"Assemblé" Almost.
"Pirouette" Perfect.
"Assemblé" Goodness Allison, what are you doing!?
"Pirouette" Perfect.
"Jeté, jeté… and relax. Wonderful girls!" As if, I messed up on me assemblé, twice! I curtsied to my instructor and walked out into the hall. I sat down in a small chair and examined my feet. My small Pointe shoes were wearing; I'd need new ones soon. I made a mental note to think about how I was going to get the money later. I took them off and stuffed them into my small leather bag. I slipped on my normal shoes and put my skirt on over my leotard. I waved good-bye to my fellow ballerinas and walked out the door.
I could hear the shouts and bellows of New York instantly as I walked down the pavement street toward my house. There were Newsies yelling headlines like they did everyday after my ballet rehearsals. Maybe I should buy a paper? No, I won't buy one. I barely have enough money anyway. I kicked a few pebbles and thought to myself about how I was going to get the money to buy my new shoes.
I got up every morning at five, and went to ballet at six. From six to eight, I had ballet rehearsal. Then, I walk home and take care of my little sister, Lynn. Now normally, I would have never, ever, in my right mind, have thought that one day I would be waking up this early to go to ballet. But ever since my dad's death, I was in need of money, and since ballerinas make money by going to shows, it basically became my job.
"Oh!" I shouted out loud. I blushed at my sudden outburst. I suddenly remembered that there was a performance coming up that if I got into, I would be paid quite a lot of money and the tryouts for it were tomorrow. I smiled to myself thinking about it and suddenly grew very pale. There he is. I thought. I looked toward the floor and smiled as I passed by the newsie I saw everyday. He was quite the looker. I blushed and hurriedly entered the street that my home was on.
I smiled as I thought about his wonderful eyes and entered my house. I looked around and shouted, "Lynn, I'm back!" Suddenly, a beautiful blonde ten year old girl came running toward me. I smiled and gave her a hug. Lynn looked up at me and smiled. "What's for breakfast?" She asked me as we headed toward the kitchen. I shrugged my shoulders and looked in our small pantry. I grabbed out a loaf of bread and broke it in half. I gave one piece to Lynn and kept the other.
"Where's Mom now?" I asked her as I chewed on my piece of bread. She shrugged her shoulders and I could feel my face grow hot. Ever since my dad died, my mom decided to basically give up on Lynn and me. She went out every day and spent her money on beer and liquor, while I was stuck taking care of Lynn. I smiled at Lynn and nodded my head.
"Do you want to go into town with me?" I asked her. She nodded her head. "Go get ready, I have to change." I walked into our room and looked in the mirror. My blonde hair was slicked back into a perfect bun. I took the pins down and let my hair fall softly around my face. I then quickly changed out of my leotard and dressed in my casual dress. I walked out of the room and saw my little sister sitting quietly at our small dining table. I nodded my head to her and grabbed my purse.
She exited the house and I followed closely behind. We entered the main square and I saw that there were still newsies around selling their papers. I blushed as I thought of that one newsies' blue eyes and looked around. I held onto Lynn's hand and headed her toward one of the shops. Suddenly I ran into a newsie; yes, that one newsie with the blue eyes. "So sorry miss," He whispered as he tilted his hat. I nodded my head and smiled.
"It's alright, it was my fault anyway," I said. I blushed at the fact that I could feel myself blushing. He smiled and held out a paper.
"Buy a pape, miss?" He asked me. He looked at Lynn and waved to her. She smiled at him and waved back.
"I'm really sorry, but, the only money I have right now is to buy food," I stated sadly. He nodded his head and put the paper back under arm. He titled his hat once more.
"Alright then, miss, I'll see you around," He replied as he walked away. I sighed softly and looked down. Lynn was looking at me with a sly look on her face.
"What!?" I clamored. She smiled and tugged my hand, leading me into the shop. "Seriously Lynn, what is with that smile!?"
She looked up at me with a sly smile again and said, a little too loudly, "You are in love with a newsboy!" Instantly my face grew red and hot. I looked at her, gave her a small dirty look, and grabbed a couple of food items for the week. She happily skipped by my side as I paid for the food. I smiled at the cashier and walked out the door.
I looked down at Lynn and shook my head. She looked up at me and smirked. "Lynn, don't say things like that in public!" I told her as we headed home. Lynn looked at me and shrugged her shoulders.
"Alright, alright, I won't do it again, but it ain't like people care." Lynn whispered. I looked down at her and shook my head once more.
"Ain't isn't a word…" I muttered. She looked up at me with shock in her eyes.
"We don't go to school, since when did you know proper language?" She asked me. I opened the door to our house and walked inside. I put down my purse in its secret place and smiled at Lynn.
"A girl at ballet is teaching me. She's a lawyer's daughter, so she also goes to school." I told her as I put away the food. "You better get ready for your ballet class, it's almost ten." Lynn nodded her head and walked off toward our room to get dressed. I sat down in a chair and waited for Lynn to get ready.
When she finally came out, I grabbed my purse once more, and took her to her ballet class. We walked silently the whole time and I sighed to myself as we neared the studio. Lynn smiled and hugged me before she walked off into the building. I smiled and turned around. The small street I was in was still bustling with loud noises from the town square around the corner. I walked silently toward my house. I started to think about what to do for my solo at my try out tomorrow and began to do small moves down the street. Suddenly, I bumped into someone.
I looked up and saw those blue eyes again. I blushed and looked away. "Dat's da second time today, miss," he pointed out. I laughed silently and looked at him once more.
"I'm sorry, I'm really clumsy today." I finally babbled. He smiled and took off his hat. Then he swiped back his hair and replaced it.
"That's alright," he noted, still smiling. "My name's Conlon, Spot Conlon."
"I'm Allison," I whispered. I could still feel myself blushing and I looked to the floor again.
"Well, I best be off miss, it was nice bumping into you again," He replied with a wink. He tipped his hat and ran off. I sighed in delight and twirled around one last time.
I walked home once more and noticed that Mom was home. All of a sudden, my happiness disappeared. I angrily opened the door and saw Mom sitting at our table. I looked at her. Her brown hair was matted and her eyes were sunken in. In front of her was a glass with a tan colored liquid in it; most likely whiskey.
I looked away in shame when she looked into my eyes. "You went shopping baby?" She asked me. I nodded my head and entered my room. I put away my purse and sat on my bed. "How's ballet going?" I heard her call. She was still in the same spot as before.
"It's good Mom, I have a try out tomorrow," I shouted. I grabbed at my pillow and began punching it softly as I heard Mom take another sip. Suddenly, I heard her get out of her seat and walk toward the door.
"That's good, babe. Well, I'm off, I'm going out. I love you!" She bellowed. I heard the door click shut and I stared motionlessly at my door. She loves me? Sure, I'm sure she does, but she loves alcohol more. I threw my pillow hardly at the top of my bed and silently wiped away the stray tears falling down my cheek. I walked out into the kitchen and saw her glass still sitting on the table. I grabbed it angrily and chucked it at the door. It shattered into glass shards and I punched the table angrily at my stupidity.
I grabbed a rag and began cleaning up the mess. I winced as I cut my finger. I finished cleaning up and washed my cut on my finger. I wrapped it up and sat down.
I looked at the time and sighed. I still had a half hour until I had to pick Lynn up. I pulled back my hair and began working on my solo. By the time I was finished, I was panting and it was time to pick up Lynn. When my breathing finally slowed, I exited my house and walked down the street once more. Lynn was waiting inside the building for me like she always did. I smiled at her and went up to my instructor.
"Ma'am, I was wondering what time the tryouts were tomorrow?" I asked. She smiled at me.
"They're tomorrow during practice, those who want to tryout will skip practice and those who don't, will stay and practice. Make sure you think up a solo too," She said, before going back to her work. I nodded my head and smiled again at Lynn, who was sitting quietly at one of the small chairs.
We soon left the building and began walking home. Lynn was explaining to me all about what practice was like today when I spotted Mom walking into a local bar. I gripped my hands in small fists and breathed out slowly.
Disclaimor-I don't own newsies. Never will lol :)
Author's note- Please tell me what you think so far. I will definately update as often as I can. School just started so I probably will only update on weekends. But again, please tell me what you think. Reveiws are always lovely.