American Horror Story: A Tale of Terror from Silent Hill

Chapter 166 Success, News

Inside the dance studio.

Baling waited patiently, believing that fate would bring Claire to him.

"The dance moves are a bit lacking, not very good."

"Next one."

"Sigh, you're just not cut out for this."

Despite her best efforts, she couldn't satisfy the examiners. The dancer, pale-faced, walked out of the room numbly.

"How is it?" As soon as they stepped outside, people crowded around to ask for information.

"It's terrible." The dancer shook her head slightly, her unsightly expression already telling the answer.

"What did they say?"

"They said my dancing is no good, that I'm not cut out to dance. It's awful, I can't do it, I just can't." As she spoke, the dancer choked up, covered her face, and shed tears of sorrow.

Seeing this, the crowd stopped gathering around and left him alone to be quiet.

But her failure and her despairing expression still left a bad impression on everyone.

It might even intimidate people, causing them to back down in the face of battle.

Claire was the one who had the idea of ​​backing out.

She chickened out, even though she took this interview very seriously and had prepared for it for over a month, getting herself into the best possible condition.

But things happened so suddenly and so irrationally; she suddenly became very afraid of failure and dared not face this test.

"Claire Hamilton." The theater butler, with a large beard, called out the name from the list—please welcome the next person to enter.

No one stepped forward to respond, so the bearded man looked around and had to repeat himself.

Claire Hamilton.

Hearing her own name called, Claire lowered her head, avoiding the gaze. She wanted to leave, to leave this place, and return to her hometown.

Even if it's like being a deserter.

Claire Hamilton.

Another call came, and Claire shrank her head even lower.

"It's you. Don't pretend you didn't hear me, I can see you." The man's flippant voice directly exposed Claire's little scheme.

At that moment, the deserter, who was halfway through her run, was shot through the knee and could no longer escape.

“You are…” The butler, with a large beard and furrowed white brows, was about to question why he hadn’t spoken, but Baling placed a hand on his shoulder, interrupting him and saying:

"Claire Hamilton, since you're here, come in for the interview."

Baling disregarded the previous minor incident and directly let Claire in for an interview.

As a ballet dancer with over two and a half years of training, Claire's ballet is naturally a testament to her skill.

Her arms slowly rose, like a swan spreading its wings; her toes touched the ground, and her body swirled and leaped gracefully.

After the dance, the female examiner was not very satisfied.

Baling, however, said bluntly, "Your dancing is excellent, I know, I must turn around for you."

Butler: "Mr. Baling... this..."

“What do you mean, ‘what’? Can’t you see that this is exactly what we need?” Baling forcefully refuted the steward’s doubts.

The steward hesitated for a moment, perhaps thinking of the strength of the Dao Le duo in Baling, and decided not to continue.

It's just one school spot.

……

"Mom, I passed the exam!"

Claire couldn't wait to share the good news with her mother, who was far away in New York.

Having traveled thousands of miles to this small country to pursue her dreams, Claire took an important step yesterday.

It's definitely not just luck; it must be skill.

Claire was convinced. That very afternoon, the director of the dance academy, Mario, also came to watch her dance demonstration and was captivated by it, declaring that she had made the right choice.

This is exactly the kind of talent they are looking for.

People are in high spirits when they encounter happy events!

To celebrate her award, Claire made an exception and bought herself an ice cream today.

It's important to know that ballet dancers have to diet constantly to maintain their figures so that they can present beautiful postures on stage.

Anyway, no one sees it, it's just an occasional indulgence.

"What a wonderful life, Claire. Desserts are a dancer's worst enemy; how could you fall into such depravity? I really misjudged you!"

As Claire was happily licking her cool and delicious ice cream, she heard a familiar voice—it was her temporary neighbor, Baling.

"I...I'm just too happy."

Claire felt embarrassed at being caught cheating, but when she turned around, the expression on her face became quite interesting.

The approaching Baling evoked a complex mix of emotions in her.

Baling smiled broadly, holding a huge matcha parfait bursting with calories, and questioned her about her indulgence.

Is this reasonable...?

Seeing this, Claire, who had initially felt guilty, now felt a surge of confidence.

"Hey, didn't you say desserts are a dancer's worst enemy? This is way more sinful than my little ice cream," Claire said, clapping her hands as she finished her ice cream.

“My main job is as a singer, so it doesn’t matter. Besides, I was just too angry. When I’m angry, I want to eat, and I release that excess energy through my anger.”

Such a tight-fitting logic, a closed loop!

"Angry? You don't look unhappy?" Claire asked, puzzled. Angry people don't usually laugh.

“Because I’ve already had my fill of extreme anger.” After taking a few bites of matcha parfait, Baling continued, “Now I have good news and bad news to tell you. Which do you want to hear first?”

"Bad news, huh? I like things to be bittersweet." Claire licked the remaining ice cream from the corner of her lips and winked playfully.

Baling didn't keep them in suspense and simply stated:
"The bad news is, the academy has closed down—you've been expelled."

Claire: ?

Baling's seemingly joking words made Claire's eyes widen, and her bright smile instantly froze.

“Are you kidding me, Baling? It’s not funny at all. Getting into this dance academy and performing Swan Lake on stage has always been my dream.”

Claire's tone was somewhat angry; clearly, she thought the joke had gone too far.

Baling remained expressionless, and said slowly and deliberately, "It's true. I'm not joking."

In an instant, Claire's heart raced, and she felt a rush of heat to her head, but then she remembered that there was still one piece of good news she hadn't shared.

She looked at Baling again, hoping he would laugh and say that everything before was just a joke.

"The good news is that you've been accepted by the theater, and you're the only one."

This news was like a bombshell, leaving Claire completely unsettled.

The dramatic ups and downs nearly gave Claire a heart attack, and she had to take deep breaths repeatedly.

Ding Dong!

Claire's phone rang. She checked the messages and found two. The content of the messages was basically the same as what Baling had told her.

One message informed her that the dance academy was closing down, while the other invited her to join the theater.

"It's true! I dropped out of school... I'm going to work in the theater!"

Claire, like a lively white rabbit, hopped and skipped, expressing her inner joy.

"I succeeded. I succeeded."

Claire swayed Baling's body and laughed happily.

Baling responded appropriately: "Congratulations, Claire."

(End of this chapter)