everything on pointe
it wasn't entirely easy being in ROTC while also pursuing dancing. in fact, it was one of the main reasons why torey's father hadn't spoken to him for months after he had finally broke the news about his acceptance to CSU for dance and his plans to move their in the fall. the idea of a man pursuing dance, especially in the area of traditional ballet, went against every unspoken law of masculinity that the army and military drives into your head from a young age.
sure, torey had given up on the dreams his father had for him to go in to the army. but, it was still a comfortable familiarity to him still. he couldn't even fathom resigning from rotc. the thought of not having to drag himself out of his bed at 4am three days a week and do suicide runs on the field with the rest of his unit for two hours would give anyone else a feeling of joy, but to torey, that would have been like cutting out a huge part of his own life and leaving it to wither slowly right in front ofh im. the army was always going to be a huge part of him as a person but it would never define him, that much was for sure.
but it was hard.
many of his fellow soldier in rotc couldn't accept torey based solely on the fact that he was studying ballet. he was the odd man out during drills and was the last one they helped up the wall during team exercises on the course behind the bradley buildings. torey could remember vividly the time that he had scaled the wall and grabbed onto one of their hands to haul himself over the lip of the wall, only to have the other soldier harshly whisper 'fucking ballerina' in his ear and let him drop back down. while the discrimination had been disgusting, torey could only stare up at his troopmates in absolute pity that they all couldn't grasp the concept of teamwork, no matter what obstacles lay in their path.
Maybe it was because of this that he had booked a private dance room on a sunday, skipping his rotc drills for the first time in two years. he needed to blow off steam badly before his temper got the best of him and he did something that went against the manner and morals that his mother had driven into him his entire childhood.
torey arrived at the room early, before the sun had even made it's full ascent into the sky, leaving everything a very dull and gloomy dark blue across campus. he flicked the light switch on as he slung his bag off his shoulder and let it hit the polished wood floors with a soft thud.
the hum of the florescent lights put torey at ease. it was a sound that he had grown used to over the years. one that would always give him comforting thoughts. his muscles gave a slight shudder, almost as if the sounds of the lights over head jumpstarted them into warming up, as they knew that a tough routine and workout was just ahead of them. it was a welcomed manuever because torey was in the mood to push himself. to hurt. to bleed. after all, that's what ballet is all about.
he shed his heavy sweatshirt and sweatpants, his skin prickling at the cool air in the room. underneath were thin, skin tight clothes, a tank top and a pair of tight spanks that went down to just above the knee. it was common knowledge that any little bit of lose clothing could heavily affect a danseur's form and movement.
in the quiet of the room, torey immediately began his stretches, wasting no time to sink into routine and lose himself in the stretch and burn that was to come to his muscles and feet. he glanced out the windows at the far side of the room as he sank down into a split, leaning forward to pull his muscles to their furthest length and get them ready for whatever routine he decided on just a few moments after.
sure, torey had given up on the dreams his father had for him to go in to the army. but, it was still a comfortable familiarity to him still. he couldn't even fathom resigning from rotc. the thought of not having to drag himself out of his bed at 4am three days a week and do suicide runs on the field with the rest of his unit for two hours would give anyone else a feeling of joy, but to torey, that would have been like cutting out a huge part of his own life and leaving it to wither slowly right in front ofh im. the army was always going to be a huge part of him as a person but it would never define him, that much was for sure.
but it was hard.
many of his fellow soldier in rotc couldn't accept torey based solely on the fact that he was studying ballet. he was the odd man out during drills and was the last one they helped up the wall during team exercises on the course behind the bradley buildings. torey could remember vividly the time that he had scaled the wall and grabbed onto one of their hands to haul himself over the lip of the wall, only to have the other soldier harshly whisper 'fucking ballerina' in his ear and let him drop back down. while the discrimination had been disgusting, torey could only stare up at his troopmates in absolute pity that they all couldn't grasp the concept of teamwork, no matter what obstacles lay in their path.
Maybe it was because of this that he had booked a private dance room on a sunday, skipping his rotc drills for the first time in two years. he needed to blow off steam badly before his temper got the best of him and he did something that went against the manner and morals that his mother had driven into him his entire childhood.
torey arrived at the room early, before the sun had even made it's full ascent into the sky, leaving everything a very dull and gloomy dark blue across campus. he flicked the light switch on as he slung his bag off his shoulder and let it hit the polished wood floors with a soft thud.
the hum of the florescent lights put torey at ease. it was a sound that he had grown used to over the years. one that would always give him comforting thoughts. his muscles gave a slight shudder, almost as if the sounds of the lights over head jumpstarted them into warming up, as they knew that a tough routine and workout was just ahead of them. it was a welcomed manuever because torey was in the mood to push himself. to hurt. to bleed. after all, that's what ballet is all about.
he shed his heavy sweatshirt and sweatpants, his skin prickling at the cool air in the room. underneath were thin, skin tight clothes, a tank top and a pair of tight spanks that went down to just above the knee. it was common knowledge that any little bit of lose clothing could heavily affect a danseur's form and movement.
in the quiet of the room, torey immediately began his stretches, wasting no time to sink into routine and lose himself in the stretch and burn that was to come to his muscles and feet. he glanced out the windows at the far side of the room as he sank down into a split, leaning forward to pull his muscles to their furthest length and get them ready for whatever routine he decided on just a few moments after.
