Chapter 1 - Party Time

"SURPRISE!" The thunderous shout echoed from the score plus of friends and relatives who stood and clapped. While I stared wide-eyed at the smiling well-wishers, my friend, Tami, who'd brought me home from the dance studio, hugged me. "This is for you, Cher. Let's go in."

In a glorious daze from the unexpected celebration, still wearing our ballet garb, Tami and I glided past DeShawn, my brother, who'd opened the door. Glassy-eyed I gazed around the room. The room was large, but seemed to be bursting with guests. In addition to friends, relatives, and neighbors, Tami's parents, my ballet teachers, and my seven ballet class friends were there.

The fact that my ballet teacher and friends managed to beat us there made me suspect Tami had delayed me at the studio on purpose. How sneaky she was, having me instruct her on the proper way to do a pirouette when there was absolutely nothing wrong with her mechanics.

Nevertheless, the party was a wonderful surprise, but I had no idea what the celebration was about until I saw the banners hanging from the wall-'OUR LOSS IS JUILLIARD'S GAIN,' 'TAKE A BITE OF THE BIG APPLE and 'KNOCK 'EM DEAD, CHER'.'

Have I been accepted?

Just below a poster of me performing a grand jeté, waited mom and dad, smiling as if they'd won the lottery. Seeing me looking, Mom held her arms out and wiggled her fingers for me to come. I ran to her welcoming embrace. While tears began to trickle down my cheeks, she hugged and kissed me.

"I've been accepted?" I had to know.

"Yes. Isn't it wonderful? I'm going to miss you terribly, baby," she cried, too.

"When did you find out?"

"Monday. I would have told you, but your dad wanted to tell you with a surprise party."

I hugged Daddy tight and kissed his cheek. "Thank you Daddy. I love you!"

He wiped the wetness from his eyes with the side of his hand, then flashed his usual toothy smile. "I love you, too, Princess. Thank you for being my daughter. I couldn't have asked for better."

He handed me an envelope. Opening it, I fingered through twenty, one-hundred dollar bills. "Thought you might need some spending money." He slipped a second envelope into my hand, which displayed the Juilliard logo in the upper left corner, and had been opened.

While I read the letter, I saw the word accepted and hugged Daddy once more.

I never would have done it if it wasn't for Daddy. It had been his idea eight long months ago to apply to Juilliard. Gathering recommendations and transcripts we then journeyed to Chicago in the cold and snow of February to audition.

It started to sink in; I was going to one of the elite dance schools in the world.

Daddy whispered in my ear, "I thought you might like to see the acceptance letter before I get it framed."

After I finished hugging Daddy, I could see the guests gathering around, so displaying a wall-to-wall smile, I turned to greet my well wishers, one and all. To my surprise, they began to sing For She's a Jolly Good Lady.

Tears started streaming down my cheeks.

I am the luckiest girl in the world!

 

* * * *

 

New York City was mind-boggling. I had no idea what to expect or how it would affect me. New York City, especially Manhattan, was bigger than life. Pictures and movies are nice, but they can't begin to convey the sheer magnificence, of the reality.

From the time we circled the city, waiting for the okay to land at John F. Kennedy Airport, until almost two hours later when I arrived by cab at Juilliard, I'd been mesmerized. My home town of Indianapolis, Indiana, wasn't small, but compared to New York City, it seemed tiny. The vibrancy, diversity and energy that surrounded me seemed contagious. I surveyed everything as the taxi driver darted among the canyons that had been formed by the man-made colossuses. Riding across the Brooklyn Bridge into lower Manhattan from JFK, chills ran up my spine and down my arms. I felt awestruck.

Even though I'd been surprised by the grandeur of Manhattan, the largest shock waited for me in my dorm room. With expanded eyes and a wide-open mouth, I demanded, angrily, "Who the hell are you?"

His light blue-eyed gaze locked with mine, and his narrow lips posed a friendly smile. "Hi, my name is René Réjane. You must be LaCherna Smith?"

Despite the fact that he was big and extremely handsome, I demanded, "Yes. What are you doing here?"

"I'm your roommate. My, but you are très belle-very beautiful."

When he offered his hand, I whined, "This is some terrible mistake."

"Why?"

"Why? Are you kidding? You...you're a man."

He laughed. "Not to mention that I'm an étranger...how you say it?" His eyes widened with recognition. "Ahh yes, a foreigner. One of those quirky, self-centered Frenchmen."

I flashed a smart alecky grin. "You said it, I didn't."

He looked up at the ceiling. "Gee, thanks." Sitting on the lower of the bunk beds, he continued to hold his hand out, which I had no intention of shaking. When he finally sensed that, he pulled it back and looked at it as if studying it. Lowering his hand, he frowned. "Better than a rude American. For your information, I washed my hands less than an hour ago."

Having made his point, I bit my lower lip to keep from laughing. "This isn't a co-ed dormitory. How could they have placed you with me?"

"It's my name. Everyone assumes someone named René is a girl, until they see me, then it dawns on them, 'Oh yeah, René is a man's name too.'"

This time, I did laugh. Despite my unease, in addition to being white and handsome, I noticed that he was tall well built and, from all appearances, possessed a great personality.

Resisting an urge to run my hand through his long blond locks, I held out my caramel colored hand. "I guess we don't have to be roommates to shake hands. I go by Cher."

A warm, tingly feeling invaded my lower regions when he took my hand.

His lips failed at suppressing his smile and a mischievous twinkle formed in his eyes. "You know that is 'dear' in French, don't you?"

I nodded curtly. "I've heard that."

"Anyway, ma chère, we are, in fact, roommates."

I lifted my left eyebrow and smirked. "Only until we can get the dormitory manager to assign you elsewhere."

When I turned to leave, he jumped up and slid himself between me and the door. "Let's not make snap decisions."