Free Dancing for the Lord: The Academy by Emily Goodman Page A

Kirby insisted.  “Katarina, for example.”  Her knowing smile said that she already knew Danni was acquainted with the other girl.  “And I am making another.”
    “But—but—“ 
    “No, dear, no buts.”  Mlle Kirby smiled.  “I have never seen anyone pick up a routine with a partner that quickly.  If you could have seen yourself…you’re born for a pas de deux, Danni.”
    Danni smiled in return, feeling a familiar warmth glide over her.  “That’s what I’ve always believed,” she admitted shyly.  “That—that the greatest dance of all is the pas de deux with God…and that He has someone out there that He intends for me to dance with.”  Whether or not it was Michael, she had never been entirely sure.  She had been content to imagine it that way when it had been just the two of them, dancing their hearts out before God back home; but more and more, particularly as she had come out to the Academy alone, she had wondered if that was the case after all.  Surely, she’d thought, if God intended for them to dance together, He would have found a way for Michael to come along. 
    Actually, all Danni knew these days was that she didn’t know anything anymore—but she still believed that God had made her to dance.  In the end, that was what mattered the most.
    “Well.”  Mlle Kirby smiled at her.  “And there’s no sense arguing with God, now is there, dear?  Now, you go ahead and get your things together for the next class—you’ll want to take those off.”  Her gaze took in Danni’s pointe shoes, though her smile did turn fond.  “The last thing we need is a room full of eleven-year-olds begging us for pointe shoes, hm?”
    Laughing, Danni agreed.  Her head was spinning as she went through the familiar motions—so much so that when she went to pull on her ballet slippers, she pulled on her familiar black ones, rather than the pink pair she had managed to unearth. 
    Mlle Kirby didn’t comment.  She just smiled at her young pupil and allowed her to lead the class through warm-ups, pleased to note that, in spite of the fact that Danni was distracted, she never missed so much as a step. 
    By the time the class was over, Danni still felt as though she was floating on a dream.  Partners, Lord.  Partners!  I’ll get to dance a pas de deux again—and not with another girl, as part of a group, but with a guy.  I’ve missed it so much!
    She’d only been here for a week—not enough time to really miss it, especially as much time as she had been spending dancing.  Still, the void at her side that should have been filled by Michael had bothered her near-constantly; and Danni had begun to feel as though she would never manage to even work around it.  She had called him every night this week, just to hear his voice; and while she knew that it was a placebo for finding a place to belong in this new world, it was wonderful nonetheless.
    She practically danced up the stairs to her room that afternoon, bounding into her seat at her desk with more energy than she had felt all week.  Partners!   It was the only word she could think of.  Oh, she was sure that things here wouldn’t be so very different from the way they had been back home.  There would never be enough guys to go around, no matter what they did.  She’d be lucky if she got to work with one once every other week—and that was assuming that all of the guys in the class weren’t already seriously attached to their partners.  Most of the time, she’d probably be dancing with another girl.
    But…partners.  It was a dream come true.
    “Michael, you’re not going to believe it!”  She blurted out the news, her joy evident in her voice.
    There was silence on the other end of the phone.
    “Michael?” Danni hesitated, suddenly wondering if she had done something wrong.  But Michael would be happy for her…wouldn’t he?
    “Yeah.  Hey, that’s great news, Danni.”  But his voice didn’t sound like it was