tells me.

  ‘Think I’m going to stay,’ I tell Kat, then turn away quickly before she guilts me into leaving with her.

  Ten minutes later everyone’s had enough. Ethan leans against the stone wall, exhausted. ‘I’m starving,’ he announces.

  ‘Me too,’ I say, walking towards him. He ignores me. Maybe he didn’t hear me?

  ‘Swim then food?’ Ethan suggests to his friends, peeling off his T-shirt and dropping it on the sand before sprinting into the surf.

  I watch from the sidelines as the rest of the third years follow him in, cursing myself for not bringing my swimmers.

  Then I get a brilliant idea. Ethan said he was hungry, didn’t he?

  ‘I’ll get some food!’ I call after them.

  No one looks back.

  CHAPTER 10

  I’m back at the beach, nursing a bag of hot chips. It cost nearly all the money I had with me but it will be worth it to see the look on Ethan’s face when he comes out of the water.

  Except he’s no longer in the water. The part of the beach where we’d been playing soccer is empty. Even the pile of T-shirts and shorts is gone.

  Clutching the chips, I head over to the skateboard ramp. But Christian isn’t here either. The place is empty. I bite my lip. Guess the best thing to do is go home. My bus stop is across the road. I hope the last bus hasn’t gone.

  I’m stepping off the kerb when a car screeches to a halt behind me, doof-doof music blaring from its speakers.

  I jump back, my heart racing. The car inches around me, then tears off up the hill, tyres squealing as it takes the corner.

  I make it across to the bus stop and check the timetable, shivering in the shade. It’s getting late. I check my watch–there’s nothing due for ages.

  I fish my mobile out of my bag. Maybe if I call Sammy he can organise someone to pick me up … But of course I have no credit. Today of all days. Then, to top things off, I remember I don’t have enough money left for the bus fare now anyway. I nibble on a chip and set off down the hill for the long walk home.

  The car’s back. As soon as the driver sees it’s me on the footpath he does a U-turn, then guttercrawls beside me.

  ‘Hey, babe,’ his mate croons, hanging out the window. He spies my chips. ‘What you got there? Wanna share?’

  I ignore him and keep walking, my heart in my throat.

  The car pulls up beside me again. ‘There’s, ah, plenty of room on my lap,’ the guy tells me, leaning out and banging on the car door.

  It’s enough to tip me over the edge. I hurl the rest of my chips at him through the open window, bucket and all.

  The car screeches to a halt and the doors fly open. ‘You’re gone, princess!’ the driver yells at me. Now what do I do? I take off down the footpath as both of the hoons leap out of the car. Then suddenly someone is grabbing my arm and pulling me towards the steps that lead down to the beach.

  ‘Run!’ a voice shouts in my ear. ‘This way. Go! Go!’

  Christian. Where did he come from? I run, hurtling down the steps and onto the sand. It’s only when I hear the sound of screeching tyres as the car moves off that I allow myself to stop and catch my breath.

  ‘Do you have a death wish?’ Christian yells at me.

  ‘Didn’t you see what they were going to do to me?’

  ‘It doesn’t matter. You don’t pick fights around here.’

  I bite my lip, remembering the look on the face of the bogan in the car when the chips landed in his lap. He’s right. What was I thinking?

  On the way back to the boarding house, Christian opens up a bit more and I find out all kinds of things. How his mum is dead. How he’d promised her when she was alive that he’d audition for the Academy, which he swears is the only reason he’s here. How, when he was in trouble and asked his brother for help, his brother didn’t want to. Things that maybe help explain why Christian is the way he is, closed and private. His life is so different from mine. I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose my mum. I’ve only been away from Mum and Dad for a short time, but I miss them so much. I wish the Academy was closer to home.

  By the time we reach the boarding house I feel like I know Christian much better. I have one question left–the most important one.

  ‘Why did you tell everyone about me in the boys’ change rooms that time?’ I ask him quietly. ‘You knew it was an accident.’

  Christian’s eyes widen. He shakes his head. ‘Why would I even bother?’

  What does he mean? The connection I thought we’d built between us begins to slowly slip away. Now I just feel … empty. Empty and sad.

  ‘I can’t believe you’d still lie about it,’ I say finally. ‘I know you did.’

  Now Christian’s the one looking sad. ‘You know, I wasn’t the only one there. Ever thought about that?’

  No, I think, as I watch him walk back to his room, shoulders stooped. I haven’t. But I’m definitely thinking about it now.

  The next morning, I head down to the wharf in search of Ethan. It only takes a few minutes to find him, joking around with his mates.

  ‘I need to talk to you,’ I tell him quickly, before I lose my nerve.

  Ethan looks st
artled. ‘What’s up?’ he asks innocently, as his friends snigger behind him.

  ‘Like you don’t know.’

  His friends silently slip away to class, leaving us alone, like they know what’s coming. They’ve probably witnessed this conversation a hundred times before.

  ‘You’ve been laughing at me this whole time, haven’t you?’ I say, my words like spears.

  ‘Excuse me?’ Ethan looks confused. Except I’m not buying it.

  ‘Starting audition week? Telling everyone about me in the boys’ change rooms? That was you, wasn’t it?’

  Ethan flushes slightly. ‘Come on,’ he wheedles. ‘You have to admit it was a pretty funny story.’

  No way am I going to let him charm me out of my showdown. I was awake half the night working out exactly what to say to him.

  ‘And leaving me at the beach. Super hilarious, right?’

  ‘What? You weren’t even with us.’

  ‘And not responding to my pros and cons list.’

  Ethan rolls his eyes. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t realise it required a response.’

  ‘Of course it did,’ I point out. ‘It’s not fair. Because of you, the whole school is laughing at me.’

  ‘How is that because of me?’ Ethan mutters, his eyes hard.

  I flinch, not quite able to take in what I’ve just heard.

  ‘Look,’ Ethan tells me. ‘If you want the truth, I was embarrassed by it. I’ve spoken to you–what?–three, four times? And then you go and write all that stuff, and send it to everyone.’ He laughs. ‘I mean, come on. What are you talking about here? I don’t even know you.’

  Then he’s gone, back to laugh about the whole thing with his mates. There’s nothing left for me to do but cry.