Prince Rogers Nelson has died sad, tired, in pain and alone. As people mourn his loss and buildings around the world turn purple in his honor, Prince's soul begins a new journey of self discovery that will bring profound insight within him. Bella...
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Bella and Elaine
Elaine's POV
Elaine woke up from a deep sleep thinking it was a school day. She wondered why her mother had not come into her room to wake her up as she did on most mornings. She heard the power mower outside cutting the grass. She got up and went to her window and looked out. Her father whom everyone called Mr. G but was actually named Andrew Grady was mowing the front yard of their home with the Thought Technology Mower. He did so before breakfast every Saturday, so it wasn't a school day after all. It was Saturday and that meant that Bella's mom would be at their house at 10:30 to take them to their ballet lesson. They would then go to lunch; it was Bella's turn to choose where and then to the Sanders Ice Cream shop in Grosse Point for a delicious treat. Elaine would have an ice cream Sunday. Bella would have a Chocolate Malt with double malt...she always did. Elaine and Bella were best friends and had been as long as she could remember. Their moms and dads were besties too. They had lots of pictures of the two little girls as infants and toddlers in the same crib and playpen. They had never had a real argument although they did not always agree on everything. They just let each other be who they were and always had.
Looking into the mirror she saw a reflection that was almost identical to her mother. Her hair was honey brown and long, her eyes a dark gray and her skin very fair. She was slender but already at almost 14 had breasts a little larger than the other girls in her class. Even with ballet and track as part of her regular routine though, she still had a rather flat derriere which always irked her. It was a testimony to the generations of women in her family line who appeared more white than black. Elaine thought that whole era of history while tragic was also stupid. She would have given anything to have Bella's round butt!
Elaine jumped in the shower and when done dried her hair and put it into a chignon. Her ballet teachers. Mr. and Mrs. Tsoukalos, were old school and would not tolerate hair flying which detracted from the beauty of the lines of the body in movement. Originally from Greece they had trained in Cecchetti Technique in Paris and had danced with the Paris Opera Ballet which is considered by many professionals to be the best Ballet Company in the world. Mr. and Mrs. Tsoukalos had met when they were dancing with the Company. Mrs. Tsoukalos was second generation Greek and her family owned and operated a restaurant in Greek town which is how they ended up in Detroit. Mr. Tsoukalos was the first in his family to come to America.
The Cecchetti Technique was developed by an Italian but flourished in France under the 19th century ballet master Carlo Blasis. The method emphasizes rigorous training and adherence to a highly structured training format, success with which is measured by balletic exams both on theory and technique. Cecchetti trained dancers are found throughout the world in major ballet companies. Both Bella and Elaine were good dancers, but Elaine would readily admit that Bella was the more serious student and frankly was exceptional in form and technique. Elaine was more of an athlete than Bella though and excelled in track in school where Bella was just above average. They were both outstanding when it came to academics. They did not compete with each other though. They simply encouraged and enjoyed each other's successes and admired each other's strengths. Elaine dressed quickly, made up her bed and then went downstairs to have breakfast.
