Waiting Room (438 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1 on 2 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by MOssiah (View user info) at 2005-11-15 23:43:34 EST
She sits quietly in the adjacent room. Waiting.
Looking around, she watches the other people who are scattered about. Some are talking softly in the corner, whilst others sit patiently, presumably for the same reason she is. Catching a glance from the young woman sitting across from her, she smiles openly and receives a halfhearted one in return. The kind where only one corner of the mouth is turned up. This lacklustre expression is accompanied by a brief shrug whilst her hands play nervously with the pendant on the end of her necklace. It's as though her mind has no control over their movements.
It reminds her of her brother and his frustrating habit of jiggling his knees whenever he is sitting down. Her father does it too. It's so distracting that attempting to watch a movie with them becomes an almost impossible task. Trying to put it out of her mind is not a lesson in tolerance, merely an exercise in futility.
Another girl is humming a tune to herself. She's in her own little world, oblivious to her surroundings as she jerks her head around to the song in her mind, playing with imaginary drumsticks in the air. She seems so free and at ease with herself. Watching her brings back memories of when she was little, living with her parents and her brother. They would play games late at night when they were supposed to be sleeping. Lying in their beds one would hum songs to the other, and see if they could guess which tune it was. When the dark was interrupted by the sudden light of the hallway, they both knew what was about to happen, just like children always know that the sounds of keys means they have to leave their friends house and head home. Dressed in pyjamas, their hair unkempt from sleeping and eyes squinting from the light, her parents would pop their heads in to tell them that enough was enough and it was time to go to sleep.
Pulling out the magazine she bought from the corner store on the way there, she flips through it, skimming through the glossy pictures and bold headlines. Her eyes stop on a full page advertisement depicting a ballerina stretching as she looks at her reflection in a wall length mirror. Her leg is raised up on a steel bar, toes expertly pointed, toned calf and thigh muscles showing. Whatever it was trying to sell was completely lost on her, as she was only thinking about her own experiences in the world of ballet.
After school each day she would be dropped off in town to practice, while her mother and brother would roam the town, her little brother occasionally having to run to catch up with his mothers fast strides. Ascending the old wooden staircase leading up to the ballet academy, her sleight weight was still enough to make the aged stairs moan in protest. The simple empty room upstairs would play host for many of her cherished memories.
She can remember the polished wooden floors and the strange, but not unpleasant aroma that hung in the air. Was it the leather of their ballet shoes constantly hitting the floor that made that smell? Even the block mounted poster of Adam Ant hanging on the wall was still vivid in her thoughts, right down to the red feathers and white stripes of makeup on his face, perhaps because it seemed so out of place. Although she hasn't practiced for many years, and the old crumpled shoes lying at the back of the cupboard no longer fit, she'll never forget her time in that arena.
Her memories were halted by someone announcing her name, albeit incorrectly. She raises her eyes from the magazine to see a well dressed man looking around the room. Lifting her arm, she waves in his direction, letting him know that she was present.
He motions for her to join him in the next room. Her recent thoughts and memories are pushed to the back of her mind, as she readies herself for the acting audition.
She left the magazine on the chair. Maybe someone else will want to read it.
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Happy Birthday Shanta.
User Reviews
Submitted by Barnymeinhoff (user info) at 2005-11-16 05:22:12 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Nice
Submitted by ih8u2man (user info) at 2005-11-15 23:51:28 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
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