Backstage: Third Time's the Charm

Sasha Roy

Sasha Roy
Grade 12
Dance Program

The thought of Keaton without Carly made me sick to my stomach. Our group had been friends since my sophomore year and it seemed like cruel irony that we would still be separated even though Keaton had reopened.

"Am I boring you, Mr. Roy?" Ms. Helsweel glared at me.

Vanessa shot me a sympathetic glance.

"No, Ms. Helsweel," I said.

"Then I suggest you begin your warmup exercises." She turned to the rest of the class. "We have a lot of ground to cover. I hope you've kept up with your studies."

I hurried over to Beckett and began stretching.

"Thinking about Carly?"

I looked up from my split. "How—"

"Vanessa told me about what happened between you two." Beckett moved to the bar and began stretching his legs.

I followed him. "I just wanted to focus on my dancing."

"We both know how that turned out."

I flinched. Last year, I tried an unhealthy workout program and ended up dropping Jenna during a dance routine because of it.

"Maybe I want to try something new."

"You should join the Primas."

"Do the Primas even exist?" Vanessa leaned against the bar, her perfect bun pulling her forehead taut.

"Helsweel's building from the ground up." Beckett straightened and glanced in her direction. "And considering you were the Prima dance captain for the summer program, I'll bet she's gonna make you the dance captain."

"You think?" Vanessa's eyes widened. "That would be... so awesome!"

Ms. Helsweel cleared her throat and we scurried to our positions at the bar. We spent the rest of our class practicing basic steps.

"I hope this class has been enough of a refresher for you. If not, I would suggest practicing in your spare time." Ms. Helsweel wore a menacing look. "Starting tomorrow, we'll be practicing a new routine for the winter showcase. I don't have to remind you how important the showcase is for fundraising."

I swallowed. An anonymous donor had donated enough money to re-open Keaton, but if we didn't keep earning money through fundraisers, the school would be forced to shut its doors again. This time permanently.

"So, Primas?" Beckett asked later as we changed in the locker room.

"Maybe?"

Vanessa was waiting for Beckett outside the boy's change room. He grabbed her hand and headed in the opposite direction I needed to go.

I moved down the hallway with a throng of other students and then slipped into my history class. The Primas were an option. But after getting cut because of my gossip blog, I wasn't sure I had a chance at getting back in. But Cassandra had graduated and if Vanessa became the captain, maybe I had a shot.

"Sasha?"

My head perked up at the familiar voice. "Hey, duckling!"

Jax Gardner, a musician I'd worked with in the past, sat in the seat next to me.

"I didn't know you had this class." He smiled. "I actually wanted to talk to you."

"Yeah?"

"You used to run that gossip blog TMK, right? I mean you wrote about Kit getting expelled from Keaton. And then the drama with that guy, Austin."

"Jax." I stared at him. "Get to the point."

"Oh, well I'm friends with the editor of Keaton's school paper. He's looking for someone to write a gossip column."

"Really?"

I'd given up my gossip blog to dance with the Streets, but the most of the group had graduated and the Streets has disbanded. There was nothing stopping me from pursuing it now. Besides, the thought of being published in print intrigued me.

"I'll talk to him about it."

"Cool." Jax grinned sheepishly. "Cause I kind of already told him you'd do it."

"Jax!" I groaned. "Look I'll talk to him. That's all."

Jax reached for his backpack and pulled out a notebook. "That's all I ask for," he said, putting the notebook on his desk.

Running a gossip column in the Keaton Kable definitely sounded more interesting than joining the Primas.