Heroes Adventure

Chapter 7: Ballet

One day, Sam, Leah, and Athena are performing in a competition called the Zagary Talents Show that will be witnessed by thousands of people in the hall and it's being live broadcast too.

"I still remember this situation years ago. Do you guys remember?", asked Athena.

"Yes, we do sis. You're very nervous to enter this competition until you fight with your rival, Wanda and finally, you both be friends in the end", said Sam.

"Yeah, I still remember that. I lost in the semi-final to you both, after that you both argued until Mr. James witnessed and chose you to have a dance with the principal ballerina", said Leah.

"Yeah, I also still remember that. Sigh, I'm pretty sad that Wanda can't join since she's not feeling well and has to forfeit from the competition", said Athena.

"It's okay, sis. At least you've done your best until you're in this stage again twice. I believe if Wanda or Mommy is here, they must be proud of you, sis", said Sam.

"Yeah. I wish Mommy was here so that she could witness our achievement", said Athena.

"I assure you Mommy is proud of us no matter where she at right now, sis", said Leah.

Athena then smiled and hugged their siblings. After that, they three went dancing with Mr. Jayden and Mrs. Cassandra, the principal ballerina on the stage.

4 years ago...

Queen Maria was meeting with Sam, Leah, and Athena to talk about the Zagary Talents Show.

"Sam, Leah, Athena, I would like to ask if all of you would like to join a ballet dance competition. I saw that you three always practice ballet during your free time in our garden", asked Queen Maria.

"Yes, that will be an honor for us, your Majesty", said Sam.

"Well, next month there will be a competition called Zagary Talents Show, and ballet dance will be one of the categories. I think you three have the potential to join the competition because you three love ballet dance right?", said Queen Maria.

"Really? If like that, we will join it", said Leah.

"Alright then. I will inform Mr. James, the ballet school choreographer to train you. Tomorrow you three will go to the Zagary Ballet School to join the training", said Queen Maria.

"Thank you so much your Majesty", said Athena.

Later that night...

"I'm so excited! For so long we trained ballet and now we're going to enter a competition", said Athena.

"Don't be too excited, sis. You don't know the format to enter this competition yet", said Leah.

"That's true. I already saw the format. It said who didn't improve their dance skills will be disqualified", said Sam.

"What?! Is it true? Oh, now I started to feel nervous", said Athena.

"Don't be nervous sis. We just need to do our best to perform at the final", said Sam.

"Yeah, we already practice ballet dance for years and we will do our best to enter the final", said Leah.

"Alright then. I will do my best for tomorrow", said Athena.

"That's our little sister! Let's have a sleep and get ready for tomorrow", said Sam.

Sam, Leah, and Athena went to the Zagary Ballet School to attend their first ballet class the next day. They then meet with the school choreographer, Mr. James.

"Ah! You three must be Sam, Leah, and Athena right?", asked Mr. James.

"Yes, sir. We're here to attend the class", said Sam.

"Well, you're just in time! Come in, the class will start soon", said Mr. James.

Mr. James then later explained to all the students about the class.

"Hello everyone. My name is Mr. James and I'm the school choreographer. You all must be here for the Zagary Talents Show competition, correct? My rules are simple. You just need to improve your dance skills and if you're not improving them, you will be disqualified. The dancer that I see has the potential will compete in the Semi-Final, but only 8 of you will be chosen containing 4 boys and 4 girls. Only 4 dancers can move on to the Final and 2 dancers, a male and a female will be chosen to dance with our kingdom's principal ballerina. We have 2 principal ballerinas, the male principal ballerina is Mr. Jayden while the female principal ballerina is Mrs. Cassandra. The principal ballerina is in the highest position of all the ballet dancers. They're talented, have a lot of skills, and have the experience to compete in international competitions. My advice is to do your best so that you can dance with them during the show. Good luck, dancers!"

They all then later started the class. All dancers are trying their best to learn new skills and improve themselves. Days passed and more students were being disqualified.

A few weeks later, Mr. James announced that 8 dancers were being qualified for the Semi-Final.

"Alright, class. The day is here! I will be announcing 8 dancers that will be qualified for the Semi-Final. For boys, 4 dancers are...Sam, Leon, Jackson, and Rocky. For the girls, 4 dancers are...Leah, Athena, Wanda, and Myra. Congratulations to all of you! Hopefully, you all will do your best to qualify for the Final. Good luck to all of you!", said Mr. James.

Sam, Leah, and Athena are really happy to hear that they're being chosen for the Semi-Final.

After they return to the castle...

"I'm so happy that we are all being chosen for the Semi-Final!",  said Leah.

Sam and Leah see that Athena is sitting in the corner wondering about something until they don't hear Sam and Leah calling for her.

"Sis? Sis? Athena!", called Sam.

"Oh! Uhh...what is it, brother? Sorry I was zoned out", said Athena.

"What are you thinking until you were zoning out, sis? Are you okay? You seem...kind of upset and scared."

"Umm, bro, sis, there's something I want to say to you both for a very long time."

"What is it?"

"Umm, actually...there's this girl that hated me so much."

"Who is that?", asked Leah.

"Her name is Wanda. She's a rich girl and she is kind of...arrogant."

"What?! Really?"

"Yeah, it's true. When I was practicing, she sometimes teased me that I was not good with the dance, and also she told me that she would make sure that I would not go to the final."

"Well, that's rude", said Sam.

"You need to show her that you are better than her, sis. We know you can do it. You just need to believe in yourself that you can do it", said Leah.

"Leah's right. We all must be working together to achieve success", said Sam.

"Thanks, guys. You both are the best siblings I ever had", said Athena.

Athena then remembered what Wanda said to her when she first met with her.

Athena is packing up her things to go home, and suddenly she is met by a girl.

"Oh, hi! My name is Athena! How about you?"

"Oh. So you're the royal family girl that's joining us? How do you join here? Of course by using 'cable' right?"

"What? Why...why are you being so rude to me? I just introduce myself and be friendly."

"Shut up, royal girl! You don't need to know who I am. I'm just here to warn you that if you want to enter the competition, well forget it! Cause I'm better than you and everyone here knows that I'm qualified to dance with the principal ballerina."

"What?!"

"You don't need to be shocked about it. Just forget your dream and think about your royal work at the castle, there is no need for a girl like you to be qualified! If you still want to join it, then remember this, I won't get easy on you! By the way, my name is Wanda and I'm going to make sure you'll go down if you are still here in this school."

Athena is then really mad that Wanda is badmouthing and hates her, but she still has her patience and doesn't care about what Wanda says to her.

The next day, Athena's boyfriend, Zack meets her.

"Hey, Athena! I heard that you with your siblings went to the semi-final. Congratulations!", said Zack.

"Thanks. I also need to improve my dance skills for the semi-final. Hopefully, I can go to the final together with my siblings", said Athena.

"It's okay. Just believe that you can do it. Practice makes perfect. I will always support you", said Zack.

"Thanks, Zack", said Athena.

At the ballet school...

The Semi-Final is finally here! Mr. James becomes the judge to review all the 8 dancers that are competing in the semi-final. After judgement had been made, Mr. James announced the 4 dancers that were going to compete in the Final.

"Alright, class. I'm now going to announce the 4 dancers that will compete in the Final. The 4 dancers are...Sam, Rocky, Wanda, and Athena. Congratulations to all of you! To another 4 dancers that didn't manage to nominate for the Final, you all still have a chance to improve your dancing skills and you might have a chance to dance with the principal ballerina in the future. To the 4 dancers who are going to compete in the Final, I want to wish you all luck and do your best! I will see all of you in the Final. Good luck!"

After the class ended, Sam, Leah, and Athena discussed the Final preparation.

"Congrats sis! You made it to the Final! So, what you're going to do for the Final?", asked Sam.

"Thanks! Congrats to you, bro! You also enter the Final. I don't know what I'm going to do yet. I will think about it. Oh, and I'm so sorry for you Leah. You didn't manage to go to the Final with me", said Athena.

"It's fine, sis. It's not my luck this year. Maybe next year I will go to the final. Until then, I will never give up and keep practicing. Anyways, I hope you can keep practicing for the Final and we both will support you", said Leah.

"Thanks, sis! I'll do my best!", said Athena.

The next day at the ballet school after the class ended, Athena bumped into Wanda.

"Well, well, well. Look who's here", said Wanda.

"Hey Wanda, that's enough for your badmouthing at me! I know that you don't like me, but why do you hate me so much?", asked Athena.

"It's because you stopping me from achieving my dream of going to the Zagary Talents Show!", said Wanda angrily.

"I didn't stop you at all! What's your problem?!", asked Athena.

"You are my problem! I want to do better than you but you always do it better than me. I want to dare you to a battle to see who's better at dancing. If you dare enough, then accept it! So, will you do it or...are you scared to do it?", said Wanda.

"I will battle with you and I'm not scared of you. Let's begin!", said Athena.

They both then later start to battle. The battle then later being witnessed by all the students and also the choreographer, Mr. James, Athena's siblings, Sam and Leah, and even Queen Maria who are coming to visit the preparation for the Zagary Talents Show at the school auditorium. They both are dancing so well that Athena thinks to do one thing that she might be don't know how to do it. She went to the stairs and brought Wanda to follow her and she did a grand jeté movement past the stairs by leaping one step forward from above stairs to downstairs, and she landed perfectly but sadly Wanda couldn't do it so she stopped at the stairs and was amazed to see Athena's movement. Everyone was also amazed to see what Athena did and they all clapped their hands at Athena's performance. 

Later, Mr. James and Queen Maria met with Athena and Wanda.

"I've never seen that dance movement for years since Julia left us", said Queen Maria.

"I agree with you, your Majesty. She has the potential to dance with the principal ballerina during the talent show soon. So we both have decided to choose Athena to dance with the principal ballerina", said Mr. James.

"What?! Really?", asked Athena.

"Yes! Congratulations, Athena! Your grand jeté skills made us mind-blowing witnessing it. Nobody has ever done except for your mother, Athena", said Dr. James.

"My mother...did this movement?", asked Athena.

"Yes, Athena. Your mother learned this movement, nobody has ever done a perfect grand jeté past the stairs except for your mother, and now it's you making the new history. Congratulations, Athena! I hope you will do your best to dance with the principal ballerina", said Queen Maria.

"Thanks, your Majesty", said Athena.

"Congrats sis! You went to the final", said Sam.

"Thanks, brother. I'm really happy I went to the final with you", said Athena.

"I knew you could do it", said Leah.

Wanda then meets with Athena.

"Athena, I'm so sorry for badmouthing you. I didn't mean to do that, I'm just jealous of you because you're more talented than me. And besides, I also have a dream to dance with the principal ballerina. So when you came into the class, I was always upset and angry to see that you are better than me", said Wanda.

"I forgave you. I'm sorry I picked a fight with you and I'm not that talented. If you have a passion for ballet, then you will feel that you can do it", said Athena.

"So, we're friends?", asked Wanda.

"Yes, we're friends! Let us forget the past and build a new chapter, okay?", said Athena.

They both then later hugged each other and congratulated each other.

On the competition day, Sam is going to dance with the male principal ballerina, Mr. Jayden while Athena is going to dance with the female principal ballerina, Mrs. Cassandra.

When Sam is doing his performance with Mr. Jayden, Queen Maria comes to meet Athena.

"Athena, can I meet you for a while?", asked Queen Maria.

"Sure, your Majesty", said Athena.

The queen then later gave her a dress which is a ballet dress.

"Why do you give me this dress, your Majesty?", asked Athena.

"It's your Mom's dress. She wants you to have it when you dance with the principal ballerina", said Queen Maria.

"Really? Thank you so much, your Majesty! I promise I will wear it", said Athena.

She then later changed her dress into her mom's ballet dress.

When she's done changing her dress, Sam's performance is finished. Then, Sam is amazed to see her little sister's dress.

"Wow, sis! You look pretty!", said Sam.

"Thanks, brother. It's mom's dress. The queen gave it to me. She said that this dress our mom wore when she was dancing with the principal ballerina during her time", said Athena.

"That's amazing! I assure you Mommy's gonna love it when she sees you wore her dress", said Leah.

"Yeah, I hope she's like it", said Athena.

"Do you feel nervous?", asked Sam.

"Yeah. I'm feeling nervous because I'm going to dance with the principal ballerina", said Athena.

"It's okay sis. Like we said before, trust yourself and do your best", said Leah.

"Thanks, bro, sis. I will do my best", said Athena.

She then later performed her dance with the principal ballerina. Athena together with Mrs. Cassandra had shown their best performance and everyone loved their performance.

After the performance, Mrs. Cassandra meets with Sam, Leah, and Athena.

"You three must be the Royal Secretary, right?", asked Mrs. Cassandra.

"Yes, principal. You're right", said Leah.

"Well, your little sister looks like Julia, my best friend", said Mrs. Cassandra.

"Do you know our mom?", asked Athena.

"I do. She was the best student during our time. Then, she's later chosen to dance with the principal ballerina. She was so happy and she made herself a dress and that dress is now worn by her daughter", said Mrs. Cassandra.

"Was our mom good at the ballet?", asked Sam.

"Oh, she's really good. Even better than me and the Queen. But when she passed away, we all were very sad to hear it. Before she passed away, she had been the principal ballerina, before she was promoted as the first-ever prima ballerina in our kingdom. The prima ballerina is one of the two highest titles that a ballerina can get, and your mother received the title for her achievements in international competitions, and also some of the toughest ballet movements that she can do perfectly such as grand jete' on the stairs, Fouetté, Pirouettes, En Pointe, and more. Unfortunately, after Julia's death, no one ever topped her to become the next prima ballerina, even myself as well, so that's why my title has stayed as the principal ballerina until now. But now, I hope her legacy can continue with you three because she's also told me that she wants you three to learn ballet as well. I hope you three can keep practicing so you can become the best ballerina, and maybe even become principal ballerina or the next prima ballerina like your mother."

Mrs. Cassandra then remembers back to the moment when she was a teenager like Sam and his sisters. At this time, she befriended Julia and Queen Maria because they were practicing ballet together, but before that happened the three were not friends, they were rivals.

As you all know, Julia and Maria love ballet dance. So, they went to ballet school to learn more about ballet dance. The school choreographer, Mr. Mike tells them that one of them will have a chance to dance with the principal ballerina. Julia was so excited to hear that and she practiced a lot with her best friend, Maria. But in their energetic training, there's something that always disturbing them which is their rival, Cassandra.

Cassandra is really mad that Julia is way better than her in ballet. One day, when Julia is alone and she plays with her ballet music box that was given by her mother, Cassandra goes to her.

"What do you want, Cassandra?", asked Julia.

"I just want you to know that I'm going to dance with the principal ballerina. You didn't deserve to dance with her", said Cassandra.

"I don't care if I'm not being chosen. I just learned here with my passion to achieve my dream to become the best ballerina, that's all", said Julia.

Cassandra is really mad at what Julia said. She then later took Julia's music box and broke it. Julia was shocked that Cassandra had broken her music box.

"Why did you do that?", asked Julia.

"Oops sorry, I didn't mean to do that. Oh, before I go I just to warn you that I will defeat you and I will be chosen to dance with the principal ballerina. Just you wait!", said Cassandra, and after that, she left her alone.

Julia then looks at her music box that is being destroyed by Cassandra. She's crying to remember what Cassandra did to her music box.

A week later, the choreographer, Mr. Mike asked Julia and Cassandra to clean the school hall for the Royal Ballet Dance competition. When they're both cleaning the hall, Cassandra goes to Julia and drops her broom.

"What is wrong with you, Cassandra? I never do anything wrong to you", said Julia.

"Of course you did! You always become better than me in ballet!", said Cassandra.

"What is wrong with that?", asked Julia.

"You do not deserve to dance with the principal ballerina! My dream is to dance with the principal ballerina, but since you showed up everything changed. You become better at dancing, and all the students and the choreographer praise you, but for me, they never see any improvements in dancing. Even though I am always being scolded by my mother due to my dancing not improving, my mother wants me to dance with the principal ballerina, but you showed up and my dream is being disturbed by you", said Cassandra.

"It's not my fault! You must have a passion for ballet, then only you can improve your skills", said Julia.

"Huh, if you said like that, I challenged you to dance. We see who's better and who's not! Unless you don't want to, then I will call you a coward after this", said Cassandra.

"Who said I don't want to? Let's do it!", said Julia.

They both then battle each other, doing twists, and jumping at the hall seats until they dance out of the hall. All of the students including the choreographer went to see what was going on with Julia and Cassandra. When Julia and Cassandra arrive at the stairs, Cassandra stops her movement, but Julia just continues to dance until the stairs and she jumps past the stairs. That skill is called grand jeté. She's doing the grand jeté past the stairs where everyone is shocked to see what Julia did, including Cassandra. After Julia did a perfect landing, everyone clapped their hands to show that they were impressed with Julia's movement.

After that, the choreographer met Julia and Cassandra to ask a question.

"Cassandra, why do you learn ballet?", asked Mr. Mike.

"I...to be honest, my mother forced me to learn ballet. I don't want to, but I have to follow my mother's orders. So I learned it, and when I heard about the chance to dance with the principal ballerina, my mother told me to practice more so that I could dance with the principal ballerina and make my mother proud", said Cassandra.

"So you came here just being forced by your mother and you never had a passion for ballet?" asked Mr. Mike.

"Y...Yes sir", said Cassandra.

What Cassandra said shocked all the students including Julia.

"Julia, why do you learn ballet?", asked Mr. Mike.

"I want to learn it because I have a passion for ballet and I have liked it since I was little. So, I came here to learn about ballet dance. I don't care if I can't dance with the principal ballerina, what important thing is you need to have a passion to love ballet, and then only you can improve yourself in your dance. Besides, my late mother is a ballerina, so I want to follow her way by becoming a ballerina just like her", said Julia.

What Julia said made Mr. Mike smile to hear what she said.

"Well, Julia. I'm really glad to hear what you said. This is why I want to announce here that you've been chosen to dance with the principal ballerina in the next 2 days. Congratulations!" said Mr. Mike.

"Is it true? Thank you so much, sir, it's an honor to me", said Julia.

Cassandra then went to Julia and said, "Julia, I...I want to apologize to you because I'm being arrogant to you. I had to join this class because of my mother. I'm sorry for what I have done to you before this."

"It's okay, Cassandra. If you still want to learn ballet dance, you still can learn it but you must have a passion for dancing. I can help you with it", said Julia.

"Wait, so you want to help me? For everything I had done, you still want to befriend me?", asked Cassandra.

"Why not? Everyone made a mistake, I also have made a mistake, but we can try to fix our mistakes", said Julia.

"So, we're friends?", asked Cassandra.

"Yes, we're friends", said Julia.

Cassandra then hugged Julia and cried because she was happy that Julia could forgive her.

2 days later, the event is happening and Julia is ready to dance with the principal ballerina. She wore a ballet dress which she made by herself because she joined a sewing class when secondary school, so she knew how to make a dress. Maria also came to support her, as well as Anderson.

"Are you nervous, Julia?", asked Maria.

"Yeah, a little bit", said Julia.

"Don't be nervous. Just believe in yourself. I know you can do it", said Anderson.

"Thanks, Anderson", said Julia.

After that, Julia is ready on the stage with the principal ballerina, Mrs. Mary.

"Well, you're the one that will be dancing with me, isn't it?", asked Mrs. Mary.

"Yes ma'am. I am", said Julia.

"Well, show what you got and be the best!", said Mrs. Mary.

Julia smiled and nodded her head. Then, the curtains opened and they both started their performance. Julia shows her best performance and also does the grand jeté that she has done before when her dance battle with Cassandra. Everyone was impressed to see Julia and the principal ballerina's performance.

After the performance ended, Mrs. Mary met with Julia.

"Julia, you're talented. Maybe one day you can become just like me", said Mrs. Mary.

"Sure, ma'am. I will not stop achieving my dream of becoming like you and my late mother. She's a good ballerina and hopefully, I can become like her too", said Julia.

"Very well. I hope that you can achieve your dream and I hope that your dreams will come true", said Mrs. Mary.

Since that day, Cassandra, Julia, and Maria have always hung out together and had their ballet dance training together because now they all are best friends.

The same thing for Sam and his sisters with Wanda, they all now become friends and always have ballet training together. They trained very hard so that they could become like Julia, who is Sam, and his sister's mother, who is also the ex-prima ballerina, along with the current principal ballerina, Mr. Jayden, and Mrs. Cassandra.