| Flirting with her ~ Sir Babygirl |

It was only minutes ago that I thought I was going to die but now I'm just... sitting here, in awe of this strong, gorgeous woman who's trying to cheer me up. "What?" she asks as she sees me smile.

"I... agree," I say, "I should do it out of spite."

"That's like my girl." She smirks, stands up, and turns to the friend she has brought with her. Just like that.

My girl? My girl?

Does she have no idea what damage that can do to someone who's painfully crushing on her? Or maybe she does and she said that intentionally?

"Toge, meet Niji," she said, directing her friend's attention toward me. "She's a freshman in Genetics and does ballet. Niji, meet Toge. He's a junior in Mathematics and he speaks in sign language."

I touch the side of my forehead with my right index finger and brush it away. Hello is one of the few things I know how to say in sign language.

"He can hear you," Maki-san clarifies.

"Oh, hello then. Nice to meet you," I smile at him. He only nods from a distance. His attire baffles me. A turtleneck covers his face to the tip of his nose and I can't see his mouth at all.

"Do you need any help with the... umm... costume?" Maki-san asks, waving her hand in the general direction of my corset and tutu. She looks at me with those earnest, questioning eyes like she's approaching an injured, scared kitten. It melts away any defenses I had.

"Yes please." I look away.

Toge-san leaves the room and I stand up in front of Maki-san. I turn to face the mirror and I'm hyperaware of the deplorable condition of my dress, hair, and makeup. Basically everything.

Loosening the knots of my corset has widened the neckline, making the shoulders slide down my arms. I quickly pull them into place and the tutu attached to the dress is back at my waist. I smooth my palms on the sides of the cream-colored bodice, trying to flatten any crease that may have formed.

I look into the mirror again and Maki-san is patiently waiting for my direction. "You can tighten it now," I say, and her hands disappear behind me.

My breath hitches as I feel the skeleton of the corset tightening around me again and I pull in my tummy. "I won't hurt you," Maki-san says, and I feel her soft, warm breath on the back of my neck. She pulls the strings very, very slowly. When she finally fastens the knot, she declares, "there you go. All done."

I turn my back to the mirror to see the bow knot that she's made. I jab my thumb into the side of the corset and it barely fits. "Thanks," I say, making the little adjustments there are to make.

"Of course," she replies, pushing her hands down the pockets of her jeans. She finds a chair near the doorway and makes herself comfortable. "I'm in charge of backstage so I'll be staying here. You can continue with your makeup and hair. Don't mind me, okay?"

Maki-san flashes me a smile that... simply... Ugh, she's breathtaking!

I turn to the mirror again and pull my hair out of the bun I had made before leaving my dorm room. I comb through it until it runs smoothly and then pull it back up in a tighter bun. I push numerous black bobby pins on the sides and top of my head to hold my shorter hair in place before peppering hairspray all over to keep everything in place.

"What's the... story behind the sugar plum fairy?" Maki-san asks as I blend my contour. "Oh, you're doing your makeup. Tell me later."

"Oh no, it's fine," I say with a smile, catching a glimpse of her in the mirror.

I go on to narrate to her the story of the Nutcracker as I put my makeup on. Soon, people start coming in, occupying different spots in front of the mirror, chatting, their makeup and brushes and perfume bottles clattering on the table. Sarah senpai, the one who was helping me with the corset before, and her friends walk in too and take up a spot farthest from me.

Maki-san gets up from the chair on the other side and finds one closer to me.

If it wasn't for the layers of foundation and concealer on my face, my blush would have given me away by now. I line my lips with a nude shade and smudge an even lighter shade on my lips.

And I feel a chill down my spine.

"What?" I ask as I feel Maki-san's eyes bore into the back of my dress.

She sighs. "Nothing," I barely hear her voice over the green room hubbub. "Just thinking about something that happened in the morning and wondering if I did something wrong."

I feel my body abruptly pause and start again, as I realize what she's talking about. "Oh no, no," I say, turning to her. "You were... it's not what you're thinking."

"You froze," she reminds me. "Like I was doing something you didn't want me to do."

"Oh, I think we both know I wanted it. You said so yourself."

"That was just me being a dyke, Niji." My stomach tumbles when she says my name like that. So casually but with so much importance. "If we do it again, I don't want to do anything that would cause you to freeze?"

If we do it again?

"I..." I hesitate and restrict my eyes to the wooden top of the dressing table. "It's a little weird... for me when someone shows... interest in me and... my body. So... when you touched me... especially, in the parts where... I'm... umm... bigger, I was just scared that... you were gonna find me... ugly."

"Are you serious?"

I look up to meet her eyes and she looks genuinely confused. "You're gorgeous," she says, her eyebrows raised and eyes blown wide. She quickly returns to a softened expression and asks, "Is this something you were bullied for?"

I strain my gaze from her and nod. It's not even a week since I came to campus and I've found someone I'm equal parts attracted to and feel comfortable with. And that is both lovely and scary at the same time, and I think I'm a little more scared than in love with the idea of being vulnerable with someone I just met.

"In ballet too?" Maki-san asks and I nod again.

"Okay." She sighs loudly. "Forget everything I said earlier. Okay? You love ballet, right? Clearly. Regardless of what others have said about you or your dance, you've continued to dance. You're... you're so brave, Niji. So, do it today because of your love of ballet. Okay? Forget about spite. Revenge would only get you so far. But love can take you to somewhere you want to see yourself at. Okay? Forget about the bullies and concentrate only on yourself and your shoes and your tutu and... the stage."

"What if I'm actually bad at ballet?" I ask. I can't believe she thinks that I'm brave.

"The audience will tell you. Have you ever performed in front of college students?"

I shake my head.

"If you're really bad, they'll boo. And if you're good, nobody can make them do it. They'll applaud you and cheer for you. I promise."

"You promise?" I ask, feeling really small.

"I promise," she says. Her hand raises toward my face but she pulls it away promptly and glances at her phone. "Umm... I think it's time. I have to go, start working. You still have some time. Relax and just... well, you know what to do."

------------------------------------

My breath is steady now. Maki-san's encouraging words were nothing less than perfect. I peek from behind the wings as Panda-san announces my name and goes on to list a few things about me that the organizers had asked us to submit. What an odd name!

I find myself shifting to the fifth position and flexing my calves to stand upright. Oh yes! My muscles feel just the right amount of sore, from the warming-up I was doing in my dorm room and the jog to the cultural block. I've also darned the boxes of my pointe shoes just right to help me dance freely on wood. There's still an ache over my ribs from when Sarah senpai came at me but I know I'll soon forget about it.

"Show off!" I hear Maki-san whisper and giggle. She stands just behind me, with her clipboard tucked under her arm and a pen behind her ear. "Go, do your thing."

I don't hear Panda-san's last words but the audience applauds and my feet drag me onto the stage. I look up at the lights flooding me and the wooden floor, that is now my battlefield. Or, a party scene! Because I'm the sugar plum fairy. Party, yes!

I gather my wits again and stand in the B plus just beside the wings. I can feel my core, compact. I have a ballerina's straight back, strong legs, and soft elbows. I do.

As the composition starts playing over the speakers, I tighten my posture. With lungs full of breath and a smile on my lips, I proceed toward the opposite edge of the stage.

Tendu. Circle back to the middle of the stage on demi-pointe. Plié. Reléve. Make another circle on demi-pointe steps. Coupe. More demi-pointe steps.

Keep your elbows soft, and arms generously open. You're the sugar plum fairy.

Arabesque. Steps. Repeat thrice. Emboite. Steps. Repeat thrice. My tutu flutters with every jump.

The dance of the sugar plum fairy is a fairly easy choreography but it requires astronomical grace and beauty to pull it off. I hope to do it justice. At least, just enough for Akane sensei to notice me.

The only reason I came to Gakuganji University was to make acquaintance with Akane Stepanov, an alumnus of the Tokyo Ballet Company. Half-Japanese and half-Russian, she is a beauty to behold even, or maybe, especially at the age of fifty. She was the prima ballerina for the Tokyo Ballet Company for the longest period anybody has been a prima ballerina. Twenty-five years.

Prima ballerina assoluta.

It was only five years ago that Akane sensei retired from being a professional dancer and started teaching ballet at Gakuganji University. Some day, I'll be a prima ballerina and I'll hold that position for a longer tenure.

I brush my feet off the stage into a brisé and enter into the final act of the choreography. I make swift turns on demi-pointe all across the stage, marking it as my territory. I circle back to the center of the stage, and as the composition comes to a halt, so do I.

Feet apart in the fourth position, and arms in a relaxed second position, I face up to the audience. The light gleams on my face and I'm smiling broadly as my chest rises and falls with every breath I'm claiming.

I strain my ears, listening for boos. Nobody boos. Even if anybody does, it dies under the audience's applauds.

I return to the first position and take a bow. Still smiling broadly, I look to my left toward the wings, where Maki-san applauds too.

My vision blurs as my eyes well up a little. But I square up my shoulders and take a final bow before exiting the stage.

Panda-san gets back on the stage to announce the next performer but I filter his words out and every other noise in the vicinity. As soon as I'm in the darkness of the wings, I throw myself in Maki-san's arms. My tutu bends between our bodies, maybe irreversibly, but I don't care.

Maki is such a hype machine. And Niji is just a baby. And to be honest, Maki is going to have the time of her life pampering this girl for the next few chapters before the inevitable heartbreak. Obviously, what good is a love story if there's no heartbreak?

Also, what do you think this Akane sensei person will be like?

A/n: If you liked this chapter, please consider leaving a vote and commenting about what you liked or what you'd like to see in the next chapters.