Silent Treatment (16 page)

Oliver sighed deeply.

“Actually you weren’t too far out. Only eight years! I’m just over thirty. All the late nights, the horrible make-up, lack of sleep, not to mention the punishment on your body, takes its toll eventually. I started this caper when I was fifteen and became so wrapped up in all the glamour and travelling that I never attempted to do anything else. You have A levels Carrie, I’m glad you’re going to use them wisely. University is definitely the right choice. You don’t want to end up like me. Thirty plus and nothing to show for it. I really thought this gig was going to make me enough money to get out. Fifty grand sounds a lot for the year but I haven’t been able to save a penny. Travelling and the hotels don’t come cheap any more. God! I am so fed up with this tour. It’s the longest I’ve ever been on and, quite honestly, I’ve had enough.” He looked up and then made to stand.

Carrie wished she could think of something to say that would cheer him up. She watched him as he rubbed his knees.

“Are they troubling you Oliver?” She grimaced for him as he nodded and winced, then she noticed that he was holding his whole body stiffly. “You should do some of my friend Dan’s exercises. I don’t know the specific ones for knees but the feeling you get from the breathing is fantastic. I once helped a lady give birth using them. She had a ten pound baby completely naturally, didn’t even tear. Come on, give them a go.” She encouraged as Oliver looked back at her sceptically.

“I’d probably be more impressed if I knew what a ten pound baby looks like. Okay, okay, I’m doing it.” He muttered
as she glared at him before he moved onto the floor next to Carrie.

Oliver watched her cautiously for a few moments and then sighed as she breathed in and raised her arms above her head. She spread them open and then pushed them as far behind her back as she could reach, gradually stretching them round to her front again. She leaned forwards from the hips and relaxed her body towards the floor. She let out her breath and pushed her arms forward even further, as she remembered the way Dan
iel had shown her.

Oliver copied
her every move and after just a few minutes he sighed deeply.

“
I wish that you had shared this before. It feels so good. Better than our normal cool down. Who did you say you learned this from?”

Carrie noticed that one or two of the other dancers
, who had listened to their conversation, now joined them. She concentrated on leaning sideways and took another deep breath, releasing it slowly before she spoke.

“Daniel Lewis. He plays American football and he’s doing his thesis on this type of training at the Atlanta University. He used to live near me
back in Harrow. Take another breath. Fill your lungs.” Carrie breathed in gently and then breathed in again, filling the whole of her lung space. It was a technique Daniel had used to get as much oxygen around the body as possible.

Oliver almost whispered as he held his breath for a moment.

“I think I know who you mean. Great big, dark haired fella? I’ve seen him on the mineral water ads. Well, tell him he should ditch the water adverts, he needs to bottle this. It’s a dancer’s dream, like a deep massage from within, one that you can do yourself anytime. It’s fantastic.” His breath came out in a long whoosh.

The whole dance team
now sat on the floor. There was a collective deep breath and a swaying of bodies. One or two of the dancers moaned as they relaxed. There were groans of relief all around the floor. The sound of complete relaxation ran around the hall as everyone felt the tension fall from their limbs.

Carrie glanced over to the bench where she and Oliver had sat earlier. Her phone was buzzing quietly. She breathed deeply once more and then reached out for it. She almost giggled as everyone else in the room reached out with one arm too.

She flipped the phone into her palm, hoping that nobody had noticed it, and glanced at the screen. It was a text from her mother. She carefully touched the screen so that she could read it.

“Carrie, sorry love. Flights all full for the next three weeks. I forgot it’s the Easter holidays. Too upset to talk. Will ring again in the morning.”

“Oh no!” Carrie couldn’t help herself and Oliver looked up at her cry of dismay.

“Problem?”
He whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

Carrie rolled her eyes at him and lifted her arms above her head again.

“Mum can’t get any flights. It’s the Easter holidays.” She tried not to let her disappointment show as she breathed out and let her arms drop gently to her sides. She shook them lightly and the whole room gave a gentle sigh. General chatting broke out with one or two of the dancers coming over to ask her questions. It was obvious that they all felt more relaxed after joining in with the exercises.

T
he dancers suddenly fell silent as Milana stepped out of her dressing room, cigarette hanging from the corner of her glossy lips.  Hips swaying wildly, she walked over to where Carrie was now standing with Oliver. She stepped right between them, forcing Oliver out of her way.

She didn’t offer any preamble but took the cigarette from her mouth and blew smoke directly in Carrie’s face.

“What was that you were doing with the dancers? It was very effective, like a flowing river of people, perfect for my second number. I want to see it in tonight’s show.” She stared at Carrie waiting for some kind of response.

Carrie coughed slightly and wafted the smoke away.

“I can’t do that Milana. It’s not my technique. A friend of mine was helping me over an injury and we used it extensively then, but it’s his therapy not mine. I can’t steal the idea from him and put it in a show.” She went to turn away when Milana caught hold of her shoulder. Her freshly manicured fingernails dug painfully into Carrie’s skin leaving her gasping in surprise.

Milana hissed menacingly.

“I said I want it in tonight’s show.” She raised her voice to the dancers. “Come on everyone, Miss. Carol Dentrom is going to demonstrate to us all how to put this dance to my music.” Milana beckoned the crowd of dancers to come nearer.

Carrie pulled herself away from Milana’s nails and pressed her lips together.
After a whole year Milana still hadn’t even bothered to remember her name!
It shook her as she realized how unimportant to the star she really was. She spoke stiffly.

“It’s Carrie Denton, Milana and I’m not telling or showing you anything. It’s an exercise regime, not a dance. My friend would be furious with me if I showed you before he’s had time to make his final presentation on it.” Carrie was adamant. She stepped back as Milana took another long drag from her
cigarette and appeared to suddenly swell, overshadowing Carrie’s compact form.

He words came out like splintering ice particles.

“Show me now Ms. Denton. Don’t try and play games with me. It won’t work. I’m the star here. I can have exactly what I want in my show and I want that workout, so stop messing about and start showing the dancers.” She dropped the end of her cigarette onto the floor just in front of Carrie’s foot and ground it out with her heel.

Carrie faced her. She could hear Oliver breathing furiously down her neck. He placed his hand on the indentations left by Milana’s overl
ong fingernails and squeezed Carrie gently, offering his support silently. She could see Jessica’s exhausted face, pale and drawn behind Milana’s furious one. She saw Jessica narrow her eyes and shake her head just once.

Carrie didn’t need to be told by Oliver or Jess not to tell Milana a thing. There was no way that she would ever betray Daniel
Lewis. She lifted her chin defiantly.

“I’m sorry Milana, but I can’t. I can choreograph a dance routine if you want, but it won’t involve those moves.” She squared her slender shoulders at the statuesque diva.

Milana’s face began to discolour. It changed from a flushed pink to a darker red and then to purple just before her lips turned blue with rage. The slack skin at the underside of her jaw began to shake visibly. Carrie wondered for a moment if she was having some kind of seizure but she eventually opened her mouth and spat out.

“Why you little…Don’t you know who I am? I’ll see that you never work in this industry again. You cannot speak to me
like that.” The loose skin covering Milana’s throat wobbled like an unset jelly.

Carrie almost laughed at her.

“Milana, I won’t teach what isn’t mine to show. It would be totally unprofessional. You wouldn’t sing any of Kylie Minogue’s songs without her permission, so don’t expect me to put anything of Daniel Lewis’s in your show.”

Milana’s eyes suddenly grew wide. And then her expression changed completely. She laughed delightedly flipping her hair as she pulled a new cigarette from the packet she dug from her pocket. She lit it quickly.

“Oh, they’re Danny’s moves.” She drawled. “Well, why didn’t you say so in the first place? I know Danny personally. I have done for years. He won’t mind you telling me. I’ll fix it all up with him when I see him in September. I’m taking my tour to the States and if you want to be part of it, you had better start showing the dancers right now.” She blew smoke over Carrie again.

Carrie fixed her with a disbelieving look.

“Danny?” She exploded with laughter and shook her head as she wafted the vile smelling fumes out of her face. “I’ve heard him called a few things but Danny is certainly not one of them. You are such a liar Milana. There’s no way that you know Daniel Lewis. Apart from the fact that he’s been in Atlanta for the past two and a half years and you haven’t set foot in the place, he’s about half your age and went to school with me. I actually do know him quite well. He detests people who are weak enough to smoke but besides that, he wouldn’t give someone as self-serving and small minded as you, the time of day.”

She bit her lip as she suddenly understood what she had done but Oliver
guffawed loudly behind her and Milana’s face fell as she realized that her bluff had been called. Oliver rammed his hand over his mouth and tried to stop himself but couldn’t. He bellowed with infectious laughter and the other dancers began to join in.

Milana
stared in complete outrage as sniggers erupted from all around the floor. Her neck wobbled even more as she shouted around the room.

“None of you will ever work for me again! You are all fired!
As of right now. Get out, the lot of you! You’ll never work in this industry again,” she fumed and swirled away in a haze of smoke towards her dressing room.

The other dancers
quietened down fairly rapidly and Jess spoke to the room in general.

“Do you think she meant that? Do you think we’re
really all fired?” Her voice was half way between scared and delighted.

Oliver pulled in a deep breath
and controlled himself at last. He spoke to the dancers as they all looked to him for advice.

“I don’t care whether she meant it or not. We were paid yesterday so there’s nothing holding us here. I’m getting out before she changes her mind and makes me do these last ten shows. I’m completely done in so I’m going to take this fabulous opportunity and travel to p
astures new. I’ve just about enough money for the bus fare from here to London. Maybe I’ll start teaching in Covent Garden. Whatever I do has to be better than putting up with this old cow. I know the bus will take a couple of days, but it’s not as though we’re not used to travelling and at least it’s cheap. Anyone coming with me?”

There was a moment
’s stillness in the hall and then a collective breath as the whole company dashed for their dressing rooms. There were several shouts of, “Book a seat for me Oliver!” They all shoved their outfits and shoes in their bags and started leaving in droves.

Carrie picked up her
small bag and caught up with Jessica as she was making for the door.

“Hey!
You going without me?” Carrie linked her arm through her friend’s.

Jess smiled a little hesitantly.

“I hope we’re all doing the right thing here Carrie. We could end up being very sorry about all of this.”

Carrie shrugged.

“No, I don’t think so. There are loads of bigger fish in the sea than Milana. I somehow don’t think we’re going to be sorry at all. I’m going to collect my stuff from the hostel and then I’m taking a sightseeing tour on the way home. I’m not sorry that I’ve done all the travelling, but all I seem to have seen is the inside of one theatre after another, and they all look exactly the same after a while. I’ve managed to save a little and I want to see the sights we missed on the way here and then go home and get ready for university in September. I want to spend a little time relaxing first.”

Jess grinned widely.

“When you put it like that, it sounds brilliant. I wonder if there are any opportunities at university for oldies like me.”

Carrie spluttered back at her.

“Oldie? At twenty four! Come on Jess, of course there will be something. I think you just have to take the bull by the horns and go for it. Now let’s go and clear our digs before Milana really does change her mind and keep us here as her prisoners.”