CHAPTER 5
Sarah hardly slept that night. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw herself stumbling across the stage.
I’m never going to make it through my audition at this rate, Sarah thought. And forget about playing the Spring Fairy.
Finally, as the sun was just starting to peek though her curtains, Sarah threw off her covers and sat up in bed. It was no use. She couldn’t sleep.
If I can’t sleep, I might as well get some practice in, she thought, getting out of bed and pulling on her exercise clothes. Auditions are only three days away.
Sarah sat down on the floor in front of the large mirror and laced up her ballet slippers. A feeling of dread settled in the pit of her stomach. Her muscles felt stiff and tense.
She warmed up briefly, then did a few jetés and arabesques to get ready. To her relief, she was able to do them all easily. But Sarah knew she wasn’t in the clear yet. If she couldn’t do the pirouette, all the jetés in the world wouldn’t help her.
Maybe I’m just overthinking it, Sarah thought. Maybe I just need to throw myself into it.
Sarah shook out one leg, then the other, trying to convince her stiff muscles to warm up. When she felt a bit looser, she leaned over and turned on her MP3 player. Sarah closed her eyes as the theme from Swan Lake filled the air.
Quickly, she ran through the rest of her routine. Plié, then waltz step, jeté, right into an arabesque, then another jeté. Then it was time for the pirouette.
Just do it! Sarah thought.
She lifted her back leg so she was balanced on her other toe and tried to spin quickly. But she lost her balance.
Sarah pitched forward, almost hitting her forehead on the edge of her bedside table. She collapsed onto the floor in a heap.
For a long moment, Sarah sat there silently as the music continued to play. Then she carefully started to untangle her legs and get to her feet.
But as soon as she tried to stand up, Sarah knew something was wrong. A sharp pain shot through her right ankle when she put weight on it.
“Ouch!” Sarah exclaimed, sinking down onto her bed. She grabbed her ankle with both hands, touching it gently as she examined it.
What if I sprained it? Sarah thought nervously.
If her ankle was injured, Sarah knew it wouldn’t matter if she could do the pirouette or not. She wouldn’t be able to audition.
She carefully flexed her ankle back and forth. The pain seemed to be fading. After a few minutes, she put her foot back on the ground and tried to stand. Her ankle seemed okay.
Sarah breathed a sigh of relief and laid back down on her bed, putting her arm over her eyes. She couldn’t keep going like this. She’d almost hurt herself.
There were two choices. She could give up her dream of being the Spring Fairy — or any fairy for that matter.
Or she could ask someone for help. She had to stop pretending like she didn’t need it.
Sarah thought about how Mandy had offered to help her. She cringed when she thought of how rude she’d been.
With a sigh, Sarah rolled over and grabbed her cell phone off her bedside table. She ran through the list of dancers’ phone numbers. Then she took a deep breath and pressed call.