Endure

S E V E N

After Sera finished with my makeup, I headed to the floor with the binder in my hand. Charlie stood by the stereo, while a few players talked to the cameras and the rest talked among themselves.

"Hey Maddie."

I looked up to see Tom smiling at me from the back of the room. He stood next to Ben with the rest of the team. However, Ben was turned away from him, talking to another player.

I clutched the binder closer to my chest as I stepped onto the floor.

"Did you get my jersey that I signed for you?" Tom asked.

I nodded, fiddling with the binder. "Yeah, uh, thanks."

"You're welcome," the tall player replied nonchalantly as he walked past us.

I let out a laugh and Tom laughed along.

"That's Nick," Tom explained, nodding to the tall player. "But we call him Big Rich 'cause-- Whoa!!" His eyes widened as he looked at me. "You changed your hair!!"

I gave him a quick nod before heading to the stereo. "Yeah."

"It looks good."

"I know," I replied casually, not giving him another glance and walking away.

Charlie gave me an amused look as I reached him. "I think you're quite ready for this class actually. You seem to be handling them well. Maybe you could--"

"You're still teaching it, Charlie." I handed him the binder.

He took it with a sigh. "If you insist."

We headed to the front where a few cameras were set up as players were being interviewed.

"You know, I've actually been coming to this place for awhile," Nick, the tall player, said nonchalantly to the camera.

Charlie raised an eyebrow at me. "He has?" he mouthed.

I shrugged and shook my head.

"This isn't my first time here," Nick continued. "I would say this is, like, my third or fourth time here."

"Passing out flyers doesn't count, Big Rich!!" the player with bleached blond hair called out.

"So I'm pretty sure that means I'm past beginner's level now," Nick concluded with a shrug nonetheless.

Charlie and I laughed to ourselves.

"I'm feeling pretty good about this class," Nick continued talking to the camera, "and hopefully I could be, uh, an example for my teammates--"

"Like me!!" The tattooed player exclaimed jumped next to the tall player in front of the camera.

Nick pushed him away playfully before continuing. "I--What was the question?"

"Do you think ballet will be more difficult than hockey?" the cameraman asked.

"Yes!!" the tattooed player answered immediately. He didn't make an attempt to go on camera again so the camera turned to him as he now stood at the back of the room. "The teacher is pretty but I'm pretty terrified." His eyes widened as he glanced at me quickly before looking at the camera again.

"I appreciate the compliment," Charlie told him with a smirk while I bit back my laughter next to him. "Not sure how things work in hockey, but in ballet, flattery won't get you very far." He walked to the center and faced the class. "How about we start at the barre with some pliés? That should actually get us somewhere."

"With some what?" the player with bleached hair asked.

"Pliés."

"Why can't it have an easier name?" Tom questioned.