Clara let her eyes slip shut for a moment. It was just a dream. Just a dream, Clara, you're okay. Calm down. Deep breaths.
She sighed, opening her eyes and glancing around the small room. Her room. Yes. "That was a strange dream," she said aloud, crawling over to the ladder. Carefully, she climbed down, then padded over to the window and opened it.
Clara breathed in the early morning air, looking down at the courtyard outside. Fog hung heavy in the still air, reminding her of her dream. Across from the girls' dormitory, there was the boys' –– and from where her room was, she had a perfect view of Theta's bedroom window.
Theta. She blushed just thinking about him. She'd had a crush on him ever since she enrolled at the dance academy. How could she not? He was an exquisite dancer, and impossibly handsome besides. The fact that he had been the prince in her dream was almost too perfect.
"Good morning, Theta," she sang out softly, leaning out the window. The curtains covering his window moved, catching her attention, but at that moment she heard a bell ringing.
"The school bell?!" Clara panicked, throwing the window shut and changing quickly into her uniform. She practically flew down the hall, bag in hand, yelling, "Amy! Rose! Why didn't you wake me up?!"
The two doors next to Clara's opened. A redhead poked her head out of one, and a blonde stepped out of the other. The blonde, Rose, yawned widely, still looking half-asleep. "Did somebody call us?" she asked the redhead, rubbing her eyes.
"I think that was Clara," the redhead, Amy, replied, looking much more awake as she watched the small figure disappear around the corner of the hallway.
Rose raised an eyebrow. "Isn't it still six o'clock? Why is she going to school already?"
"Scatterbrained as usual –– she's so cute," Amy gushed.
Rose rolled her eyes as she stepped back into her room, hoping to get a little more sleep.
Clara was in such a hurry that she nearly tripped going down the stairs. She ran through the empty town, headed for the huge castle-like building that was the Gallifrey Academy. As she ran, though, her thoughts strayed to Theta.
If only she could dance with him, just once –– oh, but it was a hopeless dream. He'd never even look twice at a girl like her: young, silly, and a rubbish dancer at best…
Clara realized she'd stopped in the middle of the street and immediately sprang into action again, sprinting for all she was worth.
She reached the academy fairly quickly. Once inside, she slipped out of her uniform and put on her leotard, tights, and ballet slippers, making sure she kept her red pendant on, and swept her dark hair up into a bun. Grabbing her washcloth, she hurried from the locker room to the classroom.
"Sorry I'm late!" she cried as she flung open the doors and took several steps in. Her voice echoed strangely through the dark, empty room, and she lifted both eyebrows in confusion.
There's nobody here…?
The sudden crackle of a record beginning to play startled Clara enough to make her jump. The recognizable tune of Tchaikovsky's Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy filled the air, and out of the corner of her eye, Clara saw a boy stand, long arms arching above his head.
Theta!
Clara watched with wide eyes as Theta began to dance. He was amazing, she thought dreamily as she watched him dip and spin, absolutely amazing.
One arm lifted skyward and the other extended sideways; knees bent, then straightened, pushing off the ground and sending Theta into an incredible leap. Despite herself, Clara gasped aloud.
Theta's head turned toward the girl as he landed lightly. He regarded her calmly, but she felt herself blushing wildly.
"I – I'm so sorry for interrupting you! I thought I was late, but I guess I'm early… I didn't know you'd be practicing right now, so I just… I'm really sorry, I'll leave now," she babbled, taking a quick step backwards. Alarm turned to panic, though, as her foot caught on a small crack in the floor. Her feet shot out from under her, and the world spun as she fell.
Panic shifted to confusion as she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and another come under her knees. Her world stopped spinning, and she found herself looking into a pair of empty green eyes.
What beautiful eyes, Clara thought dazedly. But to her they seemed so very lonely, just like in her dream. She couldn't even begin to guess why…
She was suddenly very aware of Theta's arms around her, and she panicked once more, her cheeks turning red as she jerked back to sit on her knees beside him. "I'm sorry!" she squeaked. "I'm so clumsy –– you must think I'm weird…"
"I don't."
She paused, looking up at him. "What?"
"I don't think you're weird."
If possible, her face grew even warmer. "R-really?"
He made a small noise of agreement.
Clara heard the sound of the classroom door opening behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see a tall, brown-haired boy standing there, a rather annoyed expression on his face.
"Galen," Theta said, by way of greeting.
Galen marched over to Theta and stood directly in front of him. "Didn't I tell you to inform me when you go out?" he demanded.
"Sorry," Theta replied monotonously, looking up.
Galen's brown eyes rolled. "Idiot," he muttered. "Stand up."
Theta hummed softly, not moving.
"What's wrong?" Galen asked harshly.
"My foot."
It was then that Clara noticed how one of Theta's legs was extended behind him rather awkwardly, his ankle twisted. She winced, realizing it must've happened when he'd dived to catch her.
"What happened? Did you twist it?" Galen questioned.
Theta confirmed this with another little hum.
Clara looked up at him. "It's my fault, I tripped and he caught me."
Galen shot her a dark glare that made her flinch inwardly, then turned back to Theta. "What were you thinking, doing such a pointless thing?"
"Like I said, he saved me when I tripped and ––"
"That's why I said 'pointless'," Galen snapped, leaning down and roughly grabbing Theta's wrist. "Get up. We're going back." He pulled Theta to his feet, leading the shorter boy limping out the door.
"You don't have to be so rough with him!" Clara cried indignantly.
"Quiet!" The heavy door slammed shut behind the two.
Clara glared at the door. Pointless, huh? Well, maybe it had been, but he didn't have to put it so bluntly.
The sound of a bell tolling rang out for the second time that morning. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. The bell again…?
"What?" Rose and Amy said in unison.
"Yeah, I guess I was early rather than being late," Clara said, propping her leg up on the barre. The lights were on, and the classroom was filled with students now.
Rose patted Clara's shoulder. "If you'd just looked at the clock before you left ––"
"I was panicked, okay?" Clara interrupted, glaring at the blonde as she stretched.
Amy giggled. "Clara, you're so adorable," she said.
"I can't believe you actually got to talk to Galen," Rose said, her eyes glossing over. "He's the best ever."
"No, Theta's the best! Galen's not very nice, you know," Clara argued.
"Oh, Clara, you know that's hopeless. The wonderful Theta already has River," Amy reminded her cheerfully.
Clara pursed her lips, thinking of the gorgeous curly-haired girl that was Theta's current girlfriend. Of course, she didn't stand a chance against River. The two were perfect for each other.
"A doomed love. A girl destined for heartbreak," Clara's friends chorused, bringing her out of her thoughts.
"So cute," Amy added, giggling again. Rose just sighed, shaking her head.
The creak of the door opening silenced the students. "The teacher's here," Rose whispered to Clara, who brought her leg off the barre and spun around. She was completely shocked, though, when she saw a cat standing there.
It wasn't a normal-looking cat, which was the most startling part; it was a cat the size of a man, standing on its hind legs, wearing a simple teal shirt and grey pants, along with white ballet slippers. It was standing there, though, and nobody seemed to care.
"A cat?!" Clara exclaimed, then clapped her hands over her mouth. Several heads turned toward her, and she heard more than one gasp, along with a few murmurs.
"That's Mr. Brannigan!" Rose whispered, looking horrified.
"Is something wrong?" Amy hissed.
Clara was too stunned to reply. Has our teacher always been a cat?
"All right, class, settle down," Mr. Brannigan said, clapping his hands to get the students' attention. "If you don't ––" and here his eyes took on an odd gleam, his voice dropping to a near-growl "–– I will have you marry me."
The very atmosphere of the room seemed to grow colder at his words, and every girl shivered in fear.
Soon, all the students were lined up at the barre. As Mr. Brannigan called out instructions, Clara's mind wandered, returning to her dream and Theta. Oh, Theta… why do you always seem so lonely?
The back of her neck prickled as though she were being watched, and she froze, seeing that everyone else had moved to the next position. Then she heard Mr. Brannigan's voice behind her.
"Your mind was somewhere else, wasn't it? If you don't focus, Miss Clara, I will be forced to have you marry me."
Clara nearly shrieked, bending down and assuming the position all the other students had. "Yes, sir!"
After the beginner class had practiced, Mr. Brannigan sat everyone down by the barre. "We will now enjoy a performance by the special class," he announced. "Special class, entrez-vous!"
A moment later, the door opened, and Clara couldn't suppress a small gasp of awe as the five girls of the special class walked into the room. At their center was a beautiful young woman with blond curls pulled into a bun and sparkling blue eyes, wearing a red skirted leotard, black tights, and red pointe shoes. River!
The Swan Lake Waltz began to play over the record player, and River and the other four girls went up on pointe and began to dance. Clara, Amy, Rose, and the rest of the beginner class watched with shining eyes, all wishing they might someday be part of the special class.
"They're so good," Clara whispered.
"Yeah, unlike you, Clara," Amy chipped in.
Clara winced.
"Now she's depressed," Rose said, glaring at Amy while patting Clara's back consolingly.
Amy grinned. "She really got depressed? Oh, how cute!"
She's right, though, Clara thought dejectedly, continuing to watch River dance. For Theta, it'd have to be someone like River to make a good match. I'm hopeless.
She straightened, suddenly having another thought. Speaking of Theta, I still haven't properly apologized to him for getting his foot hurt. She resolved to go after class and apologize, even if it meant breaking the rules to go in the boys' dormitory just so she could do it. After all, Clara wasn't going to let something like that go so easily.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hello, everyone! I hope you liked the latest chapter! Question for you all: can you figure out who Theta and Galen are? I'll tell you at the beginning of Chapter 2, but for now, I want to see if anyone can guess.
Thanks for reading!
-Han