Break a Leg
Natalie slammed the door and raced outside through the fresh layer of snow. Her brother’s hockey equipment tumbled loudly on the porch, blocking the front door and sending the sound of the howling wind inside the kitchen.Her heartbeat thumped like loose change in a dryer as she dashed across the snow and approached the mailbox. In her frenzied state, she could not hear her father’s warning that the city had not salted the surrounding roads. It was not long before she reached their mailbox, luckily without slipping on the ice. Years of dance practice had boosted her dexterity and made her more or less immune to accidents like these.She shuffled nervously through the mailbox contents, examining department store ads and other junk mail. After only seconds of searching, she finally pinpointed her destination. A bright red stamp with the Vaganova School’s logo danced on the letter next to her name. Natalie reached down to grab two of the other letters that were trenched in the snow and retreated home. The neighborhood was covered with snow from the 4th storm of the year, which was unusual considering it was only the third week of October.Many students and parents in the tiny town of Grafton worked hard, but a corresponding payoff was quite rare. Natalie’s ten years of training were not in vain, as this letter offered her a full-ride scholarship to study dance and guaranteed a work placement afterward.She quickly raced back to the kitchen to tell her family the news.“ Glad they are paying all of it”, exclaimed her father in the kitchen, with as much strength as one could muster 90 minutes before his fourth consecutive 18-hour shift.Natalie quickly shuffled her belongings into her bag and rushed to the school to meet her dance teacher. Mrs Reynolds, a dance…