Free Dark Turns by Cate Holahan

Doing it this way—”
    “He texted the victim right before her time of death, begging to meet at the boathouse.”
    The officers steered Theo toward the double doors leading outside. Theo wore the school’s full uniform. He stared at his black leather shoes. Stirk followed behind the arresting officers, head held high, a fellow jailer.
    Peter whirled to face the hovering students. “Everyone go to your rooms or return to the cafeteria. If you don’t leave, I’m citing you for unbecoming conduct. Your parents will be notified.”
    The kids shuffled down the hall, looking over their shoulders at their classmate, sandwiched between two officers. Theo held his head down as though locked in stocks. Nia saw snickers among the shocked faces in the crowd. She could imagine the Facebook posts. The students would convict by morning.

10
    Penchée [ pahn-shay ]
    Leaning, inclining. An arabesque penchée is an arabesque in which the body leans well forward in an oblique line, the forward arm and the head being low and the foot of the raised leg the highest point.
    A platinum sky shone outside the dance studio windows. Raindrops streaked the glass. Nia debated whether she could make it home before the sky really opened up. She’d forgotten to check the weather that morning and didn’t have an umbrella.
    She covered a yawn before returning her attention to the students, now stretching their backs over the barre following an hour of Ms. V’s instruction. Their bodies formed a bridge of stomachs, flat enough to roll a quarter down.
    She walked beside the line of upside-down faces. “Good job. Really reach for your calves.”
    Marta avoided eye contact as she passed. Nia didn’t blame her. Confessing to a stranger was embarrassing enough withouthaving to see said stranger the following morning. Nia tried not to let her eyes rest on Marta’s stomach, which already looked less bloated than yesterday. Water weight drained fast.
    She clapped her hands. “All right, let’s loosen our hamstrings with some grand battements.”
    The students pulled up from the barre, a wave of rising bellies. They stood beside the beam and placed their right hands on the wood. Nia admired the collective precision.
    “Brush your foot on the floor before you kick,” she ordered. “Really massage your toes against the ground.”
    Legs lifted into the air at ninety-degree angles or more. Aubrey and Lydia’s working legs shot up toward their ears. Tati rolled her eyes at the pair. What the T twin didn’t realize was that Aubrey and Lydia weren’t showing off so much as competing with one another. The rest of the class didn’t matter. The girls watched their reflections in the mirror, each noting the angles of her rival.
    A competitive germ itched Nia’s insides. She could easily extend into 180 degrees en pointe. More if she wanted. She looked away from the class stars, suppressing the desire to show off.
    “Okay. Let’s try some arabesque penchées,” Nia said. “Use the barre for support.”
    Kim’s athletic thigh stuck out at a right angle behind her. The girl had muscle, but the flexibility wasn’t there. Marta had it. Her leg lifted to an oblique angle. Unfortunately, her balance was still off. Her standing leg wobbled, begging to bend. With luck, she would regain her center of gravity once she lost the weight.
    June was also considerably flexible, though she lacked technique. Nia cupped the girl’s heel in her palm and pushed her spindle leg a few inches higher, nearing a standing split.
    “You can do it,” Nia said. “Really feel the length in your legs. Stretch as high as you can go.”
    June’s jaw clenched. Her pale face reddened as she brought her tiny foot higher. She reminded Nia of a child’s drawing of a person, all lines with a circle head. No shape.
    “Hey, Lydia.”
    Nia turned to see Aubrey sashay over to her only competition. The girl smiled as though she’d just had a fantastic idea.
    “Let’s get a pic of us in