Page 4 of Rookie Season
It was to the point where I had to drive straight to my new job orientation without swinging by the apartment first—stopping at a Wendy’s to change into my leotard and sweats in the bathroom and still barely making it through the door here on time, cat crate in hand.
Classy? No. Necessary? Yes.
“Okay, thank you all so much, my little dancing queens!” Cora calls, signaling the end of the class, and the girls all get to their feet and curtsy to us.
I curtsy right back, which earns me a snort from Cora.
“You did well today, Allegra,” she tells me as the girls all run towards the cluster of chairs at the edge of the studio, where multiple moms and dads are already gathered.
“Thank you; it was fun,” I reply.
“Needless to say, I’m going to tell Marsha you should officially get the job,” Cora continues, tucking a strand of auburn hair behind her ear. “The kids love you already.”
“I lovethemalready.”
I smile as a mom picks her daughter up and pulls her into a huge hug, kissing her forehead—and then my smile immediately falls as I see Paige, arms crossed, standing alone as her classmates begin to file out of the studio, chattering excitedly.
I look around to see if anyone is there to collect her, and don’t see anyone. “Do the parents usually arrive promptly?”
“Oh yeah,” Cora says with a wave of her hand. “San Francisco traffic is brutal, so there’s often a couple of parents running a few minutes late, but they get here.”
“Okay,” I say with a nod, eyes still on Paige. I see there’s a couple of other girls still waiting and relax some.
“Remind me again, you graduated from South Georgia’s dance program?” Cora asks as she begins spraying down the mats.
I grab a bottle of cleaning solution to help her. “Uh, no. I went to USG, but I didn’t graduate.”
She tilts her head curiously, her auburn braid falling to one side as she does so. “So, what, you…”
“Dropped out of the course.” I fill in the blanks, trying not to flinch at my own words. “And just moved out here.”
“Ah,” she says, her expression morphing into one of understanding. “You moved out here to go pro, and you’re hoping to work here until you find a gig that pays well enough to not have to teach anymore.” She chuckles. “Join the club; this studio is full of us all in the same boat. Bold move to drop your program before completion, but you’re right if you think having more professional experience on your record will help you book more jobs in the future.”
I wipe down the last mat. “Good to know,” I say noncommittally.
Because it’s better that she thinks I had a plan in suddenly dropping out of USG—where I had a full dance scholarship—one month into fall semester of my junior year than what actually happened.
Now if only I can get my mother to think the same, so she doesn't worry about me moving myself across the country out of the blue.
I glance back at the door and see that another mom has come in.
“Sorry I’m late,” she calls as she takes the hands of the two girls waiting.
“No problem at all,” I say as I cross the room towards her. “Julia and Jasmine did great today.”
“Are you going to be our teacher again, Miss Ally?” Julia asks me with a big smile. Some of the littles had a hard time saying Allegra, so they’ve already dubbed me “Miss Ally,” which I kind of love.
“I sure hope so,” I reply. Once I get the job offer, I should be teaching multiple contemporary, jazz, and acro classes each week, with students ranging from ages five to eleven.
“Yay!” The girls cheer, and their mom thanks me as they leave.
I got super lucky to find the job ad online the night I decided not to return to USG for the fall semester, and even luckier that they agreed to interview me remotely and watch video footage of me dancing instead of seeing it in person.
“Do you know who’s picking you up today, Paige?” I ask as I crouch down to eye level with the one remaining dance student.
She sucks on her bottom lip. “My daddy, I think. He has a very busy job.”
“I’m sure he’ll be here soon,” I tell her. Class now ended ten minutes ago.
