Chapter 1
"Attack it, Attack it, Attack it!" Mme. Noelle yelled at me. I was spinning and spinning high on my pointe shoes. My head spotting as I went around and around. All eyes were on me. I could feel the burn in my upper thighs. My hands were clammy against my pale pink leotard. My ankles and toes were in so much pain. But I had to keep going, to prove that I could do what no one in the class could. "And now come to a graceful stop." said Mme. Noelle. My hands came off my tights with my palms facing downwards and my shoes slowly coming down to touch the ground. I even managed a graceful smile. "That was phenomenal Jane. Excellent. You're becoming a dedicated and talented ballerina. Why don't you go into the change room and take a 5 minute break everyone. As a horde of us streamed into the change room everyone was coming around me and saying things like "That was amazing, I could've never done that." Or, "Even Mme. Noelle praised you, and she never praises anyone!" I even caught a wistful glance in Deirdre's eyes. As the prima ballerina around here, she probably wasn't used to another person getting so much attention. She hadn't been able to execute the step as well as I had, she stumbled on her 5th or so turn.
I reached for my water bottle on top of the ledge. The cool cascading feeling of water down my throat is one of my favourites after doing something as particularly intense as what I just did.
Mary-Eloise was passing around a jar of sliced fruit. I took two pieces cantaloupe. Yum! I just love cantaloupe and it's just what I needed. Mary-Eloise wasn't the most talented dancer in the class but she certainly had the biggest heart.
I heard a bell ring and Mme. Noelle's voice. "Ladies, I have some exciting news" she said.
