Elle's POV
"Elle! We're gonna be late!" Cat yelled, frantically changing. I was fixing up my hair, and I turned around to see Cat urgently tapping me on the shoulder, wearing nothing but a leotard and tights.
"Where's your dress? And your hair isn't done." I said, reaching over to fix Cat's hair. Cat swatted my hand away and said, "Calm down. I left my party dress at the theater by accident. And I really don't want to wear my other dress in the car. And as for my hair..." Cat grabbed one of my hairties and tied it in her hair. "I'll fix it when I get there."
"Whatever you say, diva." I said, rolling my eyes and giggling. Cat punched me playfully, then put on her Converse over her ballet slippers. "Meet you in the car."
I laughed and finished getting dressed.
_________
I was getting settled in my seat when I got handed a program. I was casually flipping through it and looking for Cat's name.
"Hey, look, Elle! I found your kid!" Jessica yelled. I flipped to the page she was on and Jess pointed to Cat's name. Ryan tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to a paper that fell on the floor.
For this production, the role of Clara will be played by Catlynn McLemore.
"Holy crap. Guys, Cat got Clara." I said, passing the paper down the line.
"Little Clara or Princess Clara?" Alice asked. I shrugged and said, "We'll find out."
Suddenly, my phone rang. I picked it up and it was Cat.
"Mommy...I'm nervous. And it's so loud in here...help..." Cat said, sounding like she was almost about to cry. I sighed and said, "Sunshine...take a deep breath. You got this."
"It's so loud!" Cat yelled over the phone. In the background I could hear kids screaming and people talking. No wonder Cat got so overwhelmed.
"Hey, baby, do you have headphones in?" I asked. Cat let out a soft, "Yeah..." and I said, "Listen to music for a bit. It might help." I heard footsteps and the noise dying down.
"What happened?" I asked.
"I ran to the stairwell. I have to go on in five minutes, but oh well." Cat said.
"Catlynn, baby girl, you have to go on. I want to see your smiling face. Do it for me." I heard Cat sigh, then heard a door open. "You're right. Bye. I have to go."
"Love you, Sunshine."
The lights dimmed and the overture started playing. I looked closer at the girl playing Clara. She was wearing a yellow dress with a plastic crown in her hair.
"Is that Cat?" Jessica whispered. I squinted and took a closer look at the girl, then reluctantly nodded. "I think it is, I'm too far away to really tell, though."
"That can't be Cat. Her hair is not that light." Jon whispered.
"Have you ever heard of spotlights, actor boy?" Evan snapped. "The lights probably made her hair seem blonde!" The people around us shushed us, then we all took a closer look at the girl on the stage.
As the girl playing Clara spun around during the Children's Dance, she gave me a quick wink when she was facing the audience. It was only then I got a good look at her face. That was definitely Cat.
"Okay, the way she's spinning is making me dizzy." Katie said. "Seriously, how does she not faint?"
"Guys, shush! The battle!" Barrett said, pointing to the stage. Sure enough, the battle between the Mice and the Soldiers was in full force. I smiled, watching Cat watch the battle with wonder and hope in her eyes.
She looked so happy and childlike on the stage, like she had never been through a lick of trauma in her life. And with the little plastic crown in her hair, she looked like a little princess. My little princess. My Sunshine.
Soon, Little Clara was transformed into Princess Clara, and intermission started. I got a text from Cat saying Were you surprised?
I smiled and texted back, Yeah, but you were absolutely beautiful. The perfect ballerina.
I put my phone away and the lights dimmed again. One at a time, the groups bowed to Clara and the Prince, and when the girl doing the Arabian dance came out to bow, Jessica nudged me.
"It's Cat again." she whispered. I smiled and tried to glance at her, but she was already off stage. I smiled and fidgeted with my dress during the Spanish dance, then the Arabian music started.
"Elle. Elle. Your kid." Evan said. I snapped to attention, and watched in awe as Cat started dancing. Every move was pure perfection, I was in awe the whole time. Cat was beautiful.
I took a good look at her costume. She was wearing an orange and brown dress, with her hair tied back in a ballet bun.
And this is something I just now noticed. She was flexible, like super flexible. And she seemed to never run out of stamina, even though her solo was 3 minutes long and she never stopped dancing.
She was beautiful. A proper ballerina.
When her solo ended, we all gave Cat a huge round of applause. I could see Cat smile and blush. She ran off stage and I watched the next dance, then Cat came back out.
"Okay, she's not only Clara, but has two other dances?" Jon asked. I shrugged, and watched as Cat did her duet with the girl named Juno.
"I think Juno is in Seussical with her!" Katie said excitedly. I smiled and nodded, then the dance ended.
20 minutes later, the show ended, and the cast bowed. Cat came out last, with her beautiful yellow dress and her plastic crown. I smiled at her and applauded as loud as I could, then everyone ran off stage.
________
Catlynn's POV
"Cat!" I heard Elle yell, and I ran to her and the rest of my family. I hugged Elle and she said, "You were beautiful." The rest of my family said something similar.
"I didn't think that was you at first!" Jon said. "I read the program, but I didn't believe it!" I giggled, then someone tapped me on the shoulder.
"Hey. You're Cat, right?" a boy asked. He had blonde hair and was kind of cute. But for some reason, I didn't put the name with the face yet.
"Yeah." I said shyly, leaning on Elle. Elle kissed my head and said to the boy, "She's a little shy."
"That's fine. Anyway, my name is Angus. I played Fritz, so Cat was my pretend sister for today. She was a really good Clara." Angus said.
"Hi." I said, gaining some confidence. "Thanks for the compliment."
"He's cute, right?" Alice whispered, nudging me.
"Shut up!" I whispered. I turned to Angus, suddenly developing a slight crush on him. "Sorry about that, Alice is sometimes incredibly embarrassing."
"It's fine, I have an embarrassing family too. So, what do you like to do for fun?" Angus asked. "I mean, besides ballet."
"Um...I act, I play saxophone, and I do ballet. That's pretty much it." I said, smiling. A woman walked up and tapped Angus on the shoulder, and he waved to me. "Gotta go, but wait, Cat, do you want my phone number?"
I nodded and handed Angus my phone. He tapped his number in it and handed it back. "See you later, Cat."
I smiled and turned to my family.
"Cat has a crush!" Evan yelled, and I covered his mouth with my hand. "Shut up! People are staring!"
"Come on, we could all see your face." Jessica said. "Now, let's go. You had a long day."
"Great job. You did beautifully." Elle said as we walked out of the theater.
"Thanks. I love you." I said.
AN: So Cat has a new love interest. And the Nutcracker ended well, happy? Hope you enjoyed! Catch ya later!