Louise had to walk ten miles to school. She got up at 4:30 in the morning so she wouldn't be late and she would meet her friends near the same street every morning. The twins would usually sit outside of the Moulin Rouge waiting for the others and staring at the drunk people laying in the streets. For entertainment they would poke the bodies with sticks to see if they were alive. Geneviéve was the more adventurous one during times like these. However, Renée was more laid back and could get scared easily.
"Is he breathing?"
"I don't know. Poke him."
"I don't want to! What if he's a crazy person and tries to kill us!"
"Stop being so scared."
When the group was all together they made their trek to school. Louise had always did that with her friends, that's the way it was and has been for many years. She'd always come home with a lot of homework, though she didn't mind it, she could find it stupid at times, she would think that the teachers expect too much of her. She tried to trudge through it even though homework was like a monster to her. Sometimes Audrey would be at the Moulin Rouge all day and she would do homework there, this day in particular. She had trouble concentrating because Zidler's Diamond Dogs were on stage practicing their dancing, in which she loved to watch. Louise watched dreamily and felt herself melting away, being taken away to a fantasy land. Someday she wanted to dance up there.
"Why aren't you studying?" Louise immediately awoke from her daydreams of can-can dancers to hear a heavenly voice speak to her. It was Satine. Louise was happy to see her.
"I thought you were on stage!" she exclaimed.
"Oh no, I'm not in this scene. I wanted to see how you were doing, Audrey wants you to do your homework." The girl looked over at Audrey and saw that she was giving her a cold look. She wanted the best for her, but Louise felt like she was pushing her, just a little bit.
"She expects too much of me. I don't want to sit around and write papers all day. I want to go up there and dance with them, just this once!" Louise said, bouncing up and down, her long brown curls in her face.
"You'll get there someday. I just know it!" Satine said to her in a consoling way. She was truly Louise's big sister.
Louise had danced for the Moulin Rouge before, but no one really cared to notice her because of her age, or if they noticed her they felt dirty watching her because she was underage. That's what she thought and it was slowly eating her confidence. She worked very hard for six years to make a name for herself at that place, she didn't care if it took 'til she was twenty-one, which it probably would, but she didn't mind. It was her dream!
She didn't want to disappoint Audrey, but the one thing was, she wanted her to pursue writing like she did, Louise was clearly not interested in that. This sparked many arguments about her career choices.
"Writing is an art form Louise." "Dancing is too. Dancing conveys your emotions." "Writing does it better!"
Louise watched as Audrey directed the Diamond Dogs' choreography, perfecting their movements for the play she said she was writing. Louise stared in wonder as the dancers tried to fix their mistakes and listened as Audrey explained what emotions they had to feel. Maybe she didn't know anything about the play after all.
At times like these, it was best not to interfere with Audrey's work. She would go into what people would call "production mode" and get really angry if you interrupted her train of thoughts. She thought that if you made one mistake the entire play would be ruined, that's why it was important to stay on top of things. During times like these, Louise would hang out in the Elephant Room or go outside so she wouldn't bother anybody. She was known for her bouncy attitude.
"Alright everyone, take a break!" Audrey shouted. Everyone sure as hell needed a break after rehearsing for two hours. The dancers were sweating and panting, they were rushing to get water and in no time at all, they had consumed all the water they had. Louise spotted Audrey sitting at one of the tables taking notes, she could finally ask her the long-awaited question – "What is the play about?"
"Well, I have a surprise for you darling." Audrey said to her.
"What is it?" Louise asked.
"The play is about you."
