Anna Louise thanked us again and said the list of accepted dancers would be posted on the First Company bulletin board in two days. I didn’t think I could wait that long. Or sleep. My legs were still shaking long after Jesse and I came off the floor. He was sweating. After resting a moment, we were asked to join the other dancers who were following the dance captain’s combination. I wasn’t with Jesse at all this time. There were so many dancers following the combinations that I wondered who really had been selected. When I looked for Jesse in line he was standing next to another black dancer, a man. Something caught me inside and made my legs go heavy, plodding. The two of them danced in front of me and couldn’t even tell I was watching. I tried following Jesse’s steps and the dance captain’s combinations, but I found myself watching Jesse and the other dancer more than the dance captain. I couldn’t concentrate. Shivers shot through my legs and I thought I had a sudden case of shin splits. But it wasn’t my legs at all. It was the handsome man dancing next to Jesse and pulling Jesse’s gaze away from the dance floor and into his eyes. I was scared. Scared for myself. Scared for Jesse, too, this time. My stomach knotted itself, and each muscle pulled against the upward contraction I needed to lift my right leg high in extension. I fumbled through the steps, all the while watching Jesse smile at the other dancer and the other dancer smile back. They were auditioning all right, but more for each other than for the dance captain. The thought froze me from the inside out and I just couldn’t move right. Truth is, I was jealous.

Anna Louise called me off the dance floor. “What’s the matter, Ruella? I called you three times. Are you feeling all right? Maybe you’re too exhausted after the last piece.”

“Yes, Anna Louise, I guess so.”

“You even stumbled once. I was afraid you would fall.”

“I don’t understand it, either. I’m sorry.”

“Perhaps you’d better rest.”

“But what about the rest of the audition?”

“I’ll try to talk to the choreographer. I’ll do what I can.”

“You think he’ll give me another chance?”

“I can’t promise anything.”

“Wait. Let me get back in line. I’m all right now.”

“Are you sure, Ruella?”