feeling that all of the push this year is to see whether or not we’ll even make it to next year,” she admitted. “Tell me honestly: how many people wash out before Christmas—or just don’t ever come back after the holidays?”
“A lot of them,” Mlle Kirby confessed, her voice slightly muffled due to the fact that her torso, bent over an extended leg, was pressed all the way to the floor. “The ones who don’t truly love it never make it, I’m afraid—though to be fair, those who have made it this long do usually stay through Christmas.”
“The performance.” Danni didn’t even have to think about that one. Anyone who had any love for dance at all wouldn’t dream of leaving in the middle of preparations for a big performance—which, now that she thought about it, made it all the stranger that Helen, the girl whose place she had taken, had left.
Mlle Kirby nodded. “Even these little girls will be in it. I think this group is going to make up most of the mice, actually.”
“Oh, they’ll be so good at it!” Danni could see them scampering across the floor in their little mouse costumes—and they had been very good at scampering, as she had proven just a little while ago.
“I think so. Androv still hasn’t brought me the full choreography, though—and you know as well as I that if we don’t start teaching it to them soon, they’re never going to remember the steps.”
“They’ll remember. We just have to find a way to cement them in their minds, that’s all,” Danni said cheerfully.
Both women, content with the cool down, got to their feet at the same moment. Danni pulled on her jeans over her leotard for what she very much hoped would be the last time that day, frowning as she realized that yes, she was definitely going to need to keep an extra leotard in her bag. She was going to have to visit the campus store and see if they had any others in stock—maybe a couple of pink, like the ones the older girls had been wearing that morning.
She almost hated to put her jeans on over the sweaty leotard—but there wasn’t any sense in changing now. She needed a hot shower and her bed…after she did an hour or so worth of math.
Danni grimaced. Math.
“Oh—Danni.” Mlle Kirby stopped her before she could leave. “I just wanted to tell you, you did very well today. I think I’m going to enjoy having you as my assistant.”
Danni glowed. “Thank you,” she said quietly, well aware that her voice had gone soft and hesitant. “That’s…very kind of you.”
“Kind, nothing!” Mlle Kirby informed her. “Usually, the girls I get in here hate working with the kids—they’re just doing it to keep their scholarships. You seem like you really enjoy it.”
“I do.” Danni shrugged into her sweater. “I used to help Carolyn—my teacher back home—with the kids’ classes all the time. She said that if I ever got tired of performing, I could come back and teach with her.” She grinned at the memory. Neither she nor Carolyn had ever dreamed that she would do it any time soon, of course—but the offer had been a genuine one. If she ever found herself in need of work, just as long as she could dance at all, she would be more than welcome at the Carolyn Richards School of Dance.
The reminder was reassuring. No matter what happened here, Danni knew that she still had somewhere to go. That was good.
Mlle Kirby smiled. “Well, I hope you’ll think about staying with us this summer, then,” she offered, to Danni’s astonishment. “We usually have a good crop of kids coming in for camp—I think you’d really enjoy them.”
“Oh…I don’t know.” Danni glanced down uncomfortably. “I’ll have to…I mean, my mom is really wanting me to come home for the summer. She’s not so sure about me being so far away, you know?”
“And you’re fresh enough that you’re still homesick just thinking
“A lot of them,” Mlle Kirby confessed, her voice slightly muffled due to the fact that her torso, bent over an extended leg, was pressed all the way to the floor. “The ones who don’t truly love it never make it, I’m afraid—though to be fair, those who have made it this long do usually stay through Christmas.”
“The performance.” Danni didn’t even have to think about that one. Anyone who had any love for dance at all wouldn’t dream of leaving in the middle of preparations for a big performance—which, now that she thought about it, made it all the stranger that Helen, the girl whose place she had taken, had left.
Mlle Kirby nodded. “Even these little girls will be in it. I think this group is going to make up most of the mice, actually.”
“Oh, they’ll be so good at it!” Danni could see them scampering across the floor in their little mouse costumes—and they had been very good at scampering, as she had proven just a little while ago.
“I think so. Androv still hasn’t brought me the full choreography, though—and you know as well as I that if we don’t start teaching it to them soon, they’re never going to remember the steps.”
“They’ll remember. We just have to find a way to cement them in their minds, that’s all,” Danni said cheerfully.
Both women, content with the cool down, got to their feet at the same moment. Danni pulled on her jeans over her leotard for what she very much hoped would be the last time that day, frowning as she realized that yes, she was definitely going to need to keep an extra leotard in her bag. She was going to have to visit the campus store and see if they had any others in stock—maybe a couple of pink, like the ones the older girls had been wearing that morning.
She almost hated to put her jeans on over the sweaty leotard—but there wasn’t any sense in changing now. She needed a hot shower and her bed…after she did an hour or so worth of math.
Danni grimaced. Math.
“Oh—Danni.” Mlle Kirby stopped her before she could leave. “I just wanted to tell you, you did very well today. I think I’m going to enjoy having you as my assistant.”
Danni glowed. “Thank you,” she said quietly, well aware that her voice had gone soft and hesitant. “That’s…very kind of you.”
“Kind, nothing!” Mlle Kirby informed her. “Usually, the girls I get in here hate working with the kids—they’re just doing it to keep their scholarships. You seem like you really enjoy it.”
“I do.” Danni shrugged into her sweater. “I used to help Carolyn—my teacher back home—with the kids’ classes all the time. She said that if I ever got tired of performing, I could come back and teach with her.” She grinned at the memory. Neither she nor Carolyn had ever dreamed that she would do it any time soon, of course—but the offer had been a genuine one. If she ever found herself in need of work, just as long as she could dance at all, she would be more than welcome at the Carolyn Richards School of Dance.
The reminder was reassuring. No matter what happened here, Danni knew that she still had somewhere to go. That was good.
Mlle Kirby smiled. “Well, I hope you’ll think about staying with us this summer, then,” she offered, to Danni’s astonishment. “We usually have a good crop of kids coming in for camp—I think you’d really enjoy them.”
“Oh…I don’t know.” Danni glanced down uncomfortably. “I’ll have to…I mean, my mom is really wanting me to come home for the summer. She’s not so sure about me being so far away, you know?”
“And you’re fresh enough that you’re still homesick just thinking
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