To Catch Your Fall | Heathoah

6. First Class

A/N: Mention of child abuse

(Flashback)

Heath

Why Kate asks her students to run her classes for her, I don't know. I asked my dad about it once, and he said it's because she's something called a "cheap bitch". Whatever that means. All I know is that I shouldn't say it around mom. My butt felt sore for hours after the spanking she gave me. 

We've been given James, one of the a-troupers, to teach us today, along with this new girl he was talking about, but she isn't here yet. Michelle, I think that's what he said her name is. Well, I hope she turns up soon, cause Oswald is being even more stupid than usual today, and trying to ignore him by listening to James is not helping. 

It usually does, I don't know why. Maybe it's cause all the girls call him "cute", so I know he's objectively more appealing to watch than Oswald. He's talking to Noah for some reason though, which I find weird. Aside from Richelle, Noah normally doesn't talk to anyone. He spends most of his time before and in between rehearsals reading whatever book he's on for the week.

No time to think about that anyway, as a blonde girl walk in. She looks to be around James' age, maybe a year or two older. Her curls go down most of her back, stopping just above her butt, which is covered by a pair of hot-pink leggings. Oswald seems to appreciate this, judging by the way he bites his lip, and I just roll my eyes at his predictable reaction. 

"Sorry I'm late James. I hadn't been told where studio-j is before." She pants, walking over to our other teacher. Guess this is Michelle then. 

"It's fine Michelle. Don't even worry about it." He throws a wink at her, making a few of the j-troupe girls blush, but she just slightly shoves him.

I hear Oswald mutter something along the lines of; "Great, she's not interested in him." 

Right, as if she'd go for a scrawny 13-year-old instead. I catch Noah's eye, who also shakes his head at the idiot, making me smile. His face looks a bit pink though. Maybe he was stretching before James came in?

After a few minutes, we start. Kate entered us in a small competition with a-troupe, so we've been working on a routine for the last 2 weeks. At first, James leads us through it, but after the first 20 minutes, he let's Michelle take over. Probably trying to let her get used to it. 

It doesn't sound like that bad of an idea. But, when you have a Richelle in your class, you can't really afford to screw up. And, Michelle did that a-lot...like a-lot!

"We're supposed to turn our arm this way, not that way!"

"You're going too slow. This is meant to be a fast section!"

"How are you even in a-troupe if you can't teach a simple routine like this?!"

With each insult and correction, I could see the vein at the side of Michelle's head bulge bigger. That last comment finally made her snap though. 

She stops mid-turn and stomps over to Richelle. All of us watch, some in slight-terror and some intrigued. I'm just sick of this rehearsal constantly being interrupted really. Michelle crouches down to Richelle's, pretty short, height and looks her dead in the eye.

"If you think you're so much better than me, you little brat, then why don't you try running this rehearsal yourself then? Oh right, you're too young and not good enough to even go up to b-troupe. Which is pretty sad, cause Emily has yapped a-lot about you and said that you are, what, almost 14? And yet you're still in the second lowest class in the studio."

James has decided to step in now and gets up from where he was leaning on the wall. 

"Michelle, I think that's-"

"No, it's fine James. Let her try to seem cool to a bunch of, as she called us, 'lower classes', by saying all this shit to me." She smiles smugly at him before turning back to Michelle. "Cause it's pretty funny watching her be so delusional into thinking that she made it onto a-troupe for any other reason than the Head Choreographer wanting to fuck her."

Through all of this, I was just picking at my nails and waiting for it it be over. But, even I lookup when the sound of a huge slap fills the room. Everyone looks at the image of Michelle, hand in the air, in-front of a teary-eyed Richelle, who is holding her reddening cheek. 

"What the fuck is wrong with you?! My eyes widen as Noah speaks up for once and rushes over to pull his best-friend away from her attacker. Richelle's lips wobble and she buries her face into his chest. His eyes are like a wolf's and he looks ready to return the favour to Michelle. "James, I swear, if you don't get this prick out of here in he next second-"

"I'm already on it." His voice kind of sends a shiver to my chest. James has always been a very light-hearted and chilled-back person. (Most of the time to the frustration of Emily). So, to hear him genuinely sound pissed sends me a bit off-balance.

He grips tightly onto Michelle's wrist, who's face looks like she realised what she just did, and drags her out of the room. Leaving some, slightly scarred, teenagers behind.