After Odette said that, she stuffed the remaining half of the macaron into her mouth, as if she were afraid someone might snatch it away.
Varesa leaned against the mirror and laughed, reaching out to ruffle her hair. "If you like them, have some more. We bought plenty."
Bai You stood beside them, her eyes curving into a smile.
The sun had completely set, and only a little twilight filtered into the dance studio through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Odette chewed the macaron, its sweetness lingering on her tongue.
She flattened the empty box and tossed it into the trash, her voice returning to its usual even tone. "Have you two had dinner?"
"Not yet. We were too busy shopping." Varesa rubbed her stomach. "We only had snacks for lunch, and now I'm starving."
"The theater restaurant should be open by now." Odette picked up the coat draped over the barre and casually threw it over her shoulders. "Come on, my treat."
"Oh, Odette's treating us?" Varesa raised an eyebrow. "The sun must have risen in the west."
"You don't have to eat."
"I'll eat, I'll eat. Who turns down a free meal?"
The theater restaurant was in a side hall on the first floor. It was past mealtime, so there weren't many people around. Warm yellow light fell on the wooden tabletops, and the room was quiet.
The three picked a table by the window and sat down.
Odette handed the menu to Bai You and Varesa first. "Take a look and see what you want."
Bai You took the menu and studied it carefully. Varesa leaned over, resting her chin on her shoulder.
The two "fish" studied the menu with their heads together, whispering to each other now and then before laughing together.
Odette sat across from them, holding a glass of water and wondering how many days a week she should take off.
"Odette?"
Bai You's voice brought her back to the present.
"Huh?"
"Aren't you ordering? Do you want this?" Bai You pointed to a dish on the menu. "It looks good."
Odette glanced at it and nodded. "Sure."
The dishes arrived one after another. The three chatted as they ate. Most of the time, Varesa did the talking, sharing amusing things that had happened while they were shopping.
She talked about how good Bai You had looked trying on clothes and which shops had good desserts. Bai You occasionally added a word or two, speaking softly but always getting straight to the point.
Odette didn't eat much, spending most of the time listening.
Halfway through the meal, Varesa seemed to remember something and put down her chopsticks. "By the way, Odette, you didn't eat properly while we were gone, did you? Were you practicing dancing again?"
"I practiced for a little while."
"A little while?" Varesa looked at her suspiciously. "When you practice, don't you usually go straight through the whole day? And now you say it was a little while. Did the sun rise in the west?"
Odette fell silent and lowered her head to pick up some food.
Bai You looked at Odette, then at Varesa, and said softly:
"I hear Odette dances beautifully. We saw lots of posters of her while we were shopping."
Odette's hand paused as she was picking up food.
"Of course," Varesa said, raising her chin proudly. "Odette is the theater's principal ballerina. You could say she's its star performer."
"Don't talk nonsense." The tips of Odette's ears reddened again, and she lowered her head to shovel a mouthful of rice into her mouth.
Varesa laughed even harder.
As the meal drew to a close, Odette seemed to remember something. She put down her chopsticks and wiped her mouth with a napkin, her tone as casual as if she were commenting on the nice weather:
"Oh, I almost forgot. While you were out shopping, I had someone replace the bed in Varesa's room."
Varesa was drinking soup and nearly choked. "What?"
"I had it replaced with a double bed." Odette looked at her calmly. "Don't squeeze into the storage room together tonight. Go to your room."
"Your single bed was too small. It wasn't comfortable for two people to squeeze into it. Now that it's been replaced with a bigger one, you two will be a bit more comfortable sleeping together."
The table fell quiet for two seconds.
Varesa put down her soup spoon and stared at Odette for a long moment before suddenly smiling. There was something indescribable in that smile. "Since when did you get so thoughtful?"
"It was on the way." Odette raised her glass, hiding half her face behind it. "I happened to see that the furniture store was having a sale."
"Oh-on the way." Varesa drew the words out, her eyes saying, Yeah, right.
Bai You sat beside her, her cheeks faintly flushed. "Odette, thank you," she said softly.
Odette's fingers tightened around her glass. She murmured an acknowledgment and said nothing more.
After dinner, the three left the restaurant and parted ways in the hallway.
"I'll take Bai You back to my room for a shower first," Varesa said, sounding a little tired. "We've been shopping all day, and we're sweaty."
Odette nodded. "All right. I'll go back to my room and wash up too."
"We'll come find you afterward." Varesa put an arm around Bai You's shoulders and waved at Odette. "Wait for us!"
Bai You also turned back, her eyes curving into a small smile. "See you in a bit."
"See you in a bit." Odette stood where she was, watching the two disappear around the corner of the hallway before turning toward her own room.
Before long, Odette came out of the bathroom.
Her hair was still wet, and she couldn't be bothered to blow-dry it, so she sat on the sofa as she was and waited for Bai You and Varesa.
She hadn't waited long when a knock came at the door.
Odette went to open it and found Varesa and Bai You standing outside.
Both had changed into nightgowns. Their hair was half-dry, and their cheeks were flushed from their showers. Varesa was also carrying a bag of snacks.
"Ta-da!" Varesa held up the snacks and shook them. "Let's watch a show together in a bit. I brought snacks."
Odette stepped aside to let them in. "You came well prepared."