Christine

My first day is coming to an end. It's been such a good day honestly. It feels wonderful to be back, doing what I love. Teaching, helping, molding young dancers to be better. I feel useful again. I'm glad I let Katia talk me into coming. I've been texting her every chance I get to make sure she's okay and we spoke briefly during my lunch but I think I'm annoying her just a bit even though she's trying not to let it show. She's an independent person and I'm really trying to give her space. I swear I am even though it may not seem like it to her.

I can't wait to get home and tell her all about my day. She's going to giggle over the fact that my new students are what she calls "starstruck" over me. I don't consider myself a star anymore. I haven't starred in anything in years, but here we are. People gawking and staring, giggling over my arrival. Trying their best to impress me and if they know it or not, I always am. My students inspire me no matter where they are on their journey. No matter how good or bad they consider themselves to be there is always space to grow. Space to be better and that's where I come in. That's why they look to me for guidance.

I gather my things to leave and walk out to my car. I'm giddy at the thought of getting home to my love. Just as I open my car door my name is called.

"Mrs. Bell!" The voice rings out.

I turn around to see one of my students jogging towards me. She's from my first class of the day. Valerie, I believe her name was. A little full of herself but she is very talented. I smile as if she's not impeding me from getting home. "Yes?" I ask.

"Hi, sorry about running you down like this but I had a question. It's super important." She says.

"I'm listening."

"A bunch of us wanted to know if you were going to be selecting dancers for the competitive dance team and if so when?" She asks.

I blink and shift my weight from one foot to another. "I'm sorry I was unaware of any such team. No one informed me I would be responsible for that."

She nods enthusiastically. "Oh, yes ma'am. Every year our dance instructor conducts try outs and cuts. It's a whole thing here and considering the first competition is only a month away, I would suggest you make try outs as soon as possible."

I don't like this little shit. I force a smile. "Well thank you for your suggestion, Vivian."

The smug smirk on her face melts slightly. "Valerie." She corrects me.

"Oh! Right! I apologize. Anyway, see you tomorrow and thanks again for the information."

She smiles before turning away and walking away from me. I roll my eyes and get in the car. I drive a little faster than I should to get home and make record time. I just want to get my arms around my wife.

When I get home, I don't see Elaine or Katia in the living room. They're not in the kitchen. I check the bedroom. Nothing. I hear the faint sound of music playing. I follow it to the dance studio. I open the door to see see Katia on the floor. I rush to be by her side and help her up.

"What the hell Elaine?" I ask furiously.

"Chris." Katia says pushing me away from her. "Don't talk to her like that. I asked her to bring me in here."

"So what!?" I ask. I'm trying to take the anger out of my voice but it's not working as fast as I'd like it to.

"Katia just wanted to try a little dancing. That's all." Elaine says.

"What makes either of you think that's a good idea? What if she had hurt herself or set herself back further??" I ask. I can feel the heat rise to my face. I turn my attention solely to Katia. "You could have fallen and hit your head. You could have had a seizure and..." there's a hot angry lump in my throat but I swallow it. "Anything could have happened."

Katia furrows her brow and picks herself up into her wheelchair. "Elaine, can you take me outside to the garden please?" She asks, completely ignoring me. There are tears in her eyes but she's trying her best to blink them back.

"Uh.. yeah. Sure. Come on." Elaine says softly as pushes Katia away from me.

I sigh and turn off the music. Fuck.