The Dying Swan

Chapter 2

June 3, 2042

(1:00 a.m) 

"Mom?" Alina asked as she opened the door to her hotel room. "Mom I have to tell you something." 

Alina put her shoes beside the door to remind herself where she put them. She walked into the small two bed room. Her mother had not allowed her to rent a nice hotel to stay in because her mother didn't want her wasting her money on "wasteful things". Though Alina thought the place smelled of old perfume. 

She set her bag filled with her warm-up clothing and pointe shoes on the small kitchens countertop. As like most hotel rooms in New York City, the room smelled either old or like fresh paint. Alina would never say this to her mother but this place looked like a place where the Corp de ballet would stay, not the principals. 

Alina laid down on her bed closet to the countertop beside her. She thought the place was awful though had to admit the feathered down bed was lovely. 

"Alina?" Her mother said from what sounded like the bathroom. 

"I'm in here mom," She called. 

Alina sat up and crossed her legs. She had to look like she actually had the energy to go through a discussion with her. She was going to be honest with her mother about the movie, despite her fear of what her mother might say about it. 

Svetlana entered the darker living/bedroom area to find Alina lying on her bed. She thought her daughter looked rather tired, though she could easily tell her frail little girl was very tired.

"Mom I have to tell you something," Alina said making her mother nervous with her daughter's odd behavior.

Alina stared into her mother's nervous brown eyes. She could tell that her mother probably thought that she had gotten pregnant or something. Or maybe that she had murdered someone? No, she'd never do either thing. Why on earth would she murder someone? She was getting off topic, she had to get her head back into what she had to tell her. 

"What did you do?" Her mother asked her in a rather vexed voice.

"I didn't do anything," Alina said. "I got an offer to..."

"A company offer?" Svetlana asked before her daughter could finish what she was going to tell her. 

Svetlana walked over to her daughter, she sat next to her on the bed. Alina sat up straight to make herself look like she actually had power over her mother. Though that was not true at all, if it were she'd had have her mother move out as soon as she made second soloist. 

"No, I got an offer to work on a movie," Alina told her mother in a timid tone. 

Her mother gave her a look that didn't say much. She looked like a member of the audience when she did a complicated dance movement, or rather just didn't come in on time, which was rare of course. 

"A director by the name of Martin Lord asked me to work on his new film Black Swan." She explained. "He said that he wanted an actual ballet dancer to work play the lead in his movie. And I told him yes," 

Svetlana got up staring at her daughter dead in the eye. Alina was a bit afraid of the way her mother may react to her, she looked at her as if she'd actually murdered someone. Instead of the fact she just wanted to become an actress. 

"What did you do?" Svetlana asked her daughter in a discernible look to her face. "Think of your career! You'd leave your career to act in a movie that sounds like Swan Lake but dark and probably filled with sex! I don't want you in that situation! Alina think of your career, you could end up fired from the company!" 

As Alina knew she would be upset at this however, there is one way to get whatever she wanted. All she had to do was to cry in front of her mother and she'd get what she wanted. However, she knew that if she did this now she'd end up in trouble for lying to get what she wanted. She knew her mother well, a little too well actually. 

"Mommy I want to become an actress," Alina pleaded. "Please, it isn't like I won't be dancing either. Plus some dancers will leave the company for years on end and come back in the same position! Remember Merina she had a baby and didn't come back to the company for nearly three years!" 

"Yes," Her mother admitted. "However, she had an excuse that was worthy and a movie is not a good reason to put your career on hold."  

Alina began to cry as her mother began to talk to herself about how stupid and irresponsible the director or producer was to want her daughter in this movie.

"Mommy please," Alina cried. "I just want to be a movie star once, I promise I will still perform as much as I can. Please?" 

Svetlana sat beside of her daughter and wrapped her arms around her, with Alina doing the same in return. This was what normally happened when Alina wanted something her mother wouldn't give her, she'd cry, then she'd get what she wanted. 

"Alina," Svetlana began. "I want you to do something different, but I need to know why you'd ever want to leave the life you have just to make a movie. Documentaries are perfectly fine..." 

"Mommy this is a movie, documentaries are where camera's follow me while I dance and rehearse." Alina explained. "I want to act, like movie stars do in big screen movies. Why can't I?" 

Svetlana sighed obviously going to give into what her daughter was begging. "I'll allow you to do this movie, but if this is too difficult for you. You promise me you will drop out?" 

Her daughter smiled at her in a sweet and innocent way. "I promise." Alina replied. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sorry this was so short but next chapter will have a very long part! So whatever! Enjoy! 

Hope ♦