Chapter 9 Marfil #2
Just as I expected, Sebastian was right behind me as I got on the train.
It was an hour-long trip in total, during which Sebastian was so tense that it ended up affecting me.
I had never been afraid to go to the girls’ school, but I was freaked out by the suspicious glances Sebastian threw at everyone who entered the subway car and the way he repeatedly, although very discreetly, reached for his gun.
By the time we exited the train station, my heart was racing a mile a minute.
“I’ve been coming to this neighborhood for a year and a half, and nothing has ever happened to me, so can you relax?”
He didn’t answer, too focused on examining the street. I let him do his job and walked ahead.
When we got to the school—an old, dilapidated storefront with a mirror that took up an entire wall and a ballet barre Liam had helped me install—the girls were waiting for me excitedly, sitting on the floor warming up.
Almost all the girls came on their own. They came from families with very few economic resources, and I knew that my classes brought them a moment of calm and a bit of hope.
When they saw Sebastian, they all began to whisper and laugh.
Lili, a ten-year-old girl with an incredible talent for ballet and modern dance, ran up to give me a hug.
Her pink leotard was a bit big on her, but her mother had bought it that way intentionally, so that she could use it for a few more years.
“Hello, girls!” I said with a smile as I set my bag on the table with the sound equipment.
They greeted me, glancing repeatedly at Sebastian, who, so tall and wide, seemed totally out of place in that room full of little girls in pink and white leotards.
I took off my leggings and sweatshirt to reveal my ballet clothes underneath: a black leotard and white tights that made me stand out from the girls.
I turned toward the mirror to gather my hair into a bun and slip on a short transparent skirt.
As I did, I saw that Sebastian was staring at me.
I would’ve preferred him to wait outside, but he was so uptight that I didn’t feel like pushing him.
“Girls, this is Mr. Moore, and he’s here to make sure we’re safe. Right, Mr. Moore?”
Sebastian glared at me with his brown eyes and remained at his post beside the door, guarding the entrance.
“Today I’ve brought a surprise that I know you’re going to love,” I said, opening the sports bag after tying up my pointe shoes.
The girls went crazy when they saw what was inside. The Capezio bags flew around the room, and in a matter of seconds, they had all taken off their old shoes and slipped on the new ones. “Thank you so much, Miss Marfil!” they shouted in unison, excited.
“You’re welcome, you’re welcome—now, let’s see if you can show me everything you’ve been practicing at home,” I said, stepping up to the barre and encouraging them to do the same.
With the music of The Nutcracker booming through the room, I spent an hour and a half teaching them to place their arms in the five ballet positions, correcting their posture, showing them how to improve their pirouettes.
The girls were very eager to learn, and I loved teaching them everything I knew with equal parts excitement and dedication.
At the end of class, as I gathered my things and the girls said goodbye with smiles that warmed my heart, Lili came up to me with a worried expression.
“What’s wrong, darling?” I asked as I slipped on my pants and let down my hair.
“I don’t think my mom is going to be able to pick me up today. She told me to stay home, but I didn’t want to miss class, Miss.”
Lili’s mother had three jobs and four kids to take care of, another sad example of the system failing those who need it the most. Lili was the youngest, the only girl, from what I understood, and for some reason, I’d always gravitated toward her the most. Her older brother, Caleb, was always getting into trouble.
This little girl had witnessed things not even adults should see, and I always worried about her.
“No one can come pick you up?” I asked, checking the time and realizing that within the next half hour it would be dark and it would be unwise to remain out on the street alone.
Lili shook her head.
I looked at Sebastian, who was waiting impatiently beside the door, and walked over to him.
“We have to walk Lili home; she lives only a few blocks from here.”
Sebastian looked at little Lili, then cursed between his teeth. “You’re playing with fire, Marfil.”
I took that as a yes, and together we went out into the cool evening. Lili trustingly slipped her hand into Sebastian’s. He seemed to make her feel safe, and she immediately started asking him questions. My kind of girl.
“Why are you so tall?”
“Because I am.”
“Can you give me a piggyback ride?”
“No.”
“Do you like ballet? Do you like chocolate? Why do you have an earring in your ear? Why do you have so many tattoos? Did they hurt? Why did you come here with Miss Marfil? Are you her boyfriend?”
I had fun watching him control his temper with Lili, even as I replayed that last question in my head. And the more I thought about it, the more I found myself wishing the answer was yes.
A few minutes later, we dropped Lili off without any problems, and her mother thanked me profusely for bringing her home.
Back on the street, Sebastian took out his cell phone and quickly dialed a number. “Yes, in Brooklyn, Sutter Avenue… Thanks.”
“Who were you talking to?”
“A car service.”
“You ordered a car? To take us all the way to Manhattan? Are you crazy?”
Sebastian whipped around and glared at me. “Right now, you’re going to do exactly what I tell you to.”
I narrowed my eyes; I didn’t like the tone he’d used with me at all. “I make my own decisions, Sebastian. I’m an adult.”
“You’re not coming back to this neighborhood ever again.”
“Of course I’m coming back! What I do here is the only thing in my life that has any meaning.”
“Too bad,” he said without even looking at me.
The taxi arrived, and he opened the door for me to get inside.
“Stop telling me what I can and cannot do. You’re not my father.” Just then, my cell phone started to ring.