Pointe

Mondays

When I woke up the next morning after the Brisk Nationals, I could feel the pain but it was nothing like the pain I felt now. On Sunday, Maddie and I had called a lazy day and decided to go spend the day at my house. We read the latest magazines, did a little bit of homework and gave each other manicures. We also went for a dip in my hot tub to calm our aching muscles. 

This morning, we woke up at 3:30am to leave for practice like we have been doing for the last few weeks. We got there and got put to work with some of the most demanding exercises you could think of. Caila decided that we were going to be working on our flexibility this week so she made us sit in splits for 10 minutes -- on both sides and in the middle -- while we talked. She was lecturing us about eating healthy and about how drinking Gatorade was a better option for us during practice, performances and competitions since the salt kept us more hydrated. She also talked about our upcoming travel plans and how she was taking Ivy, Peyton, Maddie and I and creating a new group for us. We weren't in the same age sector as the other dancers so we couldn't compete with them and not all the jobs would be appropriate for people our age so she was just going to create a new group especially for the four of us. A lady named Portia came in and told us that she was going to be our new lead instructor. We would still keep the same dance schedule but our travel itinerary would change to fit our needs. Whatever that meant.  I have to admit that I saw it coming but I didn't think that it would happen this early on.

I guess it could be considered a good thing. The four of us have grown really close lately and were drifting apart form the others. With the big age gap in between us and the other dancers who were all at least 19 while we just awkward 14 year olds, it's understandable that they split us up. We still fall in the minor category while they are adults. She gave us the new schedule for us little kids and what made my eyes pop out of their sockets was seeing 'American X Factor' written in bold letters. No one other than Abigail and my family really knows that I'm Simon Cowell's daughter and it might be just a little awkward when I reveal it to them. It would probably be a good idea to do that now, actually.

"Any questions?" Portia asks in her American accent. We all shake our heads and bid goodbye to Caila and the other dancers, picking up our bags and moving the the studio across the hall. What surprised me about this room was that it was bigger. It was like a stage, with lighting and curtains and a little backstage area. It was really impressive. "This room stopped being used years ago. Now, it is the new official studio for the four of you."

"Why do we get this space? Shouldn't it be the older kids?" Peyton asks and I can't help but wonder about that too.

"What you girls don't understand is that you are younger so we can work you longer. It might sound cruel but it is the cold, hard truth. You are only 14 years old, we can do alot of things with go that go past staying in Australia. You have just entered the real world of dance. Now, let's go on a little tour!" She sings happily, skipping off to show us around. "As you can see, we have a stage with a fully functional lighting and sound system that has been specially renewed for you. Backstage, we have two dressing rooms, a trophee room and a costume room where we will keep all of your costumes in mint condition and keep them so you will be able to use them in competitions for as long as we need them. And throught this door we have a studio with a mirror for when I feel as if we need it. Go ahead and explore, it's the only chance you'll get to take a good look around."

"It's only 7:00 in the morning and the day is already amazing." Maddie whispers to me while we walk away from Portia. I nod in agree ment and open one of the doors to the dressing rooms while Maddie opens the other. They were both the same: two tables with light-up mirrors, two little closets, two chests with four drawers each, a mini fridge and a sofa.

"We call dressing room number one!" I yell out to the two other girls and they rush over to take a look. Once they decide that it's pretty fair, they shrug and go into the second one, throwing their bags down on the sofa. Maddie and I do the same thing and then go to look at the two other rooms. In the trophee room there are hooks all along the top of the wall to hang our medals on and there are shelves for the trophees. All the stuff we won at the Nationals this weekend were already here. I wondered what happened to them. The costume room was the most impressive. It was a maze, with material hanging off mannequins around every turn. The outfits that we wore this weekend were here and there were also loads of other ones that I had never seen before. There were dresses in every color immaginable and tutu's that stuck out. There were bejeweled dresses, plain dresses, colorful dresses, pants, skirts, shorts, tops, costumes. This was definately the best part.