The Ballet Teacher

Chapter 2

Warning: Adult content. Trigger Warning: Violence.

Natasha moaned loudly as she stretched across her king sized mattress. Her Alexa played Mily Balakirev to wake her from her sleep at 12.

"Alexa, stop." She said to turn off the music that was blasting in her room. Silence greeted her as she moved off her bed and towards the bathroom to get ready for her day. Natasha looked in the mirror admiring her features. Her volcano red hair was disheveled from sleep and her face shined like a porcelain doll. She was beautiful and she knew it. The constant stares and catcalls she dealt with on a regular basis supported that. She stood at 5'3 and was curvier than most ballerinas. Her smile was pearly white and probably one of the most beautiful. It's not surprising that she had been featured on the cover of numerous magazines in Russia for being the World's Most Beautiful Woman and World's Most Beautiful Ballerina. However, that was the past and two worlds away now. She was living a small life and staying hidden from the life she no longer wanted. She glanced over herself again after brushing her teeth before getting dressed in an old T-shirt and sweatpants that were entirely too big for her. Her clothes were baggy and tattered, but it didn't matter since she was going to probably have paint all over them by the time she got home tonight.

Natasha packed her dance bag with her pointe shoes and leotard in case she had the urge to do a few barre exercises and a dance. It had been two months, since she actually danced and two years since she danced on a stage. She shoved her charger, headphones and extra clothes in her bag and left.

Natasha figured she would go to the Home Depot closest to her studio, so she wouldn't have lug the cans of paint around. About an hour later, she was walking through the doors of the big named hardware with a checklist in her mind and determination written across her face. It wasn't too busy today, which she was grateful for. Her first stop was the paint department. Natasha knew she wanted a light blue to color the walls. They were currently scathed with marks that were unappealing to the eye.

"Hello, are you finding everything ok?" A short, balding man said walking over to her.

"Yes, I actually need about 5 gallons of this paint and a paint roller." Natasha told the worker, holding up the blue paint that had caught her eye.

"Ok, I can do it for you. Would you like the primer mixed in as well?"

"Yes, please. I would like it to be semi-gloss."

"Alright, give me about 10 minutes and I'll have it ready for you."

"Thank you."

Natasha took her leave and looked around for some tarp to lay down on the ground of her room. Since she was only doing one space today, she figured she could just get three packs for the floor. Walking through the aisles, she came across the Drydex wall patch. She knew she had about five holes that needed fixing so she threw three kits in her cart and continued to browsing for extra tools that she may need. By the time she was finished, her paint was done and in no time she making her way to the studio, which was only around the corner.

The smell of old dust filled the air as Natasha entered the studio. It was the whole floor and comprised of five separate ballet rooms. She walked down the narrow hallway glancing to her left and right which led to the grand ballet room, where she would hold her main classes. The mirrors were ceiling high unlike the smaller rooms she had passed. Natasha set her stuff down near the entryway and started unpacking the tarp laying it down and taping it to the wall.

She pulled out her headphones, playing soft music while she began dressing the walls in the pastel blue liquid. The strong smell of paint filled the air. Natasha smiled as it smoothed across the walls. The blue engulfed her mind and soon she found herself thinking about a time when it was once a color she held so dearly.