Tears of Queens

1 - Tala

"I can do this," I whispered to myself, jumping up and down in anticipation.

"And now, it is our pleasure to present: the great, the legendary, Tala Behnam!" I heard cheering from a crowd I couldn't see, and a large velvet curtain opened in front of me.

I stepped on stage in a gorgeous black tutu with an intricate jeweled tiara adorning my brown hair, which was pulled up into a bun on the crown of my head. I stood in fifth position on a stage that seemingly appeared beneath my feet. As the light, airy music began to play, I started to dance the Odile act 2 variation from Swan Lake.

I landed in fourth position as the music ended and the invisible audience applauded. As the curtain fell, I felt a pair of hands around my waist, lifting me into the air. I craned my neck to see who was behind me, only to be met with my best friend, Wyatt, smiling from ear to ear, his eyes completely shut.

"You did so great!" he exclaimed as he pulled me into a hug, careful not to bend my tutu.

Out of nowhere, Wyatt dissipated and I was enveloped in a cloud of black fog. A white, hooded figure emerged and seemed to float towards me.

"You know where to find us." it said in a surprisingly feminine voice. I felt a presence behind me and turned around to come face to face with another hooded figure.This one didn't say anything. It just stared at me. Before I could do or say anything, the figures disappeared, and with them, the dark room.

~

"Mamaan, I'm going to dance!" I called to my mom from the entryway as I pulled my shoes on.

"Okay, Jaanam, have fun!" I heard her yell as I left. I got in the elevator and hit the Lobby button and waited for the doors to close, when someone stuck their hand in between them to keep them open.

As the doors opened again, a tall guy who looked around my age with a short blond ponytail stepped into the elevator. He looked like a dancer in his white shirt and black sweats. He had strong, lean arms and his fingernails were painted a light blue. He was carrying a black Adidas bag that had a black ballet shoe sticking out the top of it. The doors opened before I could say anything and he got out and headed in the same direction I was going. Not too suspicious, considering my dance studio was less than a five-minute walk away, in the middle of downtown, but it felt off nonetheless.

I fished my phone out of my dance bag and dialed my best friend Wyatt's number.

"Hey, where are you?" he answered after the first ring.

"I'm almost there. We have Kevin today, right?"

"Yeah, we're learning the showcase dance."

"Okay, I'll be there soon." I hung up the phone and walked another block before entering the studio. As soon as I turned the corner to go up the stairs, Wyatt surprised me with a tight hug.

"Um, hi? You good?"

"Tired," he groaned. I chuckled as we walked down the hall.

I heard the door open as we started up the stairs and I turned to see who came in, only to be met with the sight of the guy I saw at my apartment walking into the office. I ran the rest of the way up the stairs and made a beeline for the homework room to put my bag down.

"Who was he?" Wyatt asked me, noticing my recognition of him.

"I have no clue," I said honestly. I didn't even know his name. It just felt weird.

I sat on the floor to put on my pointe shoes as a girl named Anna walked into the room. We weren't very fond of each other. She was a showoff and I didn't like that. Unfortunately, I would have to put up with her for the rest of the summer because she was in one of my showcase dances, along with this new guy named Leo. I hoped he would be nice, but I didn't want to get my hopes up too high.

"Good morning!" Anna exclaimed in her annoyingly smooth voice. I ignored her, but I couldn't say the same for Wyatt. He found her extremely attractive and she liked to use that to her advantage to annoy me. As he started to talk to her, I tied the ribbons of my shoes, pulled on my practice tutu, and took my water bottle into the big studio right next door to the homework room.

As I put my water bottle on the windowsill, I noticed the same guy from before come up the stairs and put his bag in one of the cubbies in the hallway outside the homework room. He put on his ballet shoes and came to stand in the doorway of the studio so he wouldn't interrupt my practicing.

"You can come in if you want," I offered, not stopping my chaîné turns across the room.

"What's your name?" he asked me as I finished turning and extended my leg into an arabesque.

"Tala. Who are you?"

Before he could answer, however, Wyatt and Anna walked into the studio, followed by Mr. Kevin, our choreographer. I dropped my leg and joined everyone in the center of the room.

"Good morning everyone! Are you ready to get started?" he asked us as he connected his cell phone to the speakers. A rhetorical question, of course. The answer was always "yes". "I don't think you three have met Leo yet." he gestured to the guy from before, who smiled at us. My gaze shifted from him to Anna, who was instantly enamored. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Hi. I just moved here from California. Um, I'm 15, I turn 16 in July, and I really like surfing," Leo introduced himself to us.

"I'm Anna. Welcome to the studio," she held out her hand for him to shake, and he hesitantly took it. "This is Wyatt." she gestured to my best friend with her other hand. She leaned in close to whisper something in Leo's ear, then sashayed away to set her water bottle aside. The guys shook hands, but something about it seemed a bit off. In a good way. I think.

Mr. Kevin clapped his hands to get our attention and the choreography started.