Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 50th cycle. Now cycle 51!

"Rise Up, Sun Girls, Rise Up"
Nora (AU!Beth), Emily (OC), & Grace (OC) - age 11
Sunshine Girls series (spin-off like)
(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)

1. Eleven

It was her stepmother who had thought it would be both incredibly beneficial and completely adorable for her to go and start taking ballet lessons, which had then turned to Emily's mother thinking it would be great for her as well. They were all of four years old when they started. Those early days, early years, were not the easiest. Neither girl took easily to the discipline involved, but their having each other had saved it. Eventually they had adapted, and they improved. They were by no means going to make a career of it, but they kept at it and they were good.

When Grace Mackenna and her family had moved in across the street from Nora's house – her mother and stepfather's house – it wasn't long that the two girls were talking, making friends. It was on one day's discoveries that she learned something wonderful: Grace did ballet as well. Nora had floated the idea that she could join her class.

These ideas were put on the shelf when both Nora's mother and stepmother had gone and had their babies, her sisters, on the same day, one of them needing surgery right away, but when she'd spoken to Grace next, telling her what had happened, Nora had learned that the Scottish girl had signed up and would be joining her and Emily.

It came to be that Saturday morning arrived, and they all met at the dance studio. Nora had been there first, then Emily. They got ready, and they were talking when they heard the other girls react to something. They looked up to find it had been Grace's arrival that caused a stir. Emily had already met her, and it hadn't been long that they had bonded as well. "What's their problem?" Emily frowned, staring at the others.

"Probably because I'm new," Grace shrugged.

Before long they got to figuring out it wasn't just that she was new. Grace was by no means overweight, not even close. But compared to the other girls, all of them longer and leaner, Grace, with what could only be qualified as baby fat, stood out. She was plainer looking than most of them, and while it didn't concern her or her two friends, to the others it seemed to warrant whispers and laughter. Once they had picked up on it, Nora and Emily felt terrible.

"Just forget about them," Nora told her, absently placing herself between Grace and the girls at the other end of the room.

"They don't bother me," Grace spoke calmly, standing and waiting for their class to start. As they waited, Nora couldn't help sneaking glances to the other girls. They were still doing as they'd been doing, and it only bothered her more. It may not have been bugging Grace, but Nora never took kindly to people talking about her friends.

And then their teacher had arrived, and one of the girls on the other side, Laurie, had raised her hand. "Ms. Isabelle, there's a new girl."

"Indeed there is. Everyone, say hello to Grace, who will be joining us." There was a chorus of hellos, and Grace bowed her head. "I'm sure she'll…"

"Shouldn't she show us what she can do," Laurie went on, and by the swallowed smirks of her friends, it appeared they didn't have too much confidence in the new girl's abilities.

"Can I hit her?" Emily muttered to Nora.

"Me first…" Nora returned, but even before the teacher was able to respond to Laurie…

"Sure, I don't mind, I'd love to," Grace had spoken up. The teacher, barely controlling her class at this point, had looked to her new student.

"Wonderful then, please…" she indicated the floor. Grace had turned to Emily and whispered something to her, which sent the girl to sit at the piano.

Nora had been left to stand back, like all the other girls, though as she stood on her own, it could almost feel like the performance was directed at her.

She knew Grace would be fantastic even before she started. There was just something in the way she stood, waiting to start, that let you know you were about to see something special… and it was. Nora and Emily may have gotten by on 'good,' but Grace was… superb, precise, elegant, and she certainly wore her name well… she was graceful. She could do things most if not all of them could only dream of achieving so far.

Nora had this sensation inside her as she watched the flame-haired girl move, like her heart could see it all and it couldn't sit still… She was really kind of stunning, and Nora had no other way to express how it affected her but to say it made the hairs on the back of her neck snap up. Now she knew why Grace wasn't worried, why the usually fairly shy girl had taken a chance: she knew she'd blow them all away.

When she had finished, everyone stood in silence before Nora led them into applause. Grace sauntered back to her side, blushing deep red, up to her ears. "I don't know what came over me… I wasn't showing off, was I?"

"Oh, please, you had to," Nora told her, stuck on a smile. "That was perfect! That'll show her."

"Laurie's face right now… Thank you," Emily was laughing as she returned. The other two looked back, finding what she meant. Laurie had been shown up… her fault. "You were amazing."

"Thank you," Grace smiled.

"You really were," Nora told her, and her smile widened. "I had no idea, I mean you said you'd been doing ballet, too, but…"

"My brothers did, too, when they were little… don't tell them I told you," Grace beamed.

At the end of the class – which had promptly stopped its whispering and laughing after Grace's display – all three girls were to be picked up by Quinn and taken back to her house. Baby Hailey would be at home with Nana Judy.

"Mom, you should have seen Grace dance, she was so good," Nora told her mother as they were all buckling up. "She's the best one in the class," she decided. Grace's ears had just started losing their red color, but it was renewed by Nora's compliments. "I'm really glad you're with us now," Nora told her, and she smiled.

"Me, too."

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)