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TEXTS AND CALLS AND FEELINGS

NEW YORK 2023 - PRECISION DANCE COMPANY

Violet had been dancing for about 8 hours already. Her dance teacher had decided some Saturdays would be full intensive dancing from now on. So she has found herself here this new competition training season. It was 7 already, and finally her teacher had decided it was okay to let them go.

She quickly grabbed her water bottle and took a sip, waving to a few of her teammates as they left the studio. Violet knew they would see each other on Tuesday again, but the idea that most of them were older, and some on their last season, made her wish she had more time to be with this team. Being 13, she had been added just 2 years ago, with Sora. She spent the first year participating in very few dances, but as time went on, and every girl helped her get better and better, she was soon considered a full time member, just when Alina and Kalani joined them as well.

Alina came running towards her, face red from practice. She wore a big grin, like always, and her phone was stretched towards her.

"Vivi! We're going over to Lani's house." She showed Violet her phone, who saw a dance audition ad on Instagram. "We are definitely talking about that by the way." She smirked at Violet. Alina and Kalani had recently decided they wanted to audition more when it came to dance. They were slowly deciding that they were in when it came to dance, and getting auditions to programs and training camps was the way to get better and better.

"Let me text May." She sank down to her bag and retrieved her phone. May did not usually check up on her at dance, and would call if she ever stayed too late. But May was getting used to the longer practices that were slowly becoming the usual, as much as Violet had still not.

As soon as she clicked on her chat with May, a text from her social worker, Marissa, popped up.

MARISSA: I need to talk to you first thing in the morning tomorrow.

Violet couldn't help but feel a knot of worry tightening in her stomach as she glanced down at her phone. It was unusual to receive a text from her on a Saturday evening, especially since they had just talked that morning

She let out a sigh, her fingers trembling slightly as she put the phone away. Her friends, Sora, Kalani, and Alina, were gathered around her now, clearly waiting for Violet before they all headed to get changed out of their leotards.

"What's wrong, Vivi?" Sora asked, her dark eyes filled with concern as she noticed the look on Violet's face. "Did May say no?"

"It's Marissa," Violet said. "She wants to meet with me tomorrow morning. That's never happened on a Sunday before."

Kalani, furrowed her brow in confusion. "Why does your social worker need to see you on a Sunday, Vi? Is everything okay?"

Violet shrugged, trying to hide the worry that was growing into her. "I don't know, Lani. She didn't say why. But she wants to talk first thing in the morning, and it means I can't stay over at your place tonight."

Alina whined, but right after gave Violet a reassuring smile clearly noticing the mood of disappointment on everyone's face. "Maybe it's just some paperwork she forgot this morning or a random state related check-in. Don't worry too much, Vivi."

Sora nodded in agreement. "Yeah, maybe it's nothing serious. And don't worry, we can Facetime until late!"

Kalani reached out and squeezed Violet's hand gently. "Don't stress too much, okay? We'll find a way to make up for the sleepover."

As Violet tried to push aside her concerns and focus on finishing changing out of her dance clothes, the nervousness inside her continued to grow. What if they were moving her?

After getting changed, Violet and her friends piled into Kalani's car for the ride home. Violet appreciated the distraction of her friends' company as they chatted about their day, but she couldn't shake the unease that still lingered from Marrisa's message. And the night before.

"Guys, you won't believe what happened last night," she said, her voice tinged with confusion.

Sora glanced at her from the passenger's seat. "Tell us."

Violet leaned back in her seat, staring out of the window as she recounted the evening. "So, Grace came over for dinner, and everything was fine at first. But then, out of nowhere, she started asking these really weird questions."

Kalani, who was sitting next to Violet, turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "Weird questions? Like what?"

Violet hesitated, struggling to put the strange conversation into words. "Well, she started asking about my birth parents, you know? I mean, I've told her before that I don't really know much about them, but she kept pressing. She wanted to know if I had tried hard enough to find them."

Alina, who was sitting in the backseat, furrowed her brow. "That is kind of weird. Why would she suddenly be so interested in your birth parents?"

Violet shrugged. "I don't know. It's just strange. And it made me so upset."

Sora chimed in, her voice soft and understanding. "Violet, don't let her overwhelm you. She probably just wanted to make you feel bad."

Violet nodded, appreciating the reassurance. The questions that Grace had asked had stirred up a whirlwind of emotions, and she knew she needed time to process them.

NEW YORK - SCARLETT JOHANSSON'S PENTHOUSE

Scarlett's conversation with Ryan still lingered the next day. She would find herself distracted all Saturday, thinking about why someone had tried contacting Ryan. Rose straight up pointed it out when she forgot her kids were supposed to spend the night at her sister's, and as soon as Colin got home, she saw how he would look her way, trying to ask her what was wrong.

Scarlett sat in the cozy living room of her home, her fingers nervously tapping on the armrest of her chair. Her current husband, Colin, had been silently watching a movie next to her, but he could feel the tension in her body. After a deep sigh, she finally spoke, her voice trembling with a mixture of anxiety and sadness.

"Colin, I can't stop thinking about that call I had with Ryan earlier. You know, about Esther and that whole investigation."

Colin shifted to look at her, concern in his features. "What did he say exactly?"

Scarlett swallowed hard. "He said that the detective contacted him about Esther's case. They're reopening it, looking into what happened. It's been so many years, and I just can't help but feel like something is going to happen."

Colin reached out and took her hand, offering a reassuring squeeze. "Scarlett, this could mean anything, especially right now, that people are so obsessed with unsolved cases. Maybe they are revisiting it, or maybe they found something. But neither Ryan, or your team would hide it from you. Well find out if anything happened, but don't get worked up over it. I hate to see you like this."

Tears welled up in Scarlett's eyes as she leaned into Colin's comforting presence. "I know, Colin, but it's just... It's been so long, and I thought I had moved on."

Colin gently wiped away her tears with his thumb. "You're allowed to still feel whatever you feel at that situation."

Scarlett nodded, a mix of gratitude and sadness in her gaze. "You're right, I just wish I knew what happened."

They sat in silence for a moment, both lost in their thoughts. Scarlett couldn't shake that strange feeling as much as she tried. 

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Short update but I wanted to get this moving a little bit. I feel like this will be a little fast-paced, just because I really want them to meet each other already. Thank you so much for reading my first story, and please feel welcomed to let me know whatever you think!