Betrayed by the Pilates Teacher

I am in a locker room. Pilates class is about to start. There are two hot, muscular dudes joining the class for the first time. Their energy is a little dark and broody. One guy has a trauma history and doesn’t want hand-on assists. I respect his vulnerability. I am waiting with my friend for class to start and realize it is past the start time. We walk over to an outdoor tennis court and see that our pilates teacher has already started class with the two guys. I am FURIOUS and feel so much righteous indignation. How dare she betray her loyalty to me and my friend as the regulars! How dare she replace us with these two new guys! I start yelling at her and shaming her in front of everyone. I have so much anger and it feels so good to let it out. A part of me knows there is some explanation and the teacher is not 100% to blame. I am aware that the situation is more nuanced, for example, there was probably a sign in the locker room about the change in location and it was my fault for not seeing it, or the teacher was forced to do this by her boss. But these all feels like excuses. The teacher should’ve communicated with me and my friend directly. We were her loyal regulars. We had earned something—put in the time and commitment to her and to our pilates practice and she has thrown all that away and is discarding us for these guys who have just shown up. The guys aren’t entitled, they are fine. But the situation feels tied to sexism and patriarchy. The teacher is being blamed by me but I know what she did wasn’t entirely her choice. She looked scared and shocked and hurt when I was berating her.

(If this was your dream what would it be about? Comment below beginning with "If it was my dream..." or "In my imagined version of this dream...")

© Genevieve Camp, Lava Lady, magazine collage, 5” x 8”