One girl in a black leotard and pink tights moves through a set of pliés with effortless precision, knees bending and straightening in perfect time as one hand rests lightly on the barre.
Beside her, a tall guy mirrors the exercise a few feet away, his focus absolute, his free arm sweeping in perfect arcs as he lowers and rises, muscles shifting under his fitted rehearsal shirt.
Neither of them glances over when we enter — they're too locked in, breathing even, movements sharp and controlled.
Professor Callahan glances toward the doorway and her whole face brightens.
"Oh, there you two are!" she calls out, cheerful as ever, motioning us over.
Adam and I cross the room, our footsteps muffled against the sprung floor. The two ballet students pause mid–plié, stepping back from the barre, and even Professor Baker turns her head, posture as poised as ever, her arms still loosely folded.
By the time we reach them, the dancers have joined the small circle forming near the center of the room.
"Charlotte," Professor Callahan says, her voice warm with that teacher-proud tone she gets, "these are Caroline Pennington and Adam Klein — they're leading the play the Drama students are putting up for the Winter Showcase."
Miss Charlotte's mouth curves into a friendly smile as she steps closer and extends her hand first to Adam, then to me."Ah, so you're the ones we've been hearing about. Good to finally meet you both."
Adam shakes her hand firmly. "Nice to meet you too," he says, and I nod along, smiling as I take her hand.
"It's so nice to meet you too, Professor," I say.
She waves a dismissive hand with a good-natured laugh. "Oh, please — call me Miss Charlotte, like my students do. Or Miss Charlie, if you want to make me feel young."
"Got it," I chuckle, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. "Miss Charlotte it is."
Callahan gestures to the dancers. "And this is Betsy and Keith — two of our senior ballet students, and they'll be helping with your choreography."
Which, okay, quick rewind.
Yesterday during blocking rehearsal, Lucy pulled Adam and me aside and dropped this little bomb: she and Professor Callahan had been debating whether or not to sneak in a ballet number at the end of the play.
Like... a legit ballet number.
At first, I thought she was joking, but nope.
She laid it all out, explaining how it would be this big romantic finale — me and Adam dancing together as the Prince and the Sugar Plum Princess, our love literally bringing magic back to the land. Very fairytale, very twinkly lights and happily-ever-after.
And honestly? I kinda loved it. No, I definitely loved it.
Lucy even said,"If you two aren't comfortable, no pressure. We could always just have a group of fairies dance instead."
Which, sure, fine... except, hello? A random ballet fairy circle at the end? Cute, but it wouldn't hit the same.
So, of course, I blurted out that her first idea was better and made way more sense.
Adam actually agreed for once — shocking, I know, considering how much he hates the idea of wearing tights or anything remotely ballet-adjacent. I can practically hear him already, whining about wardrobe changes before we've even learned a single step.
And that's how we ended up here. Meeting Miss Charlotte and two of her best dancers, who are apparently going to whip us into ballet shape before opening night.
Pray for my feet.
Betsy wipes her hand on her warm-up pants before offering it with a bright grin. "Hi! It's nice to officially meet you guys."
"You too," Adam says, shaking her hand, and I follow, adding, "Looking forward to working with you."
Keith offers a polite handshake as well. "Same here. Should be fun."
Professor Callahan clasps her hands together, her usual smile in place but with that edge of urgency that always sneaks out when she starts talking schedules.
