Perfection

Chapter 2

Two Months Later

She was going to die.

Whether it was from the unbearable attraction to all four of her roommate professors, or the ballet schedule her father put her on, she didn't know.

It was currently four-thirty in the morning and Mei stood at the bar. A light sheen of sweat covered her body as she finished her warmups. It had only been a month of the new schedule and she could barely keep up. Sometimes she even forgot to eat, if it weren't for Kioshi's rule she probably wouldn't have remembered to eat at all.

A pressure began to fill behind her eyes, which she ignored. She couldn't stop now, only two and a half more hours and she would be done for the morning. Walking to her phone she started playing music for The Nutcracker. Christmas was coming up, that meant so were auditions. Father made it clear the only acceptable role would be the Sugar Plum Fairy.

As much as she loved dancing, this was becoming too much for her. In the end it didn't matter. Taking a deep breath she went through the variation. She ignored the tightness in her right foot and the cramping in her arm. Again, it didn't matter.

She continued pushing through the pain and continued to dance, she moved gracefully around the room. It was then, in small moments like this where everything faded. Living in the moment all she felt was the music. She was thankful for those small moments, it reminded why she loved dancing in the first place.

That was until her leg gave out and stumbled to the floor. Panting she sat there for a moment. And the tears she tried to hold back, came out full force.

"Mei!" A loud voice came from behind her but she couldn't hear it over the ringing in her ears.

It was too much. The long hours, the rehearsals, the practices, all of it. A hand circled her waist pulling her up. Sitting with her knees to her chest she let her head fall against her knees. She was exhausted. So much that she couldn't feel her body. She couldn't even hear someone trying to speak with her.

Mei's eyes felt heavy as her vision went blurry. More voices were shouting but she couldn't make them out. She was tired, so tired. She didn't even try to fight it as she slipped unconscious.

A steady beeping noise filled the air. It was annoying. Mei couldn't figure out where it was coming from. She attempted to open her eyes but couldn't, they were too heavy. Where the fuck was she? The beeping increased going faster.

"Mei, jameela, I need you to calm down." Theo.

[beautiful]

Finally she got her eyes open to see him standing over her. Confusion filled her mind as she looked around seeing she was in the hospital.

"Get the doctor." Richard spoke to him but his eyes didn't leave hers. His hand came up brushing a strand of hair out of her face. She savored the feeling of his finger touching her skin.

"Malyshka, we were so worried about you."

[babygirl]

Worried? Why would they be worried about her?

A knock came from the door, "Ms. Yang, how are you feeling?"

There was a persistent pounding in her head that wouldn't go away and her body felt heavy with exhaustion. "Tired."

"You're going to feel that way for quite some time. Now there are some things I need to discuss with you, do you feel comfortable with everyone in the room or would you like to speak privately."

Richard looked as if the last thing he wanted to do was leave the room, his jaw ticked slightly as he looked at the doctor.

"They can stay." her voice was scratchy as she spoke. Wordlessly Richard brough a cup of water with a straw to her lips. He held the cup as she drank. "Thank you."