Tears of Queens

8 - Wyatt

A few days later, I walked to the studio by myself, headphones on, blocking out the world around me. I got to the studio, but before I could go upstairs, Hayley, one of our choreographers that worked in the office, stopped me and called me into the office.

"Wyatt, I need you to try on these shorts we ordered for your trio," she said while handing me a clear plastic bag containing a pair of white cotton shorts.

"Is the top here yet?" I asked. The costume was shorts and a tank top, each of us wearing a different color; I wore white, Leo wore black, and Jason, the other member of our trio, wore gray.

"Not yet. They're supposed to arrive tomorrow. I'll give them to you after your ballet." I thanked her and went upstairs, first dropping my bag off in the homework room, then going to the bathroom to try on my shorts. When I emerged from the stall and went back into the homework room, I ran directly into Leo.

"Woah, you good?" he chuckled. I nodded, blushing out of embarrassment. "Are those the shorts for the costume? They look good on you."

"Yeah, they are. Thanks! I think yours are in the office with Hayley."

"Oh, okay, I'll go get them then. Thanks, man!" and with that, he brushed past me and ran down the stairs. I sat down on the couch and pulled out my phone. I took a picture of myself wearing the shorts in the mirror and sent it to Tala, along with the message, "these are the shorts for the costume". A few moments later, she replied. "They look good!".

Fifteen minutes later, Jason, Leo and I were all in the studio stretching while waiting for Amy, our choreographer to get there. As soon as she did, she got the music ready and instantly started to create our trio.

~

Later that day, Leo and I decided to go on a walk with Tala. We picked her up from their apartment and made our way to the local boba shop, then over to the park. We climbed up into an old treehouse at the edge of the park, boba in hand, and just settled into the mass of pillows.

"Oh my god, scoot over! You take up so much room!" Tala laughed as she playfully pushed me away from her, putting me closer to Leo than I had expected to be. He smelled like flowers. It made me smile.

"So, Leo, do you have any siblings?" Tala pulled me out of my thoughts as she turned to look at Leo, taking a sip of her boba.

"Yeah, I have an older brother and a little sister. Liam and Lily," he gave a small smile that warmed my heart. "Liam's like, 21, and Lily is eight. She's actually gonna start at the studio soon, I think!"

"That's so cool! I can't wait to meet her! Where does your brother live? Is he nearby?"

"Yeah, he lives in Seattle with his wife. He's studying education at UW."

"His wife? Isn't he, like, 21?"

"Yeah,"

"And he's already married? Honestly, good for him." Tala nodded to herself as Leo chuckled.

"Tala, I know you have a brother, but Wyatt, do you have any siblings?" Leo turned to me right as I took a sip of my drink, my mouth still full of milk tea and tapioca.

An hour later, we were all laughing at Leo as he entertained us with his various celebrity impressions, all the voices exceedingly accurate. As I turned to look out the window, hiding my face as I smiled wide, I saw the sky go cloudy from the windows and we all felt the wind start to blow. A chill ran down my spine.

"I don't think it's supposed to be this cold," Tala noticed, clutching my arm for warmth. Before either of us could respond, we heard an eerie whistling, then a woman singing in a foreign language, completely unlike anything I had ever heard.

Tala's eyes widened and she gripped my arm even tighter. I could feel her shaking as a black, hooded figure floated up the ladder. Leo let out a scream and recoiled into the corner farthest from the figure. Tala and I backed up, joining Leo, as the figure's huge, gash-like mouth opened in what looked like a terrifying smile. I was horrified at the sight of the thing, but as I looked around at Leo and Tala, they had a sort of recognition, somewhere deep underneath their terror. The figure slowly approached us, Leo and my own constant attempts to slow it down by throwing pillows at it. Well, until we ran out of pillows, that is. Once we did, the figure came to a stop a foot in front of us and reached out its claw-like hands. We recoiled and screamed at the same time, but it was no use. The world had already gone dark.

The shadow had taken us.