Breaking Pointe

Chapter 2

Ariel's POV

Finally, I thought, the day is here. I leave in one hour for London, and I could not be more excited.

 I've waited almost my entire life for this audition, and I refuse to come home without a spot in that school.

With an enormous smile on my face, I hopped out of bed and sprinted down the stairs like a child on Christmas morning.

I ate an apple and set my bags down at the front door before racing back up to my bedroom.

I took my time as I tied my long, dark brown hair into the neatest bun I could manage. Careful not to rip them, I slowly slipped on my tights. I then put on my brand new pink leotard, and tied a ribbon in my hair.

I triple checked my bags to make sure that all of the things I needed were packed.

Two pairs of pointe shoes and one pair of flats for barre. Check. Sneakers for hip-hop. Check. Tap shoes, jazz shoes, and sandals. Check, check, check. I nodded at the bag and threw it over my shoulder.

I threw on a light pink sweater on top of my leotard, and stepped into a pair of sweatpants before heading downstairs to wait for my family.

I think I'm ready.

...

The hour long car ride to London was filled with my mother's constant reminders to keep my shoulders down, feet pointed, hips turned out, ribcage opened, etcetera etcetera.

When I finally began to spot signs indicating that we were in London, my heart rate increased and my stomach did somersaults.

When we arrived in front of the big building, also known as my home for at least the next week, I felt the need to pinch myself. I stared in complete awe at it for a moment, taking in every detail.

"This is your one chance. This is the day you've been preparing for since you were three. Don't mess it up, Ariel. You can do this," I whisper to myself.

I thought I was ready for anything. But in reality, I didn't have any idea of what I was getting myself into. 

*****

Harry's POV

Finally, audition week starts today. I leave in one hour for London, and I couldn't possibly be more excited. I've waited so long for this audition. I refuse to come home and tell my dad that I don't belong in that school. No, I've worked way too hard for that to happen. I won't let it happen.

With a ridiculously large smile on my face, I put my glasses on and buttoned up my shirt with shaky hands. I neatly slicked back my curly hair and looked in the mirror.

"So I was bullied in my last school for the way that I looked, dressed, and the fact that I am a dancer. At least at this place I'm finally going to meet people with the same dreams as me. A-and thank god there's a uniform, that way nobody can make fun of my c-clothes," I tried calming myself down, but was failing miserably.

I groaned at my stutter, which meant that I was just making myself even more nervous. Why do I have to stutter when I get nervous?

''It's just another thing to make you seem like even more of a freak," my subconscious reminded me.

"Hopefully, this year will be great," I said, trying to encourage myself.

I took one last look at myself, searching for flaws. My father always said he didn't want his son to look poor or unprofessional, so I was accustomed to wearing clothes nobody my age would even dare to put on. Even though we certainly weren't poor, one look at our house could assure you of that, that's just how it had always been.

I ran down the stairs and into the dining room where I saw my father reading the newspaper.

He looked up at me as I sat down, reading over today's schedule. I didn't know what to say, so I just pretended that I didn't feel his eyes on me.

"If you're really going to do this," he broke the silence. "Go through with this silly ballet school... I expect high marks-- all A's, in every single subject," he spoke in a calm voice, despite his serious words, stopping in between sentences to flip through the pages.

I didn't bother to reply, simply because I didn't know what to say. When my father got intense with his words, it was as if my vocal cords were yanked out of my throat. I just stood there, unable to talk or think clearly.

When my vocal cords reappeared and I thought of a way out of this maze of a conversation, I finally had the guts to say something.

"That was my intention already, f-father."

"I hope you know that I still expect you to attend service and spend time with the family on the weekends. And stop that stuttering. You sound like a fool, Harry."

I didn't know how to reply so I just nodded, and headed to the kitchen.

Before I could even get anything into my tightened mess of a digestive system, my mother came running into the room.

"Ah, there you are! Today's your big audition! I'm so proud of you," she hugged me tightly, making me chuckle. "I just know that you're going to be great, but I must admit that I'm going to miss you a lot." 

"Mum!" I groaned. "It's not like this is the last time you'll ever see me!" 

"I know that. Like I said, I'm so proud of you, Harry, but I'm just going to miss you. When you get into the academy, I won't see you half as much as I usually do. " she answered, trying to sound like she wasn't about to cry.

"You don't know I'm definitely going to get in, mum."

"I've seen you dance before. I know that you're gonna get into that school," she reassured me. Then, she pulled me in for one last hug before we got into the car.

****

I silently prayed in the front seat throughout the three hour long ride to the academy. My nerves progressively got worse with each passing mile. 

When I finally saw the building that I had been dreaming of attending for years, my heart started racing.

This is the day that you've been waiting for since you started dancing, Harry. This is your one chance, your one shot at proving dad wrong and following your dreams, not his. Please, don't mess this up.

Author's Note

Hey guys! I finally got enough time to update! Thank you SOOO much for over 100 reads on only the first chapter! To me, that's insane. I'm literally so happy that 100 people have read this and (hopefully) enjoyed it! I'm trying really hard to write/update much faster, so hopefully the next chapter can be updated soon. Thanks again guys! Ilysm!

Remember to please vote and comment! I would love to hear your thoughts on my story! :)

~Hayl xxxxxx