Dancing for the Lord The Academy

Chapter Six

Danni wasn’t sure when she had started dreading Thanksgiving. She just knew that it had happened. Rehearsals for the Nutcracker were supposed to begin in earnest then, as they would be only two weeks away from the production. She should have been ecstatic. Instead, she was missing home more than ever.

It probably didn’t help that Katarina was still going out of her way to make snide comments about Danni’s dancing whenever possible. It definitely didn’t help that she could tell that Michael was still hurting and doing his best not to let her find out about it. She just wanted to go home.

Some of the girls were going home for Thanksgiving—the ones who had family in the area. They would only be gone for the day itself, coming back on Friday and resuming practice as usual; but they’d be able to see their families.

Danni knew she wouldn’t be one of them. If she asked, her dad would probably come up and get her; but her parents had already discussed it and decided that the drive was just too long. She would be asking for trouble if she tried to get herself back; and her father couldn’t afford to come in so late Friday night, not with work the next morning.

Grimly, Danni set herself to just getting through the week. If she could only get through the week, she would be all right.

Classes at the Academy would continue as usual through Wednesday. As long as she forced herself to concentrate on that, she would be all right…wouldn’t she?

Lord, give me the strength to get through this holiday, Danni prayed desperately. I want to go home. I want so much to see Mom and Dad, to visit with Carolyn, to spend some time with Michael….

Actually, what she wanted desperately was to dance with Michael. Pairs class remained torture. Katarina was absolutely determined to put her through the wringer; and thanks to Katarina’s clear disapproval, none of the girls seemed to want to have anything to do with her. They would dance with her—it was better than being the odd man out, as Danni had realized someone must have been before she came into the class—but not by much. The boys danced with her sometimes. Josh was even nice; and he didn’t seem to think much of Katarina, which helped raise his opinion of her even more. He was, however, still fiercely loyal to his Allie. He didn’t like her most of the time; but he would dance with her, because she was his partner.

He wouldn’t be setting her aside.

On top of that, dancers had been selected from their class to dance a few pas de deux in The Nutcracker. Danni hadn’t been surprised that her name wasn’t on the list, but she was disappointed. She had been hoping to be one of the elite—one of the few who actually had two roles in the ballet.

She found herself dragging the weekend before Thanksgiving week. It was silly to let herself get so down. She knew what she ought to do with the holiday: dig in and worship God with all of her heart and soul. She should be thankful that she was here, thankful that she was living out her dream, instead of focusing on everything that she’d had to leave behind to do it.

I knew following your plan for me would mean making sacrifices, Lord. That hasn’t changed. I shouldn’t treat it like it has. I just wish so much that I could go home for the holiday.

No, it’s not even that, Lord. I just want to see a friendly face. I want to be where I’m needed again. I know I can’t be a prima ballerina everywhere I go; but here, I’m just another face in the crowd! Lord…let someone need me this Thanksgiving. Let there be a reason that I’ve stayed.

In the end, however, Danni resorted to the one thing that she knew would get her heart back where it belonged: she got up early on Monday morning and slipped into her room nearly thirty minutes before Mr. Orengo was supposed to be there. She pulled the CD case out of her dance bag and slipped in another praise and worship CD, this one a mix that Michael had made for her. It contained a selection of their favorite songs, most of them songs that they had danced to together.

The CD had stopped before she realized that Mr. Orengo was late. A little bit late would have surprised her, since he had indicated during her first class that most of the time, he would give her a chance to warm up before he came in; but for him to be more than thirty minutes late, something had to be going on.

Danni was on the verge of setting out to look for him when he finally appeared—scattered, absentminded, and with an air that suggested that his focus might be somewhere else entirely.

She frowned. “Is everything all right?” she asked cautiously, when he had failed to instruct her for several minutes.

“What? Oh, yes, yes, Danielle, everything is fine. Ah—carry on on your own today, all right?” And with that, he disappeared—more than thirty minutes before the end of her session.

Madalyn had warned her that it would happen eventually. The instructors didn’t really have two hours to devote to every student every day; and while they would work hard with them for the first few weeks, as they proved themselves capable of handling their own sessions, they would be permitted more and more time alone. Eventually, there would be a weekly two-hour session, with the rest of it considered free practice time.

Danni had looked forward to it, actually. Under Mr. Orengo’s eye, she hadn’t been as free to work on her own choreography, and that was half of what she loved about ballet. Having it happen like this, however, just left her confused.

Lord, you know what’s going on, she prayed at last as she slipped back into her jeans and headed for English class. Be with whatever the problem is; be in whatever the problem is; and help me to keep my focus where it belongs, rather than dwelling on matters that don’t concern me.

She wasn’t sure whether or not the prayer had made her feel easier.

English class progressed relatively normally. At least that teacher didn’t seem to have lost her mind entirely. When she got to Mme Renault’s class, however, everyone was in a flutter.

“What’s going on?” she whispered to Madalyn as they warmed up at the barre. Strange; this morning, she didn’t resent taking the time to warm up again as much as she usually did. It was a good way to settle her uneasy thoughts.

“Haven’t you heard?” Madalyn sounded scandalized. “I thought everyone knew!”

“Obviously I don’t, or I wouldn’t be asking,” she hissed back irritably. “Now, come on—what’s happened?”

“There was an accident.” Madalyn might have sounded a little bit gleeful as she said the words, but Danni thought better of her friend than that. Surely it was just the pleasure of actually being the one to impart the information to her for the first time.

“Who?”

“Katarina!” All right, some of the glee might have been personal and directed at the dancer who had been hurt…but no, that wasn’t fair. Madalyn just wasn’t that kind of person.

“What happened?” Danni was beginning to get irritated with this game, pulling the information out of her friend piece by piece.

“I don’t know, exactly—but she was dancing, and she fell. She’s hurt pretty badly.” Madalyn leaned in a little bit closer. “They’re saying she might never be able to get it all back. She fell hard.” Her eyes glittered. “Somebody said that it was her partner’s fault.”

Danni just stared at her, all pretense of the warm-up routine set aside. Lord, be with them—with both of them, she prayed silently. Katarina is sure to be devastated; and her partner, Nicholas…I’m sure he feels guilty whether it was his fault or not. Be with them both. Keep them. Let Katarina heal quickly—and let them both know that you are in this, as well.

She could imagine how she would have felt if it had been her partner injured. She wasn’t even thinking of Michael in that moment; she was just thinking of how she would feel if the person she was dancing with got hurt in the middle of a routine. Partners were supposed to look out for one another. If that failed—for whatever reason—it was heartbreaking for both parties.

“What are you doing?” Madalyn wanted to know.

Danni opened her eyes. “Praying,” she admitted calmly.

“Praying.” Madalyn’s eyebrows shot up. “For Katarina?”

Danni nodded. She didn’t want to add, and Nicholas. She wasn’t sure Madalyn would be able to understand.

Actually, it was pretty clear that Madalyn didn’t understand, especially as she shook her head in complete and utter disbelief. “Katarina hates you,” she pointed out.

“I know,” Danni agreed.

“And you’re praying for her.”

“Anyone can pray for the people who care about them. Praying for your enemies—loving your enemies—that’s the hard part.”

Madalyn shrugged. “Better you than me,” she declared.

Now that Danni knew the truth, it was easy to see who among the dancers was a friend of Katarina’s—or, as Madalyn had pointed out early on, idolized her—and who disliked her, for whatever reason. There were a lot of gleeful whispers behind hands, some of them even more obvious than Madalyn’s had been. Others glowered at anyone who dared to smile on such a horrible day.

Danni wasn’t actually sure which was worse: the people who idolized Katarina, or the people who hated her. She just knew that by the time she got to pairs class, she was ready to throw a screaming fit if anyone so much as whispered the other girl’s name.

Mlle Kirby, at least, didn’t seem to be overly affected. She was standing at the front of the room just like always, her hands resting on her slender hips. “All right, dancers, pair off,” she commanded.

Danni started to fade back to the back of the room, where she had been for the last couple of weeks. She was happy there. It didn’t give her much of a chance to shine; but at least she was able to work out the steps on her own, without feeling as though she was fumbling her way through them.

A warm, masculine hand closed on her arm. “Dance with me. Please,” a hoarse male voice requested.

She jerked around, looking up into the young man’s desperate golden eyes.

“Please,” he whispered again.

Well, Danni wasn’t heartless; and she certainly couldn’t abandon anyone who seemed that upset. She nodded slightly, her heart in her throat.

“Thank you.” His shoulders slumped forward in sheer relief. “I wasn’t sure—“

Mlle Kirby clapped her hands, and the young man fell silent. “All right, dancers!” she commanded. “I want you to go over the pattern that we were practicing three weeks ago—and dance it like you mean it!”

Danni’s heart skipped a beat. The pattern they had danced three weeks ago—but she hadn’t been in this class! Usually, she would have just stepped off to the side and watched for a round or two; but this was the first time she’d been able to dance the entire class with a guy since she’d come out here. She didn’t want to blow it!

On the other hand, she couldn’t just fake it, either. She could pretend that she could handle whatever happened all she wanted to, but the fact of the matter was, she had to at least see the choreography once—or hear it—before she could perform it. She wasn’t with Michael, who could guide her through the steps of the dance without ever missing a beat. She was with a stranger—and one who probably wouldn’t care enough to do that for her, nonetheless.

She sighed, her shoulders slumping. She couldn’t do this. There was no way she could memorize a series of steps that quickly.

“Rehearse on your own for a few minutes,” Mlle Kirby requested quietly.

Danni stepped back. It seemed a shame to miss the practice time; but what else was she supposed to do? Mlle Kirby wasn’t even going to be there to tell her what she needed to be doing!

“What’s wrong?” the guy whispered. That edge of desperation was back in his voice again.

“I don’t know the steps,” she whispered back. “I just started the class, remember?”

“I’ll talk you through it.” His hand settled at her waist.

“Are you sure?” She stared up into those golden eyes, stunned. She didn’t think she had ever heard anyone here make an offer like that one, not here at the school. She hadn’t even thought it was possible. People cared too much about themselves out here, and not nearly enough about anyone else—and it was well on its way to breaking her heart, but there wasn’t much she could do about it, either.

“Sure.” He shrugged. “Come on. Start with the grand jeté into an arabesque…good.” He looked surprised. “You can land that en pointe?”

Danni held the position effortlessly. “Yes,” she informed him—as though that hadn’t been perfectly obvious.

He shook his head. “Most girls can’t—not that easy, anyway. K—my last partner usually made me catch her.”

She shrugged as he paraded around her, turning her on the point of her toe. It was a graceful movement, one that Danni loved simply because it always made her feel lighter than air.

“Now, come down…” The guy’s voice became background noise, his hands the primary method of guiding her through the dance. Danni responded instinctively. She’d been taught how to dance with a partner before; she knew how to respond to his leading in a way that was almost subconscious. Strange—she hadn’t thought she would be able to do this with anyone but Michael.

She was doing it with this guy, here and now.

Every once in awhile, her partner would release her, murmuring soft instructions. “Two pirouettes, come down with your right foot in front…rond de jame en l’air with your left foot…arabesque on your right leg….” Each direction was issued softly, but with exactly the right amount of information—never too much, to confuse her, or too little, to leave her ill-prepared for the next movement.

Within half an hour—throughout which Mlle Kirby remained conspicuously absent—Danni felt as though she’d had as much time to practice as any of the other girls in the class. She danced the selection effortlessly, en pointe the entire time—which, she was pleased to note, not all of the girls could manage. Most of them were, as her partner had pointed out, dropping down for several of the steps.

As she leapt into the air, flawlessly performing a series of jumps and twirls in sync with her partner, Danni could feel a smile breaking out across her face. As far as she was concerned, this was the best way to dance.

She came back to the young man’s arms, leaning back effortlessly and allowing him to support most of her weight. It wasn’t difficult. For one thing, she didn’t weigh much; and for another, he was obviously used to supporting his partner. He bent down over her, and she was relieved to note that his eyes were twinkling almost as much as hers.

“You’re a pleasure to dance with,” he murmured.

She smiled faintly. “Thank you.”

Applause broke into the pleasant reverie Danni had been experiencing, and she straightened with little of her usual grace.

“Well done, Danni!” Mlle Kirby proclaimed. “And you’d never worked that dance before, had you?”

“No.” She blushed hotly. “I know I should have waited, but—“

Mlle Kirby waved her off. “You looked wonderful!”

“I had a good teacher.” She smiled back at her partner, a more genuine smile this time.

He grinned back, something that looked suspiciously like relief sparkling in his eyes.

“Nicholas,” Mlle Kirby continued, “I think you’ve found yourself a new partner, at least for the time being.”

Nicholas. The bottom dropped out of Danni’s stomach as she spun to stare at him. Katarina’s partner. The other girl had hated her before, but now, she was going to absolutely despise her.

Whatever was showing on her face, it clearly wasn’t pleasure, because as she watched, the young man’s expression fell. “It’s all right,” he said woodenly, turning to walk away from her. “I—“

“Wait.” Danni suddenly didn’t care who he was. Her reaction had upset him—and she didn’t know why.

No, that wasn’t fair—she did know why. She knew exactly why. She’d heard the whispers. Katarina’s hurt—and it’s Nicholas’s fault.

Looking into his eyes as he turned back to her, she knew that wasn’t the case. He might have made a mistake—it happened—but whatever had happened to Katarina, it hadn’t been Nicholas’s doing. He felt bad about what had happened to her. He knew exactly what the rumors could do to his career, too—and he was terrified.

“I’d love to dance with you,” Danni said simply.

Nicholas’s shoulders relaxed almost exactly as they had when he had asked her to dance with him in the first place, and he let out a breath that she wasn’t sure he had realized he was holding. “Good,” he said smoothly.

“Now, Danni, that does raise a question.” Mlle Kirby hesitated. “Have you ever done the dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy before?”

Danni blinked at her, not sure she was speaking English. “I’m sorry—what?”

“Well.” Her teacher’s expression was very strange. “Katarina was supposed to dance the Sugar Plum Fairy this Christmas, you see—but it’s obvious that that isn’t going to be possible now. On that ankle….” She didn’t look at Nicholas as she said it.

Danni felt all the blood draining from her face. The Sugar Plum Fairy—Lord, I never imagined that you would answer my prayers this way! It had been her favorite role ever since she had watched The Nutcracker all those years ago. She had always wanted to dance the part.

It had been Katarina’s. Now, it was hers.

“Danni?”

Nicholas laughed, drawing attention away from her for a moment. “I think you surprised her,” he pointed out.

Mlle Kirby sighed. “Well, all of the other students already have parts!” she informed him. “Costumes have been altered, dances blocked out…performances begin in two weeks!”

Two weeks. “K-Katarina didn’t have an understudy?” Danni whispered.

“No.” Nicholas’s face was hard.

She suspected that she didn’t want to push him on that question. “I—wow. Okay.” She blinked. “I guess, um….” It hadn’t really sunk in yet. She was still in shock. “Two weeks. Wow.”

“If you’re not sure,” Mlle Kirby began.

“I’ll do it.” Danni knew that she was going to regret making that statement. If she failed, it was going to color everything she did here. No—it was going to reflect on the entire Academy.

But if she succeeded…oh, if she succeeded, it would open doors beyond her wildest dreams.

“This is almost unheard of,” Mlle Kirby cautioned her. “And you’re going to have to work hard—harder than you ever have before.”

“I can do it.” Danni’s shoulders came back, her head came up, and her eyes blazed.

“Good.” Mlle Kirby couldn’t help but smile. “In that case, I suppose I should be grateful that I know exactly what you’re supposed to be doing after this class. Nicholas, does Katarina have a practice room reserved for the next hour?”

“No, ma’am.” He sighed when she gave him a quizzical look. “She had…other plans…for the next hour.”

“And this close to a performance, there won’t be any free at this late hour.” She sighed. “Well…free practice tonight?”

“Five to six,” Nicholas said, just as Danni said, “Four to five.”

Mlle Kirby smiled broadly. “That works out just wonderfully, don’t you think? I’ll meet you in the practice suite at four.” She smiled faintly. “And for tonight, Danni, consider yourself excused from the children’s class—though I will expect you back on Thursday, hm?”

They exchanged a confused look.

“It will be the partner work that takes the longest to get down,” Mlle Kirby reminded them pointedly. “And if she’s going to take Katarina’s place, she’ll need to start working immediately.”

“Oh. Right.” Nicholas nodded quickly.

“I’ll see you two in an hour!” She shooed them out the door. Only then did Danni realize that everyone else was gone; they had been dismissed while she and Nicholas had been locked in the dance.

Danni gathered her bag and shoes quickly, slipping a pair of jeans on over her leotard. It didn’t make any sense to change back into street clothes when she was going to be dancing again in an hour, and while it was chilly outside, her jacket would be enough to take the edge off.

She didn’t completely understand why Mlle Kirby had let her go. She was good with the kids. Mlle Kirby had said so—and if she was with the children, then Mlle Kirby could go back to…whatever she had been doing that had taken her out of the room for so long.

On the other hand, she was a little bit grateful for this time, for the opportunity to absorb the sudden changes that had been thrown at her. She was going to dance the part of the Sugar Plum Fairy!

Danni did a little twirl as she slipped into her jacket. This was beyond her wildest dreams.

Lord, I feel so badly for Katarina—but at the same time, I’m overjoyed for me. This is…I never even dreamed this was possible! Thank you so much, Lord. I’ll treasure this opportunity—and I know only you could have arranged things so that I could have it. Thank you. Thank you…so much.

To her surprise, Nicholas was waiting for her when she came out of the changing room. He, too, had simply pulled on jeans over his dance gear; and his expression was…interesting.

“Walk with me,” he suggested.

Danni obeyed, confused. The invitation was a strange one—well, maybe not. They were going to be working very closely together for the next month or so—maybe even after that. It was only right that he would want to get to know his new partner.

She didn’t initiate conversation; and Nicholas made no move to speak to her for a long time. While they were in the halls, he even took a few steps away from her, as though distancing himself from her. She was a little bit disappointed at that, but she didn’t blame him, really. After all, he barely knew her. Just because they’d danced one dance together….

One amazing, wonderful, perfect dance….

Only when they were outside the Academy, walking through the secluded gardens that were nearly deserted at this hour, did Nicholas speak.

“I didn’t do what they’re saying I did,” he informed Danni bluntly.

She studied his face for a moment, wondering at the desperation that had prompted him to need to say those words. “I didn’t think for a moment that you did,” she told him quietly.

His expression transformed immediately, sheer relief coloring his features. “You…don’t think I did it,” he said slowly.

“No.” She shrugged. “If Katarina is hurt, it’s at least as much her fault as it is yours—unless you deliberately dumped her or something.” She smiled reassuringly. “And anyone who would take the time to walk me through a new dance just to be able to keep me as a temporary partner wouldn’t have dumped her on purpose.”

The relief didn’t last long. Within a few steps, Nicholas’s face had fallen again. He didn’t say anything, just kept his hands shoved into his pockets as they trudged along, but Danni could see the despair slowly taking over his face. “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked quietly.

His head jerked around to look at her, surprise the most prevalent emotion. “Does it matter?” he asked bleakly.

She shrugged. “Matters to you,” she pointed out.

Nicholas gave her a bitter half-smile that admitted that much. “Not to anyone else. Every girl in the Academy is determined to believe Katarina’s side of things—and most of them don’t even like her.”

“It’s easier to blame you than it is to admit that someone like Katarina could be hurt that badly because of something she had done,” Danni told him gently.

Nicholas’s laugh was bitter. “That’s all too true, unfortunately,” he admitted. “And the truth is….” He closed his eyes, pain creasing his face. “The truth is, part of it was my fault.” He forced his eyes open, made himself meet her gaze. “You should know that before you decide that you’re willing to dance with me. Part of it…was my fault.”

She waited patiently. He would explain on his own…or not at all. It was his choice.

He sighed. “I’m nursing a shoulder injury,” he informed her flatly. “You’d need to know that anyway, if you’re going to dance with me. I’m doing better; but I’m still a couple of weeks away from being able to practice lifts for more than a little while. Once or twice through the routine, fine; but if I try for a third, my shoulder starts shaking on me. A fourth run-through, and it won’t support the girl no matter what I do.” He smiled faintly. “Though I think you weigh about ten pounds less than Katarina. Might make it easier.”

Danni blinked at him, surprised. “She claims a hundred and five,” she said slowly.

“One twenty, easy,” Nicholas retorted before he thought. He winced. “Though if you tell anyone I said that, I’ll deny ever speaking to you.”

“I won’t.” Impulsively, Danni reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “I’m not going to say anything to anyone. It wouldn’t be fair.”

“I think you really mean that.” He offered her a smile—the most real expression she had seen from him all day.

“So, you’re still nursing a shoulder injury,” Danni prompted.

Nicholas nodded, and Danni almost regretted resuming the conversation as the smile dropped away again. “I’ve been doing better,” he said quietly. “But I still wasn’t up to much. Katarina….” He sighed. “She cornered me into an extra practice session. I agreed to it, but warned her that I could manage one, and then I was done. We could dance all-out through the rest just as many times as she wanted, but one time through the lifts was all I felt up to.”

“She didn’t like that,” Danni guessed.

“Well, that’s the thing.” Nicholas’s smile now was self-deprecating. “You can’t practice lifts without your partner. It’s impossible. Every new person you dance with is just a little bit different—and yeah, you can adjust, but for something like this, you really want your partner.”

Danni’s eyebrows lifted.

He grimaced. “That, and no one else in the Academy would willingly dance with Katarina,” he admitted. “Not just to help her get in some extra practice.”

That sounded a little bit closer to the truth.

“Anyway, we did our one run, and….” He sighed. “I…pushed too hard.” It was as close as he would come to admitting that he had been hurting, Danni thought, especially with a stranger. “Katarina wasn’t done yet.”

She winced sympathetically.

“She said….” Nicholas shook his head. “The things she said aren’t worth repeating. Just let it suffice to say that she goaded me into doing one more round even though I knew I couldn’t.” He stared at the ground. “I got her up there. Shoulder was shaking like you wouldn’t believe, but I got her up.”

Danni wondered if he would appreciate it if she offered him a hug. He looked like he could use it.

“Then she threw her weight off…just the tiniest bit. I wasn’t expecting it, couldn’t compensate fast enough.” Nicholas grimaced. “I got her down again, but it was a near thing.”

She was going to hug him. She could already see it coming. She just hoped it didn’t offend him too much.

“Then…the next part of the series…that grand jeté into an arabesque that you were doing earlier.” He sighed. “It looks better if the girl can land en pointe. You did it. Kat put too much height in her jumps to pull it off.”

Danni nodded. She’d seen a lot of girls back home do that, and the force of impact was too great for them to land en pointe. She wouldn’t have thought talented Katarina would have that problem, though. When she voiced that, Nicholas laughed bitterly.

“She doesn’t,” he said flatly. “She can lose the height and pull the jump off perfectly. But she’s convinced that the height is more important; so she gets me to catch her around the waist as she comes down, just for a second.”

Danni nodded. He would catch her weight, then lower her gently to the ground—she could see that. That way, Katarina stayed en pointe, and she got her height on the jump, too.

“I missed.” Nicholas shook his head. “No—that isn’t fair. I caught her. I just couldn’t support her weight for even that half-second. My shoulder….” He laughed again, the sound even more bitter than before. “It gave out on me hard. Just plain refused to support the weight.”

Danni winced along with him. “You dropped her,” she said simply.

“I dropped her.” He grimaced. “And according to Kat, knocked her so far off-balance in the process that she couldn’t have landed it on her own even if she had gone flat-footed.”

“Which she didn’t.”

“Which she didn’t.” He closed his eyes. “And now she has a broken ankle with enough ligaments ripped that she may never get it all back, she’s absolutely furious with me, and every friend she’s ever considered having at the Academy thinks I’m the lowest piece of dirt they’ve ever walked on.”

“I don’t think you’re a piece of dirt.” Danni held out a hand, instinctively easing him around a turn so that he wouldn’t walk off the path. “It was just an accident—and if she was pushing you to keep dancing when you’d said you couldn’t, then she was an idiot.”

He gave her a grateful smile. “So, no regrets?” he asked cautiously. “You’re not afraid to dance with me now?”

She looked him straight in the eye. “I’ll make you a deal,” she suggested. “You tell me when your shoulder starts bothering you, and we’ll quit for the day—or, if I absolutely have to have you, we’ll just walk through those parts.”

“It’s going to be hard getting the dance down when you can only do it twice a day,” he pointed out softly.

Danni shrugged. “I’m not worried,” she said simply. “If I have to, I’ll go grab a guy and practice the lifts for awhile. Besides….” She offered him a smile. “I thought you and I did pretty well together back there, didn’t you?”

“Yeah.” Nicholas had to smile back at that—a real smile, one that actually went all the way up to his eyes. “Yeah, we did—especially for someone who hasn’t ever danced the piece before.” He pulled his hand out of his pocket long enough to check his watch and made a face. “Come on. I don’t know about you, but if we’re going to run a two-hour practice, I need to grab something to eat.”

“I didn’t think the cafeteria was open,” Danni said hesitantly.

“It’s not.” Nicholas flashed her a grin. “But there’s a lounge upstairs that’s always got protein bars and stuff tucked away. Come on; I’ll show you.”

As she followed him back into the Academy, Danni couldn’t help but smile. It looked like she had made one more friend—and gained herself a partner, however temporary, in the process!