Page 13 of Kissing the Debutant
“It’s no problem, I’ll just pull the shades down.” Jack set his broom against the wall and moved to the huge front windows.
“Sorry.” Lillian whispered with a miserable look on her face.
“Warm up, darling.” Her mother snapped her fingers again.
“I’ve been working on a new routine in Katrina’s class. I haven’t danced Kozlovsky’s routine in a while. I’ve kind of moved past it.”
“It’s a lovely classical dance, dear. One we paid a lot for him to choreograph specifically for you. This Katrina is the local studio owner, yes?”
“Yes, she’s a very talented teacher.”
“Oh darling, no. I’m sure she’s talented enough for this little town, but you’re here to use the facilities only. You shouldn’t be in any of that woman’s classes. I don’t want you to pick up any bad habits from an untrained—"
“Well, that’s my cue to leave you two to your practice,” Jack interjected. “Mycousin,Katrina said you can stay until seven-thirty.”
“We will probably need another hour.” The mom from hell didn’t bother to ask for that hour, much less look at him.
“I’ll be leaving at seven thirty, ma’am. I have family obligations, so that is as late as I’m prepared to stay.” Jack took his broom and headed for the back of the room to put his cleaning supplies away, barely catching their ensuing words.
“That was so rude, Mother.” Lillian sighed.
“Warm up, Lillian. Now.”
Jack had already finished cleaning the smaller practice rooms and didn’t have much work left to do, so he found a quiet corner to study behind the curtain separating the front desk from Katrina’s office. He tried to focus on schoolwork, but he couldn’t stop watching Lillian and her mother through a gap in the curtain. They did more bickering than dancing, and he cringed every time her mother stopped her mid-routine.
“Just let the girl dance already,” he muttered into his notebook, staring at the semester project sheet for his film class. He had to create a documentary on any subject he was passionate about. He already knew what he wanted to do, but wasn’t sure how to make it happen.
“No, no, no. Pause.” The mother kicked her shoes off. “Run through the positions with me.”
“Mom, you’ve barely let me get anything done.”
“First position.” Her mother clapped as Lillian moved into the pose beside her, turning her feet out at a ninety degree rotation from the hip. They were identical, but the movement looked painful to Jack. Lillian and her mother stood with textbook precision. He knew enough about ballet to know most dancers would pay a great deal of money to have the kind of perfect feet Lillian seemed to have naturally.
He watched as she moved through the four key feet positions and five graceful arm movements.
“Plié,” her mother barked orders like a drill sergeant.
Lillian dropped her torso into a graceful bend, her feet flat on the ground with her knees pointed outward in line with her toes. Her mother couldn’t ask for more. Lillian was technically flawless. She just needed a little life in her choreography.
“Good, good. Now run through your practice routine. We don’t have much time left, but I’ll make a list of everything you need to work on.”
“Fine.” Lillian moved to her phone to turn up the music.
Jack recognized Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty. It was Katrina’s favorite ballet—one of the most challenging roles for any seasoned ballerina. That it was Lillian’s practice piece told him she was the real deal.
The old school classic dance wasn’t really his thing, but Jack couldn’t take his eyes off Lillian as she moved through the complicated dance, making it look effortless. He watched her push away all distractions along with her mother’s criticism. Lillian was lost to the movement of her body. She loved it. No one danced like that if they didn’t love it. He just wondered how she handled the intense pressure.
The mother barely watched, choosing to scribble notes on the pad resting on her knee instead.
A flash of anger coursed through Jack as he listened to Lillian’s mother critique her every move, giving her a laundry list of technical elements to work on.
“Mom, you aren’t my coach.” Lillian finally spoke up for herself. “We’ve tried that, and it makes us both crazy.”
“I know. I’m just trying to help you, dear. Your audition for ABC is coming up in a few months. You need to be ready. The American Ballet Company is the most prestigious ballet company in the world—"
“But it’s not the only one, Mom. I know that’s what you want more than anything, but I get to decide my future.”
This sounded like a tired argument, and Jack realized he probably shouldn’t be listening.
