"Jesse, farther to your left! Hold on to Brynna! You must be one!" Madame Mimi scolded.
"Madame, I apologize, but she is not helping with that," he pauses and looks up at the girl on his shoulders, "how much do you weigh?"
Brynna gasps disbelievingly, "Are you calling me fat?"
"No," he mutters, "I just think you could stand to diet and lose a few, is all. Geez, are you always this easily offended?"
-
From the outside Brynna McAllister is your everyday, quintessential overachiever. Honors classes, an almost full-time job, and an unequivocal obsession with books. But on the inside, her mind is all ballet. She dreams in tutus and strolls down the street in pointe shoes. Millions of girls take ballet classes in dance studios across the world, and Brynna hopes to be the 'one-in-a-million' dancer every big name dance company is looking for. She's almost there, but as they say, "almost is never enough."
Recently named one of America's "Next Top Dancers", Jesse Anderson, a professional dancer who takes his talent for granted, is one grand jeté away from being thrown out of the Los Angeles Ballet Company. He talks back and lazes through classes, but come performance time he reaches his peak. His work ethic however, is being scrutinized by the LA Ballet's artistic directors and they cannot afford to waste resources on an unenthusiastic dancer. By a twist of fate both Jesse and Brynna are offered featured roles in the Los Angeles Ballet's rendition of The Nutcracker in the upcoming winter season. However, this is Jesse's last-ditch effort to prove his worth and keep his job and this is Brynna's first opportunity to be perceived as a ballerina in the professional dance community. Two dancers who couldn't be more different must come together to form the unlikeliest of pairs and make a permanent place for themselves in the dance community.
Ella is falling apart trying to live a "perfect" high school life. Then she meets Ren, who can see past her scars. Suddenly perfection isn't her only option.
*****
Ella Volkov is a gifted music student, but she's depressed and starting to crack under the pressure of high school. Her overbearing father won't even let her choose what instrument she plays. Then she finds herself alone at a party with Ren, her best friend's crush. She'd always thought he was rude, but after that night he's all Ella can think about. Now she's trapped. If Ella dates Ren, it will ruin her friendship with Jenny. But if she stays true to Jenny, she's losing the one person who can see past her scars. It's up to Ella to decide if she will forge her own path, or stay in the "perfect" box designed for her...
Content and/or Trigger Warning: depression, anxiety, self-harm, violence, sexual assault.
[[word count: 50,000-100,000 words]]