"Thank you." I told the man.
"Are you okay? Did he do anything to you?" The man seemed quite worried about me.
That made me feel a bit confused. And he seemed to notice the surprise on my face too, so he introduced himself.
"I'm Garrick Harvey, five years ago I met you at Kaylin's birthday party at Joan's mansion."
I pondered for a moment, repeating the name Garrick Harvey in my head a few times and then remembered him.
Garrick Harvey is the eldest son of the Harvey family. He is a well-known ballet dancer and has been Kaylin's partner in many ballet performances.
"Oh, it's so lucky to meet you by chance. I didn't expect you to still miss me."
According to my bad memory, I only appeared briefly on Kaylin's birthday, because she didn't like my appearance. Great-grandfather Joan invited me to attend, but Kaylin kicked me out of the party shortly after. But the young master of the Harvey family still remembers me, which makes me happy.
"Of course I remember you. I have an excellent memory. I can even distinguish twins and triplets easily." Garrick Harvey joked.
I burst out laughing. Kaylin is lucky to have a friend as friendly and kind as Garrick. Not to mention he's also very good at ballet.
Garrick Harvey took the initiative to offer to take me home, because he was worried Baldric would come back and bother me. We talked a lot on the walk home.
I realize that the young master of the Harvey family is a gentle man and cares about people. He was soft spoken, had a good sense of humor and easily made me feel comfortable talking to him.
"Esther, it's almost time for our academy's periodic evaluation, have you practiced a lot?"
"Honestly, I wasn't prepared."
"What? So the students selected by the principal like you have a different way of practicing, don't they?"
"Haha it's not, I just haven't figured out what ballet I should prepare. I'm just wondering."
"Or..." Garrick thought for a moment, then said, "Will you be my partner in the ballet 'Don Quixote'?"
Garrick's sudden suggestion shocked me. The ballet "Don Quixote" is one of the classics and very difficult to do. Even just an excerpt from this ballet performance would make any ballet dancer find it difficult to perform.
"This… I thought Kaylin Joan was your partner?"
"That's right, we've been partners for ten years. She's going to be doing a solo this time, so you don't have to worry." Garrick smiled and reassured me.
"Hmm... this ballet is quite difficult, I'm not sure I can do it the best. What if I make a mistake and your assessment will be deducted?"
"It's okay, I believe you can do it."
Garrick's gentle gaze made me feel at ease. Even though we've just gotten to know each other, I feel like Garrick and I could become close friends.
After that day, I practiced very hard. Every day, I spend 10 hours practicing the ballet "Don Quixote", the rest of the time I stay at the hospital to take care of my mother. Every night, after cleaning the practice room, Garrick and I would combine choreography and practice difficult movements together. Everything is really in harmony and I am extremely confident.
Monday morning is the periodic assessment.
Garrick bought me an Americano to keep me calm. Anyway, this is the first time I have experienced professional ballet, which has a jury to judge and evaluate. In the past, I only participated in ballet at a few small onion events or street festivals.
Layla performed quite early. Her ballet performance isn't great, but there's nothing wrong with it either.
"Ah, I'm so shaken, I don't remember how I performed at all." Layla looked at me and sighed.
"It's okay, you did your best." I comforted her.
"Eh, Garrick Harvey? Why are you two hanging out together?"
Only then did Layla notice Garrick standing next to me.
"We are friends."
"She and I are partners in the upcoming ballet 'Don Quixote'."
Garrick and I said in unison, and then we were both startled and turned to look at each other and burst out laughing.
"Since when have you two... been so close?" Layla frowned at me and Garrick.
"Just recently." I shrug happily.
After that, Layla seemed much more pensive. She went to chat with a few other girls, I concentrated on preparing for my performance and didn't notice Layla's mood change.
Many ballet performances after that were nothing special, the judges seemed to feel quite bored and constantly yawn. Among the judges, two are the most famous.
Ms. Glenda is a strict ballet teacher, she no longer directly teaches classes at Malibu academy, but she is the manager here. Ms Glenda used to be a ballerina in the group 'The Angels', the legendary ballet group.
In addition, Ms. Jenny is also a veteran ballet instructor. Her students are all members of the Royal group, including Kaylin and Garrick. The assessment of these two female ballet instructors also accounts for 50% of the total score.
Kaylin's performance was right before my performance. Today, she wears a pure white ballet dress, the skirt edge is meticulously embroidered and studded with sparkling pearls. Look at Kaylin today as beautiful as a real swan. As soon as Kaylin stepped onto the stage, she captured all eyes with her shining and radiant beauty.
Right from the first position and second position, Kaylin did it perfectly. The other students couldn't stop exclaiming.
"As expected, Kaylin's skills are still very good. She is still the top ballet dancer in our academy."
"Haha, I never doubted Kaylin's ballet technique."
"God, she's as beautiful as a fairy."
Kaylin's performance ended with a round of applause. Jenny even stood up to cheer for her favorite student. Kaylin did not let Miss Jenny down.
Kaylin left the stage, looking quite calm. The fact that I had to perform right after Kaylin's excellent performance was really stressful. However, that did not discourage me. I am also very confident in my skills and can't wait to show it off.