Letters to Follow: a Sneak Peek

Chapter ONE
Lynne stormed into the women’s dressing room and threw her ballet slippers into her locker. “That woman! She never stops yelling at me!”

 
“Maybe you deserve it. I mean, you’re late a lot and…”

 
Lynne swung around. “Mind your own business, Suzette.”

 
“I’m just trying to be helpful.”

 
“Back off, Suzette!” Lynne glared at Suzette’s saccharine smile. “You couldn’t help an old lady open a cereal box.”

 
The dressing room fell silent. The first year as well as the seasoned dancers watched the two women elevate their dislike to the level of a boxing match. All they needed were padded gloves.

 
Madame Cosper hobbled into the dressing room. “What’s all this ruckus?”

 
The dancers turned away, pretending to ignore the anger creeping up Madame’s face.

 
“Well?” Madame looked around, pointing her cane at a new dancer. “Tell me!”

 
“It’s Lynne and Suzette,” she said.

 
“Is that true, Lynne, Suzette? If so, you need to settle down.” Madame shook her head, lifted her chin and hurried from the dressing room.

 
Suzette packed her dance tote and sashayed from the room. Lynne leaned against her open locker ignoring the dancers looking her way. Since Marta left the company, she’d become Madame’s new whipping girl. True, she did come in late, but that was because she live so far out of town and the snowy roads required caution. True, she didn’t back down when Madame corrected her, but Madame was usually wrong. True, she’d pushed Madame to accept the little girls she taught as replacement dancers in the Nutcracker performances, but they’d performed well. Might be time to make a change or consider moving on when the season ended; if she could last four more, long months.

Impressions??? Does this stir any interest for you? Let me know what you think.