Ella Darcy Styles

Ella listened carefully to the scattering feet of the audience on the other side of the red velvet curtain and the loud cry of the smaller ballerina next to her who was too scared to perform. Her sparkling brown eyes flickered upwards toward the lights, glistening with wonder and excitement. Her mother, Hanna, was fidgeting with the frill of her daughter’s tutu, making sure it was perfectly quaffed. She was more nervous for her daughter than Ella was for herself, although the small butterflies in her tummy were beginning to crack out of their cocoons and have a show of their own.

Hanna took her four-year-old daughter’s hand and led her over to the group of twenty-eight ballerinas and sat down next to her to help her stretch. Whenever she would put pressure on the top of the little girl’s feet to form a point, just like all of the mommies in the room do, Ella’s face would squish together in discomfort, making Hanna pull her hand away immediately every time. She knew she loved dancing, and she also knew this wasn’t some low-budget dance class, her and Harry were paying the big bucks to send Ella to private lessons and to wear the best leotards.

The young brunette caught on to ballet quickly, and even though she was so small and her brain had a lot of learning to do, she was willing to stick to the hobby and grow from it. Performing was in her blood, she loved the adrenaline running through every limb in her body, the music through her ears, the sound of cheers and applause when she would give her final curtsey, but most of all, she loved the way her mom and dad would immediately stand to their feet to cheer and look at her like they were the proudest parents in the world. Getting taken out for ice cream afterwards was a plus as well.

The last curtain call was announced and Hanna smiled to her eldest daughter giving the top of her head a kiss. “Good luck Ella, mommy loves you.”

Ella wrapped her tiny arms around her mother’s neck and giggled. Hanna smiled into the girl’s hair. “What’s so funny?”

Ella shied away, pulling away slightly and giddily kicked her feet. “I’m scared.” She was always very quiet and shy, but you would never guess that by the way she moved.

Hanna tucked away a piece of the girl’s hair that had fallen out of her small bun. “Don’t be. Daddy and Brooke are in the crowd.”

Brooke was Ella’s two-year-old sister and she wasn’t too fond of the idea of having her watch the recital after the day she spent pulling Ella’s hair and spitting in her food at lunch. However, she did think it was quite funny when Harry scolded her younger sister for pulling the same stunts with him.

Ella looked to the floor, still kicking her feet and playing with her skirt. “She won’t watch.”

Hanna laughed aloud at the quiet statement, if it were anyone else they wouldn’t have a clue what they were listening for. “Daddy’s here remember? She’ll be watching.”

She heard the laughter of the mom next to her, making her smile a little brighter. She couldn’t help but enjoy the fact that they all knew who Ella’s father was. Of course she would never say that aloud, but she could think it all she wanted. She bent down, puckering her lips so Ella could give her a small kiss and she obliged before Hanna left to go find her husband with an overly excited Brooke in his arms.

The mini ballerinas got into formation, waiting impatiently for the curtains to rise and the lights to darken. The music began and Ella didn’t have to look at the instructor, not after all the hours she would spend popping in the classical cd dancing around her room, pointing her toes and jumping off her bed.

When the music finished, her doe eyes flashed to the crowd as her and the ballerinas held a pose, waiting for that breath of silence to vanish and be taken over by an ambush of applause When it did, her eyes scanned over every irrelevant person in the stands before they planted themselves on the three people she had been searching for.

Her little sister was propped up in their father’s arms, smiling. Her dad was whistling and helping Brooke quickly clap her hands together. Her mom, being the sap that she was, dabbed at her eyes a few times before she stood up to cheer. Each of them showing off that look she could only classify as proud.