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“You deserve it,” I praise. He’s a phenomenal partner and dancer, and he’s taught me so much about pair dancing over the last month. In all honesty, I owe my success in this showcase to him.
He gives me a broad smile and pulls me in for a hug. “See you once I get out of these tights?” he suggests.
I nod. “I think this calls for a bit of celebrating,” I say happily.
“Definitely.”
Fin and I part ways as I head toward the women’s dressing rooms in a daze. After so much stress and anxiety, it feels good to have made it through today. Opening the door to the tiny dressing room with a sticky note marking it as mine, I close myself into the silent room and revel in the resounding silence.
In the mirrors that reflect my face back to me from countless angles, I can see the excitement in my expression. The color in my cheeks and the light sheen on my brow mark the physical exertion I just put in, but the rest of my body feels alive with energy.
I step toward the dressing room table that holds my bag of toiletries and pull out the chair, ready to remove my performance makeup. With a loud crack, the door bursts open behind me, and I flinch at the unexpected intrusion. I instinctively look into the mirror in front of me, and my eyes lock with the burning hazel gaze of Nicolo Marchetti. My heart leaps into my throat, and I find I can’t breathe as I try to swallow it back down.
12
NICOLO
“Come on, quit fucking around,” I gripe at Lucca and Cassio as they shove each other all the way down the carpeted performance hall on the way to the Rosehill College auditorium. The building is formidable, like most of the gray stone structures on campus, but this one reeks of stale air and about a century’s worth of dust. “Father sent us to endure what I’m sure is going to be a painstakingly dull performance, but he did so to represent the family because he has a meeting to attend. So pull your shit together, and act like adults for once.”
Silvia snickers beside me as she slips her dainty hand into the crook of my arm. “I believeyouwere the only one he required to come to this performance,” she points out. “And I think it will be wonderful. Thanks for inviting me.” She gives my arm a squeeze, hugging me on the go as we enter the main theater.
The space is open, with the seating set like a proper auditorium, so every seat might have a good view. I don’t bother asking where they want to sit, though the theater only seems about half full. Instead, I guide Silvia further up into the rows, ready to hide as close to the rafters as possible so no one will see me when I fall asleep.
“Do we have to goallthe way to the top?” she pouts. “How am I going to see anything?”
I slow my pace, hesitating. Then I release a deep sigh as I concede. I can’t deny my sister anything. “Fine, let’s go in this row. It’s still empty.” I point her toward the row nearest us. My brothers shuffle in first, continuing to pinch and elbow each other more subtly than before but still keeping up their antics.
“I’m not blind,” I remind them coldly as I follow them into the seats, leading Silvia until we reach the center of the row.
“Yeah, knock it off, Lucca,” Cassio insists, like he had nothing to do with the scuffle.
“Youknock it off,” Lucca throws back in his face, giving Cassio a light shove.
I groan internally, kicking myself for thinking it was a good idea to bring them. I figured my suffering might be less if I had my siblings to entertain me. Silvia was a good choice, and I’m glad I asked her. She’s been bubbling with excitement since I picked them up. But Lucca and Cassio are too busy trying to find their way into manhood to care about responsibility. It’s all about competing with each other right now, proving who’s the strongest or the fastest or whatever dick-measuring contest they’ve decided on for the day. When I have one alone, I can see the potential they have. But they’re too close in age to act like adults around each other, and it’s driving me crazy.
Grabbing a fistful of their curly brunette locks, I clunk their heads together before they have time to realize what’s going on and stop me.
“Owwww,” they whine in stereo as they massage their foreheads.
“I said get your shit together.”
They slump into their seats, crossing their arms as they turn their attention toward the stage. I catch a glimpse of Silvia smiling broadly at me before the lights dim and a spotlight clunks on, illuminating a point on stage. Definitely going to fall asleep in this level of darkness, I think. The only thing that might keep me awake is the scratchy fabric of the worn seats and the way the lumpy cushioning provides little comfort. If I had even the remotest interest in theater or coming to these kinds of performances, I might have half a mind to mention it to my father and see if we couldn’t finance their replacement.
A tall, middle-aged man who carries himself like how I imagine a dancer would stroll onto the stage and announces to the audience that this showcase will represent all the students from his class as well as several others, spanning different genres. He invites us to enjoy the show before heading back off to the side of the stage.
The first performers step lively into the spotlight and strike a pose that makes me snort.
Silvia elbows me. “You’re supposed to behave like an adult, remember?” she whispers, and her teeth flash white even in the dim lighting as she gives me a playful smile.
“Remind me why you’re not the one running this family already?” I ask, pride in my baby sister swelling in my chest.
Silvia rolls her eyes and turns her attention back to the stage. “Not that Dad would let a girl run the family, but you’re the oldest. It doesn’t matter that I’m more mature than the lot of you emotionally.”
I give a quiet chuckle and turn my eyes to focus on the dancers as well. We’re all silent for several minutes, and I have to admit, when the performance is done, I’m not hating the experience.
“The music is beautiful,” Silvia breathes as the next pair of dancers come on stage, and their song fills the auditorium.
I observe the sounds swirling around me and have to agree. I’ve never thought of classical music as something that would interest me, but it is pretty engaging when I really listen. We watch another set of performers take their place on stage.
