Free Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black Page A

were intimate, that they had known, maybe even loved, each other in some previous life.
    Vanessa shuddered as the screech of the orchestra peaked and then came to an abrupt stop. Zep gave her the beginning of a smile.
    In a moment of panic, Vanessa lowered her eyes and turned to follow Steffie, who was making her way into the row. She was being ridiculous. Zep didn’t love her. He had a girlfriend.
    They found their seats toward the middle, next to a group of girls from their toe class. The red plush seats were soft against Vanessa’s thighs through the thin fabric of her dress.
    “It’s really awful Elly couldn’t come,” TJ said, gazing at the general splendor of the audience. She pointed to a man wearing a tuxedo, who was escorting a woman in a silk gown. “Everyone here is just her type.”
    “Maybe Josef will let her come next time,” Vanessa said, smoothing out her dress.
    “Excuse me,” a deep voice said.
    The people at the end of her row stood for Zep and Anna, who were pushing toward her. Vanessa looked straight ahead and swallowed, watching in the periphery as they took their seats on the other side of Steffie, just two seats away from Vanessa.
    The lights dimmed. A lone violin quivered. The audience applauded as the conductor reached the podium. Out of the corner of her eye, Vanessa caught Zep stealing a glance at her. She smiled to herself just as the curtain rose.
    The dancers swept across the stage in a flurry of toile, satin, and ribbons, moving more swiftly and lightly than any earthly beings. Vanessa didn’t know how long it lasted, only that it was too short. There was something truly remarkable about the ballet. Even though Vanessa wasn’t sure she wanted to be a ballerina, watching a troupe of dancers tell a story with such emotion and elegance, with exquisite music in the background, moved her deeply.
    When Vanessa was dancing, she wasn’t thinking about her missing sister or her overbearing mother. She could dance things she couldn’t find the words to say. Feel emotion she didn’t know how to show in everyday life. She could defeat the villain, seduce the prince, enchant the nymphs of the forest, find her true love, and live happily forever after, just like that.
    Gazing at the dancers onstage, Vanessa wondered if they ever felt that ballet was a release from the real world. Vanessa thought about what Justin had said—how her sister said she was keeping a journal, how she didn’t fit in. Maybe there wasn’t anything sinister about Margaret’s disappearance. Maybe she had simply … escaped.
    When the last act ended and the music stopped, she felt as if she had been woken from a dream. The dancers gazed out at the audience and bowed, bridging the gap between their world and Vanessa’s. The curtain fell, the applause slowed, and Vanessa sat back in her seat with a sigh.
    Around her, as everyone began to filter toward the exits, Vanessa and her classmates stayed put. But when TJ raved about the ballerina’s grand jeté in the final act, Blaine brushed heroff. “Please,” he said. “Any of us could do it ten times better. Didn’t you see all of the mistakes she made?”
    Steffie nodded in agreement, and though Vanessa had to admit she’d noticed some blunders too, she didn’t mind. It was still lovely. While they bickered, Vanessa overheard Anna arguing with Zep in a low, furious voice. She leaned on her armrest, trying to make out what they were saying, but before she could catch anything, Anna stood up. Shooting Vanessa a livid look, she stormed down the aisle and through the doors.
    “Is it just me, or does it seem like all the upperclassmen already hate you?” Steffie asked.
    “Not
all
of them,” Vanessa said, motioning to Zep.
    Steffie’s eyes lit up. “You’re kidding,” she said, lowering her voice.
    Before Vanessa could respond, Josef strode up the stairs and stood against the balcony railing. Unlike everyone else, who had dressed up for the occasion, he was