The Girl With The Tattoo

1. a walk through the woods

Sophie

I walk down the hallway, leaving the dance studio as rehearsal had finished just five minutes ago. I would usually stay late but my mom isn't able to drive me home so I have to walk back from dance.

The route home is through a forest that leads to my house and I don't want to be walking through there in the dark.

I rush down the hallway, gripping onto my dance bag whilst trying my best not to bump into any of the older dancers.

But unfortunately, I feel myself barging into someone and I instantly feel scared.

"Wow, watch it!" I hear a voice, a pretty one I must admit.

"Ugh, I'm sorry!" I immediately apologise whilst gripping onto my bag tighter in case it's snatched by this girl that's probably so pissed at me right now.

I look up to meet her eyes and in front of me is a girl that I've seen around here before. I know she's a little older than me because she's in a different class. I've seen her smoking behind the building a few times when my mom dropped me off.

"No, it's okay actually." She tells me "These hallways are so fucking packed! It's Mr Adams's fault for not buying a studio that has actual space!"

"So don't worry about it." She reassures me, a smile on her face which makes me think that she's actually kind.

"Uhm-th-thanks." I begin to walk away.

I rush down the hallway, but then I hear footsteps following me behind and I hear the same girl's voice once again "Come on, where are you going?"

I open the door which leads out to the back of the building, trying my best to get home without getting myself into any trouble. I heard that the older dancers at the studio get up to illegal shit and I'm not into any of that. I don't even smoke and I wouldn't dream of doing it.

My mom would kill me!

She's beside me now, breathing heavily as she ran to catch up to me "Wow, you're fast!"

Then she asks me "Wh- where are you heading?"

I look out at the road "Home. It's getting late."

"Your moms not coming to pick you up?" She asks me, almost like she knows that my mom is usually here to take me home.

I shake my head slightly "No, she's at work."

"Oh..." she replies with, and then there's a few seconds of silence where I notice that she seems to be thinking of something to say.

And then she surprises me by saying "Well why don't I walk you home?"

There's no way I can walk home with this girl! My mom says that I should be wary of strangers. I know that she dances with the same company that I do but she's a few years older and she probably wants to kill me or something. And I didn't bring anything to defend myself...

"Don't you have class? Shouldn't you be getting back in there?" I ask her, kind of hoping that she leaves me alone.

She rolls her eyes "Come on, you know Mr Adams won't give a shit if I'm late. I'm like one of his favourites..." She bites her lip slightly, and I wonder what she means by being one of his favourites.

And then she suddenly laughs "I'm kidding! He hates me! He's probably gonna kick me out anyway this year so who gives a fuck if I'm late?!"

"Plus, like you said it's getting late and you shouldn't be walking home all on your own. There are scary people out there. You never know what could happen to you..." She tells me something that seems similar to what my mom tells me.

There's a silence and then she raises her voice a little "So, come on, are you gonna let me take you home or what?!"

I look up at the sky, now noticing that the sun has almost completely disappeared behind the clouds. It's getting extremely cold too and I know that it's going to be dark by the time I reach the forest.

I kind of don't want to walk alone... maybe I should let her walk with me?

"Uhm- okay!" I finally give in, and I see the smile that immediately appears on her face.

She then says to me "Okay, let's get going then!"

We walk down the path that takes us onto the main road. We don't speak a lot but it's mainly because it's almost impossible to hear anything over the loud noises of the cars that are on the road right now.

We then turn the corner to find the path that leads us into the forest. But instead of continuing to walk, she stops.

Her face shows how confused she is "Fuck, it's dark down there!  Your mom really wanted you to walk through there alone? Is she fucking crazy or something?"

"I've done it before." I reassure her, which is the truth because I've walked through this forest multiple times at night when my mom was unable to take me home.

"Oh, look at you! So brave!" She jokes, but I manage to roll my eyes slightly without her noticing.

My mom works at her own dance studio most nights now. I have a younger sibling on the way and we're struggling with money at the minute. From hospital appointments to paying for my ballet lessons, money is extremely tight.

"Are you scared of the forest?" I ask her, noticing that she looks hesitant to walk through.

She then turns her head to look at me, a smirk now appearing on her face "Me, scared of the forest? Girl, I'm scared of nothing..."

And then she walks forward a little "Now come on."

I follow her as she walks in front of me.

I instantly realise that I don't know her name. I know a few of the older girls' names mainly because Mr Adams brags about them being amazing dancers and that we should learn from them, but I've never heard this girl's name before although I've seen her around.

I wonder what her name is...

And I guess that she was wondering the same thing about me, as I hear her say to me "You didn't tell me your name..."

I don't reply because I'm hesitant on telling her something when she's practically a stranger.

But then she says to me "Come on, I'm walking you through a forest when I should be in rehearsal. The least you could do is tell me your name."

I gulp, before revealing my name to her "Sophie... My name's Sophie."

All of a sudden, she stops and I watch as she turns around slightly.

She surprises me with a quick wink, and then she mysteriously replies with "I'm Lexi."