Chapter 1

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Maddie stared at her new shoes. They were pale peach. They looked so perfect. Just waiting to be ruined. Just like herself.

Maddie woke up from her dream. Kenzie was downstairs singing away. Ugh. Did she have o sing so loud. Girl Party. Over and over again. Day and night. She got up and went to her dressing table. Her mirror was covered in pictures, hardly any space for her to look at herself. Maybe that was good.

Maddie didn't want to see herself at the moment. She probably looked like a wreck. She went downstairs with her bunny slippers on. Kenzie was running around singing Girl Party even loud.
"Shut up," Maddie shouted at her. "Sweetie, do you have a headache. Your not usually grumpy," Melissa asked.
"No mom! If I had one, I would tell you!" Maddie screamed. Melissa gave her a hard stare, but just pointed up the stairs.

It was time to go to dance class. Kenzie was all ready and dressed. Maddie wasn't really up for dancing. Though she did need to perfect her solo, Windy Days, so she got up. "Mom! I can't find me point shoes!"she called down the stairs. Kenzie was holding them. "I told you not to go near my things " Maddie said, snatching the, from her.
"Maddie, I know your stressed. But please stop taking it out on me," Kenzie begged. Maddie groaned and got changed.

At the studios, Maddie was working too hard on her solo. "FEET! MADDIE YOUR FEET! POINY YOUR TOES!"
"HEY, KENZIE, THAT TURN WAS FLAT! AGAIN!" and also "NIA AND JOJO! THAT DUET IS JUST LOOKING PLAIN AND NO ENERGY! PUT EFFORT INTO IT!"

Maddie was putting her best work into her solo. Her toes were aching with pain from being en pointe. Her eyes filled with tears. Even though she had been en pointe for years, she still felt in pain the worst.
"Maddie, are you CRYING FROM BEING EN POINTE!" Miss Abby screamed at her. Maddie blinked her tears back and continued to practise her solo. She found herself turning and leaping at the wrong places.
"Come here Maddie. JOJO! KENZIE! NIA! GET WORKING ON YOUR GROUP DANCE!" Miss Abby shouted.
Maddie walked over to Miss Abby with her head down. "What is UP with your solo! You learnt Elastic Heart in two hours!"
Maddie started crying again. Miss Abby pushed her away. And she danced again. All day long.

By the time she got home, her feet were bleeding. Maddie tied bandages around them. Just looking at her horrible black toes, her blistered feet and her bleeding ankles felt sore. Kenzie walked in.
"Ew," she said, "gross." Maddie stood up, limping a bit with the pain.
"GET OUT OF MY ROOM!" She shouted. As Kenzie left, Maddie felt herself crying again. She had only cried once about her feet, and that was when she first started en pointe.
"Why is my life so stressful!" Maddie screamed. "I'm a kid. And kids shouldn't be stressed!"

The next day, Maddie woke up happy. She had forgotten about yesterday. Kenzie was sitting quietly on the kitchen table. She was eating beans and toast. Normally, she'd be eating all sorts of yummy things. Bacon, eggs. Something was going on.
"Are you not hungry?" Maddie asked. "No, not really. I had a feast around five this morning," Kenzie replied. "Oh," Maddie said. Maddie sat down and Melissa handed her a big plate of sausages, beans, eggs, and etc etc.

There was no dancing that day. The camera crew was sick, so practise wSs cancelled. Maddie hated when the camera crew was in her face.
She sat down and stared to read. And that was something she hadn't done in a long, long time.

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