Lie Until You Laugh

4- First Days

Tardiness will not be accepted. That’s what Stella told me anyway, that they are really tough on punctuality here at the school. That’s why on Monday morning, my first day of class, I wake up an hour early just to make sure that I won’t be late. She also told me that the instructors are scary sometimes, so I probably don’t want to piss them off or get on their bad sides.

I get dressed in a long sleeved pink t-shirt that is cropped so that it cuts off just above my belly button and a pair of gray sweat pants. It’s my last clean outfit that I have, so I’ll have to use some of the money that my uncle gave me to go buy some more, specifically workout clothes. He didn’t give me that much, only about $200 which seems like a lot, but not when I have to buy clothes and gas for my car. The food court here is free for students, which means that I won’t have to buy food so that’s nice at least. The shoes that I’m wearing are dirty and worn out. They’re ugly too- bright purple with hot pink shoe laces that I thought were cute when I was fifteen, when I bought the shoes. They were the only pair I grabbed from my closet as I was running though, so they’ll have to do until I can buy new ones.

“So because it’s a summer course, there’s not a lot of people here which means that there’s only two classes of dancers,” Stella explains as we walk through the beautiful campus towards the building. My heart is thumping in my chest, I’m so nervous, but I swallow it and ignore it as much as I possibly can. “One class is in the D building and the other class, the one that we’re in, is in the E building.”

“Okay,” I nod in understanding. “And thank you, Stella, for helping me learn my way around for the past few days. I really appreciate it.”

“Well, it comes with a price,” She giggles as we approach the building. “We have to be friends now and you have no choice in it.”

I laugh and we walk into the room that stenches of sweat and cleaning supplies and burnt rubber. There are people around the room stretching and talking in little groups around the room. Stella leads me towards a group of people as I look around the large room. There is a line of mirrors along one wall with a beam and then there’s a speaker system along one wall and then a door leading into another area, but it’s closed, so I don’t know where it leads.

“This is Sienna,” I hear Stella introduce me to somebody, so I turn my attention back to her and see two new faces looking at me. I blink at them and then remember to smile, so I do. The girl has long dark hair, like mine, and she’s chewing gum rather obnoxiously with her fingers spinning in her bangs. The boy beside her is exceptionally tall with long-ish curly hair and big lips- but somehow, his big lips make him attractive. “Sienna, these are my friends, Brian and Mason,” Stella informs me. They’re both boy names, but when she says Mason, she points to the brunette girl, so I assume that the girl’s name is Mason and the dirty blonde guy is Brian.

“Hi!” Mason (the girl) chirps. “So you’re the new roommate? That’s cool. I mean, it’s totally unfair that Stella gets a nice roommate when I’m stuck with the troll, but at least one of us is happy, right?”

Stella laughs, but I’m confused. “Mason is Ada’s roommate, who is best friends with Gianna.”

I recognize that second name, Gianna. “That’s your brother’s girlfriend, right?”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Stella groans. “But yes. I know it seems even more complicated now, let me try to break it down for you. My brother is dating Gianna and Mason is roommates with her equally evil sidekick, Ada. So stay away from them both, Gianna and Ada. They’re no good.”

“Noted,” I nod. It will be hard to stay away from them if I don’t know what they look like, but I don’t say anything about it.

“You probably want to stay away from Anthony too,” Mason tells me. “He’s kind of a dick too, no offense, of course, Stell.”