The Curious Cast of Coney Island

Chapter 2- A Silver Spoon.

Once it was all over, and they were given a bit of explanation as far as what they were to practice on their own; After which, Aria went back to the dorm room. Her eyes went wide at the sight of a parcel wrapped in brown paper on her bed. Walking over, she felt her heart hammer in her chest, and she sniffled softly. She gently lifted each item, as if they were going to break as soon as she touched them. Never had anyone done such a nice gesture for her- save for madam Eliza. She wiped her eyes and carefully tucked them away into the nearby dresser for later use.

“A room to myself… With new clothes and shoes…” She said softly, sitting on the bed to look out the window over the landscape. “A whole new world to get used to…” She said softly to herself, taking in a deep breath. “Why should I care about some Pas De Deux or whatever they called it… I just want to dance.” She said to herself while fixing her unraveling braid.

Grabbing the pile of paperwork given to her earlier, Aria grabbed her dancing shoes and made her way down to the auditorium. She didn’t see anyone of importance, so she slipped inside and took off her ratty street shoes, knowing better than to walk on the stage floor like so. Taking a deep breath, she took the papers with her and sat on the auditorium floor, looking over the motions. “What’s that?” She whispered, reading a French word. She tried several times to understand it, then shook her head before holding her arms up like in the picture. “I may not speak the language, but I’ll try my best to learn how to do it.”

Standing up, she started to move herself like in the drawings, closing her eyes while moving to get the hang of things. The awkward positions, the muscle strain, the weird French words… She had to try if she wanted to keep up. And with her determination, she was going to do the best that she’s ever done before. She could hear the music playing in her head as she moved, feeling the flow of things, letting it guide her and play out in her mind. She wasn’t going to go crazy, but she was definitely going to try and get used to the feelings and the stretching of these new poses, even if she didn’t know what the heck they were called.

"That one might be a bit easier like.... this." A hand gently moved and rested on her shoulder, moving it lower. The unknown figure's foot slid against her own, moving it a few inches to the left. "Shoulders relaxed, heels together. You'll always be expected to start in first position. Your first practice is in a few hours, you really should know this."

Gustav moved in front of her, looking her briefly up and down, taking in her posture to see how she looked, as well as checking her out, trying to remember who she was. "Ah, it’s you. The focused one." The face of someone so dedicated he couldn’t, or rather that he could, forget. He stood up straight, pressing his heels together and turning out his feet. "Like this. You always start like this."

She merely looked at him, then down at his feet. "Well, pardon my language but not everyone has ballet lessons available to them. And I can't read French either, so learning this is going to be a pain. Hence why I've started to try now, instead of in the next little bit." She moved and adjusted to mimic his feet. "Huh... And another pardon but I wasn't born with a silver spoon in hand, like you. And it's not polite to sneak up on people."

Once her feet were in order, she looked down at her feet for a moment, to memorize the way they looked before looking to the pictures beneath her and slowly transitioned into the next pose. "Besides, why are you here? Wouldn't you rather be with your adoring fans? To feel them croon and sigh over you?" She shook her head before comparing her pose to the one in the pictures, a bit stumped on the name, as well as why it was slightly difficult to get into this pose. She chalked it up to her inexperience at that point.

"Ah, a cheeky girl!" He laughed pleasantly, finding her rather amusing for someone who really didn’t know what they were doing. For god's sake, her feet were in the wrong position again and her arms were held like a chicken. "Don't worry, there are plenty of dancers to help if you need it. Ask one of the experienced performers or myself if you need any help." He glanced at the diagrams. "Let me get a pen- I'll translate it for you."