Pirouette by Robyn Bavati Page A

bought it the year I first came to Candance.”
    â€œHmm!” Hannah retrieved her own bright red suitcase from beneath the bed. “We’d better swap,” she said, pushing the case with the shiny plastic shell toward Simone. “I’ll pack your suitcase; you pack mine.”
    Simone shook her head. “We have to go home with the same clothes we left with, so we should pack our own and swap when we’ve finished.” She was already transferring neat piles of shorts and T-shirts into her suitcase, which now lay open on her bed.
    Hannah tossed her own clothes onto the bed opposite, then made a half-hearted attempt to fold them.
    Simone frowned. “I thought I showed you how to fold clothes.”
    â€œDon’t worry, Sim. This suitcase is going back to my place, remember? I don’t need to be tidy till I get to your house. Hey, listen … ”
    Ripples of laughter and bursts of conversation echoed through the hallway. Above the din in the corridor, the voices of Liam, Sam, and Tom could be heard.
    â€œThey’re high on adrenaline, like me,” said Hannah. “Post-
performance euphoria.”
    â€œYou know what that is, don’t you?” said Simone. “Relief that you made it through alive.”
    â€œCould be,” said Hannah, grinning. “Shhh … ” she cautioned. The voices out in the corridor grew louder and nearer. Then came a drumbeat on the door.
    â€œI’ll nick into the bathroom,” Simone whispered, “while you say goodbye.”
    â€œShouldn’t you be the one to say goodbye? Don’t you want to see Tom?”
    Simone quickly shook her head. “I don’t have your performance afterglow, or any leftover makeup … ”
    â€œYou’re right,” said Hannah. She stepped out into the corridor to say farewell to her friends.
    Sam draped an arm across her shoulder. “I’ll miss you, Simone. Liam and I have decided to visit Melbourne over the Easter holidays.”
    â€œReally? That’ll be great.”
    Now Liam stepped in for a hug. “It was a fantastic summer.”
    â€œMy turn,” said Tom, pulling Hannah tight against him. “I wish we had time for a proper goodbye.”
    Liam groaned. “Cut the drama. You’ll see each other. You both live in Melbourne. Come on, mate. You’ve got a plane to catch.”

twenty
    Candance was over. It was getting dark, and most of the staff and students had already left. The few who remained were nowhere in sight, and the campus that had been buzzing with noise and excitement just a few hours before was now deserted. A sense of anticlimax hung in the air, adding a tinge of sadness to the silence.
    The two girls stood outside the main entrance to the campus, waiting for the taxi that would take them to the airport. Hannah would board Simone’s eight o’clock flight, and Simone would leave on Hannah’s flight an hour later.
    As the taxi came into view, Simone shivered, though not from cold. “I still can’t believe we’re doing this,” she said again.
    â€œIt is a bit scary,” Hannah admitted. “But what’s the worst that could happen? I mean, none of our parents are axe murderers, so how bad could it be?”
    Simone managed a weak half-smile but didn’t answer.
    Hannah placed a hand on her sister’s arm. “We don’t have to do this if it’s not what you want. You can still change your mind.”
    Simone hesitated. To any sane person, their plan would surely seem irrational. Should she call the whole thing of f ? But then she’d have to return to the VSD, and she couldn’t go back there. Not now. Not yet. Perhaps not ever.
    Besides, in spite of her doubts, she had to admit she’d been looking forward to an inside view of Hannah’s life. But for the luck of the draw, Hannah’s life might have been her own, and this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.