Moretti kicked me out of Rose! He said it was because I missed a rehearsal, when I was sick. And he said that it wasn’t okay to miss rehearsals, even if you are sick, and that I should have told him personally. He was really mad about that, because Taylor never told him that I was sick, because she ‘forgot,’ and he said that I shouldn’t have told her because she didn’t have a brain.”
“That is not okay! Taylor should be in trouble for not telling him, not you. And what on earth is that about you having to come in even if you are sick?”
“He said you have to come in and sit or mark on the side, even if you’re sick!” Kaitlyn relaxed into her seat, relieved that her mom could take care of it now.
“Well, that is just ridiculous. What, does he want the rest of the school to get sick as well? Don’t worry, I will go in and talk to Mr. and Mrs. Demidovski tomorrow. We’ll get this all sorted out. I can’t believe he did that!”
“Thanks, Mom.” Kaitlyn felt slightly bored of the whole thing now that her mom was taking care of it. “And he kept having Chloe rehearse Clara before me.”
“Well, we’ll discuss that too,” Cecilia said firmly. “Are you excited about Taylor’s party tonight?”
“Oh … yeah. But everyone was being really weird today. Even Taylor.”
“Don’t worry about that, Kaitlyn. They will be fine after I talk to the Demidovskis. Just act confident and happy at the party. Where is it, anyway?”
“Um, I don’t really know,” Kaitlyn sighed. “I’m supposed to meet everyone at the academy at 6:30 and then we’re bussing. Because everyone’s going to Delilah’s to get ready, except the people who have rehearsal.”
“You didn’t want to go?”
“I wasn’t invited.” Kaitlyn’s voice broke.
“Oh, sweetie! It’s okay. It’ll all be fine after I talk to the Demidovskis. Were they weird before or after you found out that you weren’t Rose?”
“Before.”
“That sounds like they all knew before you did.”
Kaitlyn started undoing her hair, scowling. “Pigs!”
Kaitlyn got ready for the party a little more happily. Her new dress was very pretty. It was green stretch velvet on the top with an empire waist, and a lighter green skirt. She brushed out her hair and put the dress on, admiring it in the mirror. Luckily it went just over the tops of her knees, so it wouldn’t be too cold on the bus. She dug her black ballet flats out of the closet. Looking in the mirror, she considered lip gloss. She decided it was too much. It was just a birthday party,
“Ready?” Cecilia asked. “You look very pretty, dear.”
Jeff came to look. “Yes, you do. Don’t you have any shoes with a bit of a heel or something, though?”
“She’s a dancer, Jeff.” Cecelia said crossly. “Dancers don’t wear heels. It ruins their feet.”
“Oh. Okay, then. Have fun, phone us when it’s about time for us to pick you up, and when you get to the restaurant so we know where you are.”
“Okay, okay,” Kaitlyn said. She had butterflies in her stomach, but it was a good kind of nervous. It’s just a birthday party, geez, she told herself.
“Do you have Taylor’s present?” Cecilia asked as she started the car.
Kaitlyn dug in her bag to double check. Yes, it was still there. She’d bought Taylor a sparkly pin from Charmed Designs. As they pulled up to the academy, Cecilia reminded her to phone.
“Mom, I won’t forget,” Kaitlyn groaned. “Bye, love you.” She got out of the car and walked into the academy. She could hear everyone downstairs talking, so she went to join them. Omigod, she thought, Everyone looks like they’re going to the Oscars or something.
“Hey Kaitlyn,” Taylor said. She was in the middle of curling her hair. “Why aren’t you ready yet?”
“I am.”
“Oh. Are you going to wear those shoes?”
Kaitlyn realized that all the girls were wearing extraordinarily high, sparkly, colourful heels. She’d always wondered who bought those shoes.
“Yes. Dancers shouldn’t wear heels, they are bad for your feet.” Keiko and Taylor laughed.
“Yeah, right,” Delilah snorted, adjusting her purple bra. Tristan came running into the girl’s bathroom.
“Does this look all right?” he asked Alexandra and Anna, twirling. “Gel or no gel?”
“Definitely gel,” said Alexandra, carefully applying more eyeliner. “Sparkles or no?” she asked, pointing at her eyes. Tristan swung himself on top of the counter and peered at her eyes.
“What colour?”
“Silver eyeliner sparkles.”
“Wow, for sure! Can I use some of your gel?” he asked Grace.
Grace was straightening her hair and passed Tristan the gel. He began carefully combing it in, forming soft waves and peaks, framing his face perfectly. Kaitlyn looked around at the dresses. They were all colours and styles, and they were all “down to there and up to here,” as her mom would say. She looked down at her chest; it was definitely not “down to there.” For the first time, she wished it was. Everyone at the academy was already fairly tall, and the heels just made it worse.
“Where are we going, Taylor?” Kaitlyn asked, standing awkwardly, trying to not look in the mirror.
“Oh, Earls on Robson.” Taylor carefully applied red lipstick. “I tried to book Shabusen, but it was already full.”
“Okay, sounds good,” Kaitlyn was relieved. Apparently they just liked dressing up like this. You didn’t have to dress up for Earls, even the one on Robson. Still, she thought it was going to be an awkward night. She admired Anna’s dress and earrings. I have to get my ears pierced now. I’ll ask Mom to take me tomorrow.
As they got on the bus, everyone ignored the curious glances from the rest of the passengers. Except Kaitlyn. She sat down, feeling uncomfortable and blushing. She didn’t ride the buses that often; usually her mom or dad drove her.
“I love your dress,” a drag queen gushed to Alexandra.
“Aww, thanks so much!” Alexandra said, smiling at her.
“Does anyone here have ID?” Julian asked Tristan.
“Yes, Sophia, Ella, and Leon do” Tristan said. “They’ll order stuff.”
“Yay!” Taylor giggled.
Kaitlyn looked out the window, wishing … she wasn’t really sure what. She didn’t want to not be here, but she didn’t feel old enough for this party. She hadn’t known that all the older students were going to be invited to Taylor’s party too. She’d just assumed that it would be only their age group.
