The Heart’s Choreography

Chapter 4

“What a talented group of ballerinas!” Sophia exclaimed with a smile. “You all did wonderfully! Now, shall we make a circle?”

Five little girls hurried to the center of the studio, but Emma stayed behind, clinging to the ballet barre. The timid expression on her face said it all. She was probably afraid of making a mistake in front of the other girls. During her trial lesson, when it had been just Sophia, she had relaxed much more easily.

Sophia walked over to her.

“Can you do me a favor?”

Emma looked up at her, her eyes full of uncertainty.

“Um…” she hesitated. “Okay.”

“I need an assistant today. Would you like to be my helper during class?”

“Yes.” She still sounded shy. “What do I have to do?”

Sophia took a pink satin ribbon from a cabinet and handed it to Emma.

“Your job is to choose who gets to do the next exercise first.”

“Really?” Emma’s face instantly lit up.

“Really.” Sophia gave her a playful wink.

The other girls were already laughing and chatting together in a neat circle.

Emma walked over to them. She paused for a moment, as though she were making a very important decision. After carefully looking at each of her classmates, she finally handed the ribbon to a red-head girl with freckles.

Melissa.

“Would you like to go first?” Emma asked, already sounding much more confident.

Melissa nodded with a grin.

As Sophia glanced toward the glass door, a flicker of nervousness settled in her chest.

Nathan was watching the class.

She quickly looked away, focusing on the girls again.

There was no reason to feel self-conscious about being observed. Emma’s father seemed nice and easygoing. Besides, Sophia never minded when one of the other girls’ mothers stayed outside to watch through the glass. It was perfectly natural for parents to want to keep an eye on their children.

And yet…

She felt her cheeks go warm.

—- —- —-

“Who wants to learn the plié?” Sophia asked enthusiastically.

“Me!” the girls shouted in unison, raising their hands. A few even bounced excitedly in place.

Sophia demonstrated the movement, and within moments the children were trying to imitate her. Some bent their knees too much, others barely at all. Melissa burst into laughter for no apparent reason. Emma performed a surprisingly good plié at her very first try.

Had Alice found herself a rival?

Sophia moved on to a few more exercises before introducing the first turn of the lesson.

Emma concentrated intensely, taking a deep breath. Her brow furrowed, and her lips pressed into a determined line. She lifted her arms a little awkwardly.

Then she spun.

Far too fast.

Her feet lost their direction.

She landed on the floor with a soft thud.

The studio erupted with childish laughter.

Instead of feeling embarrassed, Emma laughed along with everyone else.

“Did that hurt?” Sophia asked, offering her hand.

“A little.” Emma held up her thumb and index finger with only the tiniest gap between them.

“You learned something very important today,” Sophia said as she helped her up. “Sometimes we have to fall in order to learn. But every ballerina gets up and tries again.”

“Does that mean I can already be a ballerina?” Emma asked.

“You absolutely can.”

When Sophia glanced toward the glass door, she saw Nathan smiling proudly at his daughter.

—- —- —-

The lesson ended far too quickly.

Sophia loved teaching.

Whenever she was in the studio, surrounded by children, life felt meaningful. The only other place she had ever experienced that feeling was onstage.

She would have given anything to go back in time and dance once more before the packed audience at the Paris Opera.

She still dreamed about the fall.

Sometimes she wondered if she would ever truly overcome the trauma. Whenever she had to speak in front of a group of people, anxiety twisted her stomach and made her chest ache. Her fear of humiliating herself was stronger than reason. It didn’t matter how deeply she breathed or how many times she told herself everything would be fine.

After locking the front door, the silence made the room feel strangely lonely.

She walked slowly toward the reception desk, almost hesitating with every step. Opening the drawer as slowly as possible, she delayed facing reality.

Her throat tightened the moment she saw the white envelope.

She picked up the formal notice and checked the deadline again, as though hoping the date had somehow changed.

It hadn’t.

Biting her lower lip, she opened the expense spreadsheet on her tablet. Her heart ached as she studied the numbers. She couldn’t see a way out.

If only she had accepted Nathan’s offer to pay for the entire year in advance.

How could she have been so stubborn?

What was wrong with bending the rules just this once?

Her phone vibrated on the counter.

Sophia froze when she saw a new message from the property’s owner attorney.

Exactly one week remained before the deadline expired.

She had less than half the required amount in her bank account. Where was she supposed to find that much money?

A loan?

And how would she ever repay it?

Her eyes filled with tears.

“I’ll figure something out,” she whispered, looking at the portrait of her mother hanging on the wall. “I won’t disappoint you again.”