“What’s up, gorgeous?” she greeted me as she placed her bag on the floor beside her. “Ready for today?”
“Yeah, as ready as I’ll ever be,” I replied, catching a glimpse of a fuming Trelyn standing a few feet away. I ignored her, turning my attention back towards Dawn. She was busy taking some medicine. “Are you sick?”
“Huh?” She looks up and then back at the bottle in her hand before chuckling. “Uh, not really. They’re just some allergy pills and vitamins. Summertime has never been my friend. All that humidity and heat always gets to me. I’m starting to think it hates me for real.”
“You remind me of my niece,” I chuckle. “She is constantly stopped up because of how unpredictable this Louisiana weather always is.”
“I feel that,” she laughs, placing her pill container back in her bag. “It stays trying to take me out.” She pauses and ponderssomething for a bit before smiling once more. “Speaking of being taken out, would you like-”
“Okay, everyone, please find your way to your designated seats,” someone from her team says into the mic, and people begin to shuffle to their spots. “We’re about to bring in the first batch, so let’s all focus. I know y’all don’t want to be here all day.”
Dawn tells me that she’ll ask me later, and I nod before turning my attention towards the center of the room. As the first round of dancers came in, I tried to focus on their movements and precision to the best of my ability, but it was easier said than done, thanks to how close Dawn was.
Every couple of minutes, she’d lean over and ask me my thoughts or try to see the notes that I was jotting down on each dancer. I had to stifle a giggle every time she pretended to know what I was talking about when I explained certain things to her about the choreo. She was intrigued by the way I color-coded certain notes. See, I wasn’talwaysunorganized.
“Raine,” Dawn whispered after leaning closer once more.
Did I mention that she smelled so damn good? I wasn’t sure if it was her fragrance or the scent of whatever soap she used, but the fruity, fresh scent was a delight. It was calming, but not overpowering. Like a soft spring breeze dancing along the leaves of an apple tree.
“Hm?”
“I never got to tell you, but the choreography you came up with is fire,” she said. “I didn’t even know people could dance to my music like this.”
“Thank you,” I replied, my cheeks warming. “I mixed a few styles because I thought it’d match better with your sound instead of just going with one.”
“I love it,” she nodded. “You’re very talented.”
I smiled, thanking her once more before we turned our attention back right as the next dancer stepped forward. For thenext few hours after that, we watched the choreo be performed over and over, each dancer adding their own little spin. It made me giddy inside to witness so many people dancing to somethingIcreated.
By the time the last dancer had gone, I had compiled a list of my top fifty favorite dancers amongst the group. We took another 30 minutes to deliberate our decision, then called the dancers back in to let them know who would be moving on to the next round.
I’m not going to lie and say it wasn’t hard to let so many talented dancers go, because I knew all too well how it felt to give something your all and still not be enough. Watching some of them break down after not getting picked was enough to make me emotional as well. I was an empath through and through, so I should’ve known that this was going to be hard.
I just didn’t think it would bethishard.
I was able to hold it together until all of the dancers left the room, then I quickly excused myself and rushed towards the nearest bathroom. I locked myself in the biggest stall and instantly broke down. Maybe Trelyn and my sister were right. Maybe I wasn’t cut out for this lifestyle after all.
If I could cry over something as simple as narrowing down the potential dancers I was going to work with, then how was I going to be able to hold it together when something even worse happened? For a split second, I thought about going out there and telling Dawn I quit.
But just as the thought crossed my mind, anger and annoyance replaced it.
“This is the opportunity you've been waiting for all of your life,” I told myself as I dried my tears. “You have to learn to stop taking things so personally. Think about what you were hired to do, Raine!”
I nod and take a few deep breaths before exiting. I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and cringe at how puffy my face is. I splash some water on it and dry it off, hoping that my bloodshot eyes weren’t too noticeable.
Ugh, I wanted to go home.
After one last glance at myself, I exited the bathroom only to walk right into something soft yet sturdy. They catch me before I fall and pull me into their arms. I almost got whiplash from how fast I went from almost losing my balance to being wrapped in the most comforting hug I’d ever experienced.
“It’s okay to be sad about having to cut people,” the person whispers, and I immediately recognize them as Dawn. I pull back a bit to look at her, and she smiles softly. “You’re a sweet person and probably relate to being in their shoes, am I right?” I nod. “Just think of it this way: one door closing doesn’t mean that all of them will be closed forever.”
I freeze, shuddering at the coincidence. She notices and lets go, much to my dismay.
“Did I say something wrong?” She asks, genuinely concerned. “It’s like you got the chills or something.”
“No, no!” I frantically said, waving my hands. “You didn’t say anything wrong. It’s just that what youdidsay caught me off guard. It’s the same thing I’ve been telling myself for years.”
“Really?” She asks, just as surprised as I. I nod. “That’s wild. I’ve only ever heard my dad say it. He’d always tell it to me to cheer me up whenever I lost a talent show or got passed up for a role in the school musical when I was younger. Where’dyouhear it?”
