Amandine was embarrassed and furious. She wanted to sink into the ground so nobody could see her. In reality most students' heads had whipped round at Jeanne Cézanne's comment to see who it was directed at, but once they'd satisfied their curiosity they had carried on trying to master their own dance steps. Amandine was oblivious to that, though. Her face was surely scarlet by now and she was convinced the entire room was staring at her and laughing. She couldn't even look at Lettie. One thing was for sure, there was no way she would be asking for an autograph later. If Jeanne Cézanne couldn't recognise their talent then she didn't deserve anyone fangirling over her.
After what felt like an age the Ombrelune managed to force her feet to move again, but copying the sequence exactly as prescribed felt like she was admitting defeat. She wanted to add flourishes, move faster, dance in front of everyone else while they were a mere chorus. Lettie whispered to her which made her feel better, but then she actually apologised which felt worse. There was no way Amandine would be able to bring herself to apologise, That would be far too humiliating.
Though not as humiliating as the fear that she might actually cry from embarrassment. Her eyes and nose were stinging and she clamped her jaw firmly shut, determined not to show a single emotion. Following Lettie's lead, she danced again, but the fact she was perfect brought no satisfaction now. This situation continued for some minutes before Jeanne Cézanne called a break, suggesting the students all drink some water and stretch their muscles before they resumed the class.
Amandine saw her chance. With a despairing glance at Lettie, willing her to understand, she fairly bolted across the room, grabbed her bag, and darted through the door, oblivious to the fact she was still wearing her ballet shoes. Once outside, the fear that she was being stared at subsided, but she started to walk briskly in the direction of their room. She couldn't go back in the studio, She just couldn't!
[out]