Aris

September 12th.
I’ve been at this college for less than twenty days, and it’s incredible how many things I’ve already dared to try.
The job as a dance teacher, wearing a bikini on a beach—even though it was quite empty... And I even bought a few tank tops that I might wear at some point.
Risks are part of the process of becoming an adult, after all.
Of course, within certain limits.
And it’s that limit that I need to find.
It felt like some kind of pursuit.
When I arrived at the dance school that Tuesday to work, I came across a flyer for the dance championship posted on the reception bulletin board.
I stopped for a moment, looking at it, when Odília walked past me and said:
“You should sign up.”
She wasn’t expecting a response, so she just went straight to one of the rooms where she taught. And I stayed there at the reception, standing in front of the poster, thinking about it.
Why was I so tempted by this idea? Signing up for something like that would mean committing to rehearsals and training. And the risk for me wasn’t just about possibly overexerting myself and pushing my heart too hard in intense training, but also the time consumption it would involve. I had been managing to balance work and college well without affecting my sleep or my regulated diet. But adding another activity into the mix—and one that would demand so much from me—definitely wasn’t a smart decision.
“Hi, Aris! Can I talk to you?” Leon’s voice brought me back to reality.
I turned to face him, who had stopped next to me.
“Sure. Did something happen?”
“Well...” He looked around. Some kids were starting to arrive for their classes, greeting us as they went to their rooms. Then he lowered his voice. “You’re friends with Makris, right?”
“Friends? I wouldn’t say so. I just know him.”
“It’s just that... he doesn’t really talk to anyone for long, and I’ve seen him talking to you a few times. Can you tell me, I promise I won’t tell anyone... Are you part of the Free Bird?”
I had to laugh. The idea of seeing myself doing acrobatics on a motorcycle was, at the very least, funny.
“Of course not, Leon.”
“Really?”
“Really. But... Why are you so interested in this?”
“It’s just that... Promise you won’t tell my grandmother?”
As if his grandmother gave me much room for conversation...
“I promise.”
“So... I really want to join.”
“Join?”
“Join the Free Bird.”
“Leon! Are you crazy?”
“I’ve already tried to join, but they turned me down for being underage. But if I have a strong contact there, maybe I could bypass that?”
“What’s wrong with you, Leon? Do you have any idea how risky that is?”
“But I’m really good at riding a motorcycle.”
“You have a scooter!”

“…It’s the only thing my grandmother lets me ride.”
“And she’s more than right, because you’re sixteen years old.”
“Life is too short, Aris.”
“Yours especially. It’s been too short so far, too short to let you make decisions like this.”
“You talk as if you were much older than me... Come on, Aris, it wouldn’t hurt to talk to Makris.”
“Talk about what with me?”
Dimitris’s voice made Leon practically jump with surprise. We both turned around, seeing the focus of our conversation standing just outside the door, holding hands with Iris.
The little girl smiled and came over to me.
“Miss Aris, I practiced that move a lot, just like you told me to. I won’t lose my balance on it anymore.”
“That’s great. I really want to see it.”
She nodded, excited, and ran into the room to greet her friends.
Dimitris approached, and Leon promptly muttered something about “needing to take care of something” and ran back to the reception desk.
He didn’t even have the courage to talk to Dimitris, and he really thought he’d fare well—or even survive—the Free Bird competitions?
Since Dimitris continued to look at me as if waiting for a response, I was honest:
“He thinks I’ll intercede on his behalf to get him into the Free Bird.”
“You could try... Would you try?”
“Of course not. And if I did, would you agree?”
It was a little test. An extra weight on Dimitris’s scale, on the ‘nice guy’ or ‘bad boy’ side.
To my pleasant surprise, it was on the ‘nice guy’ side.
“Of course not. He’s a kid. Some stuff is more serious than others. An underage person getting injured in the arena would be hard to defend, even for the best lawyers.”
“I thought you weren’t afraid of anything.”
“And I’m not. I just don’t like the idea of a stay in jail.”
“And what about your fear?”—He pointed to the competition flyer.
“It’s not fear. I just... don’t have a team.”

“It says there are individual categories.”
“It must be kind of boring to practice alone.”
“I’d practice with you. If you went to the arena with me one of these nights. Would you accept the challenge?”
“You practicing with me? For some reason, I don’t think dance is your thing.”
“Just like taking risks isn’t yours. Which is a shame.”
We heard murmurs at the entrance, and when I looked over, I saw something that didn’t surprise me: two mothers arriving with their children, whispering to each other while looking at Dimitris.
“I’d better go,” he announced.
And he just left.
I hated that my employment relationship at this place didn’t allow me to confront those women—who were mothers of my students—to question them about what right they thought they had to judge others like that.
Instead, I went to my room, starting to talk with the children who had already arrived as we waited for the class to begin. It was during this time that Odília also arrived.
“Can you come here for a minute, Aris?”
I nodded and went over to her, who was standing near the door.
“Listen, Aris... I’m having some issues with the parents of your students.”
For a moment, I feared it might be related to Dimitris being there talking to me. However, it was something a bit more difficult to resolve.
“You don’t have anything on your resume. I gave you a vote of confidence when I hired you, but most parents want to know about the qualifications of the people teaching dance to their children.”
That concerned me, bringing the fear of it being an announcement of dismissal.

I had already grown fond of my students and didn’t want to distance myself from them. Besides, I loved what I did. Even in such a subtle way, I felt very happy dancing and, more than that, passing on my passion for dance to those kids.
Odília continued:
“But there is one thing you can do to improve this.”
“I’ll do anything, Mrs. Magalos.”
“It’s been years since we’ve had someone in our teaching staff who is still a student. But on the occasions we did, it became a tradition to send them to the university championship.”
That championship again? So that’s why she had suggested minutes earlier that I should participate.
“Oh... Mrs. Magalos, I’m sorry, but... I really have no interest in competitions.”
“This would add something to your resume, Aris. I know you’re a good teacher, but the parents expect more than that. And I can’t risk losing students.”
“I understand. But even if I sign up, I can’t guarantee that I’ll have any chance.”
“I don’t want guarantees. Just sign up and get through the qualifying round at your university. Even if you end up not making it past the city stage, that’s fine. I’m not asking you to reach the national final. Just become an official competitor. This will boost your resume and give me some leverage with these parents.”
I nodded in agreement, feeling completely cornered. I loved that job, and if participating in that competition was necessary to continue, then I could do it. As long as there wasn’t too much pressure to go far in the eliminations, I could handle it. I just needed to sign up through my university and be selected as one of its representatives in the competition.

It couldn’t be that difficult.
After all, how many other dancers could there be at the university where I studied?