Chapter 2 - The Girl in the Back Row
Emma heard the lock click.
She turned.
“Why did you lock the door?”
Ms. Vale forced a smile. “Privacy.”
“No. Unlock it.”
Vivian Sanders stepped in before the instructor could move. “You are causing a scene in front of minors.”
Emma pointed at Lily’s red cheek. “The scene already happened.”
Brooke scoffed. “Oh my God.”
“Brooke,” Vivian said softly.
It sounded like a warning, but not the kind Emma expected. Brooke shut up immediately.
That was interesting.
Emma looked at Lily. “Do you want me to call your mom?”
Lily stared at the floor.
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“She’s working.”
“Then I’ll wait with you until she gets here.”
Ms. Vale stepped forward. “Lily has class for another forty minutes.”
“No, she doesn’t.”
“You don’t decide that.”
Emma met her eyes. “Neither does the kid who hit her.”
A few girls looked down to hide smiles.
Vivian saw them and snapped, “Everyone back to position.”
And they obeyed.
That was when Emma understood Vivian wasn’t just another parent. She ran the room without teaching a single step.
The lock finally opened.
Emma walked Lily into the hallway. Her cousin Ava hurried out of Studio A a moment later, backpack bouncing behind her.
“Emma? What happened?”
“Get your shoes. We’re leaving.”
Lily sat on a bench near the trophy case.
Emma crouched in front of her. “Has Brooke done this before?”
Lily didn’t answer.
Ava did.
“All the time.”
Emma looked up.
Ava’s face drained.
“I mean…”
“All the time?” Emma repeated.
Ava sat beside Lily. “Brooke picks people. Mostly Lily. Sometimes Mia. But Lily gets it worst.”
“Why hasn’t anyone told the adults?”
Lily laughed once, but there was no humor in it.
“We did.”
Emma felt something cold settle in her stomach.
“Who?”
“Ms. Vale. Ms. Grant. Mrs. Sanders.”
“The owner?”
Lily nodded. “Ms. Grant told me competitive dance is intense and I need thicker skin.”
Emma stood.
On the wall behind her, Brightwood’s slogan was printed in gold letters:
DISCIPLINE. GRACE. CHARACTER.
She almost laughed.
Then Lily said, “There’s a video.”
Emma turned back.
“What video?”
Lily swallowed.
“A girl recorded what Brooke did last week.”
“Who has it?”
Lily’s eyes moved toward the closed door of Studio B.
“Brooke does now.”
May you like
Then footsteps approached from behind them.
Vivian Sanders came into the hall holding Lily’s phone.
