The Opera House Stage

[blueeyeddevil]

Reese Cordova

Everything was completely still and silent. The only sound she could hear was the beat of her feet as she went over this routine over and over again and the music that went with it. She stumbled, knocking the beat off and anger just welled up inside of her. She had been working on this all night! How could she still be messing up like this?! It didn’t make any sense and for a brief moment as she slammed the music off, she wondered if somehow the weight she had gained back in rehab was making her mess up so badly.

No, she couldn’t think like that! Those kinds of thoughts would only lead her into a relapse. Still after being away in rehab and unable to rehearse for two months, something just seemed off. She had been doing fine in the daily practices, but then the newest opera had come around and with the craziness of learning the routine for the performance and such intense rehearsals, she found herself falling behind. Not by much, but a perfectionist in her dance, Reese noticed the off step or two as if they had a neon sign pointing them out.

So she was here late at night, going over the routine for what had to be the hundredth time! She turned the music on again and started from the top. Things seemed to be going just fine, until her foot took yet another misstep. Suddenly she’d had it! Everything hit her hard all at once and she began to stomp around furiously in a very un-Reese like fashion before just collapsing backwards onto the stage as tears poured down her face, both angry and upset…feelings she had kept bottled up for quite a long time now.

[Deleted]

Scotty Price


An unsettling feeling occured in the pit of Scotty Price's stomach as he closed up his office for the night. Scotty had been working at the Opera House for almost two weeks now and he had not checked to see if they had a ghost light onstage after hours! It was awful charm to not have one. Of course, how should he insult the Opera's character as accusing them of such a thing? Perhaps it was just the mere fact that Scotty needed to see things for himself, or the childlike enjoyment he felt being alone in an empty theater. Haunting and beautiful.

Using his cell has a flashlight device, Scotty stepped over the ropes and such backstage, until he approached the wings and realized that he no longer needed his cellphone for a light- the stagelights were on. Perhaps there was a ghost afterall, or leaving all the lights on in the Opera House was their version of the ghost light? They must not take the paranormal lightly. Pun intended.

When music began playing and the sound of human huff and puffs were heard, Scotty realized that it wasn't a ghost but an actual human being. Imagine that, right? Scott Price was hesistant though. If there was not a person onstage, he may go off the edge. Scotty was a man of vision, which meant if there was something he could not see- such as a paranormal force- then he would have a major problem.

Stopping in his steps from the wings, Scotty peaked around the curtain to thankfully meet with a human being. A highly attractive human being at that, who of course, was female given his sexual orientation, and that's what he was attracted to. She was obviously a dancer, and Scott had gathered all of their resumes memorizing each name. This was easy. It was Reese, and she was one of the head dancers. Talented little thing, and apparently a hard worker.

With a raised brow, Scott Price stood with his arms folded admiring her work ethic, and a couple other things that were working for her. It was like one of those performing movies when the performer does an incredible number, giving it her all to a high tempo song and great dance routine. Footloose and Flashdance being a prime example of such. The scene was playing through his mind and it was drawing up inspiration. What talent, what heated passion and agression, what-

A breakdown?

Scott Price watched with shocked features as the dancer Reese began stomping around like a wild thing around the stage, the director sure that that was not the steps Madeleine had choreographed. He swallowed hard, unsure of what he was witnessing, and his arms dropped as the tiny girl dropped to the fall beginning to uncontrollably sob against the floor of the stage. She looked like a crumpled helpless ball on the floor.

This was when Scotty's pride swelled in his chest and he sprinted out from the wings. On the way to centerstage, he managed to kick with the heel of his dress shoe the power button of the rehearsal stereo and silenced the song, going to Reese.

"Reese." He called out to her, kneeling on the ground next to her, and putting a soft gentle hand on her shoulder, trying to give her some space. Perhaps the business was getting to be too much for her? Perhaps this was an actor breaking down? This was nothing new to witness, and had been handled before in his lifetime.

"It's Scott Price, the director." He told her over her tears calmly. Placing his free hand on the small of her back, he lowered his face toward hers. "Just, take a few breaths. It'll be alright."

[blueeyeddevil]

Reese Cordova

Reese wasn’t sure what had set her off. Maybe it was the stress of the almost constant rehearsals and trying to perfect the dance routine for the upcoming performance. Or maybe it was that despite being out of rehab, she still had to attend therapy sessions once a week to keep her eating disorder under control, only serving to remind her that she still wasn’t normal. It could even be the pressure she put on herself to make her dancing perfect and prove to herself and everyone else that even though she had gained weight, she was still a dancer.

Most likely it was combination of all three.

Everything had just gotten to be too much for her to handle and that one little misstep, which would have only mildly irritated her before, sent her into a fit of hysteric sobs as she sat there on the stage. She almost missed the sound of footsteps coming from the wings and hurrying towards her. She could barely make out a tear blurred male figure and for a second she thought it might be Santiago. Though as he knelt down beside her and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder she saw the watery features did not match her friend.

"Reese." the man said in an American accent, though the voice sounded vaguely familiar. She was still sobbing too hard to make much sense or place where she had heard it before. "It's Scott Price, the director." he told her as if reading her mind. Reese remembered him. A very attractive, friendly guy who was guest directing the show. All the ballerinas were crazy about him. "Just, take a few breaths. It'll be alright."

Reese did as she was told, drawing in a couple of deep breaths and slowly calmed herself. She wiped the tears away furiously before glancing up at him again. She could see him more clearly now. He really was incredibly attractive. “I think I’m okay now,” she murmured, trying to smile in assurance, though failing pretty miserably. “I’m sorry about that, Mr. Price. I’ve just been a little stressed out.” She didn’t tell him the reason she was so stressed was because she couldn’t get the steps down after being in rehab for months. Somehow she didn’t think he needed to know that just yet. Though a thought did occur to her and made her rather worried as she glanced up at him with a slightly frightened expression. “Please, don’t tell Mademoiselle Ledoux about this,” she pleaded. Reese really didn’t want to get sidelined from the performance because the ballet mistress thought she couldn’t handle it.