July of 2009. Lilly had earned the role of Odette and Odile, the two swans, one pure and one evil.
Ms. Tina had a different take on the black swan, Odile, than most choreographers did. Ask any classical dancer and they'd say Odile was the evil swan that tricks the prince for falling for her instead of Odette, shattering the curse so that Odette and the other swans would be stuck as swans forever.
But, on the first rehearsal with William and Lilly, she had asked them, "If Rothbart's a guy who curses girls to be swans by day and humans by night, then what if Odile was also cursed by Rothbart, just like Odette had been? Of course, we all know that Odette's curse could be broken by true love, unless her love fell for another, but what if Odile's curse could be broken the same way? So, Rothbart decided to use this to kill two birds with one stone. What if Rothbart had Odile get the prince to fall for her so Odette would be cursed forever? And, because Odette forgives the prince later in the ballet, Odile is cursed forever because her love 'fell for another'. So, in the end, the two swans are cursed forever and Rothbart is happy."
After hearing her say that, the company dancers began to open up to Ms. Tina more. Almost all the dancers stopped mourning over Ms. Minnie – except for Lilly. Lilly didn't trust Ms. Tina at all, which William found ironic because Ms. Tina was the one who let Lilly continue her dancing.
Nothing bad happened during any of the performances. Lilly nailed the 32 fouetté turns as the black swan and absolutely crushed the high leg extensions as the white swan. She didn't have a panic attack onstage or forget choreography at all.
No, the bad things were in the rehearsals. The absolute worst time was when Ms. Tina continuously asked Lilly to do the Odile Solo over and over again. In William's opinion, it was the hardest part of dancing the black swan.
On the sixth time Lilly was asked to repeat it, something in her snapped. Instead of starting the solo as the pianist began to play, she simply stood there, glaring at Ms. Tina, who was taking notes in her
(pink)
purple notebook.
(put down Minnie's book)
"Are you okay, Lilly?" Ms. Tina asked, hardly looking interested. Out of the entire company, Ms. Tina was the only one who didn't jump to Lilly's every need. It was almost as if she thought Lilly was perfectly fine, that there was nothing wrong with her.
(the notebook...)
This treatment just made Lilly angrier towards Ms. Tina.
(put down)
She simply stood there, the pianist pausing, looking across the room at Ms. Tina. "Lilly, I asked you to take it from the beginning."
(the fucking)
Lilly still stared at Ms. Tina. Her expression reminded William of a serial killer – emotionless; dead. Lilly didn't even blink.
(notebook)
Ms. Tina shook her head, jotted down another thing, and turned the page.
(pitter, pitter... HA! Just keep turning the page!)
Ms. Tina stood from her folding chair, crossing her arms. The purple notebook sat in the otherwise empty chair, taunting Lilly. In the soft breeze of the air conditioner, the pages kept turning.
(pitter, pitter, pitter, pitter...)
The sound drove Lilly crazy,
(but I was already crazy...)
YOU ARE READING
Mind Or Matter
HorrorNicholas Harker killed himself to stop them. But now they return, seeking his son and the girl with the grey eyes. William Harker cannot flee from the demons this time. Every day, another loved one is taken. It's only a matter of time before they...
