Chapter 11 - The Confrontation
We decided to celebrate by ordering room service and eating pizza in our pajamas.
The massive gold trophy sat in the center of the hotel room table like a centerpiece.
At 11:00 PM, there was a sharp knock on our hotel room door.
Mark frowned. “Who is that?”
He walked to the door and looked through the peephole.
His face hardened.
He unbolted the door and pulled it open.
Vanessa stood in the hallway.
She looked disheveled. Her blazer was wrinkled, and her mascara was smudged.
“I need to talk to Sarah,” Vanessa demanded, trying to push past him.
Mark blocked the doorway with his body.
“You’re not coming in here, Vanessa.”
“Mark, move.”
“No. You lost your right to talk to my family the day you kicked my daughter out of your studio.”
I walked up behind Mark.
“Let her speak, Mark,” I said calmly.
I wanted to hear what she had to say.
Mark stepped aside, but he didn't lower his guard.
Vanessa glared at me.
“You cheated,” she hissed.
I actually laughed.
“Cheated? Because she scored a 99.5 without your choreography? Because she beat your manufactured little robot on fair ground?”
“You conspired with Clara! You pulled strings to get that wildcard spot!”
“I made a phone call, Vanessa. Lily did the rest on that stage today.”
Vanessa pointed a shaking finger at me.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done? My sponsors were in that audience today. They saw my elite soloist lose to an independent dancer! You’ve humiliated my studio!”
“You humiliated yourself,” Mark stepped in, his voice dangerously low.
“You think this is over?” Vanessa screamed, losing her mind in the hallway. “I will ruin her! I’ll blacklist her from every major competition in the Midwest! She will never dance again!”
“Are you finished?” I asked coldly.
Vanessa panted, staring at me with pure hatred.
“Clara approached us after the ceremony,” I told her quietly. “She offered Lily a full scholarship to the Juilliard summer intensive in New York. The judges were so impressed they want her to audition for a national touring company next year.”
Vanessa’s face went completely blank.
Juilliard.
It was the holy grail. It was the one thing Vanessa had never been able to achieve for any of her students.
“She doesn't need your studio, Vanessa,” I said. “She doesn't need your approval. And she certainly doesn't need you.”
I grabbed the doorknob.
“Enjoy your drive back to Ohio. I hear second place is a tough pill to swallow.”
I slammed the door in her face.
We heard her stand in the hallway for a long time before her footsteps finally retreated toward the elevator.
I turned back to the room.
Lily was sitting on the bed, eating a slice of pizza.
“Was that Aunt Vanessa?” she asked casually.
“It was,” I said.
May you like
“What did she want?”
“Nothing important,” Mark said, kissing Lily’s forehead. “Just some garbage we don't need to worry about ever again.”
