The Devil of DiRisio

 
PUBLISHED BY:

Leslie
DuBois
on Amazon

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I’m not going to make
it
, I thought as I stared at the clock placed above the doorway. I should’ve been looking at my reflection in the mirror and correcting my arm position, but I couldn’t take my eyes off that clock.
Seven fourteen and thirty-three seconds.
When was this stupid class going to end?

“You’re not
gonna
make it, Sonya,” Anna Marie whispered as she got into position to do her
bourrees
across the floor.

“I
am
gonna
make it,” I whispered back. I had to make it. There was no way I could disappoint my boyfriend Will … again.

Why were we still here? Class was supposed to end at six. We had gone through the same routine eleven times already. Everyone was exhausted. It was so hot we could barely breathe. Sweat dripped off our bodies onto the floor, causing us to stop every ten minutes to dry it up in order to prevent someone else from slipping like Pierre had an hour ago.
Clumsy oaf.
How did he even get into this school and why did he have to be my partner?

Seven seventeen and forty-five seconds.
Okay, I had time to shower
or
iron, but not both. I looked down at my sweat-soaked leotard. I couldn’t skip a shower. The ironing would have to be sacrificed.

“What are you wearing?” Anna Marie whispered when she was close enough to me again.

“The low cut green dress with the silver straps.”

“That’s been stashed under your bed for two days! You won’t have time to iron it.”

“I have nothing else. I haven’t done laundry in three weeks.” I didn’t have the time. They didn’t give us time to do anything at this academy besides dance.

“
Quiet,
or we’ll do it again,” Alejandro yelled from the other side of the room. The entire class groaned and looked our way. Anna Marie rolled her eyes and gracefully leapt into
Sebastien’s
arms. Now,
he
was good. Why couldn’t
he
be my partner?

When the music ended, everyone held their breath and prayed that it met Alejandro’s approval so we could finally go. Alejandro stalked around the room like a caged cheetah as he inspected the closing position of each pair. We were frozen with the fear that if Alejandro found one flaw he would demand we start over from the beginning. I couldn’t afford that. I was definitely not going to make it if we had to start from the top. He wandered up to Pierre and me, sneered, and kept walking. It was like he knew I had a date and wanted to make me late. Ugh, he made me gag.

Alejandro went over to Anna Marie and
Sebastien
, and they were okay as well. Then Pierre started trembling.
Oh, God, he's going to drop me. Please God, don’t let him drop me.
Alejandro stopped in front of Isabella and Lucas. What was he doing? Whatever it was, couldn’t he do it faster?
Seven twenty and twenty-three seconds.
He raised Isabella’s right arm three centimeters and mumbled something about her being late on the
grand
jetes
two minutes in. Big surprise; Isabella was always late.

Next, he walked over to Olga and Joshua. Alejandro gave Olga the exact same look he gave me all the time, then shook his head. I stared at Olga as best as I could without turning my head too much. She was a little overweight, but if Joshua could handle it what did it matter?
Finally, Alejandro said, “Go!” Everyone in the room exhaled. Pierre let go of me so fast I almost fell on my butt. “And don’t go eating too much. The show is in two days,” Alejandro added. I didn’t know whether he was talking to me or Olga.
Probably both of us.

“I’ll get your stuff,” Anna Marie said as she rushed me out of the door. “Just hurry. And wear my red dress; it’s in my closet.”

“Thanks,” I called, already halfway down the stairs.

“Do you think he’ll ask?” she yelled after me. I pretended I didn’t hear her as I broke into a full sprint back to the dorm room Anna Marie and I shared.

It was seven twenty-four when I reached my room. Only eight minutes left before Will arrived. And I meant exactly eight. Will was chronically on time. He thought it was bad luck to be late. Oddly enough, he also thought it was bad luck to be early. And God forbid we arrive at a time that wasn’t divisible by three.

Once, we had dinner reservations for nine fifteen, but, somehow, we arrived at the restaurant at nine oh-one. We actually waited in the car for fourteen minutes before entering. Will played some basketball game on the Xbox in his car —yes, he had an Xbox installed in his car—and I just sat there
even though I had to pee like crazy because I had rushed to meet him and didn’t have a chance to go before we left.
Most people thought Will’s
quirks were just superstition, but I knew they were more. Sometimes, especially when he was stressed, his ticks were the only way he felt he had control over his life. In any case,
I loved his little eccentricities and missed them desperately. Tonight was the first time in a week neither one of us had to cancel because of a game, a recital, or just plain exhaustion. And judging from the six dozen white roses he had delivered to my room that morning, I knew this night was going to be special.

After the quickest shower ever, I towel-dried my hair.
It was still sopping wet, but there was no way I’d have time to blow-dry it. I started pinning it into a bun while rummaging through Anna Marie’s closet searching for the sexy little red chiffon dress she was letting me borrow. Even though Anna Marie was slightly smaller than me, I knew the red dress would fit. She often bought an outfit or dress that didn’t suit her well just because she had seen it in a magazine on a model and wished she could look the same in it. She simply wouldn’t accept that her breasts were too small and her legs too short for some of the fashions she admired.

Seven thirty-one and ready to go.
That had to be some sort of record. I studied myself in the mirror for a second. Not bad for a rush job. If the way the light material caressed my smooth, dark thighs didn’t drive Will insane, my cleavage certainly would.

I rushed to the stairwell just in time to see Will stride through the front door of the dormitory, holding a huge bouquet of my white tulips. Good God, he was handsome. No matter how many times I looked at him, I would never get used to having such an attractive boyfriend. Apparently, neither would any of the other girls.

“You are the basketball player boyfriend?” Cynthia asked, resting one hand on his arm and brushing her other hand across the side of his golden blond hair
.
Will didn’t even answer her. His eyes were locked on me as I sauntered down the stairs. I guess the dress worked.

“You look amazing,” he said as he swept me up with one arm and planted a kiss on my lips.

Cynthia stepped back and said in Italian, “I can’t believe he’s in love with the black girl,” as she crossed her arms and pouted. Good God, what century was this? I couldn’t believe some people still couldn’t get over my race.

Will ignored Cynthia and handed me the flowers. “These are for you.”

“Thank you,” I gushed. I shot a glare at Cynthia and wiggled the flowers in the air right at her. She huffed and stormed out of the lobby with Raquel on her heels.

“Ignore her. She’s just jealous of your beauty and talent. She knows you’re the best dancer here,” Will
said
once Cynthia left.

“Do you even know what she said?”

Will shrugged. “Not a clue.”

His Italian sucked.

“Let me put these upstairs.”

I turned around to go but he pulled me back and gave me another kiss, more passionate than the first. Then he rested his forehead on mine and whispered, “I’ve missed you so much. Hurry back.”

~ * * * ~

“This is crazy,” Will said after dinner as we were walking hand in hand toward the
Trevi
Fountain. “We live fifteen minutes away from each other and I barely get to see you.”

“We’re both busy,” I said mechanically. It was a conversation we’d had dozens of times before. Will complained he missed me and he chose the Rome team just so he could be close to me, and it wasn’t working out that way. Then I reminded him of my twelve-hour days of dancing and his countless road trips for away games.

“Do you know what would resolve this problem?” he asked.

“What?”

“If you just moved in with me.
I have a great house with plenty of space. I even turned one of the rooms into a studio so that you can practice. I don’t see what the problem is. Don’t you love me?”

“Of course, I love you, Will. I just want to be on my own for a while. I want to see what I’m made of, you know?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think that’s the real reason. I think there’s someone else,” he teased. “I think you might be in love with Pierre.”

“You caught me. I’m in love with that clumsy French ape with his body odor and small hands. I just can’t wait for the next time he drops me so I can have another bruise on my butt as the proof of our love.” I let go of Will’s hand and touched my heart dramatically. We both laughed as he put his arm around me and kissed the top of my head.