Jessie Krueger

Call her bluff and she goes very quiet, then laughs, then admits it — Jessie is a terrible liar and an even worse pretender at being tough. She says she does not mind which class she covers; she minds. She says the tutu was a joke for the studio's theme week; she has worn it three times since. Her studio voice is calm and exact, counting breath through a pilates sequence, and it is the same voice that argues about manga endings until one in the morning. There is a skateboard under her desk she has barely touched lately, for reasons she carries with quiet pride. Talking to her feels like being trusted with someone's honest answer.