Chapter Ten
I didn't even feel good in the pretty dress. I might have looked stunning, but nothing was going to get rid of the stigma of being the only student who'd spent less than ten minutes on stage. I'd seen my parents in the audience, so excited when I first came on. I didn't want to know what their expressions looked like now. I just wanted to leave.
Amber had patted me on the back as we dispersed to change into our Gala clothes and issued a very mocking nice dancing out there. My dancing had been perfect, there'd just been significantly less of it than I'd wanted.
I felt even more awkward in the dress than I thought I would, too. The thought of turning up in a dress way below the standards of everyone else had been embarrassing, but I realised everyone must know someone here had bought me the dress. That was worse.
I hoped no one cared enough about me to try and find out who was funding my wardrobe. I really didn't want to incite any extra hate from Amber. Maybe this had been her plan all alongâLeon bought me the dress and she had an excuse to do mean things to me for as long as it made her happy.
Walking into the Gala was painful. Not only because my muscles were sore from all my training, but because it felt like everyone's eyes were on me. They weren't, of course. I doubted anyone even recognised me, but I hung my head and didn't meet anyone's eyes nevertheless.
The urge to run out and never come back was so very tempting.
"Carly!" My mam and dad found me in no time, coming to give me a hug. Their smiles weren't convincing. "You had such a small part."
"Yeah," I scratched the back of my head. "I did."
"Why? You still looked beautiful up there, obviously." She squeezed my shoulder. "But I thought you'd be in it more."
"I may not have been entirely honest with you," I admitted. "Ballet hasn't exactly been going fine." I bounced from side to side on my heels and couldn't look at either of them. This was so mortifying. "I was seriously behind everyone else when I first started, so I got a rubbish role in the performance. I'm catching up, though. I'm a lot better already."
My parents shared a look. It was obviously something they'd considered beforehand. "I see." My mam looked very tempted to hug me, but I was glad she repressed it. Right now we were hovering near a corner and no one had any reason to look twice at us. Well, maybe at the excessive amount of cleavage my mam apparently thought was acceptable, but otherwise we were inconspicuous.
"Are they doing everything they can to help you out, though?" My dad asked with a large frown. "They're a big school with all the resources in the world. They should be able to get you up to scratch in no time. You've got raw talent."
"They have," I assured him, trying to avoid looking for Mr. Langley in the crowd. "I have a personal tutor who has been helping me after hours. That has really helped."
My mam rolled her eyes. "You're already picking up their poshness, pet. If you start saying I am instead of I'm I'mma get worried."
I chuckled. "You really have nothing to worry about," I assured them for the second time. The Geordie accent wasn't even that great, I had no idea why she wanted me to keep it so badly.
"So, who's the tutor? Do we know them?" I wasn't sure how they possibly could have done.
"He's called Mr. Langley." Facing him in lessons after this was going to be so difficult I didn't even want to think about it.
My dad made a sound of utter disapproval. "He's tutoring you and he gave you such a tiny part in his own ballet? Sounds like a dickhead to me."
My mam slapped him across the arm. "I won't have that language around my daughter."
He hung his head. "Sorry, dear."
"But yes, he does very much sound like what your father just said. Do we get to meet him?"
"He has to be realistic," I argued, though I had no idea why. "I'm not as good as everyone else. He has to choreograph to that, not be biased."
"Everyone's allowed a little bit of bias when it comes to my daughter," my mam huffed, gaze stalking across the room as if she was going to recognise Mr. Langley somehow. "Speaking of someone showing bias."
Leon approached with a wide smile. I wondered if he'd somehow managed to sneak alcohol inâthere was no way anyone should be looking so cheerful at this thing.
"Hey." He did the whole kissing on the cheek thing and I felt a bit slimy. Amber was going to swoop in at some point, I was sure of it. "Your look gorgeous."
"I feel shit," I told him, cheeks heating when I realised I'd sworn. "Sorry Mam," I quickly apologised. I'd gotten too used to not being around them and my language had gone into an awful downwards spiral. "You were good, anyway. Very... captivating," was what I settled on. I was sure that was what Mr. Langley had been going for with the choreography.
Watching everyone else perform the lift we'd done together was painful. Why'd he gone and done something to make me so angry like that? I wanted to crush on him, not be thinking of ways to exact revenge.
We'd had that perfect dance and he'd gone and ruined everything. That dance would have been enough to sustain my fantasies for daysâwell, it had, but our argument had meant I'd felt guilty about them after getting myself riled up.
"Thank you," Leon brought me back to the real world, luckily just before I gave in and searched the room to find out what Mr. Langley looked like in a suit. "You danced well. You should have had a bigger part."
"Tell me about it," I grumbled. "Well, you can take that up with Mr. Langley next time you see him."
Leon chuckled. "I really don't see him very often, unfortunately."
"Well, lucky for you." I was still dreading our next lesson together. I didn't doubt for a second that he was stubborn enough to forego any kind of apology. He probably didn't even think he'd done anything wrong. Maybe he hadn't. My last line had definitely overstepped the mark, whichever way I looked at it.
Maybe he'd think that meant we'd formed some sort of truce and that everything would return to normal.
I wasn't about to live down this shame any time soon.
"You do?" He inquired with a lifted eyebrow.
Blinking, I realised there really wasn't any reason for anyone to know that I was getting private lessons with him. "Oh, sure. He's my personal tutor since I suck."
"Huh," Leon chuckled. "I thought you were improving incredibly fast." I wasn't even sure whether that was supposed to be an insult or not. Leon was certainly not the most charismatic person I'd ever met. "Well, that's cool. A bit rough that he didn't give you a bigger part, then."
"Yes, I get it." I really didn't mean to snap, but the entire thing was really pushing my patience. "It's over with now, though. I'd rather just forget about being shown up like that, if you don't mind."
Leon held up his hand, smile fading a bit. "Right, sorry."
I waved him off. "It's fine, I'm just moody. Thanks for coming to say hi."
"No problem. It was good to see you, and you," he nodded to my parents. "I've got to go and find Amber, anyway. I might chat later."
"Sure. Have fun." My sarcasm wasn't hidden overly well, but I caught Leon's smirk. Whether it was a recognition that Amber's revenge for my semi-insult was coming soon or because he knew his girlfriend was insufferable, I wasn't sure.
"Oh, he is charming," my mam sighed after he'd gone. "You shouldn't be so mean to him."
"Please don't," I begged. "I can't deal with matchmaking right now. I'm so not in the mood. He's literally gone off to find his girlfriend. Did you not see them dancing together earlier?" It would have been impossible to miss it. They stole the show. "They're very into each other."
My mam didn't let that faze her by any stretch of the imagination. She linked her arm through mine and gave me an almost sympathetic pat on the hand. "They're actors, pet, it's all part of the performance." Just as Mr. Langley's expression during our dance had been. "That boy is quite clearly very into you. Just look how heartbroken he was when you snapped like that."
"Mam, I really can't be bothered."
She gave my hand another pat before acquiescing. "If you say so. You should make a move, though. Let him know you're interested."
"I'm not interested." Perhaps I hadn't made that quite clear enough yet. It wasn't just that he was unavailable, I just really was not into him.
Her eyebrows knitted. "Oh. Who, then?"
"No one."
"No one?" It was the most sceptical response I'd ever received. She likely would have been more believing if I'd told her I'd been abducted by aliens. "You're always into someone."
"You make me sound so needy," I complained. Maybe having the kind of mam I talked about relationship drama with wasn't always the best thing. "You have no idea how hard I've had to be working to get my dancing up to scratch. I don't have any thoughts that aren't about stupid ballet anymore." My ballet teacher counted among that broad category.
"Oh, you do still enjoy the dancing, though, don't you?" My mam frowned. "It was always something you loved doing, never a chore."
"I still like it," I assured her, taking a glance towards the drinks table and wondering whether they had alcohol on there for the parents. Maybe I could sneak some. Callum and Dean would probably know how. They probably had hip flasks. "It's just been tough work now I'm taking it a bit more seriously."
"Of course." She was cut short by Liliana's approach. I felt a bit more reassured when she greeted me with a couple of kisses on the cheeks. Leon wasn't just being weird, then.
"Hi!" She beamed, extending her hand for my parents to shake. "I'm Liliana, Carly's friend. It's nice to meet you." She was far too preppy for me to deal with this evening. I wanted alcohol and someone to bitch at, not smiling faces.
"Nice to meet you too." My mam wasn't impressed. Liliana didn't even give off the stuck-up vibe as far as I could tell, she was just nice.
My dad was more accommodating. I felt sure his smile was genuine. "Nice to meet you."
"Do you mind if I borrow your daughter for a moment?" She looped her arm through mine and I wasn't sure whether this would be better or worse than the current situation.
"Of course not."
I was dragged away instantly.
"My parents insisted on meeting you." Liliana rolled her eyes. "I thought I may as well get it over and done with."
I wasn't even sure why I was nervous. Liliana was nice and just because her parents polluted the atmosphere quite a lot didn't mean they weren't either. They probably hadn't even noticed me during the performance, unless of course Liliana had pointed them out because she was sitting in the audience rather than being a dancer. I resisted the urge to groan. They were going to hate me.
"Why?"
"I am not really sure. They just like meeting my friends. They were a bit horrified by Callum and Dean, to be honestâoh! Not that I mean they're going to hate you or anything." She gave an awkward giggle. "I think they will be glad I've made friends with a girl."
I followed her example and shook their hands, introducing myself with what I hoped wasn't too much of an off-putting smile.
Liliana's parents were stunning. I'd thought rich people normally had kids when they were olderâstacking up the money before they bothered with a family. Liliana's mam couldn't have been older than forty. There wasn't a wrinkle on her face. I wasn't ashamed to admit that I'd have had a go at her dad if I'd come across him in a club, either. I'd have needed to be a little bit wasted, but he was a good looking guy.
"Nice to meet you." We exchanged formalities. "Liliana has told me so many good things about you. Apparently you're a very intelligent girl."
I resisted the urge to scratch the back of my head awkwardly and knew my cheeks were an unflattering scarlet. No amount of foundation had ever been able to hide my horrid blushes. "She may be exaggerating a little."
"Nonsense. So, how are you enjoying the school? It's always been a perfect choice for us. We've never had a real complaint."
"Oh, it's really nice." Trying to be eloquent wasn't likely to get very far. I'd probably use a word incorrectly or something. Sticking to what I knew was better. "The teachers are very good. Really, I just love the building, though." That was honest. "I like old buildings."
"You would adore our house," her mother assured me, a wide smile covering her face. The rings on her fingers were probably worth more than my parents' house. "You'll have to come and visit. The gardens are the best part. Maybe not this time of year," all the leaves were gone by now, "but in the sprint when things are green again."
When the head teacher approached, I knew it was definitely time to leave. "I would love to," I lied. "I really need to go and find my parents. I really want to spend as much time with them as possible whilst they're here."
"Of course, darling," Liliana's mam shook my hand again and her dad gave me an awkward kind of nod. He wasn't the social butterfly of the family. I scampered away with a small smile of apology to Liliana. She probably didn't want to deal with them, either.
Finally finding myself at the drinks table, I was disappointed to only find a selection of juices. They had tomato juice but no lemonade. What kind of party was this? Grimacing, I poured myself some apple juice and searched for Callum's mane of bushy hair. He had to have some alcohol. It was exactly the kind of thing he'd sneak into a party like this.
Unfortunately, I was faced with someone far less likely to have alcohol. I scowled at Mr. Langley. "What?"
Mr. Langley had the decency to look a bit guilty. "I wanted to tell you that you danced well today."
"A five year-old could have danced that well, so that doesn't make me feel too great."
He grimaced, pouring himself a drink so that he wasn't forced to respond straight away. "I wanted to talk to you."
"Unless you're here to apologise, I really don't see what we have to talk about." He'd made me go on stage knowing that everyone was going to see that I was the single worst dancer in the room. It was cruel.
He took my glass from my hand and placed it on the table so that he could surreptitiously squeeze my arm. "I'm sorry." It was sincere. He said it whilst staring in my eyes and I knew I was too much of a sucker to resist him.
"Fine. Let's go talk. Just so you know, I don't entirely forgive you. I'm just indulging you because you look like a kicked puppy when you do that."
Mr. Langley chuckled. "As long as you're willing to have a conversation with me, I'll take it."
He turned and walkedâexpecting me to followâuntil we reached the far end of the massive hall. Opening the door, he let me slip outside first. It was only open a crack and I was forced to brush the length of my body against his to get out. That had to be intentional, didn't it?
On the balcony, I wrapped my arms around my middle and stared out into the extensive grounds. Out here in the middle of nowhere I could actually see the stars and a small smile worked its way onto my face. "There's too many lights in the city. It's pretty out here."
"I really can't work you out," Mr. Langley came to stand beside me, shaking his head. "Are you really saying something cheesy? I don't understand."
I gave him a playful jab in the ribs on instinct. "Everyone's allowed to be cheesy sometimes. What did you want?"
"I wanted to tell you what happened to my dancing career."
That caused my back to straighten. I wasn't expecting this to be revelation time and I found a bit of guilt nagging its way in. "I was kind of a dick when I said that to you before I left. You don't have to tell me anything." Most of all, he was only my teacher. He really didn't owe me any kind of obligations at all.
"I want to," he assured me. "When I left school I got approached by a couple of ballet companies. I got an offer from the Northern Ballet and an audition for the Royal Ballet." My eyebrows rose. That was impressive. "I went to the Royal Ballet audition and missed the deadline to accept my offer for the Northern Ballet. I ended up getting neither." He shrugged, but the pain was obvious. His ballet dreams had been destroyed.
"I'm sorry." I wasn't sure what else I could say there.
"I just wanted you to know that I wasn't trying to be mean. When you leave school it's not a walk in the park and you need to understand the pressures."
I turned to observe his face. His eyebrows were knitted as he watched me back. "Thank you."
"I should have given you the bigger part, though. I took it too far."
My lips quirked. "It doesn't make me feel much better about having to explain to my parents that I lied to them about everything being fine, but I appreciate it."
Mr. Langley scratched the back of his head. "Sorry. Nice dress, by the way."
My cheeks burned with the compliment, but I smoothed it down uncomfortably. "Leon bought it for me, so I'm feeling a bit icky to be honest."
Mr. Langley pulled a face. "But he's Amber's boyfriend."
"Yeah, it's weird. I think they must be plotting something."
"Or he just likes you," he suggested, lifting one shoulder. "The dress really does suit you. He probably just enjoys throwing his money around at pretty girls."
I bit the inside of my cheeks on any comments. I didn't want to scare him off when he was being nice like this. Instead, I tried to think of something to say quickly before Mr. Langley decided he'd retreat back into teacher-mode. "I'm pretty sure they're plotting."
"Well, I'd just stay as far away from him as possible. Whether he likes you or not, Amber isn't going to be impressed if she thinks he does." I thoroughly enjoyed the protective edge to his voice.
"Makes sense," I agreed. "He creeps me out a bit anyway. I really have no intention of indulging him, I wish I hadn't even worn the dress."
"I don't know, the dress might have been worth it," Mr. Langley smiled before his expression faded slightly. "I should really go and mingle with people. They always want to talk to the teachers."
"Do you like being a teacher?"
"I'm not really sure," he admitted, shoving his hands in his trouser pockets. "I'm not sure I've gotten over wanting to be part of a real ballet company enough to enjoy it yet."
"That makes sense. You're a really good teacher, though, if that helps. I'd still be useless if it weren't for you."
He cracked a grin. "Thank you."
"I should go, too," I acknowledged, though every part of me wanted to stay on this balcony and continue to chat. It could only be better if Mr. Langley wrapped his arms around me and warded off some of the freezing air that was beginning to turn my limbs numb. "My parents will be wondering where I've gone."
I turned to walk out the door, but Mr. Langley gripped my hand to stop me. "I'm really impressed by you, just so you know. I'll really try and get you the biggest part in the end of year performance as I can."
I hoped my grin was gorgeous, because my stomach was doing flips. "Thanks, sir."
"Please just call me Ethan. Sir is weird."
I slipped back into the hall with the biggest grin on my face. Ethan. I could get used to that.
Spotting my parents hanging around in the same spot, I made my way towards them.
Half way there, Amber walked straight into me. It shouldn't have been surprising when she practically slammed her plate of food against my dressâshe even mushed it around a little to make sure the dress was definitely ruined.
My hands clenched into fists, but I kept them glued to my sides as Amber pulled a shocked face. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you."
"Amber, what the fuck?" It was Leon who spoke, his voice dangerously angry.
"It was an accident!" She exclaimed, the twinkle of joy in her eye forcing me to grind my teeth together. All eyes in the close vicinity were on us and if I gave in and punched her then I'd be chucked straight out. No one else knew she'd done it on purpose. She was the perfect girl, of course it had been an accident. "Oh, your dress is ruined."
It was covered in mayo, butter, and stunk of pickled onions. Tears pricked at my eyes, not for the dress, but for the embarrassment. "I'm going to go and change," I forced out, turning and stalking from the scene with every muscle in my body taut with rage.
"I'll walk with you," Leon hurried to catch up with me, but I shook my head.
"Seriously, I just want to leave. Don't worry about it."
I was beyond relieved when he didn't follow me. My parents were near the door, thankfully, and they hadn't seen who had done this to me. "Mam, dad, someone walked into me with some food so I'm gonna leave and just go to bed I think." My voice was surprisingly calm.
Their eyes narrowed, but my smile was innocent. "Okay, pet. We'll probably head off then. This whole thing isn't really our scene anyway. Bit of a waste of money, to be honest."
I chuckled. "Tell me about it. I would hug you, but there's no point in ruining three pairs of clothes. I'll be coming home for Christmas in a couple of weeks, anyway."
"Okay. Well, have a good birthday. I'll ring you on the day, of course." They gave me a wave instead of a hug and stayed to finish their drinks when I slipped out of the door.
Considering what I'd been expecting out of Amber, spilling some food on a dress I hadn't even really wanted really wasn't that traumatic. Hopefully she'd satisfied her need to embarrass me now.
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Ahhhh, this is one of my favourite chapters! I'm so excited to post it. It's a really long one, too. Hope it was good!
Quick, and shameless, reminder that my new student/teacher novel is currently $0.99 on Amazon! There's a preview here on Wattpad and I'll put the buy link in the external link.
Really, really hope this chapter was enjoyable!