The Forgotten Ballerina

Three

Finally. The day we don't have rehearsal. It's our day off. Marissa is taking advantage of that. She has been asleep all day. I decided to go the store for some eggs. Then, on my way from store I noticed my gas was low, so I stopped by the gas station too.

I pumped my gas and wanted to get a drink too. I went inside and got a water. The boy from the cafe was my cashier. I tried not to make eye contact with him and as I come up to the register he looks up at me.

"Lilly." He says. I can't even believe he remembered my name. "Like the flower." I say nervously. He smiles "Cameron." The boy says. "Excuse me?" I ask. "That's my name. If you wanted to know." He replies.

I nod awkwardly and he hands me my change. He looks up at me. "Coming back to the cafe?" He asks, in attempt to make small talk. "Probably. Depends if I have rehearsal or not. Normally we go after but recently we've gotten take-out." I reply.

"Oh, rehearsal for what? Are you in a show?" He asks. I give a slight laugh. "Close. I'm a ballerina. We're having a competition in a little bit." I say. Cameron smiles and tilts his head. "A ballerina? Do you go to the studio by the theater?" He asks, I smiled.

"Yes, I do. It's a bit far away from my apartment but, it's worth pursuing my dream, y'know?" I say. "I get it. I moved here for modeling. Didn't have such great luck, walked in some shows, did some photo shoots, but never became as successful as I wanted." He said.

"Don't worry, your time will come soon." I say. Cameron smiles at me. "Well, have a good day and I hope to see you at the cafe soon." He winks. I grab my water and walk back to my car. I realized I left my phone in the car and I check my texts.

I had six messages from Marissa asking me where I was. I texted her back that I'll be home in a little bit. When I got home, she was sitting on the couch acting like it was 3:00am and I was coming home from a party. "Where were you?" She asked.

"Well, I went to the store and then had to get gas." She nods, wanting me to continue. "Then the boy from the cafe was my cashier." I whispered. "What?!" She yells. "Is that why you took so long? Did you guys talk? What did you guys talk about?" She rambled.

"Slow down! I bought a water and we talked about why we moved to New York. That's all." I replied. "Did he remember you?" She asks. "He did." Again, I reply. Marissa's face lights up and flashes a cheesy smile.

I roll my eyes and put the eggs in the fridge. "It's not like he fawned over me because I was buying a bottle of water, he just knew my name." I said. "Whatever. What did you guys talk about?" She asks.

"Well, I told him we're ballerinas and he talked about how he moved here because he wanted to be a model." I say. "And? Is he a model?" She asks. "Kind of. He said he's done a few photo shoots and walked in some shows but said he never got that far." I say.

Marissa smirks. "What?" I ask, confused. "Nothing." She says. I head to the door to my room and Marissa interrupts me leaving. "Just thinking out loud, he remembers your name, has small talk with you, tells you his life story, then brags about him being a model?" She says. "He likes you." She continues.

I shake my head and go to my room. "You know I'm right!" I hear her say behind my door.