Baker Boy

Chapter Seven

When the students arrived at the studio that morning, the appraisal results had been stuck on the mirror by the door. McKayla rushed to check the list, dropping her bag in the middle of the dance floor.

Kicking the duffle aside, Julia and Cass ran over to join her, trailing their fingers down the boxes as they searched for their names.

"I got the Fairy Godmother!" squealed Julia.

"Which cast?" asked Daniel, their classmate.

"Cast one, the first show!" She grabbed him by the arm, jumping about and pulling him along.

Casillith tapped Andy's shoulder, making her jump a little. "You've got Cinderella, cast one," she said.

"Cassie's got Cinderella cast two, and I've got Cinderella cast three!" shrieked McKayla.

Julia came over to the three of them, her face crimson from her mad war dance. "So who are your princes?" She wiggled her eyebrows as she nudged McKayla.

McKayla flashed Casillith a sly smile. "She's got Lee."

Almost on cue, Casillith looked down, blushing as red as Julia's flushed face just as Lee walked into the studio, dragging Jaxton with him in an uncomfortable headlock. Andy broke off from the group to check the lists for herself.

"You've got Oliver La Morte, McKayla," announced Andy. She moved aside as one of the girls in their class came up to check her casting. "And I've got Ethan Anthony James," she muttered to herself.

Madame Carolyn entered the room, clapping her hands to get everyone's attention. "Dancers, you've all seen your casting. Now, you're required to report to your respective studios. If you have both a main role and an understudy part – which should be the same roles – go to the studio assigned to your main role."

Picking up her duffle, Andy headed out to get to the largest rehearsal studio in the school – which also included a long stair climb to level seven of the academy. By the time she got into the studio, Andy was out of breath and lacking energy.

Richard Kensington was already in the room, seated on a stool by the front mirror. He stood as the students filed in, gathering in groups, and mingling with each other. Prowling around in a loose circle, he made his presence felt by the dancers, daring them to speak.

When he returned to the front of the room, he picked up his water bottle and took a drink, his eyes still scanning the crowd. Andy's lungs felt like they were on the verge of caving in.

Richard Kensington conducted a strenuous warm-up and Andy pushed herself to be perfect. However, all she managed to do was avoid his criticism.

He gave the dancers five minutes to rest before starting on the pieces. Andy rushed to swap her canvas flats for her pointe shoes and do a few rises to get comfortable.

Then Principal Richard demanded the attention of the class once more. "Children," he addressed them, a room of twelve to eighteen year-olds. "Can I see Cinderella, the Fairy Godmother, and the Prince at the front now? For the rest of you, move to the sides."

Andy pushed her way to the front to stand with Ethan and Julia.

"Stepmom or stepsister?" asked Principal Kensington, pointing his pen at Andy.

"Cinderella," she replied, her voice much less confident than she would have liked.

He took in a sharp breath. "Well then, young lady," he folded his hands behind his back. "I have very high expectations of you, pray you don't disappoint me."

"Yes sir," squeaked Andy.

They learnt the dances in a reversed order, starting with the wedding scene then the ball. To say that Andy was drained was a gross understatement.

Dancing in front

"Can you move?" Julia prodded Andy with her foot.

Rolling over, Andy moaned as her aching muscles cried out, wailing like banshees. Her legs were burning, her lungs on the verge of collapse, and her core desperately wanting to fold itself into oblivion.

She skipped the technique class at eight since she was feeling like a steamroller had just ploughed through her. Every muscle hurt as she walked back to her dorm. It took all of her remaining willpower to stagger back to her dorm.

Andy ran a hot bath, enjoying a long soak that soothed her pain only for a short moment. Spending the night sprawled on her bed reading a ballet magazine after a warm bath, Andy gave her aching body some time to relax.

"Andy! Andy Harper!" Julia smashed open the door, slamming it against the wall. She burst into the room, a crazed look in her eyes.

Andy read the last paragraph of the article she was on before setting down her magazine. "What?" she snapped.

"You forgot about your shift at the Brew House!" she exclaimed.

That set Andy off. She let out a string of curses as she dug around for her phone. Her mind was racing. How was Sarah coping without her? Mentally screaming, she dialled Sarah's hand phone number.

"Hello?" Sarah asked when she picked up.

"Sarah, hi," Andy said, searching for a white button-up shirt to wear. "How is it? Are you alright?"

There was a pause and Andy feared the worst.

"It's fine actually, just a few customers, very little orders. It's a quiet night."

"So you're fine?" asked Andy, feeling extremely guilty.

"It's fine, I'm fine, the Brew House is fine – but are you fine?" Sarah drawled. "One of your friends came in earlier – Jaxton, I believe – he told me that you were drained. You better rest."

"I'll open tomorrow. Don't worry."

"Sleep early and get the rest you need. Goodnight, Andy."

After returning her phone to the charger on her nightstand, she moved her bag and magazine off the bed and laid down properly, tucking herself in. Andy was so tired, she fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.