Chasing Stars || Disney's Backstage

Chapter One

There was a dull ache in her feet from hours of practice. She was early. She knew she was early, but that didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was getting some more practice in before classes began for the day. The school's dance studio was the perfect place for that.

Her feet had already been moving for an hour when she finally took a break. She didn't want to overexert herself before the true hurdles of the day began. Though she only took a quick sip of her water and stretched her feet before moving out onto the floor again. A click of the remote had music playing from the speakers.

Her lungs expanded, filling with air. The music cued her in, and she began moving, oblivious to the blonde that had just entered behind her.

The blonde stood by the door. She opened her mouth to tell the girl that her time was up, only to close her mouth as she watched the redhead move with precision. Her form was perfect as she lifted a pointe shoe into an arabesque.

Tori turned on her toe, coming to a stop as she spotted the older girl. She rushed to the bench turning the music off before facing the girl once again.

"Sorry," she apologized, wiping stray strands from her face. "Do you have the space booked? I can clear out."

Tori grew uncomfortable as the older girl's gaze remained on her.

"You're new here, aren't you?" the blonde asked.

Tori nodded her head.

"I'm Cassandra," she held a hand out. "Where did you study before coming to Keaton?"

Tori shook Cassandra's hand after a slight moment of hesitation. "Um, Tori, I trained in Sydney." her accent was more prominent now.

"Foreign exchange student, huh?" her gaze narrowed. "Welcome to Keaton. Now, clear out, Primas have the studio booked."

The redhead gave a nod, changing out of her pointe shoes and grabbing her things as more dancers clad in blue flooded into the room. They didn't give her a second thought as they began stretching.

Tori watched them move around for a few moments before making her way out into the halls. Keaton was going to be interesting.

***

The courtyard wasn't nearly as full as she had expected it to be. There were a few early risers scattered around. Some were minding their own business while others conversed, talking about the new school year and how they were not going to quit until they made it big.

A simple breeze ruffled the pages of Tori's notebook. In her hand was a pen but it was being spun around her fingers instead of doing its job of spilling its ink across the pages. There were earbuds in to block the noises.

She was people watching, one of her favorite pastimes. Tori liked to believe that writing what she saw helped keep her connected to the world. Dance helped her feel connected to herself, but words helped her to communicate with people.

"What are you doing?"

Tori abruptly turned, shutting her notebook, and pulling the earbuds out. Her eyes caught the blue ones of a lanky boy with long blonde hair. The sun reflected in his eyes as he stared down at her.

"Uh- hi," she stuttered. Her hand gripped her bag, stuffing the notebook and earbuds into it.

"I see you like people watching," he took a seat next to her on top of the picnic table.

"Y-yeah," she told him. "The mannerisms of a person can be very intriguing."

"You're a freshman, right?" he continued when she nodded her head. "Are you a music student?"

Her brown eyes flickered up from her shoes to study him. He had a very faint strip of freckles across his nose similar to hers. She shook her head, "No. Actually, I'm in the dance program."

He cocked his head, making his hair sway on his shoulders. "Oh, with the notebook-- I could have sworn you were writing lyrics."

A smile pulled at her lips. Tori pulled her bag over her shoulder glancing down at her watch. "Maybe I was. I don't have to be a music student to dabble."

The boy's lips pulled into a smile as well.

"I'm Moose." he held his hand out.

"I'm Tori," they shook hands. She pulled away walking backward. "I'll see you around."

Waist-length curls swept her sides as she turned. His eyes didn't leave her figure until the courtyard door closed behind her and the bell overhead rang.

"See you around," he mused.

***

    The students sat on the ground of the dance studio. Tori's legs were crossed in front of her, but her back was straight. She hated slouching, it felt so unnatural nowadays. A black leotard adorned her slim figure along with the bodies of her classmates around her.

    Before them paced their teacher, Mrs. Halsweel. The older woman had short blonde hair pulled out of her face by a thick black headband that matched her attire.

    "Welcome to Keaton School of the Arts," she told them. "Keaton is the key to your future. Whether it will be a success or failure is completely up to you."

    The freshman dance class listened to her intently. A girl behind her even took notes, the bobbing pen distracting her for a moment. Though her attention snapped back to the front as Mrs. Halsweel continued her speech.

    "The person you are today will not be the person who graduates in four years." her face was like a mask. "Statistically only half of you will make it to graduation. And one of you won't even make it until Christmas."

    The room was quiet as the students took a moment to look at each other. The weight of her words pushed on their shoulders.

    "If you need a shoulder to cry on. Go cry to your mother." she barely gave them time to let her words sink in as she continued. "Just like in life, this is not a rehearsal. You are constantly being judged. Constantly being evaluated. One misstep could mean the end."

    Her voice was sharp yet she left room for a dramatic pause. "So let's see what you're made of."

    As the introductory speech came to an end, everyone gathered themselves and traveled over to the bars to stretch.

They had known realizing their dreams was not going to be easy, but now they knew it would take more than some of them could give.

Whoo! First chapter! I hope you like it. I have been working on many stories for many years, and have decided that since I have actually been invested in this one recently that I should post it and hopefully keep writing it.

Posted; Not edited. 12/28/17