The Ballerina

Chapter 5

I didn't pay attention in any of my classes and I zoned out during lunch. Part of me wanted to actually just go to sleep, but there was another part of me that just wanted to be consumed by darkness and never come out.
I walked into Mrs. Anderson's classroom and Niña already sitting down. I took my seat beside her, pretending as if I didn't see her at all.
"Where were you yesterday," she asked.
"I left," I said.
"Yeah, I know, but where did you-"
"Do you ever shut the hell up," I screamed, irritated. I got up from my seat and walked out of the classroom, with no one trying to stop me.
I paced in the hallway, feeling on edge and wanting to punch something.
The door opened and when I looked up I met Niña's eyes. She was furious. "What the hell was that? I was just asking you damn question, there was no need to throw a hissy fit!"
I didn't respond, she didn't need to know my life story.
Niña tapped her foot against the floor, crossing her arms and pursing her lips. "I'm waiting for an answer," she said.
I laughed. "You are such a hypocrite. You expect me to tell you my life story, yet you refuse to tell me yours," I said, starting walking away from her.
"I do ballet," she said simply.
"What the fu-"
"Yesterday, you asked me what kind of dance I did, so I'm answering you. I do ballet," she said, cutting me off.
I turned around and stared at her, astonished. "How long have you been dancing," I asked.
"Um, I think since I was three, I don't really remember though," she said, sitting down on the floor and leaning back against the wall.
"So what was your childhood like," I asked, sitting beside her.
"Well my mom worked as a ballerina for quite sometime, but then she decided to become a teacher. My dad works as a dance choreographer, so we move a lot."
"Does he not have his own studio," I ask.
Niña shakes her head. "Directors always want him choreographing their stuff."
"Oh."
"Yeah. What about you," she asked.
"What about me," I asked.
"What was your childhood like?"
I gulped and started tensing up again. I felt like I was about to have a painic attack. Just breathe, just breathe. "I'm adopted."
"Oh that sucks, but at least you were-"
"So what studio do you dance at," I asked, changing the subject.
"Brooklyn Royals," she says.
I force a smile onto my face. "Well then I guess I'll have to go and watch sometime."
"Oh no you won't," Niña said, laughing. "I'm horrible, you wouldn't want to watch, trust me."
"I doubt that you're that terrible," I chuckled.
She laughed and playfully hit me in the arm. "You weren't supposed to agree with me."
"You are so confusing," I said, smiling.
She laughed. "Shut up."
"No," I said.
"Yes," Niña smiled.
"No."
"Yes."
I pinned her arms against the wall and got on top of her. I glanced down at her lips, wanting to kiss her so badly. Students started flooding out of the classrooms and I got off of her, letting go of her arms. "See you next period," I told her, going back inside to get my backpack.
"We can always just walk together," she said.
"Um yeah sure," I said uneasily, I wanted a damn cigarette and maybe a beer. "Just hurry up, I don't want to be late."
Niña turned around and smiled. "Says the boy who ditched two periods."
I didn't respond, she was gorgeous when she smiled, if only she would do it more often. Niña grabbed her bag from the table and slung it over her shoulder.
"Sorry if was a touchy subject... I really need to start thinking before I say things," she said, looping her arm around mine. Niña leaned on me slightly, but it wasn't enough to knock me off balance. She laid her head on my shoulder.
"You like being close to people, don't you," I asked.
She shrugged. "I guess I like to cuddle and be close to people," she looked up, "unlike some people."
"I'm good at talking about myself," I hesitated, " too many painful memories."
"I'm sorry, I didn't-" she started.
"It's fine."
We walked in silence the rest of the way to Mr. Michaelson's language arts class. Niña took a seat next to me, I didn't sit by Vincent and Charlie like I usually did.
She scribbled something down on a piece of paper. "Hey," it read.
I grinned. "Hey," I wrote, passing the paper back to her.
"You were right, I hate Mr. Michaelson."
"I told you that you would," I wrote. "Are you free this Saturday?"
I watched as she wrote each letter. "No, I have ballet."
"Do you have it everyday it something?"
"Yeah, I'm playing Odette and Odlie in Swan Lake."
"You must be pretty good then," I wrote.
"I suppose..."
"Okay I need your phone number."
Niña scribbled down her phone number and quickly handed me the paper under our desks. She pretended to be writing in her journal as Mr. Michaelson walked by.
He faked a smile. "I see you've made a new friend, Niña."
"Yep," she answered, plastering a fake smile on her face.
"Don't let him get you in trouble now," he said and walked back to his desk.
Niña rolled her eyes. "He's so annoying," she wrote on the corner of her paper.
I chuckled lightly. "Tell me about it."
I watched as she worked, her hair covering her face. On an occasion she would stop writing and tuck it behind her ear, before continuing to write again. Niña's eyes were focused on her paper her eyes darting across the page just like her hand. She wrote quickly as if she were rushing to get through it. Niña pursed her lips and stopped writing for a slight second, I assume to decide what she was going to write next.
"You have been staring at me for the past fifteen minutes," she stated.
"No I haven't," I say, quickly darting my eyes away from her and on to my own paper.
"I am not an idiot," she said sternly.
"I never said that you were," I responded.
"I can sense extremely well when someone is staring at me, so don't deny that you were not."
"I am not denying anything," I say.
Niña carefully places her pencil down on her desk, before looking up and glaring at me. Her head was slightly angled forward, so she had to look up. Her lips were pursed slightly and her teeth were clenched, making her cheek bones more defined than usual. She tapped her fingernails rhythmically on on her desk.
I blinked a couple times and shook my head. "I- um- uh-" I said still dazed.
Niña cracked a smile. "You were totally staring at me," she paused. "It was actually pretty cute, I guess- in a way, a bit creepy though."
"Creepy in a good way our a bad way," I asked, regretting it immediately after I said it.
"Well unless you take the stalkerish kind of creepy a good way, I would say creepy in a bad way..." she trailed off.
"Oh."
"It was cute though," she hesitated, " and extremely intense. No one has looked at me like that before," she says, looking back down at her paper.
I knew she was trying to hide the fact that she was blushing, but I could saw it before she hid her face away with all of her hair. She was smiling like a little kid on Christmas day, which I found adorable.
"I find that hard to believe," I say, wishing that she would show me beautiful face instead of hiding it away from me.
"W-why," Niña stuttered still not looking up from her paper.
"You're beautiful and," I tucked her hair behind her ear. "And you're-"
The bell rang and she moved away from my hand that was resting on her cheek. Niña packed up her things quickly. She slung her bag over her shoulder. "I should probably get going," she said, not looking up at me. "I don't want to be late for my next class," she said nervously, walking out off the room before I could say a single word.