Ballet Bullies

by Jake Maddox

  After five minutes, Marissa was at the studio. She peeked into the practice room. All of the dancers were gathered around a sheet of paper tacked to the bulletin board at one end of the room.

  Rachel pushed her way through the group. She grabbed Marissa by the hand and dragged her over to the bulletin board.

  “Look at this!” Rachel said. She pointed at the paper. Marissa leaned closer and peered at it. It was a list of the dancers and their parts for the recital.

  The first name on the list was Marissa’s. Next to it was written “Rose Fairy.”

  Chapter 7

  MADAME INSISTS

  Marissa felt her jaw drop. How could she have gotten the part? She hadn’t auditioned.

  She could hardly think about it because Rachel was pulling her into a crazy dance in the middle of the floor.

  “This is incredible!” Rachel said after she finally stopped twirling Marissa around. “I knew you’d get the part.”

  “I think it’s a mistake,” Marissa said. “I didn’t try out! How could I get the lead role without even auditioning? I told Madame I wasn’t going to be in the recital.”

  “Who cares?” Rachel asked. “You’ve got the lead! Aren’t you happy?”

  “Yes,” Marissa admitted. “But I’d better go talk to Madame.”

  “She’s in her office,” Rachel said. “She said we’d take the day off from practice. Rehearsals for the recital start tomorrow.”

  “Thanks,” Marissa said. “Will you wait for me?”

  “Of course,” Rachel said, smiling.

  Marissa knocked on Madame’s office door. Her teacher looked up. “Hi, Marissa,” she said. “I was expecting you.”

  Marissa sat down.

  “I know what you want to talk about,” Madame Stone said. “You got the part of the Rose Fairy because you are the dancer who deserves it most. I saw your warm-up dance before the audition. You captured the spirit of the role. You danced every step beautifully.”

  “But I was just playing around a little,” Marissa protested. “It wasn’t a real audition. I just heard Andy playing, and I couldn’t help dancing.”

  “That’s exactly what I mean,” Madame said. “The music inspired you to dance. That is one of the qualities of a great dancer. I think you could be a great dancer. But you can’t let your lack of confidence stop you.”

  “But Madame, I wasn’t even going to be in the recital at all,” Marissa said.

  Madame frowned. “I want you in that part,” she said. “I expect you to be here at every rehearsal, dancing your very best. That is all.” She turned back to the papers on her desk.

  “Okay,” Marissa whispered. She got up and left the room.

  Rachel was waiting for her outside the building. “What did she say?” Rachel asked. The two turned and started walking down the sidewalk.

  “She said that I got the part because I deserved it, and I have to dance the role,” Marissa said. “This is going to be hard. I mean, it’s not that I can’t do the steps. I know I can.”

  “So what’s the problem?” Rachel asked.

  Marissa sighed. “It’s just that when I get up there in front of everyone, I feel so big and awkward,” she said. “I feel like everyone’s wondering what I’m doing onstage. And the costume is that red leotard. Everyone will laugh when they see me in it!”

  “You have to stop worrying,” Rachel said. “No one’s laughing at you.”

  “Clarice and Kelly are,” Marissa replied.

  Rachel rolled her eyes. “Those girls make fun of everyone,” she said. “Are you really going to let two immature girls ruin your chances at dancing the lead in the biggest recital of the year?”

  “No, I guess not,” Marissa said slowly. She paused.

  Then she said, “I don’t know how I’m going to do it. Maybe Madame will let me dance in a closet or something.”

  “Don’t count on it,” Rachel said. “Besides, we’ve got a lot of practicing to do. The recital’s only a week away!”

  Chapter 8

  MARISSA’S MESS

  At rehearsals that week, no one said anything more to Marissa about the Rose Fairy part, including Madame.

  Marissa sometimes saw Clarice and Kelly staring while she practiced. She tried to ignore them.

  While she danced, Marissa tried to put everything out of her mind except the music and the steps.

  Sometimes, she even danced with her eyes closed. That way, she could really pretend she was the Rose Fairy.

  But even with all her hard work, something still wasn’t right. She still couldn’t feel the music in her body the way she had the day of auditions. She was distracted by feeling like she was much bigger and taller than everyone else around her.

  During practice one day, Madame Stone told Andy to stop the music.

  “No, no, no, Marissa!” Madame called across the stage. “You’re just dancing the steps. Anyone can do that. I want you to be inspired by the character. I want you to become the Rose Fairy.”

  “Okay, Madame,” Marissa said.

  She saw Clarice whisper something to Kelly. Marissa’s face turned hot. She danced worse than ever after that, even stumbling on an easy plie.

  * * *

  On Friday, Marissa walked to school with Rachel. “I can’t believe the recital is today,” Rachel said. “I couldn’t go to sleep last night until midnight. I was so nervous. Are you scared?”

  “I’m terrified,” Marissa confessed. “My whole family is coming. A ton of kids from school will be there. And I still haven’t tried on the Rose Fairy costume!” She shook her head and went on, “Plus, I’ve been dancing horribly this week. You saw how Madame yelled at me the other day. This whole thing is going to be a disaster.”

  “You’ve got to stop beating yourself up,” Rachel said. “Maybe you’ll feel different once you get onstage tonight.”

  “Yeah. I’ll probably feel worse!” Marissa said.

  Marissa did her class work in a fog that day. She barely heard anything her teachers said.

  After school, she went straight home. She wanted to rest and eat dinner before the recital.

  At dinner, Marissa could barely choke down her chicken and baked potato. She felt sick every time she thought about the recital. She asked to be excused as soon as she could.

  “Of course, honey,” her dad said. “We’ll see you at the studio soon.”

  The dancers had to be at the studio early to get their costumes on and to hear last-minute instructions from Madame. Marissa’s family would come later.

  Marissa hurried to the studio alone. The building was all lit up, and warm yellow squares of light from the windows lay on the sidewalk.

  Inside, the place was full of dancers. Parents were standing around, and eager grandparents were already snapping pictures.

  Marissa pushed her way through the crowd to the locker room. Madame was handing out the costumes.

  “Hi, Marissa,” Madame said. “Here’s the Rose Fairy costume.” She handed Marissa the red leotard, red tights, and pink tutu.

  Marissa put the costume down on the bench in front of her locker. All around her, girls were pulling on their own costumes. Marissa felt a soft hand on her shoulder. She looked up.

  Rachel was standing there. She gave Marissa a big smile.

  “You’re going to be great!” Rachel said. She hugged Marissa. Then she hurried out the door.

  The dancers all headed backstage to hear Madame Stone’s final instructions. As the locker room emptied out, Marissa continued sitting on her bench.

  She hadn’t even taken off her sneakers yet. She felt frozen. She couldn’t go out there. She just couldn’t.

  Rachel’s worried face appeared in the locker room door for a moment. Then it disappeared. Marissa still didn’t move. She didn’t touch the red leotard sitting next to her.

  After a few minutes, Marissa heard someone else come in the locker room, but she didn’t turn around. Then the person sat down on the bench next to her. Marissa finally lo
oked up. It was Kelly.

  Chapter 9

  KELLY’S CONFESSION

  Marissa scowled when she saw Kelly. “What are you doing here?” Marissa asked. She knew she was being rude, but she didn’t care. Kelly was the last person she wanted to see.

  Kelly seemed nervous. She looked down at her feet. Finally, she took a deep breath. “I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry for making fun of you,” she said. “Clarice and I didn’t mean it.” Kelly blushed.

  Marissa could hardly believe her ears. Kelly was apologizing!

  “If you didn’t mean it, why’d you do it?” Marissa asked.

  She could hear the noise of the audience outside. She glanced up at the big wall clock. Ten minutes until the recital began.

  Kelly shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said quietly.

  “Well, you really made me feel bad,” Marissa said.

  Kelly nodded. “I know. I’m sorry. The recital’s supposed to start in ten minutes. We all really, really want you to come out and dance. We can’t do it without a Rose Fairy. Will you please come?” she asked.

  Marissa glanced at the costume next to her. “I don’t know,” she whispered.

  “You’ll be really great,” Kelly said. “The only reason Clarice and I were so mean is that we were totally jealous of you.”

  Marissa stared at Kelly. “You were jealous of me?” she repeated.

  Kelly nodded. “Yeah. I know it was a really rotten thing to do. It’s just that you’re a way better dancer than any of us.”

  The audience was louder outside. It sounded like the place was packed. Marissa thought of her parents and grandparents sitting out there, holding their programs and cameras, all ready to see her perform. She glanced again at the red leotard.

  “I want to dance,” Marissa said quietly. “It’s just this costume.”

  Kelly looked at the leotard. “What’s wrong with it?” she asked.

  “I can’t put it on. I look so big in it. I feel like everyone’s going to laugh at me,” Marissa admitted. She couldn’t believe she was actually telling Kelly how she felt. On the wall, the clock ticked. Five minutes until the recital was supposed to begin.

  Kelly narrowed her eyes. She leaned forward until her face was almost touching Marissa’s. “Listen to me,” she said. “Don’t worry about how you look. Just dance like you danced the day of the auditions. That’s all that matters.”

  Outside, the audience got quiet. Marissa could hear Madame start to talk. She was giving her welcome speech to the parents before the curtain went up. There were two minutes left.

  Marissa stood up. She grabbed the leotard and tutu.

  “I’ll be backstage in one minute,” she said. Kelly’s face lit up. She rushed out of the locker room.

  Quickly, Marissa changed into the tights, leotard, and tutu. She hadn’t worn real dance clothes in so long that the fabric felt weird against her skin. Her mind was whirling.

  She wasn’t sure she could do it. Could she dance like she’d danced on the day of the auditions?

  Chapter 10

  THE ROSE FAIRY

  The rest of the dancers were standing in a little group backstage when Marissa ran in and joined them.

  The curtain was still down. Madame was finishing her speech.

  Marissa looked carefully at the girls to see if anyone was laughing at her in her leotard, but she saw only relief on their faces.

  She didn’t have time to think anymore, because outside the curtain, Andy was playing the opening music.

  The dancers rushed to take their places. Marissa stood in the middle of the stage, both arms held gracefully out to the sides.

  The curtain rose. Marissa was almost dazzled by the bright lights, but she didn’t hear any laughter from the audience. They gasped with delight as she leapt across the stage.

  Marissa felt stiff for the first few steps. But as she danced, she started really listening to Andy’s playing. The music was so beautiful. Marissa felt like her body wanted to soar right above the audience.

  Marissa stopped thinking and started just dancing. She moved with the music.

  When the recital ended, she could hardly believe she was actually Marissa, instead of the Rose Fairy.

  She held the final position, with all the dancers in a circle around her. The audience burst into applause. The clapping sounded like thunder. Marissa could hear people yelling, “Bravo! Bravo!” Her heart was pounding.

  She had done it! She had danced like she was the Rose Fairy. No one had laughed. Instead, they were applauding!

  The dancers lined up and joined hands the way Madame had taught them. They bowed to the audience as the curtain came down. Once the audience couldn’t see them, all of the dancers started jumping up and down and hugging each other.

  Rachel grabbed Marissa and gave her a big hug. “You did it!” she said. “I knew you would! That was amazing.”

  “You were amazing too,” Marissa said, hugging her back.

  “What happened?” Rachel said. “I thought you weren’t going to put on the leotard.”

  “I wasn’t,” Marissa replied.

  Just then, she caught Kelly’s eye. Kelly gave her a little nod and a smile.

  After a second, Marissa smiled back. “I had a little help at the end,” she told Rachel. “But I think I had it in me the whole time. I just didn’t know it.”

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Emma Carlson Berne has written more than a dozen books for children and young adults, including teen romance novels, biographies, and history books. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband, Aaron, her son, Henry, and her dog, Holly.

  ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR

  When Tuesday Mourning was a little girl, she knew she wanted to be an artist when she grew up. Now, she is an illustrator who lives in South Pasadena, CA. She especially loves illustrating books for kids and teenagers. When she isn’t illustrating, Tuesday loves spending time with her husband, who is an actor, and their two sons.

  GLOSSARY

  arabesque (air-uh-BESK)—to stand on one leg, with the other leg extended behind the body

  audition (aw-DISH-uhn)—a tryout

  ballerina (bal-uh-REE-nuh)—a female ballet dancer

  barre (BAR)—a bar that helps dancers exercise

  demonstrate (DEM-uhn-strate)—to show others how to do something

  leotard (LEE-uh-tard)—a tight, one-piece garment worn for dancing

  plie (plee-AY)—a movement in which a dancer bends her knees to the sides

  recital (ree-SYE-tuhl)—a performance

  self-conscious (self-KON-shuhss)—worried about what other people think

  tutu (TOO-too)—a short ballet skirt made out of several layers of stiff net

  More About Anna Pavlova

  Anna Pavlova is widely considered to have been the most famous ballerina of all time. She was born on February 12, 1881, in St. Petersburg, Russia. She never knew her father, and her mother was a poor laundress.

  When Anna was eight years old, her mother took her to a performance of the ballet Sleeping Beauty. Seeing that performance was the first thing that made Anna interested in ballet. She auditioned for a special ballet school, but she wasn’t admitted because the people at the school thought she was too young and small.

  Two years later, at the age of ten, Anna finally entered the Imperial Ballet School. Her first role was as a cupid in a ballet called A Fairy Tale.

  At that time, ballerinas were expected to be small and compact, but Anna was not. She was thin, and she had long legs, thin ankles, and very high arches on her feet. She had to work hard to become accepted as a ballerina, since her physical appearance was different from what people expected.

  Because she had trouble standing in the traditional ballerina shoes, Anna added a piece of wood to the toe of her ballet slippers. They would eventually become the modern pointe shoes, now worn by ballerinas everywhere.

  Even though she didn’t look like other dancers, Anna was soon the most famous ballerina in
the world. She was most famous for her dance The Dying Swan. Anna died in 1931 at the age of 50.

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  What are some ways to help a friend who is feeling badly?

  Clarice and Kelly are mean to Marissa in this book because they are jealous of her. What are some reasons that people are jealous of others? What are some good ways to deal with jealousy?

  Marissa feels like she is bigger than everyone else in her ballet class. She feels uncomfortable in her leotard. What could she have done to feel better about herself?

  WRITING PROMPTS

  Marissa feels self-conscious about her body. Write about a time when you felt self-conscious. What happened? How did you get over it?

  In this book, Marissa’s best friend encourages her to try out for the part of the Rose Fairy. Write about your best friend. Has your friend ever encouraged you?

  Sometimes it’s interesting to think about a story from another person’s point of view. Try writing chapter 9 from Kelly’s point of view. What does she see, hear, and say? How does she feel? How is the story different?

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  Jake Maddox Books are published by Stone Arch Books,

  A Capstone Imprint

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