"It's so bulky and awkward." Victoria complained, fiddling with her leg brace. "And I bet I could walk just fine without it, my knee only hurts when I turn my feet out or in too much."
"It's your body." Misto said cautiously. "But I would listen to the doctor if you want to come back to dancing soon."
"I know, I know!" Victoria shot back in frustration. "It's just most of what we usually do is dance. And without that my days just feel so empty! And on top of that now I have to wear this uncomfortable brace!"
"I know it sucks." Misto patted her on the shoulder. "Remember how grumpy I got whering that vest last summer? At least you don't have to sleep in your brace."
"I know, I know. But at least you could stretch your legs! What if I lose flexibility? I don't want to fall behind!" The pitch of her voice rose in anxiety.
"I couldn't properly stretch my back or my shoulders for a lot longer than a month." Misto countered. " And I did lose flexibility. And strength. But it came back in the end. Yours will too."
" I know, I just… you couldn't dance last summer because of a surgery that was necessary. I knocked myself out of dancing because I was stupid."
Misto felt a lump rise in his throat. "It was my idea and my stupidity and my fault. I… I don't know how to make it up to you."
"It was both our stupidity." Victoria said firmly. "I won't allow you to claim sole ownership."
"Fine." Misto conceded half-heartedly. "Anyways, I should probably head out. Gotta go teach your class."
Victoria glances at the clock. "But that isn't for another hour."
"I ran into one of your students the other day and he expressed interest in, uh, extra help." Misto explained. "Figured I'd go early just in case any of them want a few tips before class. And if no one's early I can always just practice on my own."
"Was it Munk?" Victoria asked. "He's asked me to practice with him privately before."
"Er, I don't know. Didn't catch any names last time." Misto admitted awkwardly.
"Classic." Victoria rolled her eyes. "Was it one of the better dancers- at least compared to the others- in the class?"
"No, one of the worst, actually." Misto said. Victoria gave him a surprised look.
"Try to get a name today then." She said, "I'm very curious to know who."
"If I remember." Misto said with a shrug, then grabbing his bag, he was out the door.
Considering he hadn't actually told anyone he would be there before class if anyone needed help, it shouldn't have been surprising that the studio was empty. But for some reason, a part of him had been expecting to find the same guy he'd run into earlier in the week leaning against the door or stretching in a comically incorrect position. It was nice to have the empty studio though, in the morning he had Jazz practice, and he always liked to warm up and practice by himself for a bit when he was switching between dance styles. Additionally, he still hadn't decided what he would do for the next showcase. It would be time to begin rehearsals for that soon, and he wanted to have something of his own already prepared so that none of his instructors could use his lack of material as an excuse to try to force their choreography on him. After warming up, he searched for a piece of music to improvise to. As a rule he tried to stick to instrumental, as that was what was usually recommended. After a couple of minutes of searching, he settled on a string quartet piece with a dynamic feel.
The movement felt easy and natural, but that was no way to judge whether any of it was any good. He found himself wishing that Victoria was there to videotape and give her opinion. He didn't always practice with his sister, but he trusted her more than anyone. She could give him critiques without imposing too much on his artistic visions, a quality he had yet to find in anyone else. He could watch himself in the mirror when the move allowed, by trying to look at the mirror too much would affect the line of his body. Maybe he would ask Victoria to come with him next time. At the same time, he felt guilty thinking about doing so, knowing how frustrating it was to be in a studio yet unable to dance yourself.
When Misto stopped and moved to shut off the music, he was startled by the sound of clapping from the door. He turned to see two of his students, the one he had run into and the one who had waved at him, standing in the door. He felt a twinge of annoyance. He always hated it when people watched him dance without his knowledge, especially when it was something improvised or unpolished. But Victoria had told him he should try to be nicer and more approachable, so he smiled at them despite himself.
"Thanks for the performance," one of the students said. "Is that what we'll be learning today?"
Misto couldn't help but smile at the badly concealed apprehension on the other student's face.
"No." He told them. "I was just experimenting."
"Shame. It looked really cool. I'd love to learn something like that someday."
"Sorry if we're interrupting, we just wanted to stretch before class." The other student said, seeming eager to change the subject. "I seem to need it."
"You do." Misto agreed, not realizing how harsh it sounded until the other guy laughed.
"Let's get to it then." He said, slapping his friend on the back.
There was no shortage of corrections needed, at least for the less experienced of the two, even when it came to simple stretches. He tried to stay patient, like his sister would, but inevitably grew frustrated. He could only hope that he wouldn't scare them away from future classes.
Other students began to trickle in, many also eager for Misto help with stretches. He got so absorbed in showing them the correct way to stretch that he ended up starting class ten minutes late. He cut the warm up short to compensate, and worked on basics for the whole class rather than giving them a choreography sequence. Most seemed relieved. Misto wondered vaguely why Victoria liked teaching an open-level, mostly beginner class when she could've been a TA for an intermediate or an advanced one. It seemed beyond boring and frustrating to drill them through basics over and over again only for almost none of it to stick. Although he did have to admit it was going better than the previous class at least. Maybe he was being too hard on them.
Despite his frustration, the time passed quicker than he expected. It felt like only a few minutes had passed when a student pointed out that there were only 5 minutes left and he had to end the current exercise abruptly to go into cool down stretches. As he dismissed the class he felt a sense of incompleteness, and found himself already planning out what they would do the following week.
"Do you often practice here before class?" The guy he had ran into earlier in the week asked him as the last of the students were exiting the room.
"Sometimes." Misto said, despite the fact that he had done so for the first time that day. "I like to use the afternoons for self practice."
"Maybe I'll find you sometime then." The guy said. "I'm hopeless practicing on my own and I'll only be annoying my brother if I practice with him."
"I'll look out for you then." Misto said. It was unlike him to be so willing to let a near-stranger into his practice. Maybe he was missing his sister's company. Maybe the fact that the guy didn't know enough about dance to know what was great and what was okay made him less apprehensive about letting him see half-formed choreography.
As he watched the guy leave, Misto realized he had forgotten to ask his name.