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“Eri!”
Eri lands her pirouette just a little messier than anticipated and she looks around, trying to figure out who had called her. The music is still going, meaning she could be hearing wrong, but she could have sworn she’d just heard her name.
After a few moments of looking around, she spots a familiar head of wild, curly, green hair, and she smiles a little, giving Midoriya a wave. He grins brightly at her from the door to the studio and kicks off his shoes before entering the studio as Eri quickly goes over to the speaker system and presses pause. Then she spins around and smiles up at him.
“How’s it going?” Midoriya asks, patting her head companionably, “That pirouette looked really good.”
“I-I’m doing alright.” Eri says, blushing ever so slightly, “And I fell out of it, it wasn’t that good.”
“Well, that means there’s proof you can get better! Let’s work on them together.” Midoriya says brightly.
Eri nods, “Okay!”
Pirouette drills aren’t her favourite thing to do, but they’ve always been beneficial no matter how much she would rather not do them. And, now that she has Midoriya giving her pointers and such, the drills are certainly going to be even more helpful now. Midoriya had always been good at helping others out and helping them improve, and Eri always felt really happy when his eyes lit up when she finally got something just right.
Halfway through the third drill, Midoriya speaks up again, “Hey. Have you heard about the auditions?”
“Auditions?” In all honesty, Eri hadn’t been paying attention to the message board when she’d passed by it this morning. She lands her pirouette before turning to him. “What auditions?”
“We’re going to be doing the Nutcracker for the Christmas ballet this year,” Midoriya explains, “Auditions are this weekend.”
“This weekend?” Eri blurts, “That’s not enough time to prepare!”
“You’re going to audition?” Midoriya blinks.
“I mean, I assume you’re going to say I should, so…” Eri fidgets with the end of the little wrap skirt she wears for practice.
Midoriya smiles. “Well I’m glad to hear you’ll be auditioning. Want some help getting ready?”
“I uh…” Eri fidgets more, “Sure?”
Midoriya’s smile brightens. “Then let’s get to work. You’re going to kick ass at the audition.”
Eri blinks in surprise. But she just shrugs and goes with it, resuming her pirouette drills with a renewed sense of determination.
————————————
The auditions are nerve wracking, as any audition is, but Eri does feel a little more confident thanks to Midoriya’s help. Mirio had stepped in as well to offer his own pointers and together, along with Uraraka at some point, they’d all helped each other be ready and confident for the auditions. Of course, Mirio wouldn’t be auditioning thanks to his injury, but Eri knew he would be supporting them.
And, sure enough, he’s there before Eri is. When she steps through the front door of the studio, she spots him and a smile curls onto her lips. She hurries over to the changerooms and quickly stuffs her back into one of the cubbies, grabbing her slippers and water bottle before slipping back out again. Slipping right past all the other girls who are warming up and stretching, Eri hurries up to Mirio and pokes him in the shoulder to get his attention.
Nejire spots her first and she beams. “Hi Eri!”
“There’s our star.” Mirio says, face as bright and sunny as ever. “How are you feeling?”
“Pretty good.” Eri says, “Still nervous, but I’m trying to get rid of it.”
“Don’t get rid of it,” Mirio shakes his head, “Accept it and use it as fuel to try your best.”
“Oh. Okay!” Eri nods, “I’ll do my best!”
“I know you will.” Mirio smiles at her. “Now, you should probably warm up. Don’t want to turn out like me, do you?”
Nejire whacks his shoulder, “Don’t talk like that! But you should definitely go warm up, Eri! Take your time and do your best!”
Eri nods, smiling. “I will! Thanks!”
Warming up is never super eventful, just some jumping jacks and some laps and various other things so she can be sure all her muscles are warm. Once she’s worked up a bit of a sweat, she sets about stretching. Again, fairly uneventful. All the girls around her giggle when her hips click, making Eri smile, humour glittering in her eyes. Everyone’s joints click at this point and it’s always funny when you do a grande plie at the beginning of class and everyone’s knees click.
It probably isn’t a good sign, but it isn’t necessarily a bad one either and it always lightens the mood in a room.
Little quiet conversations flit around the room as the girls reunite with friends for the morning. Sure, they’d all seen each other less than twelve hours ago at class the night before, but it’s still always nice to see each other again. Eri just wished that the boys and girls didn’t audition separately so she could say ‘hi’ to Kouta. She understands why the studio separates them for auditions, but it’s always nice to see her friends.
“Eri.” A voice says to her left, and when she turns to look, she smiles.
Kaitaro smiles at her and waves a little, hair tied back in a bun. “Hi!”
Eri smiles at them, “Hi. You’re in the girls’ audition?”
“Yep!” Kaitaro grins, “They said I could do either one and that I’d be considered for any category I audition for. And, well, I always like the girls’ costumes in nutcracker, so I’m doing the girls’ audition.”
“Makes sense.” Eri nods, “And is it a girl day?”
“No, it’s more of a boy day today.” Kaitaro shrugs his shoulders, “But either way I don’t mind.”
“Okay.” Eri nods.
Kaitaro gives her a bright smile, electric blue eyes glittering, and the two fall silent as they keep stretching.
Eventually, the two of them end up helping each other with stretches. This is how Eri ends up lying on her back over Kaitaro’s back as he stretches forward over his legs. Kaitaro is warm, he always is, and Eri is a little jealous because, even after warming up and stretching and such, she still has her sweater on.
“So.” Kaitaro says to the floor, “You ready for the auditions?”
“I hope so.” Eri shrugs lightly, “Hard to tell. I’m still so nervous.”
“Me too.” Kaitaro admits, “But I’m sure we’ll both do great!”
“I hope you’re right.” Eri sighs.
“I am.” Kaitaro says sincerely.
Eri giggles at that and sits up. Kaitaro sits up as well and, once Eri has put her legs into butterfly, they reverse their previous situation. Kaitaro lounges back on Eri’s back, and Eri exhales slowly as she stretches forward over her legs. The stretch burns but it isn’t too much. Kaitaro is always careful when he helps other people stretch. It’s really sweet, Eri thinks to herself, that Kaitaro always puts so much effort into everyone else, and she wonders where he got it from.
“Kaitaro?” Eri says.
Kaitaro hums in acknowledgement.
“Are you nervous?” Eri asks, voice a little small.
“Huh?” Kaitaro twitches, “Course I am. No one isn’t nervous before an audition. That’s just how that works.”
“Really? Then why do I feel like the only one?” Eri asks quietly.
“That’s because you haven’t looked around.” Kaitaro’s grinning, Eri’s sure of it. “We’re all nervous, every single one of us. Humans are nervous creatures.”
Eri hums a little and leans further into her stretch. She guesses that Kaitaro is probably right, but she still can’t help but feel really nervous despite this. But she’ll try to take Mirio and Kaitaro’s words to heart and using her nervousness to focus on doing her best.
Eventually, they both finish stretching and stand up, beginning to run basic exercises. Plies, tondues, etcetera. All of the basics. As they go, they both talk easily about this or that thing, laughing when it’s due and just enjoying each other’s presence. As they keep talking, Eri notices that her worries are slowly easing.
But her worries return once the director opens the door to the dance studio and says, “Group one, two, and three please come in. We will start now.”
Eri freezes. Kaitaro squeezes her shoulder and smiles, “Let’s go.”
“Wait, what group are you in?” Eri asks.
“Group three.” Kaitaro says, “You?”
“One.” Eri says.
“Great! Let’s go!” Kaitaro beams at her.
And, well, she kind of has to go. So Eri quickly sheds her sweater and follows Kaitaro into the studio.
————————————
Once the audition is over, Eri stumbles a little as she exits the studio. She’s tired and sweaty and she wants to change out of her tights and leotard before she goes anywhere. So she quickly heads into the changerooms and grabs her change of clothes.
She changes quickly in one of the little curtained areas because there are quite a few people waiting and, once she’s all changed, she slips back out and puts her dance clothes into her bag. Then she tugs on her socks and slips on her shoes before heading out of the changeroom. She sits down on one of the stools in the lobby to take out her hair from its bun.
“Hey,” Kaitaro plops down on a stool next to her, “Wanna get lunch?”
“Hm? Oh, uh, sure.” Eri says, “What were you thinking of getting?”
“A new little cafe place opened up nearby,” Kaitaro says, “Or we could always go to that smoothie place with the good breakfast wraps.”
“I could go for a smoothie.” Eri muses.
“Smoothie place it is.” Kaitaro chirps.
Eri smiles and massages her scalp as her hair comes tumbling down around her shoulders. She hums softly in relief, always glad for the relaxed feeling that envelopes her when she lets her hair down.
And, in just a few short minutes, they’re ready to go and head out the door right as someone is calling the next few groups into the room.
————————————
The results of the auditions come out a few weeks later, and by that point Eri has almost forgotten about them. So, when Kaitaro races up to her excitedly, Eri has no idea what the heck they’re talking about.
When they get to her and have slowed down a little bit in their rambling, they finally say something that makes sense: “You got Clara!”
Eri stares at them for a long moment. “I what?”
Kaitaro laughs, “You’re Clara! You got cast as Clara for the Nutcracker!”
Eri’s eyes widen. Then a smile brightens on her face and squeaks, “Really?”
“Really!” Kaitaro nods excitedly.
Eri giggles and presses her hands over her mouth, smiling like a loon. This is a pretty good way to start the day.
————————————
Collapsing face first to the floor when the director says to take a five minute break is amazing. The floor is cold and Eri is too warm and she sighs in bliss as she presses her cheek against the vinyl. She can hear laboured breathing around her as dancers sit down or stretch or go off to get some water. Eri just pants against the floor, grateful that no matter how warm the room gets, the floor is always colder in comparison.
Someone sits down next to her, breathing as laboured as hers, and Eri turns her head to find Uraraka crossing her legs. Eri smiles breathlessly and mumbles a greeting.
“Hi.” Uraraka smiles, “How are you holding up?”
“Yeah. Yes, I’m good.” Eri nods, “Tired and out of breath but…”
“It’s exciting isn’t it?” Uraraka’s eyes shine.
Eri grins and nods, “Yeah, it’s really fun. I never thought I could be Clara.”
“Well you’re doing great.” Uraraka assures her. “I’m really glad you got the part.”
“Didn’t you play Clara a few years ago?” Eri asks.
“Yeah, for three years in a row. We always have a few different people to play her, but I was the main one for several years.” Uraraka explains, “It’s really fun. I miss it. But I’m glad I can still be in the show.”
“I’ll do my best to be a good Clara.” Eri says determinedly.
Uraraka laughs, “You’re already going great! I’m so excited to see.”
Eri smiles and slowly sits up, crossing her legs. “You are?”
“Uh huh!” Uraraka nods, “You’re going to do so great, I’m sure of it.”
“I’m excited.” Eri admits, “It doesn’t quite feel real yet but… I’m sure it will.”
“Wait until you are getting fitted for the costumes,” Uraraka says, “Then it’ll feel real.”
“If you say so.” Eri says.
“Alright, everyone!” The director calls, “Let’s get back to work!”
Eri sighs and clambers to her feet, adjusting the long practice skirt around her waist. Then she readies herself and gets ready for whatever the director tells her to do next.
————————————
Eri’s shoulders are burning. But she can’t exactly move them down because she is wearing a mock up of a dress with pins everywhere and gods does she ever not want to be poked by any of these pins.
The seamstress has apologized about a hundred times by now, but Eri doesn’t really mind. Uraraka had been right after all, it all does feel really real now that she’s wearing what will be the dress. She’s even more excited now, veins thrumming with excitement. Her heart is beating faster now and, despite the fact that the first show is about three months away, she is still feeling so much anticipation at this very moment.
“How do the straps feel?” The seamstress asks, eyebrows knitting together, “Too tight?”
“No, they’re alright.” Eri says.
“Move your arms around for me.” The seamstress steps back and watches. Eri carefully and slowly moves her arms around in slow, wide circles. She’s doing her best not to disrupt any of the pins, but it’s a little hard. She feels a few pins nudge into her skin but it doesn’t really hurt, thankfully.
“They’re fine.” Eri says again.
“Alright, excellent.” The seamstress grins, “Slowly take it off, and I’ll have it fixed up for you in a week or two. Then we’ll do this all over again.”
“How many times do we have to do fittings?” Eri wonders, slowly and carefully working the straps off her shoulders, before working the dress slowly off her body. She still has a leotard and tights on, so she isn’t naked. Once the dress is off her body, she steps out of it and gently hold it out to the seamstress.
“Usually we come in every three weeks?” The seamstress says with a shrug, taking the dress, “It’s to make sure that the dress will still fit you if your body changes.”
“Oh.” Eri nods in understanding. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” The seamstress says, “What’s your name?”
“Eri.” Eri says, “Yours?”
“Maya. Nice to meet you.” The seamstress smiles. “See you in three weeks.”
“Bye.” Eri says.
The seamstress gives her a nod and leaves.
It’s definitely feeling more and more real.
————————————
It’s opening night and Eri is even more nervous than before. She’s backstage, fidgeting relentlessly with the ribbons on her slippers, and waiting for the house lights to dim before the curtains rise. She finally gives up and starts running through the steps quickly. She knows everything, she knows she does, but it never hurts to practice, right?
As she moves, her dress flutters around her. It’s pretty and light and she really loves it, but no matter how much she likes it, she’s still stressed and nervous.
“Hey,” A quiet voice says, “doing okay?”
Eri turns and looks up at Midoriya, still running through the steps as she goes. “Hi. I’m uh. I’m nervous.”
“Well that’s okay. Everyone’s nervous.” Midoriya says, rolling his ankles. “It’s really normal.”
“Are you nervous?” Eri asks.
“Definitely.” Midoriya nods, hair entirely immobile thanks to the three pounds of gel Uraraka had put in it. Eri had snuck into the older kids’ change room to watch because it’s always funny seeing Midoriya’s hair go from wild and floofy to slicked back.
“Really?” Eri’s eyes widen.
“Really.” Midoriya nods again, “We’re all nervous. Even Mirio is nervous and he’s not in the show.”
“Oh.” Eri whispers.
The lights dim in the house and Eri’s heart leaps into her throat. She stops moving and squeezes her hands together. Midoriya puts his hand on her shoulder and squeezes gently. The touch is warm and comforting and she sighs quietly.
“I gotta go.” Midoriya whispers, “You’re going to do great.”
With that, he lets her go and jogs out onto the darkened stage.
Eri nods, readying herself.
Slowly, the curtain opens, revealing the set and the dancers on the stage.
The lights go up.
The music starts.
And Eri lets herself shine.