"Spin... spin. No, no, no! Like<b>this!</b>" A slender little bean of modest height and the palest of hair and complexion stepped out onto the mat and performed the move she had been teaching her class all day, flawlessly. Her routine went even further than just the instruction she was showing the children and soon she was caught up in her own precious moment of time. Most of the kids were in awe watching some of the moves they'd yet to learn as excited grins grew on their faces, but other children were not amused with what they saw as a clear desire to show off. Though her appearance had always been whitewashed and often played against her personality as people tried to push her to the background, it was her dancing that truly put her leagues above most others and brought the true colors of her soul out for all to see. After all, a blank canvas just means there's endless possibilities to obtain and inspire.<br/><br/>The children that just found her display fool-hearty were not afraid to speak up and break the teacher out of her trance, making her blush in embarrassment for a moment before she verbally shut those children down for their teasing. Her classes were environments built for hard work and encouragement, not made to giggle in the corner and tease anyone. The children at hand had already been given a warning before and were immediately booted from the classroom and their parents called. Constructive critique was one thing, but purposely breaking down someone's happiness was not tolerated and this was one of the rumors the dancing instructor, Pearl, had following her around. There was also the rumor that she was generally stuck up about most things, but in truth, she was just passionate about her teaching and the kind of role model she wanted to be for the children.<br/><br/>That day's class was cut shorter to escort the troublesome children to the office where they were met with the Gym's Director; Pearl's boss. He agreed with Pearl's assessment and called the parents to come pick up their children and inform them they were kicked from the class, but gave the angry recipients a few vouchers to try another of the various classes the gym had to offer so they didn't lose patronage. Once the kids were dealt with and shuffled off to hope, it signaled the end of the day for Pearl. Despite her love for those children and how this job was pretty much her passion in life, she still had loans to pay off which the gym's salary unfortunately did not pay for. So for the last few months, she'd taken up private lessons in dancing and various other skills she has to make ends meet, but the activities were draining on her.<br/><br/>However, before she even had time to step out of his office, the Director pulled her aside and mentioned the situation with the fencing teacher and suggested, with her background, how perfect a candidate she would be to resume the class.<br/><br/>"Mr Smith is quitting?!" Pearl frowned and pulled a hang through her pale locks, clearly distraught. The fencing instructor was a good friend of hers; someone she often took lunches with, though that friendship never extended outside the building with how busy she already was. When the rest of the situation settled into her mind, she sighed, having already made up her mind. The thought of taking on another class was stifling, to say the least, but she didn't have it in her to abandon all those children... If there was even one child that had the passion to learn, she would be there to nurture that, always. She glanced up at the aging Director and nodded slowly. "I'll... take on the class, Sir."<br/><br/>---<br/><br/>A week had gone by and miraculously, Pearl had managed to balance her three jobs, albeit, precariously. She was already past the point of exhaustion, but it never showed on her face as she smiled and encouraged the children. There were a few repeat faces from her dancing class, but the rest were new to her and already she was getting mixed reviews from her tiny critics. Most of them just had a hard time keeping up with her strict regiment while others simply preferred the way the old teacher had instructed. Either way, the first few classes went about as smooth as peanut butter. The crunchy kind. At one point, while the class was doing partner exercises, one of Mr. Smith's more troublesome students got rough with their play and ended up hitting Pearl's new student, Mala, too hard with their practice sticks. She had fallen to the floor and immediately started crying as she held her knee.<br/><br/>Pearl immediately lashed out at the other child, wagging her finger at him. "I<i>told</i>you time and time again,<i>do not</i>hit below the belt! Fencing is an art of respect and time-honored tradition; not this tom-foolery you seem to think it is! You're done for the day, go sit on the bench and rethink your actions!" her exclamation was swift and fierce, but the moment she turned to Mala, she had the nurturing expression of a mother, not knowing the true mother was likely rampaging down the hallway. "Mala..." She whispered, having already memorized all the children's names in the first class earlier that week. "Mala, honey, where does it hurt?" She was bending down next to the child, attempting to settle her crying fit with a gentle hand rubbing her back.<br/><br/><a class="username" data-user-id="673" data-username="@Corrupted Quartz" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/673/">@Corrupted Quartz</a>