The apartment was empty when Nejire got back. It was far too early for Toga to leave for work, so she must be on an errand.
Nejire went to her bedroom. She didn't see Gulliver, but he had used the litter box again. She flopped down on her bed and pulled up the pictures of the two different tattoo designs. They were both amazing, but she just couldn't decide.
With a sigh, she opened the files Giran had sent regarding the potential job. She read through the cover sheet yet again. Giran had even sent her a link to the song they were using, but Nejire hadn't listened to it yet. They only needed a solo routine choreographed, which she had done plenty of times in the past. Still, something was preventing her from making a decision.
Nejire rolled over to her stomach and clicked on the link to the music. It was by Imagine Dragons, who she had heard of, but she didn't recognize the song. A short commercial played first, and Nejire pressed her face into the covers as she waited.
The music started to play, and Nejire held her breath. It was not what she'd been expecting; it sounded more like a ballad than pop rock. It was already giving her ideas. She listened to the entire song, then started it over. This time she closed her eyes and focused.
So thank you for taking a chance on me
I know it isn't easy
But I hope to be worth it
Nejire felt a soft thump by her legs, and she froze. Gulliver? Nejire held her breath. The cat started to knead the blanket. Nejire stayed perfectly still, trying not to scare him away. Then Gulliver began to purr, and tears filled Nejire's eyes. After a moment, she slowly turned her head to look at him, and when their eyes met, he hopped down and ran back under the bed.
"You're okay, Gullie. That was so brave; I'm really proud of you."
She turned to sit cross legged, thinking. Gulliver had just made a huge step forward. Maybe, Nejire thought, she could do the same.
First she typed a message to Giran, telling him she would take the gig. He soon replied with a wall of text about his gratitude and appreciation. Nejire closed it to read over later. She had three days to come up with a routine.
She played the song again, and walked a slow circle in her room, letting the music fill her thoughts. She danced a few careful steps, followed by a slow turn. Then she dug out some paper and started making notes. By the time she heard Toga get back, Nejire had a halfway decent routine put together.
"So…" Nejire said, trying to be patient as Toga set down her things. "I kind of accepted a gig today…."
Toga's face lit up. "Nej, that's great! What is it?"
"Choreography."
Toga grabbed Nejire's arms, practically bouncing with excitement. "That's perfect! I'm so excited for you! Tell me everything!" Nejire showed her the files from Giran, and Toga wanted to hear the song. "Do you have ideas yet?"
Nejire bit her lip nervously. "Actually, I have it almost finished."
"Okay, show me." Toga pulled out a chair and sat down, pulling one knee up to her chest. Immediately Nejire's anxiety flared. Toga wagged her finger. "Don't start psyching yourself out. You'll have to do it in front of a room full of people, so you might as well start with me. If it sucks, I'll tell you."
"Gee, thanks," Nejire giggled. She knew Toga was telling the truth.
Tapping on her phone screen, Nejire opened the song again. As another commercial played, she rolled her neck and swung her arms, trying to shake off the nervousness. The music began, and Nejire pushed aside all other thoughts to focus on the routine she had come up with.
She made it halfway through before forgetting what came next. "Dang it." She paused the song, and glanced at her roommate. Toga's eyes were wide and glistening. Nejire grimaced. "What, is it that bad?"
Toga sniffled. "You're so fucking tallented, Nej. I forgot what it feels like to watch you dance. "
Embarrassed, Nejire ducked her head. "Really?"
"Of course, dummy. You're even better than I remembered."
"That's not saying much. The last time you saw me dance, we were probably like twelve years old."
"Even back then, you were ridiculously good. We all knew you'd go far. I mean, that's why-" Toga cut herself off mid-sentence.
"Why, what? Toga? What is it?"
Toga let out a slow breath. "One of the reasons I quit ballet is because I knew I'd never come close to being as good as you. It kinda took the fun out of it."
Nejire stared at her, dumbfounded. "Toga… I was never competing with you."
"I know, but that's just how it was for me. Like when we had to audition for The Nutcracker . Everyone knew you'd get Clara; so it was pointless to make all of us try out for it anyway."
"But… you got Sugar Plum Fairy."
Toga laughed bitterly. "You're right. One whole scene versus the starring role. They're exactly the same."
Frowning, Nejire put her hands on her hips. "Why are you trying to start a fight with me?"
Toga fiddled with her hair. "Guess I'm still jealous. Who'd've thought?" She got up from the chair. "Don't worry, they're gonna love you. Everyone always does." With that, she went to her bedroom and shut the door.
Nejire spent the next day perfecting her routine, but she kept having to stop to adjust her clothes; they weren't suited for dancing. Then she remembered something, and flung open her closet door.
Before leaving New York, she had donated most of her ballet gear, but she thought she might still have her old beat-up duffle bag with some rehearsal wear. She eventually found it at the very back of the closet, and began to dig through everything stuffed inside. First she picked out an outfit that she could wear to the gig; there was a tie-waist crop top that would cover the scars on her collarbone and upper back, which she matched with a sheer skirt over leggings. It would be comfortable to move around in, but still give her a professional air.
At the very bottom of the duffle bag, Nejire came across her old pointe shoes. Instantly she dropped them like they had burned her. She hadn't donated them, because no one else could ever use them; once pointe shoes were broken in, they were unique to your feet. She tossed the shoes to the back of the closet to deal with later.
She took the rest of the dance gear downstairs to the apartment laundry room and threw everything in a washing machine. As she waited, she checked her instagram. She had some messages from Dabi.
Dabi: you ok?
Dabi: still want next tat?
Dabi: no rush just checking in
His concern made her smile. She typed back a response.
Nejire: thanks I'm good
Nejire: still can't decide
Nejire: p.s. ended up taking choreo gig
It didn't appear that he was online, so Nejire scrolled through her activity. The two photos she'd shared recently had gotten a lot of attention.
The photo of Gulliver at the vet had gotten more likes and comments from complete strangers. There were follow requests from pet owners and cat lovers. Some of them had their own battered-looking rescue animals, and Nejire followed some of them back.
A few people complimented her wrist tattoo, but many just said they were happy to see her online again, and they hoped she was well. Nejire hadn't realized how many old acquaintances still followed her account, despite me not posting anything for ages.
On a whim, she stretched out her leg and snapped a couple shots of the bird tattoo. The angle looked weird, so she tried again, but it wasn't much better.
Nejire got up and propped her phone on the chair. Setting the camera on a timer, she stepped back to pose, holding her leg tilted across the screen, her toe pointed gracefully. After taking a few photo bursts, she picked up the phone and looked through the shots. Nejire smiled to herself; they looked pretty good. She uploaded one and tagged Dabi's account. He still hadn't read her message.
Before long the day of the gig had arrived. Giran had arranged a car to pick her up, and Nejire triple-checked her bag before she left. On the drive there, Nejire checked her phone; she had several texts from Toga.
Toga: sorry for being a bitch
Toga: you'll do great today
Toga: break a leg
Toga: love you
Smiling, Nejire messaged her back.
Nejire: forgiven & forgotten
Nejire: luv you too
The car took her to a modest little dance studio in what appeared to be a small strip mall. Giran was there already, and he greeted Nejire warmly, introducing her around. She got the impression that he had really hyped her up, and she hoped she wouldn't disappoint. They had seen her resume, but if anyone noticed that it hadn't been updated in two years, no one brought it up.
Someone handed Nejire a schedule. This morning she would teach the choreography, while the crew perfected the scenery and lighting. They wouldn't begin filming anything until after lunch.
Nejire went to the dressing room to change, where she found the dancer for the shoot. "Hey, I'm Nejire," she waved and gave a friendly smile.
"Kendo," the girl replied. "Nice to meet you." She appeared to be about Nejire's age, with long coppery hair and a pretty face. She avoided Nejire's gaze, focusing instead on adjusting her fuzzy leg warmers.
As Nejire took off her jumpsuit, she wondered if Giran had made her sound too intimidating. She tied the wrap top over her sports bra, looping the ends in a bow, and glanced sideways at Kendo. "Whatever Giran told you about me was probably exaggerated. I'm not like a big deal or anything."
Kendo looked up, surprised. "Didn't you dance at the Met? And you graduated from Julliard?"
"Well, yeah…" None of this was making Nejire seem more approachable. "But that was a while ago; I'm not really that person anymore. I haven't done any professional work in years. Actually, I'm super nervous about today."
"Really? Me too!" Kendo smiled.
"I won't tell if you don't," Nejire teased, as she adjusted the sheer skirt over her leggings.
When they went out to the main room, Giran clapped as he saw them. "Ladies! Can I get a few shots before you get started? For the 'gram?" They posed for some photos, then Giran got between them to take a selfie. A few of the crew members joined in. Nejire and Kendo squeezed together, laughing, as more and more people pressed in.
Finally the shoot coordinator had to break it up. "Let's give our dancers some space."
Kendo moved to the barre, and pulled up some classical music on her phone, a slow piano piece, to warm up to. After a moment, Nejire joined her. The routine instantly transported Nejire back to dance school, and she moved through the positions with an old familiarity.
A small crowd gathered when it was time for Nejire to present her routine. She forced a smile as she faced them. "Just a disclaimer, I've got some old injuries, so this will look a lot nicer when Kendo does it." Then she turned the music all the way up, to help block out any disruptive thoughts.
As the song played, Nejire kept her focus inward. She was able to push herself through the entire routine without stopping. Her only mistake was a slight wobble after a landing from a turn, but she had warned them. Finally the music ended, and Nejire held the final position, breathing hard. The room was silent, and for a moment, she feared that everyone hated it, and she would have to scrap the entire routine and start from scratch.
Someone started clapping. Nejire's jaw dropped when she saw it was the brand rep, the person whose opinion mattered most. The woman approached Nejire. "My dear, that was simply perfect. It's like you read my mind."
"Thank you," Nejire said breathlessly. "Any suggestions? Changes?"
"This is your specialty, and you're clearly very good. Don't change a thing." She turned away. "Giran, you've done it again."
The two of them had roughly three hours to prepare, and Nejire quickly realized it was more than enough time. Kendo was graceful and confident, plus she was stronger and more flexible than Nejire. After watching Kendo perform the routine on her own, Nejire decided to make a few changes, simply because she knew Kendo could pull it off. She even switched most of the single turns to doubles or triples.
Kendo easily memorized the choreography, but since she was a perfectionist, like Nejire, they kept going over it until the supervisor made everyone break for lunch.
Nejire was grateful her part was over, since her body had started to ache. She went back to the dressing room and took a couple pain pills. Then she visited the craft service table, which had a yummy selection of tiny sandwiches, fruits, veggies, and desserts.
While she munched away, she opened instagram and checked her activity. Her latest tattoo photo had gotten even more attention than the first. She had a bunch of new follow requests, and strangers giving her all sorts of compliments. She also had a reply from Dabi.
Dabi: I have a better idea
Dabi: drop by whenever
Dabi: glad to hear about the gig
After lunch, Nejire got to take it easy. Kendo had changed into her costume, a short teal dress with a slit up the thigh. The hair and makeup team flitted around her like moths. For the finishing touch, they put a black corset over the dress. Nejire briefly worried if it would impede her movements, but she trusted Kendo was more than capable.
Giran pulled up a chair for Nejire, so she could relax and watch the filming. They did at least a dozen takes of the routine, with two cameras shooting Kendo from various angles, before taking another break.
Nejire felt like she was dreaming, but this time it was a pleasant dream she didn't want to wake from. This was the closest she had felt to her old life in years.
The rest of the afternoon flew by, and soon the crew was packing up to leave. It had gotten too warm for Nejire to put her jumpsuit back on, but she took off her sheer skirt and stuffed it into her bag so it wouldn't get damaged. A car was waiting to take her home.
On the way back, she checked her phone again, and her notifications showed that Dabi had tagged her in a post. He had reposted the picture of her tattoo. Suddenly Nejire realized that she had never replied to his message. She kenw the tattoo parlor would still be open for several hours, so she asked the driver to take her there instead.
When the car pulled up in front of Stain , the driver asked if he should wait. Nejire's first thought was to tell him no, since it was a short walk home from here, but today she was worn out. The morning hours of rehearsing had taken a toll on her. The driver was happy to stick around as long as he could keep the meter running.
Nejire went inside and found Tomura at the computer again. He kept his focus on the screen. "Hey, I wasn't expecting you. Did you need something else?"
"Oh, no, I was just on my way home; I thought I'd drop by to see if Dabi had more sketches for me." Nejire looked around, feeling antsy. "So… my cat finally made an appearance."
That got his attention. "Really?"
"I was listening to music, and he jumped up beside me and started..." Nejire couldn't think of what it was called, so she mimicked how Gulliver had pushed his paws into the covers.
Tomura actually smiled. "He made biscuits? That's quite remarkable. How long have you had him, again?"
"A few weeks."
"Strays usually take a lot longer to warm up to people. You two must have some kind of bond."
Nejire thought about it. "He survived when nobody thought he would. I guess I can relate to that."
Tomura nodded. "You probably thought you were saving him, but it's usually the other way around."
"Well, he is the reason I took the job with Giran, so I guess you're right."
Tomura smiled again; it was an odd thing to see.
"Hey, Tiny." Dabi said, then stopped short as he looked her over. ""Whoa, you look different." Nejire remembered she was still wearing her rehearsal gear. Dabi seemed to shake himself back to the present. "You wanna talk designs?"
Nejire pulled up the pictures on her phone again. "They're both so good, I just can't decide."
"You know, instead of being stuck on these two ideas, why don't you let me come up with something new?"
She pouted. "But I like them both so much!"
"What about them? Be specific."
"In this one, I like the way the piano keys curve around, but I also really like the flowers in this one."
Dabi nodded. "I could work those into a new design, so you don't have to pick and choose."
Nejire brightened at the idea. "Okay, that sounds good." She hesitated. "You know… I think I'd like something more specific to dance."
"Give me a couple days and I'll sketch out some new ideas. Go ahead and get scheduled, and if you're not sure by then, we can always move it back."
"I will, thank you." Nejire already felt much better.
Dabi turned to go, but paused. "By the way, you should dress like this more often." Nejire blushed.
