7. Delilah
Chapter seven
Delilah
S itting in my room, I sat against my bed frame as I did my homework, and my dog lay on my chest, fast asleep. He was a pretty old baby, and it saddened me because of that fact. Despite that fact, my dad, being the crazy person he is, went to the vet and paid an immense amount of money so Marshmallow wouldn’t pass early. I don’t know how he did it, but if there’s one thing you don’t want to do, it’s make him angry, and those people surely did magic on my baby because instead of getting worse, they say he’s getting better.
“Knock knock.” I heard the familiar voice of my mom, and I looked up.
“Hey, Mom, what’s up?” I smiled, and she smiled as she sat on the edge of the bed.
“What are you working on? I haven’t seen you in a few hours.”
I sighed. “Just homework. I have work to do in Statistics and English. Dad also wants me to make his reports of last week, so I have a pretty busy night ahead of me.”
“Do you want any help? I’m used to all of this paperwork. Your father doesn’t want me working, though.” She pouted softly, and I giggled.
“I’m okay, Mom.”
She nodded. “All right then.” She didn’t say anything for a minute, and I could tell something was on the edge of her lips. “Have I ever told you how proud your father and I are of you?”
“Mom...” I cautioned, and she hummed in response, not looking into my eyes. I sighed. “What do you need me to do?”
She laughed nervously, looking over at me, and I gave her a look. I was basically her literal reincarnation, so I knew when something was wrong or when she was nervous.
“Well, I’ve been planning something for your uncles and aunts, and that week, Killian gave Benjamin and Reginald off... So, I was wondering if you could babysit?” Mom asked, and I calculated it in my mind for a moment.
“So you want me to watch Uncle Blaine’s kids, Uncle Eugene’s kids, Uncle Shin’s kids, and the other FOUR in this household, too?” I asked and she gave me a hesitant smile.
“Yes... But it won’t just be you. Kimiko will also be here.”
“And did she have anything to say about this?”
“...No?” she said, and I groaned.
“I’ll think about it.”
She smiled widely and placed a kiss on my forehead. “Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes. Love you, sweetie!” She smiled, and I rolled my eyes as she left the room in pure delight.
I felt Marshmallow stir in my arms, and I looked down to see him awake. I sighed as I lifted him and placed a kiss on his head.
“You got it easy, Snowball. You’re just a pup living his life to the fullest, and what about your mama, huh? She’s going crazy.” I whispered the last part, and he licked my face.
“Mom, Dee’s talking to her dog again,” Ivory announced at the door, and I scowled at her as I stood up and let my baby down.
I walked out the door and walked with her as we went down the stairs.
As I entered the living room, a smile came to my face as I saw Dad entering the house as he slipped his tie off. We greeted him as usual, and soon enough, we made our way to the dining room for dinner.
Walking into the locker room, all eyes turned to me. Today was the first class of ballet in Madam A’s class, and I had already told her that I didn’t want to be shown any favoritism. It was already enough being a walking exhibit. I thought it would be better to keep a low profile.
I continued to the back, where my locker was, and prepared for class. I pulled my hair in a bun and started hearing a few whispers behind me.
“She thinks she is so special.”
“I don’t know why these people like her.”
I glanced over my shoulder to see three girls staring directly at me. Their faces grew red except for the girl in the middle, who still had a small scowl on her face. I smiled at them as I tilted my head and walked into the studio. I was used to these comments, and they didn’t faze me much. Their words could break you down if you don’t have the mental capacity for them.
Taking a spot on the floor, I started stretching, and weirdly enough, a few others in the class began following me. The door opened, and I looked over to see Madam Alexandrova coming in, not looking a day over sixty. I also noticed the large stick in her hand, which had most girls confused, but not me. They were unaware of her teaching methods, and I knew we would finish the semester with nowhere near the number of students we started with.
“Good morning, students. I am Madam Alexandrova if you weren’t familiar, and this is the first class of ballet this semester. I know that many of you are not informed of your level or what class you should be in, so today, there will be an evaluation of how much you know. Try to keep up, but if you fall behind, I will ask you to take a seat. I assume you all are stretched and ready so we will first start with pirouettes. You will start with one turn, then two, three, four, and five,” she explained quickly, and we stood up and got into our positions.
The music started, and she banged her stick to the beat as we started on her counts. As we turned, I noticed a few of the students having trouble already and having to take a step back. After a few more evaluations, Madam A spoke, and her eyes gazed at me for a split second.
“We will now have a combination across the floor to see how quickly you pick up choreography, and our demonstrator will be Delilah. ”
I deadpanned as she smiled at me, “Madam Alexandrova, if I may, I don’t think I should—”
“Nonsense, you already led half of the class earlier in stretching, so this won’t be a problem,” she interrupted, her smile staying plastered on her face.
“But I—”
She cut me off and banged her stick twice. “Tombe, pas de bourree, glissade, grand jeté. Tombe, pas de bourree, glissade, assemble,” she ordered, and almost like I was on autopilot, I started the combination and finished as some girls were stunned.
“Now, I will give you a few seconds to get that registered before I add the next part.”
I felt for some of these girls, as it was difficult to catch on to something like this quickly, but I couldn’t do much about it. Madam A had literally implanted these combinations and advanced learning skills into my brain ever since I was younger, so naturally, it just came to me.
Eventually, the class ended, and even though some girls didn’t make the cut, I still congratulated them for getting this far, which they had not expected me to do.
We all started getting ready to go, but Madam A called me into the studio for a minute. I walked into the room and crossed my arms.
“ Nana , I thought I told you no favoritism.” She looked over at me in shock.
“Why, I have no idea what you’re referring to, dear,” she said cluelessly, and I scoffed.
“I told you when I was home for you to treat me like the other girls, and what do you do? Put me in front of the class like an exhibit!” I said, exasperated, and she sighed as she held her arms out for a hug. I reluctantly walked over and let her embrace me as she chuckled.
“Grandma’s sorry. I knew what I was doing, and I just wanted to show off my granddaughter.”
“I know, but what will the other girls think? I’m already having trouble fitting in. I don’t want more issues than necessary.”
“I’ll try—”
“I don’t want you to try. I want you to play fair.”
“But I already had a solo picked out for you and everything,” she said childishly, and I pulled away.
“That’s fine, but make sure all the other girls have a fair shot, too.”
She groaned and shooed me away. “Fine, now go on. I have another class to teach in fifteen minutes.”
I blew her a kiss as I went back to the locker room to prepare for my next lesson. I slipped out of my ballet attire and quickly showered before putting my uniform on again. While putting on my heels, I heard the door open and close. Thinking it was the students for the next class, I paid no mind to it as I brushed my hair out.
I heard slow footsteps, and eventually, they stopped.
“Hello, doll.”
I flinched at the voice that was right by my ear, and I turned to see Luca staring down at me.
I stuttered his name out at first, but coughed as I continued normally again. “L-Luca… You’re not supposed to be in here.”
“I beg to differ, love. There’s no sign on the wall that denotes that statement.”
“The words ‘Girls’ Locker Room’ should be enough indication as it is.”
He chuckled as he stepped in a bit closer. Quite frankly, I was still a little iffy on how to navigate conversation with a man as unhinged as he was, and sadly, my lack of interest in him and defiance only made him gravitate towards me more.
“And my presence in here alone should be enough indication that I go where I please.”
“And why are you in here?” I pressed.
“I came to see you.”
“Why?” I asked, holding back a flinch as his hand reached out, brushing a strand of hair from my face, his touch lingering longer than it should.
“You’ve been avoiding me. That’s not something I appreciate.”
I blushed as he was right, but I shook my head in denial. “No, I haven’t.”
He nodded silently, and I felt his arm wrap around my waist. I tried pushing him away, but he wouldn’t budge.
“Luca, what do you want?”
“Who is Archer to you?”
The question caught me off guard, though I tried to mask my expression. “That’s none of your business.”
His grip tightened, pulling me closer. “You’re certainly making it my business. I don’t like competition.”
I swallowed hard, trying to keep my voice steady. “He’s not competition, Luca. And neither are you. This isn’t a game.”
“And yet, you’re somehow the prize,” he muttered, and a smile broke out on his face as I successfully pushed him away.
“I would’ve never guessed I would’ve found such joy in taming such a spoiled princess—” he began, but the word “princess” struck a nerve. Archer called me that, and I had convinced myself it didn’t bother me, that it was just a term of endearment from him—one that was almost somewhat annoying. Yet hearing it from Luca twisted something inside me, turning it into a sharp, insulting sting.
My hand moved before I could fully process my emotions, landing a hard slap across his face.
The sound of the slap echoed, and Luca’s eyes widened in surprise. His hand let go of mine, and he touched his cheek slightly as he processed what had happened. However, I wasn’t that stupid to sit and wait for him to say anything else in response.
Grabbing my belongings as he stood there in thought, I made a beeline for the exit, ignoring his small smirk and the low chuckle that escaped him as the door shut behind me.
Luca
Making my way to the office, I stopped as I heard a voice from behind.
“Luca.”
I turned around to see a girl in Delilah’s dance class. “Natalia... to what do I owe this pleasure?” I asked as she stared me right in the eyes.
Many of the students found it in their favor not to look me in the eye, but from previous experience, she had no problem with doing so.
“You’re not going about this the right way,” she said, and I tilted my head.
“I beg your pardon?” I asked, and she continued.
“Russel’s daughter. If I remember clearly, Archer told you to stop.”
I bit my lip and slowly inched my way over to her. She slowly started taking steps back, but she hit the wall.
“I would be careful if I were you, sweetheart... What I do is none of your concern. Choose your next words wisely,” I threatened, though she didn’t seem to take the hint.
“You’re losing control of the school.”
“And why do you say that?” I asked.
“Kimiko is going to be the president of the student government, and your voice won’t overpower the students anymore.”
I scoffed before a smile broke out on my face. “I don’t think you know how much control I have in this institution. Who’s to say Kimiko will even win—?”
She promptly cut my words short. “You already know she will. Brad was never strong enough to lead; you made him your puppet. They believe in Kimiko. She’s shown the students her determination, and her best friend could have her father do whatever she asks. That could affect the entire academy. The bottom line is Delilah and Archer came back, and things are going to change.”
My jaw ticked. “I’ll take care of Kimiko. Archer, in the way of me getting to know Killian Russel’s precious daughter, is just a minor setback,” I retorted, and she sighed.
“Just like you, Luca, I don’t like change. I don’t like that Delilah has everyone’s attention and is the ‘best’ student in every class—”
“Is someone a bit jealous of the new girl?” I asked, chuckling, and she rolled her eyes.
“Say what you want, but I’m just warning you. I surely can’t do anything about it, but you may be able to.”
“Correction. I will be able to, ” I muttered, now annoyed at her presence as I walked away from her.
I went on my way once again, and I chuckled. Kimiko? Archer? Those two are the least of my problems, especially Kimiko. A little threatening, and the student body will be as good as mine.
Her friend Delilah was different. I quite liked the prospect of having a little doll I could break, but my rather juvenile methods probably needed refinement. Despite that, Delilah’s resilience was a new challenge… and rather alluring in a sense. It only made the game more interesting.