When Lightning Burns [COMPLETED]

Chapter 5: Number Swap

           

"Everyone, turn in your numbers."

Julie gladly gave up thirty–five as everyone else turned theirs in.

"I will read the new list in a moment. We will have our first cut in three weeks. Depending on the level of the overall class, this can be delayed. But most of the time, two or three people will be cut." The instructor looked out over the class. "Okay, here are the new rankings. Look at the people who surround you on each side. That is how good you are. Don't be surprised if you jumped way up or way down. This is based on the first two weeks here and not different judges from the auditions."

When the number assignments had been passed out, Julie gulped and looked down at her new paper—she was Female Five. That meant only four more people to beat out to be number one. She suppressed the grin at the big jump in ranking as she pinned it to her chest, aware of the muttering around her.

She looked up to see Rose pinning Twenty to her chest. Rose glared over at her. So any thought of being nice was gone.

Julie sighed. She didn't want to be friends with her again anyway; she couldn't trust her. But it had been nice knowing that Rose wasn't going to be actively gunning for her. That had changed now.

"The girls in the top six will practice a little extra with me. There is a benefit coming up for the main company that we will perform in one month, just prior to Thanksgiving. You are expected to participate."

"But Thanksgiving?" Female Four protested.

The teacher eyed her. "If you can't work holidays, this is not the right career for you. Do you want to quit now and bump everyone up? I'm sure there are plenty who would like that."

The girl bit her lip and shook her head.

"Be prepared. If you are still in the top twelve, I will expect you here for Christmas too. These benefits for the school are an opportunity. You will perform in front of people who may hire you at the end of the year." The teacher shrugged. The tight bun that pulled at the skin on her face moved as she spoke. "You will still have a few days off after to go home and see family. Don't worry. But people want entertainment on holidays. It's what we do."

Julie tuned the rest out. What did she care about the holidays? The last thing she wanted to do was go to Seelie Island. If she couldn't go because of this, her family would understand and not expect her to be there. She looked at the other girls in her group. Number One was still the same girl. Julie would love and hate to be in her shoes.

The rest of the day went by quickly. Rory and Luke stayed away as promised, and she was able to get through all her tutoring work. The one–on–one classes actually seemed to make her study faster. It felt like she was flying through her lessons. Her teachers said that she might be able to finish the high school courses early and asked her about college. They pulled out pamphlets on online courses that she could do while traveling as a dancer and a college with a strong dance program. There were many ways to earn a degree that might take longer but that she could do as a dancer. She wouldn't be surprised if her parents were pushing that. But she was adamant that she wouldn't be going for a while.

The elders were true to their word and left her alone. It was as if Seelie never existed. During the upcoming three–day break she may need to go back to visit her family, but otherwise she could forget that place existed.

Finally Friday rolled around, and she wasn't surprised to find Rory waiting for her outside the tutoring center again. She shook her head but dutifully went over to him.

He stared at her for a minute as she stopped in front of him, as if dazed.

"So," she said.

"Uh, yeah." He blinked. "Let's go. Do you want to change again?"