Savannah stood up and smoothed her dress out. Dallas fell out of the bathroom. She got up and stumbled to her bed.
"Dallas! Holy shit, you scared me," said Savannah. "Are you drunk already?"
"Hah, no. That's what the roof party's for!" said Dallas.
"Is that what you're wearing?" Savannah attempted to remove her judgmental tone mid-sentence.
Dallas was wearing a red dress that cut out and showed her itty bitty waist at both sides. It ended right under her butt and showed too much skin for Savannah's motherly approval. Her hair was straightened and she had on dark red lipstick. Savannah was wearing a white strapless dress and her hair was curled.
"I look hot," said Dallas checking herself out in the full length mirror.
"Come on. We're leaving," Savannah grabbed Dallas's arm and led her out of the room.
"Don't forget about my dare, Sav." Dallas winked.
•••
Savannah breathed a sigh of relief once Abigail was in her line of sight up on the roof. She had been tense and nervous about this.
Abigail hugged her and said, "Hey! Who's this?"
"I'm Dallas." Dallas stuck out her hand to shake.
"Abigail. I really love your dress!" said Abigail.
Dallas turned to Savannah and said "I fold you I looked good." She was now strutting around and posing ridiculously on the stairs.
Abigail motioned for Savannah to follow her. Suddenly she felt her heart beat in her wrists.
Savannah grabbed Dallas' arm. "Dallas, please don't get drunk, die, or get pregnant at this party, alright? I'm gonna go. I'll see you around," said Savannah.
"You got it, homie."
Abigail and Savannah linked arms and walked to the drinks table.
"What a girl!" exclaimed Abigail.
"Yeah, sorry about her. She's crazy sometimes."
Abigail shook her head. "All good." The two of them stood together and observed the party until Abigail said "Oh I love this song! Dance with me?"
Savannah followed her to the dance floor and soon they were both dancing and jumping to the heavy bass of the song.
Savannah searched the crowd for Dallas, half expecting her to have her back pressed against a stranger. Instead she spotted Henry. She waved at him and he approached her.
"Henry! This is Abigail. She's in ballet with me."
Abigail and Henry exchanged quick hellos and then Henry was off to find Dallas.
When the song ended, Abigail and Savannah took a seat on the benches.
"That Henry guy. You into him?" asked Abigail, slyly.
"No," said Savannah, laughing awkwardly.
"Alright. Are there any boys in your life then?"
"I had a boyfriend for a bit. His name was Jeremy. But it's over now, gladly," replied Savannah.
"Savannah and Jeremy. Huh. It doesn't have a ring to it."
"What about you? Boyfriends?"
"Nah, I'm waiting for the perfect person."
Savannah nodded. "Mhm."
"God, it's so loud," laughed Abigail. "Want to go to my room?"
Yes! Please! "Sure," Sav smiled and they got up.
•••
When they got to Abigail's room, the two sat face to face on Abigail's bed and talked about their families and friends. The topic moved to their dream-professions.
Abigail said "I love ballet but I don't want to do this for the rest of my life. I think I want to be an engineer. I just feel a little bad because I'm here at DAAPA. My spot is valuable and someone probably deserves it more than me. Y'know?"
"I understand why you wouldn't want to do ballet forever. It's so risky just because we depend so heavily on our bodies. It definitely takes a toll on us."
Abigail nodded.
Savannah looked outside the window and saw a group of people stumbling back to their dorm buildings. They were giggling and linked together like a chain of plastic monkeys. Abigail and Savannah had been talking for longer than they'd thought.
"Looks like the party's over," said Abigail. "If you want, you can stay here for a bit longer. My room mate Sage isn't getting back 'til late."
"Yeah. I'll do that," Savannah climbed over to sit next to Abigail on the bed.
"Netflix?" asked Abigail. She grabbed her laptop.
"What do you want to watch?"
"You pick," said Abigail.
"No, you pick."
Abigail laughed and said "I'm going with my senses." She closed her eyes and moved her finger over the mouse. She clicked until she had chosen one and Savannah instinctively grabbed Abigail's hand to stop her. Abigail's eyes opened and Savannah quickly removed her hand.
Abigail had selected a romance movie called Anatomy of a Love Scene.
They settled in and got comfortable on Abigail's bed and the movie started.
•••
"Where's Savannah?" asked Henry.
"Don't know." She checked her phone and said, "Oh she texted me. She's at Abigail's. She's gonna stay there for a while."
The two started a game of cards in the commons room.
•••
It turned out Abigail had picked a romance movie, which neither had much of a problem with, it just featured two women, something they were both unfamiliar with.
When the movie finished, they let the credits play. Abigail's head was resting on Savannah's shoulder.
Savannah looked down at her. All she could see was her hair and her smooth skin, which was illuminated by the laptop light.
I think I could stay here forever with her.
Savannah had the urge to hold her, to be close, but she didn't understand why or how. What did she want?
It came to her. I want to kiss her.
Then, as if Abigail had read her thoughts, she looked up into Savannah's eyes, giving her the perfect opportunity, and Savannah kissed her.
YOU ARE READING
Pointe Shoes, Pen Ink, and Rosin
JugendliteraturThree students meeting at a school for the arts. They connect and build a friendship stronger than anyone would have ever imagined. A ballet dancer A cello player And a writer.