The Ballerina's Secret. Teri Wilson
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Название: The Ballerina's Secret
Автор: Teri Wilson
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Контркультура
Серия: Wilde Hearts
isbn: 9781474077798
isbn:
He cleared his throat and damned the reawakening of his senses. “Daria.”
She stared daggers at him. “It’s Madame.”
He smiled and said nothing. He was only half paying attention, anyway. Tessa had removed her shoes, revealing her gracefully arched feet. They were flushed. Cherry red. She looked as though she’d been walking barefoot through a field of poppies.
“You were satisfactory today,” Daria said primly.
Satisfactory.
Julian suppressed an eyeroll. Other than his short audition the day before, today marked the first time he’d played any sort of music in two years. Two years, one month and sixteen days, to be exact. Not that he was counting. The days somehow counted themselves, no matter how hard he tried to stop keeping track.
Two years. He supposed satisfactory wasn’t the worst assessment in the world. What had he expected?
He didn’t even know, other than he’d thought it would be somewhere besides a ballet studio, where the only people who knew his name were Chance and a taskmistress who barely cleared five feet tall. A taskmistress who clearly expected him to show up again tomorrow.
“I’ll expect you at nine o’clock in the morning,” she said. “Sharp.”
Thanks, but no, thanks.
“Fine.” He turned on his heel, telling himself it wasn’t too late. He could still get out of this.
Say it. Just say it. I’m not coming back.
But the words stuck in this throat as his footsteps echoed past the empty space where Tessa had been.
“New pointe shoes?” Tessa’s mother, Emily Wilde, eyed the Freed of London bag sticking out of her dance bag.
Ugh, why hadn’t she zipped it properly? Never mind, though. She’d done nothing wrong. She didn’t have anything to hide.
Other than the weird sounds she’d heard yesterday, obviously. That was a different story, and much more serious than an audition for a part she probably wouldn’t even get.
“I’m auditioning for the Manhattan Ballet.” Tessa unclipped Mr. B’s leash and let him loose in the dance school. He trotted to the dog bed in the corner of the main classroom, spun three circles and then collapsed in a furry little heap.
When Tessa looked up, her mother had already begun signing. Her hands moved through the air in an alphabetic flurry. “Again? Oh, Tessa.”
“Yes, again.” She wondered what her mother’s voice sounded like now. Emily never talked when she signed, so Tessa couldn’t tell if she sounded the same.
Probably not. Nothing sounded like it should. She felt as though she’d woken up a day ago at the bottom of the ocean. Everything sounded muffled. Distorted. Not at all like she remembered.
“I need you to look after Mr. B today, okay?” He’d expressed his displeasure about being left behind the day before by disemboweling a throw pillow. There’d been more feathers on her living room floor than in the first three acts of Swan Lake. “And possibly tomorrow.”
Her mother’s eyebrows shot up. “Tomorrow, too?”
If I last that long. “The cast list goes up tomorrow afternoon.”
“I see.” Her mom nodded. “And will you be back today in time for the preschool tap class?”
Preschool tap. What on earth would that sound like? Tessa didn’t want to know. God help her. “Sorry, I have a doctor’s appointment late today. Can we get Chloe to cover it?”
Her sister, Chloe, should be the one teaching tap, anyway. She was a Rockette. She lived in tap shoes. But she always had something more pressing to do. More important. It was getting kind of old, truth be told.
“I’ll check.” Her mother’s eyes narrowed. “I didn’t realize you’d scheduled a doctor’s appointment. Is everything okay?”
Tessa had no idea how to answer that question. Things were not okay, which was why she’d made the appointment to begin with.
But if she was truly getting her hearing back, wouldn’t it get better? It had to. She couldn’t live like this. She’d rather be deaf.
“Everything’s fine.” She pasted on a smile.
She’d tell her mom what was going on once she had a handle on things. She couldn’t deal with any additional drama. Not when she still had two more days of auditions to get through.
“Good. I’ll see you later, then. Don’t worry about Mr. B. He loves it here.”
As should you.
Emily didn’t say so. She didn’t have to. Tessa got the message loud and clear.
She wanted too much. She should be happy teaching dance. Which was probably why her mom hadn’t even wished her good luck at her audition. She probably hadn’t thought to wish her well. She’d just assumed Tessa wouldn’t make it. Just like all the other times she’d auditioned in the past year.
Tessa glanced at the clock on the wall above the record player that had been a fixture at the studio since she’d been too little to reach the barre. It was late. She wouldn’t have to worry about her audition if she didn’t hurry to make the train. She waved goodbye to Mr. B, and left.
While she sat in the subway car, she mentally reviewed the combination Ivanov had taught them the day before. The train made a terrible noise, though. Much louder than the music from Heathcliff’s piano.
Heathcliff. She really should stop calling him that, even to herself. Surely the man had a name.
Don’t you have more important things to be concerned about?
She did. Namely, the time.
She flew into the Manhattan Ballet studio with only ten minutes to spare. Through the tiny window at the end of the hall, she saw Chance Gabel standing just a little too close to Sabrina Cox, one of the other principal dancers. Neither of them was dancing, or paying the least bit of attention to anyone or anything, other than each other. Which meant rehearsal hadn’t started.
Good. She wasn’t late.
Yet.
She pushed the door open, intent on getting to her spot and slipping her shoes on as quickly as СКАЧАТЬ