Phantom Masquerade by A.L. Hawke

Author:A.L. Hawke
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781953919564
Publisher: A.L. Hawke

THE TAXI PIROUETTE

Mina learned to loathe Daniella. Of course, she was exuberant over opening night being only a month away, but rehearsal was grueling. Her body suffered under the weight of her ridiculous red dress—which was even more unbearable when she sang. Then her acrophobia was toyed with by her practiced performance on the dreaded pedestal. By the time she worked with Daniella in the evenings, the strain was complete. She was asked to perform contortions, spins, and jumps in ways she hadn’t thought possible by Dani the choreographer bitch.

After the end of one particularly grueling evening, being made a complete fool of by Daniella’s Russian girlfriend, Sonia—a far better dancer than Mina—she was absolutely exhausted. One consolation was that it was Friday, which meant she could sleep in a little tomorrow.

She lugged her large duffel bag through the glass doors of the theater, wearing a long coat over her leotard. It was so late that she turned around and locked the theater behind her. Then she made her way to the side of the street to call a cab.

She shivered, realizing it was not only really late but cold. Then she hailed a cab.

“Hey, Mina.”

She recognized the voice immediately. Gail stood by the curb, wearing a fuchsia coat and blue jeans, smiling widely but seeming uncharacteristically reserved.

“Gail? What are you doing here?”

“You told me about this theater. I thought I’d accompany you home. If that’s okay? It’s Friday and I was … well, I was hoping to join you.” Then she looked down the street for a moment. “I texted you but you never returned my messages.”

“I’ve just been so busy.”

A cab stopped by the curb. Mina walked toward it, but she wasn’t going anywhere. Gail stubbornly stood, obviously vying for her attention. So the cab left.

“We have a new female model,” she blurted out.

“Yeah? How is she?” Oh, Gail, I need to go.

“Not as cute as you.”

“I like men.”

“I know.” She quickly nodded, putting her hand up. “I know. I hope that isn’t … I mean, well, I hope that’s not why we haven’t talked. That night at your place—”

“I was very drunk.”

“You barely drank anything.”

Another cab drove down the street.

“Look, can we talk later?” Mina asked, gesturing to the cab. “I’ll give you a call. I promise. I told you, I’ve just been so busy. And I’m so tired, Gail. I have to go.”

“Ms. Kuni misses you too. The new girl, her name is Carla, is always late. And she’s asking for breaks like ten times a session. Anyway, the class is ending soon, so it doesn’t really matter. But when I look at Ms. Kuni, I can tell behind her spectacles that she doesn’t like this model. But … I mean, it looks like you got your shit together here, didn’t you? I mean, a big Broadway play. Wow. How incredible. I’m so proud of you, Mina. You used to talk about your dream. Now you’re living it.”

“Thanks, Gail.” Another cab stopped by the curb.

“You know,” continued Gail, ignoring the cab, “I’ve been working on painting scenery.

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