The Hit List Read Online Free PDF Page A

completely harmless. The worst that can happen is I lead him on, but Luke doesn’t seem like the type to let that happen.
    The girl behind me in line finishes a moment later and the teachers applaud us. I focus on them instead of on the people around me.
    The next three hours are more of the same. Floor exercises, barre exercises, putting on a show for the teachers, hoping to make it into an advanced class. When we’re done, sweat drips down my temples and plasters my tank top to my back.
    Luke’s eyes catch mine for a second in the mirror before they flick back down to his phone, but he doesn’t try to hide the smile on his face. I don’t try to hide my look of indifference. His smile falls and his brow creases slightly.
    Miss Catherine walks to the front of the room. Her eyes scan over students around me. “That’s it for today. Before you leave, I have a quick announcement. This year, the teachers will be making a decision about which student has made the most progress through the semester. That student will spend next semester in London training with an assortment of teachers.”
    The classroom erupts into chatter around me. The chance to spend a semester in London is an opportunity most of us will never get again in our lifetime.
    There’s no way that dance article has any kind of reach overseas. London could really be my shot at starting over if I can’t get anywhere in L. A. There are so many opportunities there that I could never even dream of getting to experience here. Like a shot to work with some of the best teachers in the world.
    “Do you know how many people in this room would kill to go to London?” Brielle whispers beside me.
    Adam wipes sweat off his face with a towel. “Get in line.”
    “I also wanted to let you know that we’re doing things a little different with Fall Showcase this year. You’ll all be dancing with partners. Partner rehearsal starts next week.” Miss Catherine smiles.
    Dancing with a partner was not in the brochure. No one told me it would be expected of me during my interview or my audition. There’s no way in hell I’m dancing with someone else. I can barely rely on my own talent half the time. How am I supposed to rely on someone else’s?
    “Did you know anything about this partners shit?” Brielle asks, her whisper coming out more like a hiss.
    Partners? They can’t just spring this on us.
    Surprise. Let me introduce you to the person who holds your fate in their hands. The person you need to dance well with in order to get anywhere in this business in the next year. Or maybe even the person who will drop you and then walk out of your life when you’re at your weakest point.
    I don’t think so.
    Adam shrugs. “Nope. I guess it was supposed to be a surprise.”
    “That’s the worst surprise ever. What if I end up with a terrible partner?”
    This can’t be happening to me. I can’t dance with a partner.
    “I got a spot at NYBC. I start next week.”
    My foundation falls away as Patrick’s words sink in, each stone crashing louder as my heart beats faster. “You’re leaving?”
    Someone steps in front of me, trying to get through the crowd to their bag on the other side of the room. Brielle pulls lightly on my arm, but I’m already off balance and I trip over my feet.
    Falling. Toward the ground. Toward the end of my career .
    Fire rips through my hip as Patrick tries to save me. But he can’t stop the pain. He can’t stop the falling .
    Hollow sound fills the room, the kind in a movie when a bomb goes off. Except it doesn’t fade after a few seconds. It gets louder as blood roars through my ears. Stars dance across the ceiling.
    You can’t see the stars inside the city. That’s why Patrick brought me .
    “It’s simple out here. There’s no pressure to be perfect all the time. The only thing you owe the stars is just to be you. You need to remember that every once in a while.”
    “Who needs stars when you have spotlights?”
    I try to laugh,