Dazed

Chapter 1

I stare intently at my reflection in the wall length mirror, as my body glides across the wooden floor. I have to keep myself focused, so I can ignore the eyes of my instructor and the rest of the students looking on meticulously.

"Don't think, just feel the movement." Ms. Winter calls out from her position on the bar crossing the length of the mirror. I breathe as cooly as possible, while my body stretches into a standing split. "Hold it! Point your toes, Layton!" Ms. Winter projects, as she pauses the music blasting from the speakers. I stand in place en pointe, cradling my leg as it points towards the ceiling. My ballet shoes make it easier to stand on top of my toes, but the pain of putting force on my broken big toe nail is excruciating.

"Relax." she instructs. I come down from my toes, and move into first position.

I've been taking ballet since I was four years old, but nothing compared to the firm lessons of Ms. Winter. I'd joined my college's ballet team my freshman year, and here I was two years later getting the business from this tiny, yet ridiculously strong woman.

"Everybody up! We're only going to do this twice before I end class! I want perfection, ladies. We've been practicing for weeks. Follow Layton's example!"

All I can see is white and pink as my dance mates scurry to their positions around me. I smile secretly, because it always feels good to be the example setter in class. I look to my side in time to catch Katrina grinning at me. I smirk back and assume my position in the front of the group.

"FROM THE TOP!"

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I stuff my ballet shoes into my duffel bag, as the locker room empties out quickly. The pain from my toe has subsided, but it looks much worse than it feels. Both my feet are definitely those of a hard working dancer, and I never really bother to get them done anymore. I'd lost every one of my toenails at least once in the years that I'd been dancing. You just learn to deal with the pain and not having pretty feet.

"Damn, those some ugly feet you got girl." I roll my eyes and snicker as Katrina sits on the bench next to me and removes her foot wrap. "They look better than those motherfuckers you got over there." I tease back. She laughs loudly and pushes my shoulder lightly. "That's no way to talk Ms. Captain. Don't let Ms. Winter catch you cursing like that or you'll have toe raises."

I internally cringe at the thought of having to stand on top of my toes for minutes at a time. It's Ms. Winter's punishment for us if she catches us cursing or talking out of turn during class.

"Don't even talk about that. My soul can't take it." I say. Katrina gets up and throws her wrap into the trash can next to the lockers. "What are you doing tonight? We have an off day tomorrow, so it's the perfect day to get messed up. I know at least three parties going on tonight," She whispers, as the last of our dance mates file out of the room.

I shake my head. "Negative, Trina. I have my calculus test tomorrow morning. I bombed the last one, and I'm not going to do the same with this one."

Katrina nods and fist bumps me. "Respect. Let me know if you change your mind though, Lay." She picks up her bag and kisses me on the forehead. I watch as her mop of curly, black hair disappears from the locker room.

I throw my bag over my shoulder and slam my locker. I'm heading out the door when Ms. Winter walks in and motions for me to follow her. My shoulders slump a little as I trudge after her. I have homework to do and a test to finish studying for; I don't have time to waste.

She leads me into her office, and tells me to sit as she slides into her chair. I drop my bag and plop down in the cushioned seat obediently.

She doesn't speak at first, and begins typing furiously across her keyboard. My stomach begins to tighten slightly, because of the serious look on her face. Her full lips purse slightly as she looks at something on her computer that I can't see. Finally, she looks at me and turns her screen toward me.

I look on in confusion as the dark screen brightens revealing two dancers in silhouette. A soft beat wraps around the office, and I stare at the screen as the video unfolds. It's two ballerinas dancing with two guys who are clearly not even doing ballet, yet their movements somehow all flow together. I glance at Ms. Winter in a questioning way. She pauses the video a minute in, and turns the screen back to herself.

"Do you know why I showed you this video?" She asks, leaning back in her chair and pulling her tiny leg to her chest. I shake my head slowly afraid to answer incorrectly.

"The two men in the video go by 'Les Twins', and they're exceptional dancers. I've asked the dean to contact them, so maybe a couple of dancers from our team can make a similar video with them. It's just something to promote our school and our program. The dean loved the idea, and she's already gotten in contact with them." Ms. Winter pauses to gauge my reaction.

I stare at her blankly, mostly confused. "You want me to dance with these dudes I don't know for clout basically?"

Ms. Winter shakes her head. "I want you to pick two other girls from our class to dance with them. And I want you to choreograph the video."  My eyebrows fly up at the thought of leading something instead of her. "Well why me and not you?" I inquire. "Listen, Layton. You're talented, and not just as a dancer. I've seen the way your mind moves, and you're my team captain for a reason. I need you to captain this." She leans forward on her desk as she speaks to me.

"I don't know Ms. Winter, especially with school and stuff. I have a lot of tests and homework coming up." I pull a little hair from my puff, and roll it in my fingers. 

"This is an opportunity, Lay. It's a really good one. Give me your decision by next class. They'll be in New York next week to start practicing with us. I suggest you go online and watch a bit of their work before you decide. You're dismissed. Close the door on your way out, honey." Ms. Winter goes back to typing on her computer as I get up slowly and walk out of the door, closing it behind me.