17 - Meetings

I zipped my bag, hiding Henriette's bras and a T-shirt stuffed inside. I was allowed to train day after day with the ballet dancer, without anyone knowing.

An Opéra of Paris's member will judge us next week, making us reach a professional level. We would grow toward our goal to become prima ballerinas!

I opened my room's door, singsonging about my happy life. Jieung-yong waited for me just before the door, arms crossed.

"Where are you sneaking to?"

Surprised about his sudden appearance, I grabbed my chest in fear, "Don't ever do that again!"

"What?" He looked at my shaking hand, "Ah ok, cool. You answer my question now?"

He must not know about my dancing hobby. That guy would laugh at me for days.

"I need air."

He uncrossed his arms and pointed my torso with his index, "You know you can tell me everything. Especially if that'd help you level-up on my scale of respect."

I began to go to the Hologram Hallway, "If you are that thirsty for knowledge, let's say I'm rebelling."

By dancing, but he didn't have to know that.

He finally let me go.

*

Coach Isabelle pressed a button on her MP3 player, turning the music off, "It's awful! Song, what's happening to you? Raise your leg! And you Charlotte, try to have a better en-dehors."

Every dancer stared at us. We were working on our adagios, a set of moves, on the stage: raise the leg, do plié in mid-air, and finish with an arabesque.

Next to me, Charlotte was shaking. A tear formed at the corners of her eyes and she wiped it off, "I will do my best."

I lowered my gaze to her feet. They were deformed, meaning she could never go en-pointe, "Charlotte…"

"I can't give up now. I've got a dream to catch!" She said.

My eyes widened.

"Song!" Coach Isabelle shouted, "You wear a shirt, of course, it won't work! I can't see your muscles working."

"Revealing myself stresses me out."

Henriette turned toward me, "What's stressing you out? You've got a princess body!"

I had a prince body, and that was the problem.

Henriette drew her face toward mine, and I could see her beautiful freckles on her smiling face, "Undress yourself! Undress!"

I stared at my wrist to avoid her intense glare, "You shouldn't be that happy to see a girl naked."

"And what if I am?"

Well, she lost me at this point. What was she talking about?

Samira came closer, and gave bits of advice with her honey voice, "I can give you some jackets in you feel embarrassed. But don't dirty them and don't breath on them."

I took my head in my hands, "But why won't anyone let me wear what I want!"

"Because I wouldn't be able to see your moves." Coach Isabelle said.

Everybody insisted again, asking me to undress.

Samira gave me a towel, and she said, "You can dress here. We're all girls."

I took the towel and ran, "I have to...toilets!"

Behind me, Henriette crushed the ground like an elephant as she ran after me, "Oh no, not this time!"

When I got into the hallway, she closed the door. It locked with a loud click, proving I couldn't escape anymore.

She stepped forward, "We're alone, Song. We can talk now. What are you hiding?"

I stepped backward, "Nothing! I just want some privacy!"

"It isn't an excuse to run away, isn't it?"

She just had to nose about elsewhere if she didn't want me to run away. Those people will call the police when they'll know that Song is an illegal Korean boy.

"'No!"

Henriette cornered me against a wall. Her body smelled like lemon today, and she felt soft, "Stop lying."

What was she talking about again? I couldn't think straight when she was near me.

She looked at me from above, "I hope you're not ashamed of your body."

"What? Of course not!"

She put her hands on each side of my head, "Please Song. Don't lie. I felt this way with my flat chest. Charlotte did too."

"I just want to..."

"No, don't contradict me. I know you hate yourself. I can see it when you dance. You do the same thing as Charlotte. You try to change your body."

I raised my eyebrows, and I had to actively find how to speak again, "You noticed it?"

She put her hand on my shoulder, "You won't be able to become a real prima ballerina if you can't be who you are in your steps."

"But what if…what you are...is an obstacle to your dreams?"

"Then make it an advantage. Samira used her niqab to imitate waves. Bienvenue makes her country proud of her every time she wears her natural hair on stage. Deborah proves that her muscles aren't a disadvantage to graceful moves. And Charlotte shows that being en-pointes isn't everything in ballet.

So everyone dancing here suffered. I wasn't the only one being refused a place at the great Opéra of Paris.

"Break the rules." Henriette said, "We all failed in the usual way, but we'll stand up firm without conforming ourselves." Henriette took me in her arms.

I let out a growl.

"You don't like it?"

"I'd rather be warned before you touch me like this."

"Oops." She let me be, "You were just too cute."

Cute…That word paralyzed me and before I could do anything, my bra fell to the ground and rolled to her ex-owner feet.

"I…"

"But this is my…" she looked at me with a curious glare.

Shit. Shit shit shit.

"You should be happy I'm a guy! Wasn't that what you wanted? A romance?"

She took the bra and giggled, "Oh my! You're so wrong about...! Anyway, I was giving up."

"You always act strangely. I don't understand anything!"

"Really? Not even a little bit? Nobody told you about homosexuality in Korea?"

"Huh?"

"Whatever." She said, "At least I now know why you didn't want to wear tight clothes." She gave me the bra back, "C'mon take it. I'll cover you."

"But wait, just betrayed your trust."

"Maybe you did, but I saw you pour your soul into your dance last week. I saw you stretch like crazy. I saw the tear in your eye as you watched Charlotte fight."

She turned me around so my back would face her, "I'll tighten it. You'll see, you'll dance more comfortably like that."

She taught me how to put it right, "You understood?"

I nodded, my cheeks on fire as I was putting my shirt back on, "So... what is this momosexuality thing?"

She laughed and whispered in my ear, "That's when I want to kiss girls on the mouth."

What? That's...huh?

Samira opened the door, "Hey lovebirds, a Lady is asking for Song." She stared at us, "You're still not in awe of my wardrobe choice? Are my clothes too old for you, that's it?" She went out.

Henriette shrugged, and I joined this 'lady' who certainly was my Boss.

"Yoh Song-ho !" The Boss smashed her foot on the public side.

I froze. The other girls froze. And next to me, Henriette gasped, "That's her! The girl on the photo."

The girl on the photo Jieung-yong showed her. She recognized her. If she knew who I was, I was dead. Bye-bye ballet dreams.

"It's Friday. You were supposed to come half an hour ago."

I bowed, "Sorry! I'm dressing up, and we're going," I went toward my room.

"Not so fast!" Henriette said, "Who is this woman? Is it your famous mailing friend? You don't introduce me to her, me, your favorite French girl?"

I glanced at the Boss, and I was unable to decode her expression, "That's, huh. Yes. My letter friend. She was happy to see you!"

She pushed me away and sat at the edge of the stage, "And what's this pretty lady's name? I saw a pic of you. And didn't forget it since."

The Boss raised an eyebrow then lowered it. She was strong at that 'who's the scariest' game. What was she waiting for scaring her off today? Or was Henriette unfazed by her polar cold?

"I think we're in a hurry, I said. You can wait for me in the car Madam. I'm joining you!"

"Come on! Can't we discuss a bit?" Henriette cried.

"You have five minutes to dress up Song-ho."

I didn't want to let her alone, but since I also don't want her death glare directed toward me, I came into my changing room.

I did my best to come back as quickly as possible, and Henriette still told me they were having coffee.

No way you're kissing her, Henriette. What if you find out I'm a hitman?