Page 25 of Fragile

Leonie

After what felt like hours of limbering at the barre, my last class of the day went really well. I felt like I was starting to get noticed, having seen two of the main choreographers talking behind their hands while watching me dance.

As I got dressed in the changing rooms, Stella Richmond, a girl who started the same time as me, was full of compliments, saying how Sergey, one of the Directors, kept staring at me. It gave me a boost of confidence, but I knew I had to try harder. Competition was fierce.

Gathering my stuff, I declined the invitation from Stella and a couple of male dancers to join them for drinks. I needed to go by the cash point and establish how pathetic my bank balance was.

When I got to the closest ATM, the harsh truth that I was broke was like a kick in the stomach. Damn it. I needed to pay my first week’s rent upfront. That’s what I’d agreed with Gabriel and Asher.

As I stood beside the bank probably wearing the most pathetic expression ever, I saw one of my classmates across the road, walking into Aquarius. It was a club where a couple of girls in my class worked during the evenings.

Adrenalin pumped through me as I rechecked the bank receipt, taking in the fact that I only had three hundred and nine pounds in my account and I owed Gabriel two hundred for the first two weeks. Nervous tension gripped me. Would he kick me out if I didn’t pay straight away? Probably. The man wore a cloud of intolerance. My insides congealed at the thought of having to ask him for more time to pay.

A wave of defencelessness swirled through me. Shit. I needed a job and fast, either that or I’d have to call my foster parents and ask for money again. A thought which did not sit well with me. How on earth had I spent so much money with nothing to show for it? The trust that had been set up by my parents wasn’t accessible to me until my twenty-first birthday.

It was only six but the sun had started to set, making the street in London I was standing in feel eerie. I contemplated calling Asher, but for what reason? I would never ask him for money, ever.

Eyeing the club which was brightly lit across the street, my feet started moving of their own accord and before I knew it, I was standing in front of the double doors which led into the building. I could feel the bouncer by my side watching me.

“You OK, miss?” he questioned. “I’m going to need to see some ID,” he added. He was a huge round guy with a bald head, wearing a black puffer jacket and trousers.

“We don’t officially open until eight.” I could read him as clearly as a billboard, he thought I was underage.

I blinked my way from my stupor and looked up; hearing him catch his breath as those dark eyes roamed over my features.

Pursing my lips, I looked back and forth between him and the building like a metronome.

“Are you OK?” the bouncer repeated with creases beside his eyes.

Nodding my head, I pulled my gym bag further onto my shoulder and attempted to find some confidence from somewhere.

“I’m eighteen and a dance student and I need a job,” I informed him with a tilt of my chin. His features softened.

“Fuck me, eighteen. I have a daughter your age. Are you sure you want to work here?”

“I just saw my friend from school come in here.”

“To work?”

“Yes.”

“What’s her name?” he asked, rubbing his chin.

“Samantha Keller?”

He nodded his head. “Ah yes, Sexy Sam. That’s right. She does,” he replied with a grin before he added, “but are you sure this is the right place for you?”

My brow creased. “What do you mean?”

He shifted from foot to foot, suddenly looking uncomfortable. “Well, I don’t mean to sound rude, but you don’t look like the type of girl who would work in a joint like this.”

I digested his words before pointing out. “And Samantha does?”

The bouncer grinned, his eyes glittering like his golden tooth. “Yep.”

OK then; he was one of those direct types and I knew he was right. Samantha was very much the black swan type, whereas I was white to the bone.

My silence must have made him think I was upset and he quickly added. “Look, why don’t you go inside and have a look around? Jamie is working the bar tonight and he’s the person to speak to. I know they need waiting staff, maybe you could serve drinks and stick to dancing in the day; if you get my meaning.”

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