Lily in the Shadows

Chapter 3 (Edited)

 Waking up bright and early Lily gets up and gets dressed in some stretchy pants and a light shirt. She begins to stretch, she stretches her legs, her arms, her wrists and ankles, and her neck. She stretches for an hour, working her splits and extending her body.

Feeling like she has stretched the best she can Lily goes downstairs where her family is eating breakfast. While eating her aunt turns towards her, reaching out for her hand.

"Lily dear, I called Mrs. Matelyn and she says that there is room in her stretch class, ballet class, and tap class. I've signed you up for all three and we will be leaving in an hour. Classes start at nine. Finish your food and get ready."

Lily nods along, happy to be going to class. "Yes ma'am." She finishes her eggs and stands and helps with the dishes. Rushing upstairs she showers and begins to get ready. She pulls on a black leotard and some black leggings. She grabs a bag she shoving in a pair of shorts and a different shirt along with her different pairs of dance shoes. Her aunt calls her to come to the car and she rushes down.

The ride to the studio is quiet, and Lily is nervous about meeting new people and having to dance in front of them. Once they arrive the two walk into the studio, Lily holding Petunia's hand nervously. A bright and chirpy woman sits at the front desk, typing on the computer. Noticing then she stops typing, greeting them with a cheerful hello.

"My name is Maudie, but you can call me Mrs. Marven. You must be Lily, it is so nice to meet you, I've heard so much about you from both your aunt and Mrs. Matelyn. Speaking of which, here she is now.

A very, very tall woman walks into the office-like area from a back hall. She also, excluding the fact that she is indeed very tall, carries herself with lots of grace and poise. Her brown hair, pulled back into a bun so tight it could rival Professor McGonagall's, striking blue eyes burning into Lily's soul, seeming to read every dreaded thought or slight worry she may feel. She is mighty intimidating though it loses its effectiveness as her face breaks into a smile.

"Petunia, it is so good to see you!" Mrs. Matelyn exclaims, hugging Petunia, turning their gazes to the girl standing nearby.

Petunia wraps an arm around Lily's shoulders, stepping beside her, and guiding her forward. "Marie, this is Lily. She's going to be in some of your classes."

Reaching out, Marie and Lily shake hands. "It is so nice to meet you, dear, your aunt has told me so much about you. We are going to have a lot of fun together, let us introduce you to the others."

Lily turns to Petunia hugging her while Petunia hands, her lunch in a little brown bag. They hug, and Lily follows Mrs. Matelyn down the hall to a classroom full of students. Mrs. Matelyn claps her hands, gaining everyone's attention.

"Everyone, I would like to introduce you to our newest student, Miss. Lily Dursley," Before Lily can correct her Mrs. Matelyn continues. "I hope you are all very welcoming and hospitable."

A few girls and boys walk over and introduce themselves, inviting her to stand at their barre. They begin to stretch nearby until they are called to do barre stretches with instruction. They do their stretches and some jumps, everyone either barefoot or in ballet flats. Looking around she notices that a lot of the people in her class can stretch farther and go lower than she is. Auntie was right, I'm not as good as everyone else. I need to work twice as hard if I want to be as good as I used to be.

From that moment forward Lily pushes herself even harder, trying to go deeper into her stretches and higher into her jumps. A bell rings, indicating that their hour of ballet barre is over and she follows two of her classmates Steven and Dani to their next class, Jazz.