Jaryn returned home from the diner after a late shift and found a note from her brother. This was first time she had ever found such a thing in the apartment and as simple as it was, it made her uneasy.
J—
Went out with Steve and the others. Be back later tonight.
Love you, K
She read the note over and over again, flipping it over and looking at the back of the paper before turning it over and reading it one more time. Jaryn wasn't sure how she felt in relation to the note. He had never gone out without her, unless it was to work. Occasionally, he stopped by the store or the library by himself to pick something up, but never anything like this.
Jaryn left the note on the lopsided dining room table and exited their apartment, her mind spinning at the evening's turn of events. Before she realized where her feet were taking her, she was stopped in front of the dance studio and the key to unlock it was already out of her pocket and in her hands. There had been no classes that day. There was nothing for her to clean or straighten up inside. But somehow that scuffed wooden floor had snuck into her system and almost called to her.
Was she angry at Kerith for leaving her alone? For going out with the acquaintances he had that clearly made her uncomfortable?
No. He was a big boy. He could take care of himself.
Was she bitter at being left alone?
No, she enjoyed time by herself every now and then.
So what was it?
Her feet shuffled across the wooden floor as she stopped in front of the sound system. A disc was in there from the previous days classes. It was Lady Gaga. Jaryn had been growing quite fond of Lady Gaga in the previous few months – her style, her message, her songs. Her music made Jaryn forget everything. It made her feet want just to move.
The shadow of a smile crossed her face at the fact that someone left had their disc here the night before. Lucky her.
Starting the music, Jaryn looked at herself in the giant mirror that spanned the north wall of the room. She saw gray leggings, a baggy purple tank top and her favorite pair of dance shoes. There were dark circles under her eyes and her hair was a tangled mess, but none of that mattered now. She nodded to herself and began to dance like she had so many nights before.
Song after song went by on the album – it might have even started over - she wasn't sure how many she had been through and lost herself in when the studio door quietly opened. She had been in a spin and came to a dead halt when she opened her eyes and finally saw something out of place around her – it was a splotch of bright blue in her field of vision. Her right foot screeched against the wood as she stopped.
"C-can I help you?" She stammered, breathing heavily.
"I knew you looked like a dancer," the newcomer said.
Jaryn's face twisted into a mess of confusion and frustration. "What?"
"Sorry," the man shook his head and reached his hand out in front of him, towards her. Jaryn noted the impeccable polish on his nails. "Oblio."
She put her hands out to her sides and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm sweaty, sorry." It was more of a mechanism to not have to shake this strange person's hand, but there was some truth to it as well.
Jaryn was surprised when Oblio reached out and grabbed one of her hands, shaking it gently. "I'm a dancer too. I'm not afraid of a little sweat."
She could feel her pale cheeks flush somewhat and she wasn't sure if it was because of his response or because she had been dancing, but she ripped her fingers from his grasp and placed her hands on her hips. "Can I help you?"
"An acquaintance owns this studio. I was stopping by to pick up a jacket I left here the other day." He motioned to the jacket he was wearing, the yellow sections of fabric over his shoulders rustling as he moved. "I heard music and wanted to see what was going on."
"Well, you saw. Now you can go."
"I saw you the other night at the bridge." Oblio disregarded her words and pointed to the area she had been dancing in. "You could join in, you know. From what I saw just now, your moves are astounding… elegant."
She almost thanked him, but refrained, only tilting her head and thinning her lips in response.
He nodded quickly, the thick wave of dark blue bangs that hung in front of an eye shook with each movement. "I'll go." He added a small bow, lowering his head and slightly bending forward at the waist.
The movement mildly surprised Jaryn. Did this guy really just bow to her?
"It was nice to meet you," he slowly began backing out of the room.
"You technically never did."
"I know. I never got your name." He had backed up into the door frame, a hand planted on the worn wood of the door. "And I know you aren't about to give it to me." A pause. The time it took for him to give a simple upturn of his chin and an arch of an eyebrow. "Not yet, anyways."
Oblio turned and disappeared from her view into the darkness of the hallway outside. She could hear the heels of his boots clicking along the grimy tile floor. There was some small part of her that wanted to lean out into the hallway and casually throw out her name after him, but she refrained from that too. Jaryn stood in the middle of the studio for a minute or two, her feet frozen to the ground but her mind spinning. Was she really good enough to dance with those people that they had come across that night? How long had he been watching her?
Her face flushed again as she scowled. The music had continued but somehow seemed quieter now, and she could feel every muscle in her leg aching. Grabbing her keys and her jacket, she shut the lights and stereo off then left, locking the studio on her way out.
As she pulled her key out of the front door, she threw a glance to the sign above it.
Cityside Studios. Sponsored by Tandance Industries.
Tandance Industries. She had seen the headquarters building of that company a number of times in the previous year or two. It had been built fairly recently and she never gave it much thought until she started working nights at the studio. She pictured groups of dancers in that building, practicing routines, getting paid to perform them for crowds of people – it was an office building it seemed, sure. But it related to dancing. There had to be something amazing going on in there.
With a sigh, she shoved her hands in the pockets of her jacket and began the walk back to the apartment.
Kerith still wasn't home. The digital clock with the number that was always messed up at the end of the time stated that it was one-thirty-something in the morning.
Jaryn took a long shower and climbed into an old oversized t-shirt and sweatpants. Two-twenty-something.
Still no sign of her brother.
Crawling onto her side of the bed and trying to keep the flash of disappointment from her face, she shut her eyes against the darkness.
He was her little brother. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she was worried.
…
"That was… alright." The growling man said, peering across his desk to the tall, blue-haired male that stood in the center of his office. "An alright first impression. You can do better. You need to do better."
Oblio responded with a small nod.
"I assume you want this just as much as I do."
It was true. Oblio did share a common goal with this man. But the man never told him his exact plans for making this goal come to pass. There were semi-informative snippets shared here and there, but no concrete plans and that made Oblio uneasy.
"I'll take your silence as a yes sir."
The female he had just watched. This Jaryn. He had been watching her ever since she started working at the studio, ever since she had started using the main room to practice in. He owned the studio, along with others around the city, and had hidden cameras placed in them to watch for dancers that had what she had. She was alone usually, but occasionally a man who had to be her twin brother would come in and watch her. She had potential. She had something familiar. She had something.
Something Dr. Tan needed.
"You need to see her again. Get closer to her. Bring me back more information."
Oblio delivered one curt nod. That seemed easy enough. He was never about deception; it was bad for the soul. But some harmless chatter with that girl couldn't stir up too much of anything except what Tan needed.
Information and background. That was it, right?
He shifted his eyes to the side, where they landed on a piece of gold machinery. It had limbs and a face, all of which were shut down at the moment. Somehow that was going to become their joint goal.
Somehow it was going to become Bernice.
