Chapter 4
First day of class
The loud siren of the radio alarm clock began to screech as the time read 5:30 am. The two inhabitants of the dorm room grumbled as they began to wake up. Vanessa pulled the covers off over her head and sighed. She slapped her hand against the alarm clock and rubbed her eyes. She looked over to see Jackie had already sat up and started to stretch out. It was the day many in the dance department (well mostly the girls) feared. It was the first day of ballet with Vivian “The Dragon Lady” Tobio. She wasn’t a bad teacher; in fact she did lecture and explain things very well. The only problem the girls and many of the boys had with her was that she insulted them during class which made them feel inferior. It was one of those things that when you feel inspired for class even if you know it’s with her she ruined with just one word.
Literally rolling out of bed Vanessa shifted the alarm to pick up radio stations as she and Jackie got ready. Jackie was lucky she was in the music program of the college. The assistant dean of the college was also the head of the music program and one of the teachers. He was nice and inspirational. Taking a deep breath Vanessa waited for Jackie to leave and use the girls dorm showers so that she could get dressed. Walking up to her side of the room with her computer desk she grabbed the ballet uniform she laid out the night before and began to get dressed. The thing about the dance program was that everyone had a uniform; the girls had to wear pick tights with convertible holes on the bottoms for point class and a halter top leotard with the schools logo on it. The boys had to wear black tights with a white tank top with the schools logo on them. Even though it was college the dean found that the Dance program being the schools most well known program needed to be uniformed for discipline and for pictures of the school. It wasn’t just the college kids that had to wear the uniform, the middle and highs school kids had to wear them too.
Once dressed, Vanessa began pulling her hair into a tight bun. She looked at her work in the mirror making sure that not one hair was out of place. The way Vanessa saw it was that the college students set the example for everyone else. You wanted to be the best you had to look and perform your best. It wasn’t long before she had on a white t-shirt with the collar and the sleeves cut off to show her leotard under, and her black sweat pants, her pink tights where rolled up to about just under her calf. Putting on her Ed Hardy black boots with red roses on them she grabbed her dance bag and was out the door just as Jackie was coming in to change. Adjusting her dance bag one more time she pulled out her iPod from the small pocket and put on her favorite playlist. Giving a small wave to Jackie she was out the door and walking down the hall and out of the dorm building.
There was a slight fog along the campus grass and side walk as she headed to the cafeteria for a light breakfast. It was always her priority to wake up earlier then the class started so she could digest the food she would eat. She walked by greeting the other students who were up and walking around. It was a good day and she knew that even though her first class would be with “The Dragon Lady” she wouldn’t let it bother her for the rest of the day.
She continued along the path leading to the cafeteria all the while the iPod blasting “Quiet Little Voices” By We Were Promised Jetpacks. Once inside she made the line that had formed and grabbed everything she needed for her usual breakfast. She was about to walk to her usual morning table when she spotted Alex sitting by himself. Giving a smile she walked towards his table and placed the tray gently down. Once she did that she took off her head phones and turned her iPod off.
“Morning stranger” She said. “Do you mind if I sit?”
“No not at all, please join me” He said and took a bite of his toast.
“So I see I’m not the only early bird” she said as she poured her cereal in the small bowl and poured her chocolate milk over it.
“Yeah, I like the early start though it might not happen often” He said and smiled at her.
“All I can say is Dragon Lady will not ruin my day today” she said as she continued to eat her breakfast.
They sat in silence, enjoying each other’s company. It wasn’t until they were both finished with their breakfast that they resumed their conversation.
“I think I remember you from one of the auditions” Vanessa said softly.
“I think I could have done better” Alex said softly.
“I think you did great” Vanessa said softly. “You have something that not a lot of people had during the audition”
“Thanks” Alex said.
“I should get going I like to be inside the class room early to get a good spot at the bar” She said as she collected her things.
“Ok I’ll catch you later?” He asked.
“Yeah, you will definitely catch me later” She said as she put on her iPod earpieces and walked towards the cafeterias exit.
It wasn’t long before she reached the ballet class room and removed the top layers she had put on leaving her in her uniform. Taking her iPod she placed herself on the floor in front of where she would work on the bar and began to carefully stretch.
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Meanwhile, Alex headed in the direction of the boys class for the morning. He sighed when he found himself alone but he was glad he could find a good spot at the bar. Taking off just his jacket he turned on his iPod and warmed up by himself. It wasn’t for another 20 minutes that the rest of the boys began to show up for class. He pulled off his ear buds and turned off his iPod as John took the spot next to him.
“Hey man, you got here early?” John said to him.
“Yeah, I had first day jitters I guess” he said and shrugged.
“Don’t worry you’ll do fine” John said as he gave Alex a small pat on the back.
Just then their instructor Micha walked into the room and began the class. He started by going over the bar exercises and then moving on to the center. It came as a surprise to Alex when he was asked to demonstrate an exercise for Micha. It made Alex feel good that he was recognized for something. Once the center exercises were over they moved on to exercises that moved them across the floor. After class Alex felt great and gave John a high five and told him he would catch him later. Leaving the building he checked his schedule and noticed he had and English class next.
As he walked along the path away from the dance building he noticed a couple of girls staring at him. This was the first time he felt himself blush. During his high school years, the girls were intimidated to stay away from him from not only the head cheerleader but her boyfriend. It wasn’t long before one of them walked up to him and batted her eyelashes at him.
“Hi, my name is Camila. What’s your name?” she said as she began playing with her hair.
“I’m Alex, and sorry but I need to head to the English building it’s my next class on the schedule” He said as he ducked out away from her and made a bee line towards the English building.
Taking a deep breath he found Vanessa walking into the building. She looked tired and frustrated at the same time. He made a slight jog towards her and smiled.
“Hey stranger” he said.
“Hey, sorry I’m a bit frustrated after having dragon lady, she is not fun, and she made us do some across the floor exercises over until she felt satisfied. How was your first day with Micha?” she said and gave him a small smile
“Pretty good I was picked to demonstrate some of the exercises and I think I did a good job according to John” he said as he opened the door for Vanessa and walked in after her.
They continued talking when Vanessa realized she was in the wrong building.
“Crap I have Dance theory, I’ll catch you later” she said quickly and dashed out of the building and out of site.
Alex watched and chuckled to himself as he walked into his class room. He was starting to feel more at home now that he had friends.
PBSA by Howies Girl
