Chapter 3 - Applause Makes It Hungry
Ava avoided Nora for the rest of the day.
By evening, the swelling was gone.
She stood in front of the dorm bathroom mirror lifting her shirt.
Flat stomach.
She laughed at herself.
Then someone clapped in the hallway.
The skin below her navel tightened.
More applause erupted downstairs.
Students were watching rehearsal footage of her audition.
The bulge returned.
Growing with every cheer.
Ava pressed both hands against it.
“Stop.”
The applause stopped.
So did the movement.
Her phone rang.
A text came next.
PLEASE LET ME TAKE YOU TO THE CLINIC.
Ava typed:
I’M FINE.
Three dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
That night Ava dreamed she was dancing Swan Lake on a black lake with no audience.
The demon sat alone in the front row.
He held a baby-sized bundle wrapped in white feathers.
“You’re feeding it well,” he said.
Ava woke screaming.
Her roommate, Tessa, switched on the lamp.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“You screamed.”
“Nightmare.”
Tessa stared at Ava’s stomach.
“Ava…”
The swelling had returned.
Ava yanked the blanket up.
“Don’t.”
“Are you pregnant?”
“No.”
“Then what is that?”
“I said don’t.”
Tessa left the room furious.
Ava waited until midnight.
Then went back to Studio C.
The black-framed mirror was covered with a canvas drop cloth.
Ava pulled it away.
The man was waiting.
“You lied.”
“About?”
“Something’s inside me.”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“Your audience.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“Applause must live somewhere.”
She stepped closer.
“Take it out.”
“No.”
“I don’t want it.”
The man’s smile widened.
“You wanted all of her.”
Ava’s blood ran cold.
“Nora?”
The mirror changed.
Nora appeared in another studio, stretching alone.
Then she suddenly grabbed her ankle and collapsed.
Ava whispered, “What did you do?”
The demon answered:
“Nothing.”
Nora screamed inside the glass.
The demon leaned closer.
“You asked for her gift.”
May you like
Ava watched Nora clutch her ankle.
“And gifts,” he whispered, “must come from somewhere.”
