Shiny Broken Pieces Read Online Free

levels, new uniform requirements, and dorm room assignments. I grab him and push my tongue deep into his mouth, giving them something to stare at.
    I didn’t get to see Alec a lot this summer. Dance intensives kept him too busy. Phone calls and video chatting and texting took the place of hanging out. I almost forgot what he tasted like, felt like, smelled like.
    He pulls back from kissing me. “I’ve been texting you.”
    â€œMy mom’s been interrogating Mr. K.” I point behind me. Mama and Mr. K are still talking.
    He groans. “Wouldn’t want to be him.”
    â€œNope.”
    â€œYou all right?”
    â€œI’m great.” I stand a little taller.
    â€œNervous about being back?”
    â€œNo,” I say, louder than I mean to.
    He touches my cheek. My heart thuds. The monitor around my wrist hums.
    â€œI’ve missed you.” He takes my hands in his and turns me like we’re starting a grand pas . He lifts me a little, so I’m on my toes. My Converse sneakers let me spin like I’m on pointe. It feels good to partner and dance, even if it’s just playing around. Being hurt made me miss dancing every single day.
    Everyone clears away, giving us some space. Enthralled, they watch us.
    We do the grand pas from The Nutcracker . Our bodies know every step, turn, and lift without the music. I can hear it in the rhythm of his feet and how he reaches for me. Invisible beats guide our hands, arms, and legs. The music plays inside me. He sweeps me into a fish dive.
    â€œYou’re even better than you were before,” Alec whispers as he brings me back down, his mouth close to my ear.
    His words sink deep into my skin, making it feel like it’s on fire. The room claps for us. Mr. K beams. Mama smiles.
    No one will take this away from me ever again.

3.
June
    IT ’ S LATE BY THE TIME Jayhe and I finally get to school. Jayhe double-parks his dad’s delivery van and hops out to unload my stuff. Usually my mother drops me off, and we suffer the whole hour trek in from Queens in an uneasy silence, her disapproval seeping into every nook and cranny of her silver car and my brain.
    But this year, everything is different.
    I have a boyfriend. Now that I know about Mr. Lucas, my mother doesn’t have the power to control me anymore. My hard work is finally paying off. Summer intensives went well, and I’m ready to be on top this year. It’s finally my time. I plan to enjoy it.
    I look up at the towering buildings that surround Lincoln Center. The conservatory sits nestled in the northwest corner of the complex, in the shadow of the most beloved performance space in the most important city in the world. Sometimes I stillhave to pinch myself to believe this is actually my life—that at this time next year, I’ll be one of two apprentices at the American Ballet Company. Well, if all goes according to plan, anyway.
    Which it will.
    â€œHey, you going to help?” He rushes around to the front of the building with the first batch of stuff. His too-long hair falls into his eyes and his forearms flex as he lifts the heaviest boxes first.
    â€œIn a second.” I breathe in the scents of dogwood trees, the fountains, and even the pretzels sold at the food truck on the corner, so familiar, so comfortable, like a second skin. Jayhe pauses all his hauling and pulls me into a deep kiss. It makes me want to leave those boxes on the stairs and get back into the van, to let him drive us off somewhere. It erases the world around me until I’m forced to take a breath.
    As I open my eyes and see the school buildings rising behind his head, part of me aches for the daily tedium of school, like muscle memory. I crave the countless ballet classes, the endless rehearsals, the control that comes with calorie-counted cafeteria meals, and even Nurse Connie’s scales.
    I stay with the van as he finishes unloading. I spot other girls—ones with