Short Stories

Ballerina

Fists clenched and heartbeat unsteady, every step strained all muscles in my small body. My smile was forced, but I had mastered it so well. My feet were bleeding, I could feel it. My sweat mixed with my hair gel, helping keep my hair slicked back. The bright lights burned my eyes as I searched the crowd for familiar faces. My body moved without my mind even thinking. Other people danced around me, but I was the main focus; I was the one people came to this expensive theatre to see. My toes awkwardly crunched together as I stepped onto my pointe shoes. My arms floated elegantly and my tutu sat stiff and still. My head whipped around as I turned, crossing the stage in an graceful manner. My ankle strained under my body's weight. My smile almost wavered, the faces of people in the crowd explained what was happening before my mind could even process it. A loud crack could be heard through the theatre and my figure crumbled to the ground, my hands immediately shooting for my ankle. It looked like the bone was sticking through my skin; I gagged at the thought. I plastered my smile back on and got to my feet, pressing the hiss that almost left my mouth to the back of my throat, were all the curse words in the world lay; about to burst. Tears sprung to my eyes, but I pushed on. Putting an ounce of weight on my left leg made me cringe, but I needed to get off stage somehow. I began to pirouette, doing a fancy arabesque before quickly escaping into the wings of the stage and collapsing. I bit my fist and let out a muffled cry. In a millisecond I was surrounded by medical staff. My makeup was smudged in seconds with all the tears that flew from my eyes and my tights and shoe's ribbons were cut from my ankle; allowing access for the medical staff to check out just how had my injury was. My classmate appeared beside me. No sooner, she was collapsed on the floor with a medic screaming that she passed out. I didn't dare look at my own leg. I took multiple deep breaths and zoned out from the situation I was currently involved in and absorbed myself into an imaginary vacation.