Setting the bottle of water on a small stool in the corner of the room, Madame Naumov turned and smiled at Lila as she entered. “Good evening, Lila. I hope you weren’t not caught in the…” She paused a brief moment, searching for the correct term; although she had been speaking primarily English for nearly two decades, there was still some nuances and turns of phrase that eluded her. She found the term she was searching for, and continued on.<br/><br/>“…in the ‘traffic jam’ in the hallway?” Yelena chuckled lightly. “It is close to the children’s recital, and they are very excited.” She tucked an errant wisp of hair behind her ear, her clear blue eyes carefully watching Lila’s warm-up movements for technique. “Did you still want to practice the scene from<em>Giselle</em>? We can go over your grand jeté, if you’d like.”<br/><br/>It was an advanced move, from a technically challenging ballet. But Lila was one of her best and most driven students. If the young woman wanted to push herself, Madame Naumov would help her reach her goals. It was her job, after all. And she remembered having that same drive to excel when she’d begun to dance.<br/><br/>But what she had forgotten that day was the CD of music from the ballet. Leaving it behind in her office would prove a simple mistake with big consequences.