Princess of the Court

Chapter Four

There were sixteen girls in the Tsutsuji class of the Shiroi Hana dance school. The school had a uniform of sorts. The Tsutsuji class wore white leotards, skin colored tights, white slippers, and red wrap skirts. Red being the color for high school aged students. One step away from the coveted all white uniform of the adults. The girls stood along one of the studio's mirrored walls, lined up according to height. Majida stood at the back of the line. She was new to this school, but not to the position. It had been that way was since the growth spurts began in middle school. But until moving here the height difference wasn't as stark. She towered over some of the girls and was even taller than some of the male instructors. And with an aunt on her mother's side that was 6'2" she doubted that she'd stop growing now.

Majida glanced at her reflection in the mirrored walls and held back a sigh. Her figure was a fair bit broader than most of the other girls in this studio, and that was something she really wasn't used to. She had heard how some studios cherry picked their students. The moment a student's hips grew too wide, or breasts too large, she was pushed out of the program. Majida was a little wide at the hips, and had more muscle definition than most girls, but was still within the acceptable ranges for an American dancer her age. Here it was as if they were all specially picked because they had the "perfect" body for ballet. Majida wondered if she would even be allowed to enroll if not for her mother's friend. She certainly had no expectations to be picked for an important role. But perhaps it was for the best. Continuing dance was a part of the deal for being allowed to study abroad. She'd just muddle through in order to keep her mom off her back.

Their instructor, Tatsumi-sensei, was a gentle looking woman with a hard edge to her voice. She was rumoured to be older than she looked, but no one dared to confirm that rumor by asking. She performed a demonstration of the next drill and then stepped aside so that the first student could take their turn. As she watched the students dance she gave praise or chastisement as she deemed necessary. She was particularly harsh towards the girl who danced just before Majida.

"The show can not stop!" Tatsumi-sensei yelled, clapping her hands. "You must dance no matter what happens."

Red faced, the girl finished the movement and then scurried away. Her hair tie had spontaneously popped during a turn, causing her medium length hair to fall forward. Like usual the instructor said nothing when Majida danced. She always said nothing when Majida did well, and most of the time Majida did well enough. She may not have the "perfect" body but she had been dancing most her life. Her mother, intent on Majida following her footsteps, insisted upon the best teachers available in a given area. Though during times like this Majida wondered if she'd get better treatment if she sucked. Sucking meant that people wouldn't treat her like an anomaly.

Majida picked up the fallen hair tie after finishing the dance. She dropped it in a trash bin on her way to the back of the line. "Do you need help putting your hair back?" She quietly asked the girl in front of her. "I can braid it back for you if you like"

The girl squeaked a response. "N..no. I'm fine."

"If you say so," Majida responded sharply. Seeing the way the girl became tense made Majida angry. She immediately felt ashamed of herself for it. Not because she didn't deserve to be angry. This was the standard pattern. The teachers only spoke to her in order to chastise her and yet the students were scared shitless of her. She had been overly polite in order to put them at ease but despite joining the studio a month ago they still behaved like she was going to spontaneously combust. She had told herself that she wouldn't live down to their expectations.

She had told herself that she wouldn't live down to their expectations. But maybe it was time to drop the act. Holding in her true, more direct, nature only added to the stress. She'd pop at this rate. Especially since her escape, basketball, was becoming harder to grasp. If things went wrong she might not even be able to play on a team this year. And until then she had to put up with playing with the boys.