rupauls school for queens

dancing struggles ➵ chapter 5

vanjies next lesson was the one that she was dreading the most: dance. she stumbled into the dance hall, most of the students were already there. they only one she recognized was brooke lynn.

the teacher stood at the front of the hall, her name written in perfect cursive behind her. miss zamolodchikova. 'great' vanjie thought 'not only will i mess up my dancing but ill mess up her name too'. vanjie made her way to brooke, smiling politely. brooke looked pretty shook up after the lunch incident, but vanjie didnt bring it up.

"hello class!" the blonde haired teacher said happily. "my name is miss zamolodchikova, but everyone just calls me katya." vanjie sighed with relief. katya was easy enough to remember, and pronounce.

"today we will be doing ballet. is anyone here a ballet dancer?" she asked politely. brooke shyly raised her hand. "good. its great to have someone experienced!"

she went on to start dancing. she added in twirls and jumps, vanjie could practically vision herself going wrong, and brooke lynn laughing. then, katya asked everyone to demonstrate.

vanjie couldnt even get herself going, falling around everywhere. she wasnt the worst there: a girl called scarlett seemed to be struggling even more.

"brooke, can i see yours again?"

all eyes were on brooke as she pirouetted through the air, looking as graceful as ever. there was not one wrong move, she didnt even look to be putting much effort into it. it was like she was floating. vanjie stood with her mouth open, staring like an idiot but she couldnt care less.

"that was exceptional, brooke!" katya exclaimed. "be aware brooke has set the bar high! vanjie, can i see yours?"

vanjie wasnt pleased. she didnt know how she was going to go straight after brooke without making a complete and utter fool out of herself. and, of course, thats what she did.

it took her about 5 minutes to get en pointe, for starters. then, when she attempted a pirouette, she went crashing to the ground. sure, she hurt her leg, but her pride was bruised a lot more. she heard some giggles behind her, but it wasnt from brooke. instead of laughing, brooke just gave a sympathetic smile.

"good effort vanjie! brooke, maybe you could go across to the other hall and help her get the hang of it? ill check in on you in ten minutes."

vanjie got up from the floor and began to walk to the other hall, head down in shame. they got into the other hall and she could feel tears welling up.

"hey, its okay!" brooke reassured. "not many people get it on the first time, you'll get the hang of it!"

"you say that, but i don't think you understand how much of a terrible dancer i am,"

"here. we'll start with the easiest part. just try and get onto your toes whilst holding onto me."

brooke put her hand on vanjie shoulder and vanjies breath got caught in her throat. her face burned crimson as she struggled to get onto her toes. she felt a pair of strong arms lift her off the ground and slowly place her back on her tiptoes.

"see!" brooke exclaimed and let go, vanjie squeezed her eyes shut, expecting to go tumbling but she stayed firmly still. she opened her eyes and a wide smile was plastered on her face.

"now..." brooke began, " we'll do a pirouette!"

vanjies leg gave out from underneath her and she almost dropped to the floor, if it wasn't for brooke's strong arms.

"it's not as hard as it sounds, don't worry!"

she propped vanjie up on one leg, and stretched out the other. everywhere she touched sent a shiver down vanjies spine. then, she lifted her arms and guided her in a slow circle, a few times over before letting vanjie try it herself. at first she stumbled a little, but after a few more tries she got better and better.

the door was opened loudly and brooke jumped slightly, before spinning around to see who was there. katya stood in the doorway, looking excited.

"well! let's see what you've done!"

vanjie took a deep breath as she slowly began to start the routine with minimal mistakes. it was almost towards the end when she misplaced her leg and went flying. coincidentally, brooke was right behind her, making sure she could catch her. vanjie landed in brooke's warm arms and froze before getting up.

"oops, sorry katya. i promise i am trying!" vanjie exclaimed, clearly frustrated with the current situation.

"you did brilliantly to say you couldn't get en pointe today! my god brooke, i think you need to teach the rest of the girls. anyway, class is over but brooke lynn? please wait behind. your not in trouble, don't worry."

vanjie smiled happily as she walked out of the room, not before saying a thank you to brooke and mouthing a good luck.

"brooke lynn, you are an exceptional dancer. i was wondering if you would want to come to dance classes after school? there are only going to be five of you, but it would be every thursdays."

brooke was shocked. she had never expected this to happen, and was over the moon.

"yes please!" brooke said politely. politeness was one of her best traits.

"okay! im glad. see you on thursday!"

brooke lynn walked back to her dorm with her head held high. despite the drama at lunchtime, her first day was better than she could have dreamed. she had made two best friends, shared a dorm room with the prettiest girl on the planet and was already excelling in her dance class. this year would be a good year.

word count: 955

hey guys! hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. im still overwhelmed by the crazy amount of support ive been getting: i love every single one of you that take the time to vote and comment!

-A