Chapter 1

"Mom! It's time to go to dance!" I called to my mom as I exited my room. I was wearing my black pencil skirt and mint see-through three-quarter sleeve shirt. I went to the front door to put on my black stilettos as my mom came out of her office.

"We have to go," I told her. "I have to be early so I can stretch and warm-up."

"I'm coming, I'm coming." She said. We hurried out the door and got in the car.

"Shoot! I forgot my Barre bar." I ran back inside and grabbed a Black Swan Barre. I had to dance for six straight hours, so I always brought a Barre bar. Just in case I was tired that day and needed energy. We drove fifteen minutes to my studio. I gave my mom a quick hug and kiss and jumped out of the car. I turned around to send her our usual hug and kiss sign and headed inside. I went to the girl's dressing room and changed into my flat shoes and purple booties. I grabbed my water bottle, weights, rolling stick, arch stretcher, hamstring stretcher, and theraband, and headed to my studio where I took my usual spot, as far away from the door as possible.

I started warming up by flexing and pointing my foot with my theraband wrapped around it. Then, I put my foot in my arch stretcher and slowly tried to straighten my knee. I don't have the best arches, but I'm told they are perfect for pointe. I still want them to be better. My friend Addison came in and walked over to me. She's fifteen and we always stand together at the barre.

"Hey, Genny! Did you see that new episode of Kickin' It last night? Jack is SO hot!" Addy was very excited. I rolled my eyes.

"Addy, you know I don't care about Kickin' It. It's good for some occasional childish action. I would much rather watch Equilibrium." I told her.

"Who cares about Christian Bale?! He's way too old for you to crush on!" She exclaimed.

"Addy, I don't crush. I'm too young to care about boys."

"What are you crazy? You're older than I am and I've already had three boyfriends!"

"So?" I asked her. "I don't need to worry about boys right now. I can admit they are cute, but I need, and want, to focus on ballet. I'm going to Kansas City for the summer. I want them to put me in their second company. How am I supposed to concentrate on that if I'm thinking about boys?" I asked her.

"That's my Genny. Ballet over boys. Always. It can be annoying, but at least you know how to appreciate them when necessary." She flashed me a smile. I chuckled and continued warming up.

"Hey, Genny?" Addy asked.

"Yes?"

"Now is that moment. Come on! You have to admit that Jack is SUPER cute!" She had a huge smile on her face and she was looking at me hopefully.

"You have been obsessing over that kid since you moved here!" I laughed

"Well, he did use to live here. I could meet him any day living here! But that's beside the point. Come on, Genny! Tell me he's cute!" Addy said

"Ok, fine. Yes, he is good-looking. At least he can do karate. That gives him an extra star." I complied.

"YES! Thank you! I knew you thought he was hot!" Addy exclaimed. I chuckled silently as the rest of our class came in, followed by our teacher.

"Alright, class. Let's start with tondus." Our teacher told us as she turned to the stereo. My classes went by without flaw. I loved every one of them.

When we were done, I went back to the dressing room to change. I put back on my skirt and mint shirt, just without the leotard and tights underneath this time. I had a mint tank top on underneath my shirt since it was see-through and I still had my stilettos.

"How can you walk in those after two hours of pointe?" Addy practically yelled at me. I laughed.

"I don't know. It just works." I smiled at her. It was a common occurrence that someone would ask me that, but it wasn't the first time Addy had said it. She just couldn't get over the fact that my feet didn't hurt when I danced.

"How's college?" Addy asked. We were walking out to our parents.

"It's pretty good. I start a history course next week. I'm really excited about it." I told her.

"How can you be excited about history?" Addy was shocked. I always loved history. I had always wished I had been born in colonial times, but then I wouldn't be able to dance.

"Because it's fun." I told her. Addy didn't quite believe me, but we didn't have time to argue because we were getting in our cars. We quickly said we would text each other later and climbed in.

"Hello, Honey," my mom greeted me.

"Hey, Mom."

"How was class?" She asked as she pulled out of the parking spot.

"It was good. Miss Sheri taught us and then Mr. Alex. Alex did a really fun grande allegro combination and Sheri helped me with my arms. I need Miss Diane to work with me on my turnout tomorrow, though." I told her.

"Okay," she said. "We can get here early tomorrow so you can talk to her. You'll have to leave straight from work" She smiled at me. I smiled back.

"Okay, great. Thanks!"

The next day I had to get up early to go to work. Since I was in college, I was allowed to help open the café in the mornings. I got dressed in jeans and a yellow sleeveless shirt with no sleeves and a knot at the bottom. I slipped on my boots and grabbed my dance bag with a leotard and tights in it. I grabbed the car keys and told my mom I was headed to work.

When I got to work, I unlocked the door and started to set up. A few minutes later, my opening partner, Derek, came in.

"Hey, Derek. I'm just warming up some pastries." I told him. Derek is in college, too, but he is 18.

"Cool. I'll start making coffee," he called as he headed to the back to get the beans.

The coffee shop opened at 8:00 and it was about 7:45. We finished setting up and turned on the open sign. Almost immediately, we saw some cars drive up. People started coming in and ordering coffee and breakfast. I took orders and Derek made it. It was hard, but I enjoyed it. It helped me talk to people. I'm usually pretty quiet, so it helps me learn to be more talkative. It was getting to be about ten o'clock when it happened.

"Hey, Derek, I need a cappuccino stat. This guy is getting fussy."

I turned around to take a young man's order. He was a couple inches taller than me with brown hair that was short of in-between long and short. He had gorgeous brown eyes and if I actually cared, I would've said he was really hot. He looked about a year older than me and I felt like I knew him from somewhere. I quickly took his order and could tell that he was in a rush, too. I grabbed the cappuccino from Derek and handed it to the man who ordered it. I grabbed the young man's coffee and sandwich and turned around quickly to give it to him. As I turned around, he quickly reached for it, not really paying attention to where he was reaching. He knocked it out of my hand and towards me.

"Oh my word! I am so sorry!" He exclaimed. I looked down at my, now brown, apron and yellow-brown shirt.

"It's okay." I told him. "It happens." I looked up and smiled.

"Can I help you?" He asked with a concerned expression.

"Thanks, but I think I'll be okay. I'll just go try to wash it out." I told him. I looked over to Derek to see if he could take care of the counter and the food for a minute and he gave me a "it's cool, go ahead" look.

"Are you sure? I can get you a new one." He said.

"Oh, no. It's okay." I assured him.

"No, please. Let me help. Call me with the name or price so I can replace it for you" He said. He pulled out a card and handed it to me.

"No, really. It's fine. I don't want to trouble you." I told him, as I tried to hand his card back to him.

"It's no trouble at all." He assured me. I looked down at his card which he had handed back to me. It said:

Leo Howard

Actor known for playing Jack in Kickin' It