Permanently Anchored

Chapter 3: Backstage Shadows

Eighth grade arrived with the noisy anticipation of the annual school dance performance. The auditorium was a hive of frantic activity on the day of the show, filled with the sharp smell of hairspray, stage makeup, and warm theater lights.

Dozens of students in full costume rushed back and forth behind the heavy velvet curtains. I was dressed in my outfit for the girls' traditional group performance, sitting on a folding chair near the wing as our instructor went over the final staging directions. Gabriel was part of a completely separate dance performance, looking tall and sharp as he warmed up near the backstage mirrors with the rest of the guys

Their group routine required a specific accessory: a bright red dance scarf tied as a prop.

Backstage was crowded with girls from various grades, all standing around chatting in groups. Yet, as Gabriel scanned the chaotic room holding his costume pieces, his eyes bypassed everyone else. His gaze moved past the girls in his class, passed right over Elora, and locked directly onto mine.

He broke away from his group, walked across the floor, and stopped straight in front of me.

"Hey, Ellie," he said, his voice cutting cleanly through the background noise of music tracks and shouting stage managers. "Do you have a scarf I can borrow for our routine?"

My heart gave a sudden, familiar thud against my ribs. "Yeah, of course," I managed to answer, reaching into my bag to hand it over.

He smiled, his eyes lingering on mine for a fraction of a second before taking it. "Thanks. I'll get it back to you right after."

With that, he turned and disappeared into the wings, leaving me sitting in the backstage lights, my hands trembling slightly against my lap as the dormant feelings of the last three years flared back to life.