A Wedding Tale

Chapter 9: Wait

March 24, 2020
I can't believe Cassie went that crazy. I knew she was crazy before, but not that bad. I wonder how pissed off her parents are. I didn't see her during government. It was going to be weird not seeing her at dance tonight. Mom rearranged the schedule so we could have a company meeting after class. Let's see how this goes.

Xoxo,
Marilyn Danäe Minnelli

I began getting ready for dance after school. I first slipped on a pair of pink tights and a black cami leotard since I still had a costume fitting that night. I continued with a soft blue, ribbed, long sleeve top with a small V-cut out in the neckline. I slid into some comfy, black, Lululemon sweatpants and my Fila tennis shoes. I wrapped my hair into a loose french twist and secured it with a clip.

"Woah, it's weird not seeing you in your normal dance clothes," Everly awed as she came out of the bathroom.

"It feels weird, even though I have a leotard and tights underneath."

As Everly finished getting ready, I packed my purse. I threw in a small notebook and a pencil to write down the corrections in class. I added a pair of pointe shoes that needed to be sewn with some ribbons and elastic. I finished with some bottles of water and my medications that I had to take at six.

Once we were ready, we met my mother downstairs and she drove us to the studio. When we were arrived, we took the elevator up to the third floor. As my mother went to her office, Everly and I made our way up to the Senior Company lounge.

As everyone prepared for class, I got out my notebook and pens. I headed the paper: Pointe Class, Brooklyn Ballet, Audrey Minnelli 3. 24. 20.

"Let's go guys!" my mother shouted, and we all went into the studio. As everyone went to the barre, I walked to the front of the room and took a seat on the floor.

I watched as everyone warmed up. I missed it so much, even after only having two days off. I can't imagine having a week off. I wrote down when my mother would give a correction to the class. I hated having to sit there and watch them doing ballet as normal. As they continued with class and combinations became more interesting, I yearned to get up and dance.

In the middle of class, I had to walk out because I couldn't take it anymore. I know that people were wondering where I was going, but I had to get out of there. I went into the hallway outside of the studio. I slid down the wall until I was sitting with my head in my hands. I tried to gather my thoughts, but my head continued to circle. Eventually, I just had to cry. Have you ever had those moments? You just need to sit down and cry. You are unsure why, but it's the only thing that would soothe you in the moment. As tears streamed down my face, I buried my head in my knees.

"Marilyn?" I looked up to see Miss Janelle.

Shit. The last person I want to see.

"I'm sorry," I began to stand up and wiped my face.

"No, stay. I don't want you to go back in there until you are ready to." She bent down and took a seat beside me. "So, you're mom told us about what happened at school."

I stayed silent.

"I had an idea about how insane Cassie was-mostly because of her parents- but I thought she could conceal it. I guess not."

"Conceal what?" I spoke without thinking. "She has always been trouble. She quit ballet, and then came back after a month and started drama. She has made all of us look like awful people. She made Everly look like a thief. She made Erin seem that she was jealous of her. She made Luna look like a cyberbully. She made Sophie and Mia look like they would do anything to make her bad. She made me look like a liar. Heck! She even made Callie Ann- who is the nicest person here- look like a bully. She has never concealed anything from us, just the teachers."

"I guess you're right. I really regret letting her come back to the studio when your mom had her heart surgery. It was wrong. Especially when I began taking roles away from you guys so she would have a part in the show. I'm sorry."

I'm sorry. The two words I never thought she would say.

"She's not even what I'm crying about," I laughed it off.

"Then what are you crying about?"

"I don't know, honestly. I miss being able to dance. I'm mad about what happened at school. I'm having major boy-issues right now. I'm-"

"Hey, hey," she noticed I was getting frustrated and wrapped me in her arm. "I know what you're going through. First of all, everything in your life is changing daily, much more than other teenager's lives. You found out only two months ago how your whole life has been a lie. Instead of everything settling down, it all went crazy because of this wedding. Second of all, you just had a heart attack and you are unable to dance. That is something you may have never experienced. You aren't able to have the sense of accomplishment when you nail a triple pirouette en pointe. You don't get to soar through the air everyday. You don't get to express your emotions through dance. Dance is like therapy, just cheaper. You've lost your therapy for the moment, and you have to find other ways to express your emotions. It's hard. I know. When I was in the height of my career, I injured my back. I couldn't walk let alone dance. I didn't know what I was going to do. I cried so, so much during that time. I didn't want to bother my friends and I didn't have any family around like you do. It was rough, but eventually everything got better when I began dancing again. You're lucky, you only have this week. I had six months. I know that a week may feel like six months, but it will be over soon. Just have hope."

"Thank you."

At 6:30 my mom came out into the hallway. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked still standing in the doorway of the studio.

"Yeah," I stood up and walked into the studio. I knew we were about to have a conversation about Cassie. Only Senior Company was involved- Luna, Callie Ann, Sophie, Mia, Everly, Erin, Jace, Ryan, Jonatan, Joel, and I. I went and sat between Jonatan and Erin. Miss Janelle, Mrs. Bethany, Miss Amanda,Miss Lindsey, Mrs. Patricia, Mrs. Kalani, and my dad came in and sat with us. My mother pulled over a stool to sit on while she addressed the issue.

"Okay. I'm sure you all know what I am wanting to talk about. Today at school Cassie did something's that should not have happened. How I have heard the story- and I heard it from Principal Freeman- Cassie verbally attacked one of our current students, and when she tried to walk away, Cassie chased after her. Cassie did make contact with her, just before another student pulled Cassie down to protect her. Now, we have had several issues with Cassie in the past. She has accused students of stealing her belongings, she has been involved in cyberbullying and tried to blame it on other students, she has accused people of bullying her, and she has lied to us many times. Overall, her time with us has not been great. After talking to your other instructors, I have decided to ask her to leave the company. I cannot risk her creating more drama and attacking other students- whether verbally or physically. Now, I can only control what goes on in this studio. I know that she has been suspended from school for a month. When she comes back, I do not want any of you to engage with her in anyway. If she comes to you, walk away. I do not want any of you getting in trouble because of her. Do you guys have anything to talk about?"

"I just want to apologize for letting her back into the company when Audrey was gone," Miss Janelle said. "I thought that she was okay, but I miss judged her."

"When we all first met her, we thought she was nice. I think the only person who was leery of her was Marilyn," Erin stated.

"I knew Cassie before she came back to our studio. I danced with her when I was younger and I remembered how Heidi was leery of her mother. I didn't expect any less from her."

The room went silent, until Everly raised her hand.

"Yes, Everly?"

"I just want to make it clear that I did not steal her trash bag pants!"

     We all laughed because we knew that Everly would never do anything like that.

     "We know you wouldn't do anything like that," Mrs. Bethany continued to laugh. "That was so stupid of her to try and make us think that."

     "Definitely. I will address everyone about it tomorrow after I tell her parents, so don't tell the younger groups. Let's go ahead and start rehearsals. Marilyn, you have a costume fitting now and I have Jonatan and Jace in studio two."