Dancing for the Lord: The Academy (12 page)

On the other hand, she couldn’t just fake it, either.  She could pretend that she could handle whatever happened all she wanted to, but the fact of the matter was, she had to at least see the choreography once—or hear it—before she could perform it.  She wasn’t with Michael, who could guide her through the steps of the dance without ever missing a beat.  She was with a stranger—and one who probably wouldn’t care enough to do that for her, nonetheless.

She sighed, her shoulders slumping.  She couldn’t do this.  There was no way she could memorize a series of steps that quickly. 

“Rehearse on your own for a few minutes,” Mlle Kirby requested quietly. 

Danni stepped back.  It seemed a shame to miss the practice time; but what else was she supposed to do?  Mlle Kirby wasn’t even going to be there to tell her what she needed to be doing!

“What’s wrong?” the guy whispered.  That edge of desperation was back in his voice again. 

“I don’t know the steps,” she whispered back.  “I just started the class, remember?”

“I’ll talk you through it.”  His hand settled at her waist.

“Are you sure?”  She stared up into those golden eyes, stunned.  She didn’t think she had ever heard anyone here make an offer like that one, not here at the school.  She hadn’t even thought it was
possible
.  People cared too much about themselves out
here, and not nearly enough about anyone else—and it was well on its way to breaking her heart, but there wasn’t much she could do about it, either.

“Sure.”  He shrugged.  “Come on.  Start with the grand jeté into an arabesque…good.”  He looked surprised.  “You can land that en pointe?”

Danni held the position effortlessly.  “Yes,” she informed him—as though that hadn’t been perfectly obvious. 

He shook his head.  “Most girls can’t—not that easy, anyway.  K—my last partner usually made me catch her.” 

She shrugged as he paraded around her, turning her on the point of her toe.  It was a graceful movement, one that Danni loved simply because it always made her feel lighter than air. 

“Now, come down…”  The guy’s voice became background noise, his hands the primary method of guiding her through the dance.  Danni responded instinctively.  She’d been taught how to dance with a partner before; she knew how to respond to his leading in a way that was almost subconscious.  Strange—she hadn’t thought she would be able to do this with anyone but Michael. 

She was doing it with this guy, here and now.

Every once in awhile, her partner would release her, murmuring soft instructions.  “Two pirouettes, come down with your right foot in front…rond de jame en l’air with your left foot…arabesque on your right leg….”  Each direction was issued softly, but with exactly the right amount of information—never too much, to confuse her, or too little, to leave her ill-prepared for the next movement. 

Within half an hour—throughout which Mlle Kirby remained conspicuously absent—Danni felt as though she’d had as much time to practice as any of the other girls in the class.  She danced the selection effortlessly, en pointe the entire time—which, she was pleased to note, not all of the girls could manage.  Most of them were, as her partner had pointed out, dropping down for several of the steps. 

As she leapt into the air, flawlessly performing a series of jumps and twirls in sync with her partner, Danni could feel a smile breaking out across her face.  As far as she was concerned, this was the best way to dance. 

She came back to the young man’s arms, leaning back effortlessly and allowing him to support most of her weight.  It wasn’t difficult.  For one thing, she didn’t weigh much; and for another, he was obviously used to supporting his partner.  He bent down over her, and she was relieved to note that his eyes were twinkling almost as much as hers. 

“You’re a pleasure to dance with,” he murmured. 

She smiled faintly.  “Thank you.” 

Applause broke into the pleasant reverie Danni had been experiencing, and she straightened with little of her usual grace. 

“Well done, Danni!” Mlle Kirby proclaimed.  “And you’d never worked that dance before, had you?”

“No.”  She blushed hotly.  “I know I should have waited, but—“ 

Mlle Kirby waved her off.  “You looked wonderful!” 

“I had a good teacher.”  She smiled back at her partner, a more genuine smile this time. 

He grinned back, something that looked suspiciously like relief sparkling in his eyes. 

“Nicholas,” Mlle Kirby continued, “I think you’ve found yourself a new partner, at least for the time being.”

Nicholas
.  The bottom dropped out of Danni’s stomach as she spun to stare at him.  Katarina’s partner.  The other girl had hated her before, but now, she was going to absolutely
despise
her. 

Whatever was showing on her face, it clearly wasn’t pleasure, because as she watched, the young man’s expression fell.  “It’s all right,” he said woodenly, turning to walk away from her.  “I—“ 

“Wait.”  Danni suddenly didn’t care
who
he was.  Her reaction had upset him—and she didn’t know why. 

No, that wasn’t fair—she did know why.  She knew
exactly
why.  She’d heard the whispers. 
Katarina’s hurt—and it’s Nicholas’s fault.
 

Looking into his eyes as he turned back to her, she knew that wasn’t the case.  He might have made a mistake—it happened—but whatever had happened to Katarina, it hadn’t been Nicholas’s doing.  He felt bad about what had happened to her.  He knew exactly what the rumors could do to his career, too—and he was terrified. 

“I’d love to dance with you,” Danni said simply.

Nicholas’s shoulders relaxed almost exactly as they had when he had asked her to dance with him in the first place, and he let out a breath that she wasn’t sure he had realized he was holding.  “Good,” he said smoothly. 

“Now, Danni, that does raise a question.”  Mlle Kirby hesitated.  “Have you ever done the dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy before?”

Danni blinked at her, not sure she was speaking English.  “I’m sorry—what?”

“Well.”  Her teacher’s expression was very strange.  “Katarina was supposed to dance the Sugar Plum Fairy this Christmas, you see—but it’s obvious that that isn’t going to be possible now.  On that ankle….”  She didn’t look at Nicholas as she said it. 

Danni felt all the blood draining from her face. 
The Sugar Plum Fairy—Lord, I never imagined that you would answer my prayers this way!
  It had been her favorite role ever since she had watched
The Nutcracker
all those years ago.  She had always wanted to dance the part.

It had been Katarina’s.  Now, it was hers. 

“Danni?”

Nicholas laughed, drawing attention away from her for a moment.  “I think you surprised her,” he pointed out. 

Mlle Kirby sighed.  “Well, all of the other students already have parts!” she informed him.  “Costumes have been altered, dances blocked out…performances begin in two weeks!” 

Two weeks.
  “K-Katarina didn’t have an understudy?” Danni whispered. 

“No.”  Nicholas’s face was hard. 

She suspected that she didn’t want to push him on that question.  “I—wow.  Okay.”  She blinked.  “I guess, um….”  It hadn’t really sunk in yet.  She was still in shock.  “Two weeks.  Wow.” 

“If you’re not sure,” Mlle Kirby began. 

“I’ll do it.”  Danni knew that she was going to regret making that statement.  If she failed, it was going to color everything she did here.  No—it was going to reflect on the entire Academy.

But if she succeeded…oh, if she succeeded, it would open doors beyond her wildest dreams. 

“This is almost unheard of,” Mlle Kirby cautioned her.  “And you’re going to have to work hard—harder than you ever have before.”

“I can do it.”  Danni’s shoulders came back, her head came up, and her eyes blazed. 

“Good.”  Mlle Kirby couldn’t help but smile.  “In that case, I suppose I should be grateful that I know exactly what you’re supposed to be doing after this class.  Nicholas, does Katarina have a practice room reserved for the next hour?”

“No, ma’am.”  He sighed when she gave him a quizzical look.  “She had…other plans…for the next hour.”

“And this close to a performance, there won’t be any free at this late hour.”  She sighed.  “Well…free practice tonight?”

“Five to six,” Nicholas said, just as Danni said, “Four to five.” 

Mlle Kirby smiled broadly.  “That works out just wonderfully, don’t you think?  I’ll meet you in the practice suite at four.”  She smiled faintly.  “And for tonight, Danni, consider yourself excused from the children’s class—though I will expect you back on Thursday, hm?”

They exchanged a confused look. 

“It will be the partner work that takes the longest to get down,” Mlle Kirby reminded them pointedly.  “And if she’s going to take Katarina’s place, she’ll need to start working immediately.”

“Oh.  Right.”  Nicholas nodded quickly. 

“I’ll see you two in an hour!”  She shooed them out the door.  Only then did Danni realize that everyone else was gone; they had been dismissed while she and Nicholas had been locked in the dance. 

Danni gathered her bag and shoes quickly, slipping a pair of jeans on over her leotard.  It didn’t make any sense to change back into street clothes when she was going to be dancing again in an hour, and while it was chilly outside, her jacket would be enough to take the edge off. 

She didn’t completely understand why Mlle Kirby had let her go.  She was good with the kids.  Mlle Kirby had said so—and if she was with the children, then Mlle Kirby could go back to…whatever she had been doing that had taken her out of the room for so long. 

On the other hand, she was a little bit grateful for this time, for the opportunity to absorb the sudden changes that had been thrown at her.  She was going to dance the part of the Sugar Plum Fairy!

Danni did a little twirl as she slipped into her jacket.  This was beyond her wildest dreams.

Lord, I feel so badly for Katarina—but at the same time, I’m overjoyed for me.  This is…I never even dreamed this was possible!  Thank you so much, Lord.  I’ll
treasure this opportunity—and I know only you could have arranged things so that I could have it.  Thank you.  Thank you…so much. 

To her surprise, Nicholas was waiting for her when she came out of the changing room.  He, too, had simply pulled on jeans over his dance gear; and his expression was…interesting. 

“Walk with me,” he suggested.

Danni obeyed, confused.  The invitation was a strange one—well, maybe not.  They were going to be working very closely together for the next month or so—maybe even after that.  It was only right that he would want to get to know his new partner. 

She didn’t initiate conversation; and Nicholas made no move to speak to her for a long time.  While they were in the halls, he even took a few steps away from her, as though distancing himself from her.  She was a little bit disappointed at that, but she didn’t blame him, really.  After all, he barely knew her.  Just because they’d danced one dance together….

One amazing, wonderful, perfect dance….

Only when they were outside the Academy, walking through the secluded gardens that were nearly deserted at this hour, did Nicholas speak. 

“I didn’t do what they’re saying I did,” he informed Danni bluntly. 

She studied his face for a moment, wondering at the desperation that had prompted him to need to say those words.  “I didn’t think for a moment that you did,” she told him quietly. 

His expression transformed immediately, sheer relief coloring his features.  “You…don’t think I did it,” he said slowly. 

“No.”  She shrugged.  “If Katarina is hurt, it’s at least as much her fault as it is yours—unless you deliberately dumped her or something.” She smiled reassuringly.  “And anyone who would take the time to walk me through a new dance just to be able to keep me as a temporary partner wouldn’t have dumped her on purpose.”

The relief didn’t last long.  Within a few steps, Nicholas’s face had fallen again.  He didn’t say anything, just kept his hands shoved into his pockets as they trudged along, but Danni could see the despair slowly taking over his face.  “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked quietly.

His head jerked around to look at her, surprise the most prevalent emotion.  “Does it matter?” he asked bleakly.

She shrugged.  “Matters to you,” she pointed out.

Nicholas gave her a bitter half-smile that admitted that much.  “Not to anyone else.  Every girl in the Academy is determined to believe Katarina’s side of things—and most of them don’t even
like
her.”

“It’s easier to blame you than it is to admit that someone like Katarina could be hurt that badly because of something she had done,” Danni told him gently.

Nicholas’s laugh was bitter.  “That’s all too true, unfortunately,” he admitted.  “And the truth is….”  He closed his eyes, pain creasing his face.  “The truth is, part of it was my fault.”  He forced his eyes open, made himself meet her gaze.  “You should know that before you decide that you’re willing to dance with me.  Part of it…was my fault.”