Page 6 of 1 Last Shot

The woman turns away from the group and focuses her attention on me. "Oh yeah? Sorry about that. I can't for the life of me get that website to update our address. Are you new in town, or just new to dance?"

It takes me a second to admit, "Both. Or at least, I'm new to contemporary."

She smiles. "Ballet, right?"

I huff a laugh and glance at Hailey, who had made the same assumption just as quickly. She shrugs, smiling back at me. "I'm not very good at hiding it."

Flapping a hand at me, Jane says, "Never hide it. Clearly, it's who you are." She reaches a hand forward for me to shake. "I'm Jane, as Hailey said. I teach the contemporary classes."

I return the handshake. "I'm Isabella. I had to do a little bit of contemporary as part of my training at the school I came up with, but I always wanted to dive deeper into it. I’m going to apologize ahead of time for being annoyingly graceful."

Jane lets out a bark of laughter. "You'll fit in just fine here."

At that, the tension leaves my shoulders. Because I believe her. I didn't realize I was nervous about fitting in with a new group, about trying something new—especially something so close in theory to the thing that's filled up my entire life—until Jane's reassurance. I give her a grateful smile.

"Alright, I'm heading back to the gym then," Hailey says, bringing me back to the present. "I'll be in this week sometime for class. Maybe I'll see you then?"

I nod, returning her kind smile. "Yeah, I'll be here tomorrow too. Thanks a lot for walking me over."

“Don’t mention it. Oh, and if you want, I can give you my number. You know, just in case you need it for ‘dance’ emergencies.” She laughs, but I can only blink at her in surprise.

Dance can be a very alienating sport, especially at the competitive level I've been at for the past few years, so it's rare that anyone actually goes out of their way to be friendly.

"You don't even know me," I blurt out before I can reel it in. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

Hailey’s expression softens. "I remember what it felt like to be on an island by yourself," she admits quietly, pursing her lips. "I wouldn't wish that on anyone."

I study her for a moment, wondering how this sweet, blonde-haired stranger appeared so suddenly in my life. But when I think about keeping to myself the way I normally would, I realize thateverythingin my life this past week, even the past year, has happened just as suddenly. And I remind myself that the whole reason I moved down here was to step out of my comfort bubble.

"That would be really helpful, actually. Thank you," I finally say, and this time, my smile is fully genuine.

Hailey’s expression brightens at that. She grabs the offered phone and puts her number in, then waves goodbye with an energetic, “Enjoy your class!”

Then the door closes behind her, and I turn back to face this new and terrifying environment.

And when I walk out of the studio a little bit later, it's with a lightness that I haven’t felt in a very long time.

3

ISABELLA

When I lock my apartment door behind me and start down the sidewalk, it’s with my mental checklist of what I still need to do already buzzing around in my mind.

I’m not nearly as far along in my “new life” to-dos as I had intended to be. It’s only been a week since I’ve moved to Philly, but I fully expected to accomplish more by now when I first came up with this insane temporary relocation idea.

I didn’t expect needing a week to catch my breath after the whirlwind of the past year.

I’m mulling over finding the nearest laundromat, when my phone begins to ring with my mother’s number. I swipeAcceptas I lift it to my ear.

"Hey, Mom."

"Hi, sweetheart. How was the new dance studio?"

I adjust the bag on my shoulder as I start walking toward the dance studio. "It was good. It's a nice change of pace from Mrs. Thompson's classes, that's for sure. A lot less shouts of 'point your goddamn toes, Izzy.'"

My mom's laugh rings in my ears. "That's not hard to do. I bet that woman said those words in her sleep."

I chuckle. "I'm not taking that bet."

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