Page 177 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 2

He has a girlfriend. She gave him a timid smile and looked away, but not before she saw him walk in her direction. She didn’t want to encourage him. It wasn’t fair to his girlfriend.

He sat down next to her. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

“I never thought I’d get to do this again.”

“Do what?”

“Sit next to you in a studio.” He smiled and she bit her lip. “Hell, just be near you.”

“Nate...” She shook her head and was relieved when his roommate plopped down next to them.

“Hey, Katrina.” Clayton flashed his mischievous smile that reminded her of Kurt.

“Hi.” She bent forward into a stretch to hide her nervousness.

“How was your dinner last night?” Nate asked.

“Nice.” She bit back a sigh. Wilhelm was gone now. She missed him already, and not knowing when she would see him again made her sad.

Vincent clapped his hands and the room fell silent as the dancers took their places. Anna stood and took a place next to Aaron. Nate stood on her other side with Clayton next to him.

“Just a reminder, you need to be at the airport Sunday morning by seven to catch the plane. Please don’t be late.” The room erupted in laughter as Vincent gave a pointed look at a guy across the room.

“I know! I know!” The dancer waved his hands in the air. “I’ll have three alarms to make sure I’m there.”

Anna’s heart leaped in her chest at Vincent’s announcement and looked sharply at Aaron. He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it.”

Vincent smiled and then looked around. “I’m sure many of you have noticed the new faces this morning. Some of you met them yesterday, but I’ll introduce them to the rest of you. Justin Sawyer has returned to us after spending some time in San Francisco, and with him came a new principal, Katrina Engel.”

Anna smiled shyly and gave a small wave, then looked at the floor.

“They will be dancing this upcoming program with us, so please help them out when they need it.” Vincent looked at the pianist. “Let’s begin.”

The music began and Vincent hurried over to her. “The warm-up is similar to what you’re used to, Katrina, but I’ll guide you through it once.”

Anna began the series of plies and relevés as Vincent stayed close to make adjustments and announce the steps. Vincent kept correcting her arm positions and Anna gritted her teeth every time, frustrated that she couldn’t remember what he’d just told her.

The warm-ups continued, gradually picking up speed. Despite the steps being nearly identical to those she’d danced nearly every day of her life—except during her training time with Jack—Vincent guided her body into unfamiliar positions. Things she’d done slowly in California were performed nearly twice as fast in New York. Vincent was very patient and never scolded her. In fact, he was incredibly encouraging. But by the end of the barre exercises, Anna was on the verge of tears.

Aaron touched her arm as she hung her head, sweating profusely and trying very hard to hide her tears. “It’s alright, Kat. You’ll get used to it. I promise.”

Only her fear of drawing even more attention to herself kept her from sprinting out of the studio in tears as they moved into the center of the studio for the next part of class. She kept her face lowered, avoiding eye contact with anyone in the mirrored wall in front of her.

Center work offered little solace. She couldn’t lose herself in the movements because they were so unfamiliar. The only respite came during the cross-room jumps where she effortlessly outperformed the women. She allowed herself a fleeting smile after she out-jumped one of the men. After that, her confidence grew... a little. Her balance was exquisite and her pirouettes flawless. As class concluded, many of the earlier smirks had transformed into respectful smiles. Despite still feeling like an outsider, a glimmer of hope lit in her heart that she might eventually find her place.

She went to lunch with Aaron, Nate, Clayton, Justin, and several other dancers. The girls that came with them stared as Anna sat down with a tray full of food. Anna noticed they had salads and vegetable soup, whereas Anna had bought a Caesar salad wrap and french fries.

“Should I not be eating this?” she whispered to Aaron.

Aaron laughed. “You always eat like that, don’t you?”

“Well, yeah...” She ate self-consciously at first, and then stopped altogether when she overheard one of the girls comment on Anna’s hips and what she was eating.

“Why aren’t you eating?” Aaron asked.

“I’m fat.” Anna stared at her hands in her lap.

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