Chapter 1

Four years later...

Everything is going to change now,” Lora said, as she licked her orange sorbet.

            “You are too right,” Katrina agreed, taking a sip of her chocolate milk shake.

            Everything is going to change now, May thought as ran her spoon over the strawberry sundae. She was savoring her few moments of summer. In only a few simple hours the sun would set, she would go home, go to bed and wake up the next morning for her first day at Brook Creek Junior High. May’s stomach lurched with nerves, she dreaded starting middle school. Her mind was a hot boiling pot of worry, as she remembered the warnings of her friends who were already at the Junior High- don’t do anything embarrassing, avoid the girl’s bathrooms at any cost, don’t eat school tacos, and never make Ms. Snuff mad.  May usually got nervous, but she couldn’t remember ever being this nervous.

            “Aren’t you guys scared?” May blurted.

            Katrina raised her eyebrows, “No way! How cool is middle school? School plays, talent shows, and choir and drama are classes! Things cannot get cooler than that!”

            May frowned and went back to playing with her whipped cream.

            “Yeah,” Lora put in, “Middle School is going to be a new adventure! We’ll get to make lots friends, pick our own classes, and everything!”

            “Uh-huh,” May said licking the whipped cream off her spoon.

            “There’s got to be something to look forward to,” Katrina said.

            Lora put her arm around May, “Is there a class your excited for?”

            May pondered her schedule and bit her lip. Lora could take flute in school, even though her knowledge and talent was beyond the class, Lora was taking it anyway. So, obviously Lora was excited to get to play her flute every day at school. And Katrina was excited for acting and choir. May had nothing though; she wasn’t a musician or an actress. Each student was allowed one elective. May had picked to take French; since all of ballet was in French she thought it might be helpful. She supposed French would be exciting, but May wasn’t a scholar, her mind was usually in a dance studio. To her it was probably just another class she’d do poorly in.

            “French,” May said weakly, “I guess.” Her lack of enthusiasm was obvious.

            “You get your own locker,” Lora reminded her.

            “Yeah, there will seventh and eighth grade boys,” Katrina put in.

            May forced a giggle. Lora and Katrina smiled in relief.

            “Come on,” Lora said, “That’s the spirit! And you can always look forward to ballet class after school.”

            May closed her eyes and smiled. She couldn’t wait to get back to The Pointe. The Pointe, was her ballet school, and her favorite place in the world. She took ballet class on Monday’s, Wednesday’s, and Thursday’s. She loved everything about the studio. From the hard, honey colored wood flooring, to the smell of leather shoes and sweat, from the beautiful, ballet music, to the pairs of old pointe schools hanging on the walls, signed by the former students. She’d danced there all her life. When she was little she took “Petite Pirouettes”, a class the studio offered to introduce younger dancers to ballet. May loved it from her first steps. The Pointe was family owned, and they cared more about the safety and good will of the dancer’s than the money they made themselves.  May’s first class of the school year would be tomorrow, after school.

            “Your right Lora,” May agreed with a smile. Lora and Katrina took ballet with her on Wednesdays. They took it out of habit, they didn’t really enjoy it.

            “May, dear,” Lora’s mom said, sticking her head out of the door, a phone in her hand, “You mom want to you to head home now.”

            “Alright,” May squeeked, “thanks Mrs. Poly.”

            May stood up. “Bye guys,” she mummered. “See you tomorrow. You know, at,” she gave a little wince, “Brook Creek Junior High.”

            “You’ll have a great first day,” Lora said confindently. As she gave May a hug.

            “We promise,” Katrina sang. May giggled.

            “And, May,” Lora said with a smile, “you won’t be alone. It’s going to be the first day for all of us. There’ll be a whole batch of us, who are new at middle school. It’s okay to be scared. A lot of people will be.”

            “Right,” May said softly, “well, thanks. See yah.”

            Lora watched May walk down the driveway and start down the block.

            “That was really nice, what you said about us all being new,” Katrina said.

            “Oh, um, thanks,” Lora smiled.

            “Do you think May will be okay?” Katrina inquired.

            “As long as she can dance, she can survive anything,” Lora said.

            “You’re right,” Katrina said. “Good old May.”

            “Well,” Lora said sadly, “I’m going to need a good night sleep for tomorrow’s big day. So, not to be rude, but you probably better go.”

            Katrina smiled, she knew Lora went to bed at eight thirty every night, much earlier that her usual eleven o’clock. She said so long to Lora and started walking home. Katrina only lived a few blocks away, and she could use the exercise. Katrina didn’t have the slim fiqure that Lora and May both had. Katrina couldn’t move in ways May did, but she supposed that they wouldn’t let you pursue a Broadway Career without some dance training, so she just took ballet with May, but really blew it off. It kind of reminded her of the song “Dancing Through Life”, from Wicked, but she was dancing through ballet class.

            She saw her house a head and she jogged to get up to it. From down the block she could hear the piano playing. When she walked in her Yorkie, Lola, greeted her. Her soft brown fur was pulled back into a bow. Katrina gave the puppy a kiss and picked her up and took her into the living room with her. Emmy, her little sister, sat at the piano plunking away at Scarbourgh Fair

            “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme,” Katrina sang in tune to her sister’s diddy.

            Emmy shot her a look. Emmy was much more quite and calm than Katrina, and preferred music without words. She thought Katrina’s singing was more obnoxious than pretty.

            “Remember me; to one who lives there,” Katrina continued despite her sister’s glares, “She was once a true love of mine.”

            Katrina giggled and went in to the kitchen where her mom was packing her lunch for the next day.

            “Hey Kat,” she said when Katrina walked in.

            “Hi Mom,” Katrina replied.

            “So, how was your little get together with the girls?”

            “Pretty good, I’m so excited for tomorrow

            “I’m glad,” Her mom said with a comforting smile. “Middle school is new big step.”

            “Uh-huh,” Katrina said, bracing for a lecture.

            “It’s going to be a lot of new changes to get used to,” she continued.

            “I know, Mom,” Katrina said, pulling a face that said “I’ve heard this a million times.”

            “Okay, okay,” Mrs. Mari said, “enough nagging. So what do you want in your lunch tomorrow- pizza or yogurt?”

            Katrina pretended to consider the options, but, as if on cue, Mrs. Mari and Katrina both said, “Pizza.”

            “Why don’t you go pack your backpack for tomorrow?” Mrs. Mari suggested. Katrina let out a giggle, but decided her mom was probably right. She gathered all of her supplies, you needed a lot more in middle school than elementary school, and shoved them in her new black backpack. The day before, Katrina had decorated her backpack with glitter paints and rhinestones. She totally was excited to use it on the first day of school.

            “Hey Kat,” Her mom called, “Why don’t you go shower and you know, get ready for bed. You could use the rest for tomorrow.”

            Katrina groaned but obediently followed her mom’s directions.

            At ten thirty Katrina slipped into her bed, her dreams were exciting and they all took place at Brook Creek Junior High.

Author's Note

Let me know what you thing. Keep in mind that it's target age group is 10-12, so it won't be as complex as other writing.

Reviews

[Horsey]

Its really good. As you said, it is not very complex, and it was slightly predictable. But if I was 10 I would love this. Even now I still really enjoyed it.