What a Shortstop Does

Part 3

Chapter 11: Ballet

The first two weeks of December were hectic for school. Exams loomed just a few days away and the student body was generally feeling the pressure. Carly's procrastination had caught up to her and she was downright snippy, while Sarah dealt with the studying by consuming large amounts of popcorn and caffeine. Rehearsals for the ballet were every night with Sundays reserved for the grueling technical rehearsals. Sarah saw Ro when she could, which mostly meant quick kisses in the parking lot, her dorm, or at the auditorium door when she brought her food during those long days.

They continued to text constantly, sometimes late into the night while Ro waited in her dressing room or Sarah poured over revisions on her papers. It was a lonely two weeks. But with all the extra studying, Sarah was feeling confident she'd at least scrape out passing scores. The Nutcracker opening night was a success, heralded as "magical" in the student paper. And with a ticket reserved for Saturday, Sarah was excited to see it herself.

Sarah gave her name to the woman at the ticket counter while David and Carly waited just off to the right for her to come back with the three tickets Ro had put aside for them. Sarah was grateful they'd agreed to come so readily. She wasn't sure how she'd feel about sitting in a theater surrounded by strangers who certainly knew a lot more about the ballet than she did. The bouquet of flowers she'd bought at the greenhouses in town were clutched probably too tightly in her hand.

As they entered the theater, Sarah felt excitement in the air like electricity. The little kids settling in their seats positively vibrated with it while more than a few of the adults seemed to feel it as well. The curtain glowed a deep red with stage lights above and intricate plasterwork around the outside. It drew your eye, demanding your attention as the hum of voices rose and fell. An usher guided the trio to their seats. Ro had clearly picked the best, close without being right up to the stage and on an aisle so they wouldn't be squished in the center of the row. David and Carly slid in leaving the aisle seat for Sarah.

"Ya know, I've been here three years and never set foot in this theater," David said conversationally as he opened the paper program they'd been given.

Sarah smiled, "It's beautiful isn't it?"

"Oh look! There's Roisin's name! And here too!" Carly took the program out of David's hands to peruse it on her own. "And Kate's! Wow, there's a lot of dances in this ballet."

"Yeah, Ro said she has three costume changes. Actually, for one of them, she has to strip it off in the wings. She doesn't have time to go back to her dressing room."

"I bet you know exactly how quickly she can take clothes off, huh?" Carly wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and elbowed Sarah's arm off their shared armrest.

Sarah just rolled her eyes. The first and only time she'd watched Ro take clothes off, or helped her, had been that evening in their dorm when they got back from Thanksgiving break. Since then, exams and rehearsals had conspired to keep them clothed and apart. She wondered where Ro's dressing room was and if she was in there right now, slipping into a pair of pale pink tights. Her body would be bent gracefully as she slid the translucent fabric up her tight thighs-

Sarah's thoughts were derailed by the dimming of the lights and excited shushes from the audience. Music swelled below the stage as the pit orchestra trilled into the classical notes. She stowed the flowers across her lap hoping the blooms wouldn't be squished before she could give them to Ro.

Of the opening music, Sarah recognized some of the pieces. Pieces often heard in the background of commercials around Christmas time. An omnipresent voice rang out through the swell of the music, welcoming them to the ballet and reminding them to silence all cell phones. Sarah triple-checked that her's was on silent.