outfits with bare midriffs and feathers.
“Oooh, I like the one with the low-cut green leotard and pink shorts,” whispered Viktor, wagging his eyebrows at Katerina. “Maybe we have to get you same outfit. I think it is very American.”
She burst out laughing and wrapped her arms around his waist. “You are an idiot.”
Nina and Mateo put on microphones and went to the front of theroom to demonstrate. Adrienne and Dominic stood to the side, watching. Even before the group was supposed to do the combination, some people were marking it with their bodies, flinging their arms and legs around wildly regardless of who might get hit. They learned a few short combinations, then the entire room did the routine together, then Nina and Mateo had them do it in groups of ten. I couldn’t tell the difference between any of them, only when someone went the wrong way. People paired up with each other, becoming flustered as they didn’t know how to lead or follow.
It was a sort of controlled chaos. I noticed Dominic, Adrienne, Mateo and Nina circulating through the crowd, whispering to certain people. Somehow they picked out a group of thirty-five people who were invited back to take the two-week training course, which was actually an elimination class. Every day they decided who would be allowed to return the next day.
I heard the dancers discussing the candidates after every session in the reception area. Adrienne said that mainly what the studio needed was someone to teach beginning students and groups, so personality was vital. They wanted someone who could dance well but was also approachable, whom students could identify with.
“I like the redhead,” Mateo said.
“He’s handsome but arrogant. I’m afraid he’s going to turn into another Estella,” said Adrienne.
“What about the other one, that one with the endless legs?” Nina asked.
“Too tall, and bowlegged too. She’s going to tower over half of the male students,” Dominic answered.
“I have my hopes set on the blonde. She’s a quick learner, good technique and a great personality,” Adrienne said, but that woman didn’t show up the next day. She’d gotten cast for a Broadway show.
—
On nights after Lisa was asleep, when I wasn’t too exhausted by my day, I stayed up to work on a present for her. I wanted to give her something after she took the Hunter test to let her know how proud I was that she was trying, and also so that if she didn’t get in, she would have some consolation. Although the January test was months away, I knew how slow I was. I bought a ball of shiny purple yarn with glitter woven through it. I’d seen other girls in her class wearing long sparkling scarves. Years ago, Zan had shown me and our friend Mo Li how to knit, but while Zan’s stitches had been perfectly uniform, mine were lumpy. I had caught a slight cold and my throat was bothering me, but even as I frowned over my attempted scarf now, I tried to keep my spine straight and neck long, like the dancers at the studio.
I glanced at the photo of Ma and our jar of Broadway show money. Now that I was earning more as a receptionist, I gave Lisa a dollar to put in there every week. I still gave most of my paycheck to Pa. He was trying to save money for our future too. I’d tried to convince him that he didn’t need to provide us with dowries anymore but he’d said, “Dowry, college, same thing.”
Lisa continued to sleep badly, waking up exhausted and pale. She had nightmares and was now wetting her bed once or twice per week. At first, I’d put extra cloths underneath her sheets to keep the urine from soaking into the sofa, but soon I bought her some waterproof bedding from the bit of my salary I kept for myself.
Now she started thrashing on the couch. I dropped my knitting and hurried over to her. I held her and pressed my lips against her temple. “Lisa, you’re dreaming. It’s okay, it’s not real.”
She blinked, stared at me, then sat up. She hugged
“Oooh, I like the one with the low-cut green leotard and pink shorts,” whispered Viktor, wagging his eyebrows at Katerina. “Maybe we have to get you same outfit. I think it is very American.”
She burst out laughing and wrapped her arms around his waist. “You are an idiot.”
Nina and Mateo put on microphones and went to the front of theroom to demonstrate. Adrienne and Dominic stood to the side, watching. Even before the group was supposed to do the combination, some people were marking it with their bodies, flinging their arms and legs around wildly regardless of who might get hit. They learned a few short combinations, then the entire room did the routine together, then Nina and Mateo had them do it in groups of ten. I couldn’t tell the difference between any of them, only when someone went the wrong way. People paired up with each other, becoming flustered as they didn’t know how to lead or follow.
It was a sort of controlled chaos. I noticed Dominic, Adrienne, Mateo and Nina circulating through the crowd, whispering to certain people. Somehow they picked out a group of thirty-five people who were invited back to take the two-week training course, which was actually an elimination class. Every day they decided who would be allowed to return the next day.
I heard the dancers discussing the candidates after every session in the reception area. Adrienne said that mainly what the studio needed was someone to teach beginning students and groups, so personality was vital. They wanted someone who could dance well but was also approachable, whom students could identify with.
“I like the redhead,” Mateo said.
“He’s handsome but arrogant. I’m afraid he’s going to turn into another Estella,” said Adrienne.
“What about the other one, that one with the endless legs?” Nina asked.
“Too tall, and bowlegged too. She’s going to tower over half of the male students,” Dominic answered.
“I have my hopes set on the blonde. She’s a quick learner, good technique and a great personality,” Adrienne said, but that woman didn’t show up the next day. She’d gotten cast for a Broadway show.
—
On nights after Lisa was asleep, when I wasn’t too exhausted by my day, I stayed up to work on a present for her. I wanted to give her something after she took the Hunter test to let her know how proud I was that she was trying, and also so that if she didn’t get in, she would have some consolation. Although the January test was months away, I knew how slow I was. I bought a ball of shiny purple yarn with glitter woven through it. I’d seen other girls in her class wearing long sparkling scarves. Years ago, Zan had shown me and our friend Mo Li how to knit, but while Zan’s stitches had been perfectly uniform, mine were lumpy. I had caught a slight cold and my throat was bothering me, but even as I frowned over my attempted scarf now, I tried to keep my spine straight and neck long, like the dancers at the studio.
I glanced at the photo of Ma and our jar of Broadway show money. Now that I was earning more as a receptionist, I gave Lisa a dollar to put in there every week. I still gave most of my paycheck to Pa. He was trying to save money for our future too. I’d tried to convince him that he didn’t need to provide us with dowries anymore but he’d said, “Dowry, college, same thing.”
Lisa continued to sleep badly, waking up exhausted and pale. She had nightmares and was now wetting her bed once or twice per week. At first, I’d put extra cloths underneath her sheets to keep the urine from soaking into the sofa, but soon I bought her some waterproof bedding from the bit of my salary I kept for myself.
Now she started thrashing on the couch. I dropped my knitting and hurried over to her. I held her and pressed my lips against her temple. “Lisa, you’re dreaming. It’s okay, it’s not real.”
She blinked, stared at me, then sat up. She hugged
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