Twirl. Whirl. The girls all twisted and turned. The smallest leaped into the air while the taller girls held her up in the air. One girl was twirling blindly. Her feet were flat on the floor while her arms were flailing around.
Tina sat on the bench, carefully lacing the ribbon around her ankle. She was the shortest girl in the class. The taller girls would call her “Teeny.” Even though it was unusual, Tina’s favorite number was 13.
One day, Tina’s fellow peers in ballet class asked her if she wanted to play truth or dare. After Jeanne and Brittany’s turns, it was Tina’s turn. “Dare,” Tina mumbled. “Oh my god! Let’s given her a good one,” Annabeth cheered. “I can’t choose a dare! Tina has many dares that we can give her,” Paisley exclaimed. “Let’s dare her to do THIRTEEN twirls!” Brittany cackled. “Yes, yes. That’ll be perfect. I heard that if you do thirteen twirls in ballet, you’ll lose the ability to ever twirl again,” the crowd murmured. Tina stood up and took a deep breath.
Tina pointed one toe and raised the other. She put her pointed toe on the ground. She shifted her body weight to her pointed toe. Tina bounced thirteen times and started to gain speed and stamina. She counted silently in her head. One…two…three…four…five…six…seven…eight…nine…ten…eleven…twelve..THIRTEEN!
All of the other dancers gasped. “SHE DID IT!” Paisley and Jeanne yelled. Tina gently collapsed onto the floor. Annabeth and Brittany lifted Tina up in the air and yelled, “Miss Lulu!” Miss Lulu rushed into the room. Her eyes finally settled onto Tina. Miss Lulu whipped her iphone out of her pocket and dialed 911. The ambulance arrived shortly and took Tina with them.
The other four dancers were huddled together in a corner. They were talking about what might‘ve become of Tina. They were all glaring at Brittany, who made up the dare. “I didn’t do anything. Clearly, Paisley and Jeanne made up the dare,” Brittany grimaced. Paisley and Jeanne looked at each other silently. Brittany was the leader of the “Silver Unicorns.” Jeanne nodded solemnly at Paisley. Paisley nodded sadly towards Annabeth. Annabeth glared at Brittany angrily.
Brittany blinked innocently. Tina walked in the room. She rubbed her eye and looked at Brittany. Tina jumped into Brittany’s arms.
All the other girls gaped at Tina and Brittany. They slowly closed in on them and together, they did a group hug. “Guess thirteen isn’t so bad,” they all murmured.
The Swerve 