The Perfect Couple (4 page)

***

“But Professor Grant, I was fifteen minutes late for my exam! Fifteen minutes! Please, you have to give me another shot.”

Cara watched helplessly as the professor shuffled his feet outside the classroom, peering at her through his thick glasses. “I’m sorry, Ms. Vernell, but you know the rules just like every other student in my class. You can’t expect me to make concessions just for you.”

“But you have to let me take that exam,” Cara insisted, her voice rising into a panic. “I can’t graduate without that exam.”

Professor Grant sighed heavily and rubbed his bald head uneasily. “We are supposed to only let students make up exams for extraordinary circumstances, Ms. Vernell. Unless you have a doctor’s statement or a death in the family, I’m sorry. I can’t help you. I always warn my students not to be late.”

Cara watched as the professor walked away, devastated at what had just happened. He wasn’t going to let her make up the exam. She would have to forgo another semester before the rising seniors were ready to take this class and her scholarship wouldn’t allow for any delays. She would have to fork out the money to pay for the delay, money that Cara did not have.

After her dinner with Daniel last night they had walked around New York, taking in the sights and sounds together. The lateness of the hour and the excitement of what her future held had caused Cara to forget to set her alarm for the next morning and she had awoken with the sun streaming through her window and a sickening feeling settling in her stomach when she had looked at the time. She had rushed as fast as she could to class, only to find that her professor had locked the door and the exam had already started. With bated breath she had waited the entire length of the test to catch the professor as he was leaving, to throw herself on his mercy and hope that he would allow her to make it up.

How could she be so stupid? Cara sank against the wall in shock, her body numb. She had just screwed up big time, ruined her chance of graduating from the prestigious academy and joining Daniel in the touring company. He had stated that the producer was banking on a Jewel Academy graduate, something that she would not be. Daniel had been betting on her to graduate and she had let him down along with everyone else that had been counting on her.

Wiping the tears that were coursing down her cheeks, Cara slunk out of the classroom and toward Sara’s office. She might as well break it to her instructor that she wouldn’t be in the studio anymore. There wasn’t any need to carry on with her instruction if she couldn’t pay for the missing semester. It would be just torture, plain torture, to know that she was dancing and practicing toward nothing now.

***

Cara, you have to talk to me.

Cara, what is wrong? Did I do something wrong?

How did your test go? Will you please call me or text me at least so I know that I don’t need to call the police?

Cara, please I am worried about you.

Cara thumbed through the text messages from Daniel glumly before laying her cell phone back on the table and pulling the covers over her head, upset to not see a text or a missed call from the academy instead. She was hoping that maybe, just maybe the academy would hear of her plight and tell her they would give her another chance. In her heart though Cara knew it was over. She was just another student who hadn’t made it, who hadn’t been able to cope with both her life outside of school and her future career. Sara had just shook her head sadly when Cara had cried about her mistake, the disappointment very evident on her face.

“There’s nothing I can do, Cara. It was your responsibility to make it to your classes, not mine. If this really meant so much to you, you wouldn’t have missed it. I hate it, you are,
were
, one of my best dancers.” That hadn’t helped very much, more like stung horribly that she had let Sara down after all of the time and effort she had put in honing Cara’s dancing.

“What am I going to do?” Cara whispered brokenly to no one in particular, her pillow wet from all of the tears she had shed over the last few hours. She had maybe two weeks tops before they kicked her out of her apartment. She would be left with two options: go back home a failure or find some way to make it in NYC as a Jewel Academy reject. The thought of seeing her parents’ disappointed faces was just too much to bear. They had been so proud of her scholarship, so proud that she had gone to the big city by herself and followed her dreams. In fact her entire tiny town was looking forward to seeing her name headlining a show one day. She would be headlining a show alright, an “I’m so stupid that I ruined my chances at a future” show.

Cara’s phone buzzed again and she ignored it, burrowing further under her covers. She didn’t blame Daniel for her mistake for she should have known better. She would never blame him for this but she couldn’t talk to him right now. She couldn’t tell him that she had just ruined all of those future dreams they had talked about last night. She was no longer the girl with the promising future, she was the girl who had no future.

“Cara, come out from under that cover.”

“How did you get in?” Cara asked from under her blanket as she felt Daniel’s weight settle near her feet, his hand on her covered leg. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“I sweet talked your resident hall advisor to let me in,” he said, worry in his voice. “What’s wrong, Cara? Why are you hiding out in here? Is it me? Did I push you too hard last night? If you don’t want to do the tour, it’s fine. We will work it out.”

“No,” Cara sighed, pulling the covers back to look at him. She could see the worry on his face and instantly felt bad about avoiding him. “I’m sorry, Daniel. It’s, it’s just that I messed up big-time.”

“Whatever it is can’t be that bad,” Daniel said as Cara started to tear up again. “Aww come on, Cara, don’t cry.”

“I ruined it all,” she said brokenly, wiping at the tears on her cheeks. “I’m so sorry, Daniel, but I won’t be eligible to dance for your producer or join you on the tour.”

“Was the exam that bad?” Daniel asked softly, his hand stroking her leg comfortingly. “It’s okay, you can make up the bad grade. You’ve got plenty of time to bring that grade up. They wouldn’t kick you out over a bad test.”

“They will if you didn’t take the test at all,” she whispered, the feeling of disappointment weighing heavily on her shoulders. “I was late. I didn’t get to take the exam and he won’t let me make it up.”

Daniel’s expression went from comforting to pity as it registered the seriousness of Cara’s error, making Cara want to hide under the covers once again to escape his pitying gaze. “I kept you up too late. Damn, Cara, I am so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” she sighed. She was an adult and it was her responsibility to make her classes on time. “I screwed up, Daniel. If anyone is to blame, it’s me. I’m just sorry I disappointed you with the tour and all. You stuck out your neck for me and I screwed it up.”

Daniel swore and ran a hand through his hair, his shoulder slumping. “What are your plans then, Cara?”

“I-I don’t know,” she responded dully. “I can’t afford Jewel and neither can my parents. Hell, I wouldn’t be attending now if it weren’t for my scholarship.” She then looked down, picking at the invisible lint on the comforter. “I’ve got to find a place to live and a job if I plan on staying here but I just don’t know, Daniel.” The tears clogged her throat and she choked back a sob, pressing a hand up to her mouth to stifle it.

“Come here,” Daniel said, reaching for her. Cara fell into his arms and buried her face into his shoulder, the smell of him doing nothing to alleviate the empty void in her chest. Her Jewel Academy dreams were over, her prima ballerina dreams were hanging on by a thread and now her relationship with Daniel was in jeopardy. Hadn’t it been just yesterday that she had been on top of the world? “Shh, it’s over and done with. There’s nothing you can do about it now, Cara. Now we have to figure out what we can do.”

The tears just came harder as she clung to him, Daniel stroking her hair and whispering words of encouragement to her. What was she going to do?

***

Cara sighed heavily as she picked up another box full of clothes, stacking it neatly beside the door to be hauled downstairs. It had taken her two days of crying over her lost future to finally get out of bed and get on with her life. No longer could she dwell on what could have been. She would focus on what she could do now that her mind was clearer. Calling her parents had been the hardest thing for Cara to do in all of this mess, to hear the disappointment in their voices had been heartbreaking. Still, her hard-working parents had decided that the best thing for their daughter was to stay in the city and at least try to live out her dream. They were sending her enough money for a deposit on a crummy little apartment so that Cara could stay. Cara had been overwhelmed by gratitude. Now she was trying to pack up her meager belongings to move into her new place that Daniel had helped her find. She had a roommate, a fellow Broadway performer in Daniel’s last tour group who was currently on another tour and was rarely actually at the apartment.

Cara leaned against the doorjamb and looked at the space that had been her life for the last year, after spending her first three years in the dorm. She had been so proud the day she had moved into that dorm, fresh out of high school and excited about the new adventure. Cara had felt like she could take on the world that day but now, she was more reserved, more concerned about the direction her life was taking.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket and Cara pulled it out, a sad smile on her face as she saw that Daniel was calling again. He had been great during this time, much better than she had ever hoped for him to be now that she had ruined their chance of performing together. Though her chances had dwindled on touring, there was no way she was going to allow him to turn down a six-month tour. He had worked hard to get where he was at and she was not going to hold him back, even if it meant that their relationship wasn’t going to survive that type of separation. She had to find her own way now and couldn’t plan on him and his connections to pull her along.

The chime sounded of an impending voice mail and Cara placed the phone back in her pocket, her own emotions in turmoil. She was going to have to end it with Daniel, even though her own heart hurt at the thought of never seeing his grin again or having him gently kiss her to distraction. He had to go on that tour and somehow Cara doubted he would, knowing that she couldn’t join him on tour. It sucked, but it was what had to happen.

Leaving the boxes with her belongings to pick up later, Cara grabbed a few things she could carry in her backpack and walked down the stairs to the street below, saying goodbye to the academy and the life she had there.

***

“Is there a reason you have been avoiding me?”

Cara ran a hand through her hair as Daniel slid in the booth across from her, her heart hammering in her chest. She had finally texted Daniel back once she had gotten settled in her new place, asking him to meet her at a burger diner not far from the apartment. She wanted to be in the midst of the public when she broke it off, not in a vulnerable spot like her place or his where her emotions might overtake her. She didn’t want to do this, but it was best for the both of them at this time in their careers or lack thereof. “Hi Daniel.”

“Hi Cara,” he answered slowly, his expression wary. “Why do I feel like this isn’t just another dinner with you?”

“Daniel, I’m sorry but I can’t see you anymore,” she said softly, the crack in her voice belying the coldness of her words.

Daniel just stared at her, anger and hurt flaring in his eyes that she wished she hadn’t caused. “I don’t want to hurt you but you have the tour coming up and I have my life to figure out so I think it would be better if we went our separate ways.”

“I think you are full of BS myself, Cara. Do you want to do this?”

Cara flinched at the harshness of his words, clasping her hands together to keep them from shaking. “You know I don’t want to but it’s the right thing to do at this time.”

Daniel swore and ran a hand over his face, looking as bad as Cara felt. She hated that he was hurting because of her. Instead of leaving, Daniel finally looked at Cara with an indescribable expression on his face. “I know why you are doing this, Cara, and I don’t agree with it. The tour, it’s just a tour. It’s not my career hanging on the line.”

“It’s an opportunity of a lifetime,” she cried out softly, hating the fact that he was even thinking about making a foolish decision.

“This is an opportunity of a lifetime,” Daniel interrupted. “I feel things with you I have never felt with anyone before. If you do not feel the same, then tell me and put me out of my misery but do not use the tour as an excuse, Cara.”

“I will just hold you back,” she whispered as he pushed a paper across the table. She felt sick at having to dump him but this was for the best for both of them at this moment.

“Just look at this, Cara, and then you can make your final decision.”