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“Yes, of course. I’m sorry.” I shake my head in apology as I walk towards her. “Mia must be on her lunch break. Are you looking to take individual or group classes?”
Her gaze dips to my limp, then she blushes when she realises what she’s doing. “Oh, ah, individual, please.”
“Do you have any experience?”
Her eyes keep flickering over my face, as if she’s deciding whether to trust me or not.
“God, no, Viper would have pissed himself laughing if I’d asked him in Spain.”
“Viper?” I say, frowning.
“My guardian.” Her gaze starts trailing around the studio, taking in the mirrored wall, the polished wooden barres, and the black and white dance photographs on the walls. “This is a really neat place.”
“Thank you. Does your, ah, guardian know you’re here?”
It’s me who can’t stop staring now. Her eyes are bright green like mine.
“Nope,” she says with a dismissive laugh. “I took two buses and a train. I just wanted to try it, you know?” She shrugs again. “Plus, it’s my birthday, so he can’t be that mad at me running off for a couple of hours, right?”
“Would you like to call, ah, Viper and let him know you’re okay?”
“I will in a bit. Can I book a taster or something first?”
“Sure, you can. Let me just grab you an enrollment form.” I limp back over to the front of the studio where I keep a pack of spares next to the iDock.
“What’s your name?” she calls out after me.
“Miss Rivers.”
“No, I meant your first name.” I glance back at her as I flick through the wad of paper for the right form. “Ada, why?”
“Ada.” She frowns slightly as another debate starts flitting behind her eyes.
“Here.” I hand out the form to her, and she takes it with a nod. “So, if you want to complete it and get your guardian to sign it, we can—”
“How much?”
“Twenty pounds for half an hour,” I say without blinking, knocking thirty off my usual price.
Dropping her backpack to the ground, she roots around inside it and pulls out a crumpled twenty. “Can I have the first lesson now?”
“I really need a consent form from your guardian first.”
“Viper won’t mind. He’s really busy today. He probably won’t even notice I’m gone.”
Shit. Is this a child protection thing? Should I be calling someone?
I cast my eye over her again. She doesn’t look in distress or abused, but it’s easy to hide the evidence. I have a case example staring back at me in the mirror every day.
“You’re nice,” she declares, moving her jaw ever-so-slightly like she’s chewing an imaginary piece of gum. “I know your lessons aren’t really twenty pounds. I looked you up on the internet before I came here.”
I laugh and shake my head. “Okay, busted. Look, I don’t have another class for forty-five minutes. If you think your guardian would be okay with it, we can start now? At the very least, I can teach you some basic steps.”
In truth, there’s something about this girl I don’t want to let go of just yet.
“Sure.” Her black backpack slides to the ground again with a thump.
“Do youhavea name?”
