The Calling by Barbara Steiner

sick stomach and stayed in bed all the next day. No way could she go to the theater and dance as if nothing had happened. Especially now that she had the idea in her head that Rima may have tried to kill her or hurt her badly.
    That night Davin called her. “You are missing rehearsal, Miki. Are you ill?”
    Ill? Most people would say sick. This wasn’t the first time Davin’s language had turned formal on her, and she didn’t know what it meant. Maybe that he was angry? Did he talk like this when he was angry with her?
    â€œI—I need a couple of days off, Davin. I’ll be there Monday, Davin. I promise. I didn’t feel well today. But your—your hands—”
    â€œI am fine, Miki. You should never worry about me.”
    â€œI care about you, Davin. People worry about people they care for.” She could say this to him. He must know she liked him. She had certainly shown it. Maybe she’d be embarrassed if he knew how much.
    â€œAnd I care about you. You must dance with us.” His voice ordered her to be there with them. Ordered her to dance.
    â€œMonday. I promise.” She hung up slowly and was surprised to find that she was frightened by his call. Frightened, not by what he’d said, but by his tone of voice. If she was really honest, she would admit that she was afraid to go back to the theater.
    Afraid? Afraid of Davin? Of course not. How could she be afraid of Davin? Afraid of the rest of the troupe? Afraid of Rima? Her fear was sensible, but was she going to let Rima intimidate her? Going to say, oh, you like Davin that much? Oh, well, you can have him back. That wasn’t like her at all. She considered herself tough, a fighter. You have to be tough to survive in the arts. Dance is terribly competitive. Wimps don’t last. She had said that a million times. She and Paige said it to each other.
    You can watch Rima, she advised herself. Now that you know how much she dislikes you, you can be more careful.
    Maybe the real problem was that some of the magic was gone.
    But that was silly. She’d get the magic back. The minute she stepped on that stage the magic would come back. She’d be able to forget all the problems and dance. Wouldn’t she?
    The phone rang again. She listened to the shrill bell and stared at it for three rings, four. Silly. She grabbed it up and then felt relieved to hear Paige’s voice.
    â€œAre you all right, Miki? You weren’t at dance class. You didn’t call Ms. Lawton, and she asked where you were. I didn’t know what to tell her. Were you hurt worse than you thought?” Paige’s voice was full of worry.
    â€œNo, I’m fine, Paige. I just had that slight burn on my leg and a little one on my arm. I’m fine.” She hesitated. What to tell Paige? The truth? “I guess—I think I needed a day off. A day to let the world spin without me.” She tried to laugh.
    â€œWhat happened to you is enough to make me want to stay in bed for a week. Maybe longer. Your mother find out?”
    â€œNo. She accepted stomach flu as an excuse. Even said several people at work had it. But Davin called. He said I must be back at rehearsal. I begged off till Monday, but I think he was angry.”
    â€œAngry? At you? Surely not. Maybe something else was going on for him. Or maybe he was in pain, but he thought if he was rehearsing with burned hands, you could dance with only a small burn. He’s probably worried about you, too. Hey, maybe he missed you.” Paige seemed to have all the answers. Miki wished she had a few she could be sure of.
    â€œPaige, will you go to rehearsal with me Monday? We can ask if you can try out for the troupe. If they say no, that will be an excuse for you to be there, and you can stay and watch the rehearsal. I don’t think that will be a problem for them.”
    â€œI don’t know, Miki. I’d like to do that for you, but I’m not sure I like