Eating Out

[Taylor Smith]

As she spoke about the fact that dance was a very risky and hard career, she blushed lightly, realizing that he was a writer - now that was also something extremely hard and demanding, though not in the same way. The mere fact of getting one book published to start with could take years and years of work, and it was rarely possible to even live off it unless your name was J.K. Rowlings or Danielle Steel, or anyone else like that. Most writers usually had to take on a side job to make the ends meet at the end of the month, because the future was pretty much always unsure. Shaking her head lightly, she decided it might be better to keep on with the subject she was already on and try to make it sound as though she wasn't actually thinking of something else at the same time. She couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking of her at this point, and she was afraid she was making a bad impression because she could hardly talk like a normal person would, she was either getting too passionate about it and couldn't be stopped, or she stopped right in the middle because she got self conscious. He must think she was crazy. "You know, a lot of people told me I shouldn't try so hard," she said with a small smile, shrugging lightly. "Of course they don't necessarily understand how rewarding it can be," she added with a light sigh.

She took a small bite of her food before glancing up at him with a raised eyebrow. "Did you know that the average time a ballerina will actually have a good career is of approximatively ten years?" she said, smiling a little. "That's if she starts young, too. Around sixteen or seventeen I would say. She's gotta make her place in the ballet company, starts at the bottom of the ladder of course, like in anything else. Most will stay there all of their lives, actually," she said with a light frown, thinking on it a bit more deeply. "Then, the lucky ones will be promoted to the role of prima ballerinas. They're usually the lead in the company. That's what Mrs. Meyer was, too," she added with a small smile. "Had she chosen another company, I think she could have gone even higher, and there isn't much that's higher than a prima ballerina. Because in ballet, it's the woman that's important," she grinned lightly, laughing a little. "The man is there to put her in evidence, show her off. But then, when you reach the age of thirty... well, you've usually had a good run, but you're actually getting old. You're still good, but there's always the newcomer that's as good, but prettier and youthful. That's usually when you go back down the ladder, and then you're asked to leave," she smiled a little, blushing slightly when she realized she'd done it yet again, gone off on a subject that was probably of no interest to him yet she couldn't stop herself. "I'm sorry, I'm talking too much," she said, looking down at her plate. "I mean, it's probably not something that really interests you either, I'm really sorry, I'll stop now," she promised, giving a small nod as she looked back up at him. She'd started off by telling him she wasn't one to talk much, and now she was practically monopolizing the conversation. Great. Really great.

She nodded slightly when he said that leaving the Academy or any highschool for that matter was probably scary to a lot of people, and she knew he was right too. She hadn't spoken to many people who'd told her that they'd been completely comfortable with the idea of going to College and facing new responsibilities, getting a part time job and practically killing themselves with all the studying and school work they had to do. It was a completely different world, though Taylor figured that the Academy was preparing them very well for it. She knew that regular highschools weren't as demanding as GPA, and she was actually grateful for it, because the harshness of College wouldn't come as such a blow to her as it would have in any other situation. As he then mentionned the possibility of becoming a professor, she couldn't help the light giggle that escaped her lips while he explained why he didn't think he'd be a good teacher. "Well, students would probably love you," she said with a light grin, shrugging. "But the Principal and the other professors would probably not be too happy with you," she admitted, smiling a little as she finished her plate. "I think that the only prof at the Academy who actually studied there was the Photography teacher, though," she added a bit thoughtfully.

• • • • •

[Milo Parker]

"Ten years?" he repeated after her a bit bewildered. Ten years was good? But what was one to do with the rest of their lives? He couldn't see himself just not working, even if by some miracle he did become like the next J.K. Rowling. He'd still want to do something at the very least. He couldn't just settle on having a career for ten years and then just stop. And to start at sixteen or seventeen on top of that? That would be horrible. But as she explained it he thought again about how he knew absolutely nothing about dance. If he did maybe he'd understand it a bit more, or maybe not. He probably actually had to be a dancer to understand the call of it. How someone could want to put themselves in for so much incredible work over years and years for a chance at maybe making a ten year career if they managed to get that good. Writing was a lot of luck, he had to admit. If the right person managed to come up with the right story they could do really well and make themselves a very good life. He just hoped that if that was the path that he choose to take that it would pay out all in the end. That he would be one of the people that managed to get lucky.

"No, no, you aren't talking too much," he assured her with a smile. "It's fine. I actually find that I want to listen to it," he said teasingly. "You should get an award for finding something that I want to listen to. It's not something that is very easily done with me. But I want to try and understand for reasons unknown to me." He explained with a shrug as he took another drink of his pop finding that it was getting watered down by the fact that the ice had melted into it for the time that it was sitting there. He shook his head slightly. If there was one thing that he hated was watered down pop, watered down anything was bad enough but pop was the worst. It made it loose so much flavor that usually by the time that it was watered down he just got himself some more of it. That way he wouldn't have to deal with the lack of taste. Sometimes that was a bit wasteful, considering that he could come to points in time where he hadn't drank much in the first place. But usually he managed to drink most of the drink by the time that it even started to water down. So it wasn't really all that wasteful.

"I would earn the love of the students," he agreed with a grin. "But I think the love of the boss counts more. After all they are the ones that essentially determine the job. How much the students like the teacher isn't usually factored in. If so I think that Mr. Anderson would have been out the door a while ago." No one seemed to like the older professor that was downright scary, not to mention the fact that he was probably one of the more demanding professors at the school. He mind have been even more demanding than Mrs. Meyer though he couldn't say because he didn't have the dance teacher. "Hmm, well that's too bad. If I were ever a teacher though I'd want to teach at the place that I was taught. Especially if the place was Gordan Parks'. But I imagine that most teachers feel like that about the schools that they graduated from." Although most people claimed to have hated the high school that they went to he knew that deep down they'd always miss the place that they'd spent four years of their lives making memories and learning about themselves.

[Taylor Smith]

She nodded slightly once he repeated what she'd said about the usual amount of time for which a ballerina's career lasted. "Some last longer, there's a woman who danced until she was over fifty," she said, smiling a bit. "And she was a lead too, a very famous Russian ballerina. But most of the time, it's just... really short," she sighed a bit, shrugging lightly. "The hardest I think is that... when you're in a company of ballet, even if you're in the back of the whole group, you still have to be there, all the time. You have to practice non stop, and you don't really have much time to do anything else, so you can't necessarily get another job on the side or anything like that," she explained with a small smile. "And you're paid, of course. Rather well, though not as well as the leads obviously. Still, it's not really the biggest of pay. Most people who are in a company usually stay with roommates who are also coworkers to them. You really have to get along with them very well, otherwise you still see them very often," she said with a small laugh. She didn't really know how well that would go for her if she had to room with someone she disliked, or someone who hated her. Of course, after spending four years in a boarding school, she might be more used to it. But even then, Vanessa was the first person with whom she didn't get along so well, and she didn't necessarily hate her either. She just... disliked her, that was all really. Well, at least she hoped so.

She blushed a bit more when he said he actually wanted to listen to what she was saying, smiling a bit. It really was unusual for her to talk so much, for so long. She usually got self conscious after a few sentences and then she let the other person talk - most of the time anyway, they weren't really interested by what she had to say so they were more than happy to carry on with the conversation. It was unexpected for her to even hear that he was interested by what she had to say, and even more when he added that it was not actually often that someone said something that actually held his attention and interest. "Well then, perhaps you should be the one getting an award for actually finding something I say interesting, or getting me to talk at all" she said with a small smile. "Most people don't really want to listen to what I have to say and that's usually fine with me because I don't really want to talk anyway," she added with a light shrug. She was starting to wonder if she was simply being completely out of character tonight, or if it was actually the opposite. Not to the point where she faked being shy, of course, but there were some times when she wished she would just be able to talk about what she wanted to talk, though it rarely actually happened.

She giggled lightly, nodding as he mentionned that if students' love was what mattered most, Mr. Anderson would surely have been fired a while ago. Still, to her it sometimes didn't make any sense. Of course, it would be silly to ask the students who they wanted as a prof because most would surely pick people who weren't too demanding or stuff like that. But still, at the end of the day, they were the ones who spent most of their time in presence of a professor, and when that one was grouchy or mean or anything of the sort, it wasn't necessarily very encouraging for them to want to actually learn and listen to the teacher. It was the same when they were boring, too. She then gave a small nod when he said that if he were a teacher, he'd probably want to teach where he'd been taught himself. "That makes sense," she said with a smile, looking over at him. "I think sometimes what matters the most to them though is just... being able to make their students as passionate about something as they are themselves. That must be a great accomplishment," she said, taking a sip of her drink. It was a bit strange, when she thought of it, that one of the only career options she'd have left once her ballerina career was over was indeed teaching. She wasn't certain she'd be up to the task.

• • • • •

[Milo Parker]

Milo's mind still was having a bit of problems trying to understand why anyone would put themselves through so much with getting so little in return... except for the fact that they simply loved what they were doing. He'd never really been able to understand that growing up in his home. But it made more sense as he thought about it. It would be a lot better to go to a job and actually enjoy doing it - even love it - then to go to a job and hate every second of it. Even if you put in more work than you got things in return it should have been worth it. It was something that he was just really learning after so much time. It was actually probably something that he should have learned a long time ago. Maybe then he wouldn't be so confused about what he wanted to do with his life. He might have actually had a clearer view of what he wanted to do. If he just stopped listening to everything that had been pounded into his head from such a small age. His father and him hated each other, why in the world should he listen to the things that he'd tried to teach him? He didn't listen to anything else the old man said anymore. It was time to stop listening even more to him.

He gave her a small smile when she told him that he should get an award or something to find something that she said interesting or even getting her to talk. But as shy as she seemed in the beginning, she was the one proving that she did have things to say. Maybe she just didn't like to talk around other people though, another thing that he couldn't understand. Talking was something that was basically impossible for him not to do. But then again he liked the spot light quite a bit, so he didn't really understand shy either. "Maybe people do want to listen to what you say," he said with a shrug. "But you don't think people want to listen. I'm sure that if you talked more like you did tonight you'd find that people are interested in what you've got to say. You've just got to learn to speak up." He grinned slightly as he remembered where he'd first heard that. Amazingly enough, he could remember his mother telling him that when he was about nine and still pretty shy himself. But he'd taken what she said into consideration and ever since then he just couldn't stop himself from talking. He was sure that if some people found that out they'd probably curse his mother for her speech. He knew quite a few people who would be included on that list, because they were easily annoyed by him. But oh well, that was their problem not his.

He gave a nod when she talked about what mattered most to the teachers he was sure that it probably was true. He was about to add something when the waiter came up and handed the bill, taking their plates. He gave him a nod of thanks and looked back at Taylor. "Well it would seem that I think we're out of time." Surprisingly, he was sad to see their time come to an end. He'd actually been enjoying himself quite a bit. Maybe he'd be able to do something again with her later. He looked at the bill and took out the money to pay for the things that he'd bought, plus he included the tip on top of it. He thought about offering to pay for Taylor too, but she seemed like the type that would refuse so he just handed her the small black folder. "Maybe we'll have to meet up again sometime," he suggested. "It was an interesting night I won't deny." Interesting was one way to look at it he supposed. Another was fun or possibly eye opening. He had always known that there was a bit more to the dancer, but it wasn't until tonight that he'd actually been able to see it. He wanted to learn more about her now, to see the rest of her. The only thing left to do was hope that he got the chance now.

[Taylor Smith]

She gave a small smile once he said that people were maybe interested in what she had to say but she just didn't think they were. Well, maybe some of them were... she knew for sure that some weren't though. But that could also be explained by the fact that they weren't necessarily the best of friends either. Taylor had always had problems finding herself good friends, especially back in elementary and middle school. The academy made it easier, because she shared interests with her classmates, or at least they all had the same kind of passion. But when she was younger, she was pretty much the only girl who danced in her class and most people didn't really care for it all that much, or at least not the technical details of it. She couldn't exactly blame them for it either, they were just kids and they probably didn't want to hear about that or see the video tapes of her old ballet shows... not that she tried showing any of those to them, but her mother hardly seemed to grasp the concept that they weren't interested back then. Taylor rarely spoke up during those evenings though, she simply let her mother play the tapes and sat back on the couch silently, not looking at the screen, not saying a word. After all, there was just so much talent a 6 year old could have, and the cuteness wasn't as evident to a couple of 8 years old girls than it was to their mothers.

As he told her she had to learn to speak up, she couldn't help but blush lightly and she looked down slightly, finishing her green tea while she was at it. She could tell that he was right with this, and it wasn't the first time she heard something like this either. Her mother told her practically every single day when she was a kid, she would never give up on telling her that even if it visibly made no change in Taylor's personality. But speaking up and being shy at the same time wasn't necessarily an easy thing to do, and Taylor couldn't help but be shy in front of strangers. Even when it came to people she knew well there was always a bit of shyness remaining, and if it was a guy, chances were that this shyness would never go away. She'd never really listened to her mother's advice on this one, truth be told - she didn't really think all her problems would be solved by speaking up. But somehow, now that it came from someone else, in a different setting and situation, it was completely different and it made more sense to her. For some reason, the fact that she'd talked so much tonight made her less shy to him, because if she'd remained shy she would hardly have said a word all through the evening. Maybe it was true then... she'd just have to learn to talk a bit more, and be comfortable with it. It didn't seem like an easy task but she'd have to try at the very least.

She couldn't help but feel disappointed once the waiter came up to them with their bill, sighing at the knowledge that the evening was now over. She'd enjoyed herself a lot, much more than she'd had in a long time now, and she wished she could have a bit more time with him. She didn't know what it would be like if they saw each other at the Academy and she wasn't sure how she herself would react to it if he came up to her and talked - because truth be told, as stupid as it was, she wouldn't be the one to go to him to start a conversation, but that wasn't necessarily to be expected either. "It would seem so," she answered to him after he said their time was out, unable to hide the disappointment in her voice. She took the folder he handed her, glancing at what she needed to pay for and looking through her purse to find the money, placing it inside and then setting the folder on the table. She looked up at him with a small smile when he said they'd have to meet up again sometime. "Sure, that'd be nice," she said. She was about to suggest they could walk back to the Academy together, but she wasn't sure if that was where he was headed so she figured she'd be better off not saying anything at this point.

• • • • •

[Milo Parker]

He gave a small smile as he noticed that there was disappointment evident in her voice. That was a good sign, well for him anyway. It meant that she had enjoyed their time as well and wasn't happy to see it come to an end. Maybe, just maybe he'd get a shot with this girl after all. Even if she wasn't his traditional type, he was interested in her. Actually interested in her as a person, it was something new for him. He knew that once his friends got a hold of this information he would never hear the end of it. Especially not when Addison got a hold of it. He didn't even want to think of what she would do to get involved in it. Or what she was going to say to the fact that he was actually interested in a girl for something other than her body, but he was pretty sure that she was going to be teasing him quite a bit. Oh well, he'd have to find something to dig up on her, that way the playing field would be even. There was nothing worse than an uneven playing field, it usually because it was uneven for him and not for Addison.

"I'll call you later then," he told her with a smile when she said that it'd be nice for them to get together again sometime. "And we can set it up." He was actually looking forward to being able to spend more time with her, but right now he still had a few things that he had to do. He was going to meet up with some more of his friends soon enough so that they could all go partying, which was why he wasn't even going to bother going back to the academy. It would be a waste of time considering he'd have to be back downtown soon enough. If that wasn't the case he probably would have walked back with Taylor so that they could have spent some more time together, but that was life. He would get to see her again soon enough so it didn't matter all that much. He offered her a small smile as he finished off the little bit of pop that was remaining in the bottom of his glass. Even though it was basically all water, oh well. He could get something else to drink when he got to his destination.

He stood up and gave her a small nod. "See you around Taylor," he said before turning and heading out of the restaurant. He glanced at his watch and saw that a lot of time had passed, a lot more than he'd thought. Time just seemed to fly when he was with her. Something that usually didn't happen with him, he was usually pretty good at keeping time. He supposed that if he did spend more time with her he'd have to keep a closer eye on the time. That way he wouldn't be late for anything that he had planned later. Right now he was going to probably end up meeting his friends just on time. He smiled slightly as he glanced back at the restaurant before heading off the street in the opposite direction.