Page 99 of Race to Me

Minutes later, four other girls walk in.

“Okay, ladies,” Grace calls out. “We have two new girls in the group, Kate and Skyler!”

They wave, and smiling faces look between me and my best friend. They each come up and hug us.

A small girl with bleach blonde hair and a quiet voice says, “I’m Natalia, but everyone calls me Nat.”

Another girl, one tall with thick black hair, rests her arm around my shoulder. “I’m Charlotte. It’s nice to meet y’all!” Her thick southern drawl matches her cool demeanor.

“I’m Marie!” the next one says, a girl with honey brown hair who’s curvy and beautiful.

The last girl steps forward. “and I’m Mackenzie, but everyone calls me Mac.”

Charlotte snickers. “Like the truck.”

Mac playfully slaps Charlotte, and they burst into a fit of giggles. Grace gathers us in the center of the room. “Today, we’re running through the basics to get the girls acquainted.

“I don’t want to hold you guys back,” I protest.

Everyone smiles. “You’re not holding us back at all,” Marie shakes her head. “A break from the routine will be ah-mazing! Grace here is more like a drill instructor than a ballet teacher,” she teases.

Holding my ballet slippers in my hands and totally clueless to anything we’re doing, the girls crowd around me and Kate. They show us how to lace and warn us about the blood we’ll see after practice.

∞∞∞

They weren’t lying. My shoes are stiff and flat at the ends, and my toenails feel like they’re going to break off after the hour of rehearsals. I’ve never been in so much pain.

But it was pain that I chose for myself and pain I worked for.

There are a million positions. Positions for your arms, hands, knees, and feet. Pretty much every limb needs to be accounted for and thought of.

“Perfect rehearsal, girls. And thank you for welcoming our new ladies, Kate and Skyler. For now, practice will consist of learning for you two, and you can be a part of the next program.” she explains.

“Why can’t they do this one?” Marie wonders, her eyes pouting.

“Because it’s in three weeks, and they just aren’t ready.” Grace frowns. Three weeks. School will be done soon, and I’ll have ample time to practice.

“I’ll train. I’ll be ready.” I promise, wanting this so badly.

She shakes her head. “These girls have all worked for months. It wouldn’t be fair.”

“I understand,” I don’t want to take anything away from them. Kate nervously wrings her hands, and I know she wants it too.

Every single girl in the room shakes their head. “It’s fair! They can do it!”

“Yeah, I’ll stay after and help.” Marie, the girl with the honey brown hair, offers.

“And we can record the routine so y’all can watch it!” Charlotte sings.

A tear falls down my cheek, and I turn to smile at Kate. We’ve found our people.

With a sigh that contains pearly white teeth, Grace surrenders, handing us a roll of blue fabric that was tucked into a shelf along with a drawing of the style dress we’ll need. “Here’s our colors. The usual tailor is booked up, so if you can find a seamstress, we would love to have the whole team together for the performance.”

I don’t need to think for more than a second. “Mrs. Rita.” I say, looking at Kate.

“Oh, and you’ll both need to find a partner.” Grace adds.

“We can be each other’s!” Kate cheers.

---