For the previous Twirl, go here and to the Neverending stories tab at the top of the page.

For my new Invisible Friends, Twirl is the story of a feisty, sassy ballerina named Vivi and her handsome cowboy named Wade. After falling in love swaying on the dance floor to the sound of a fiddle and steel guitar, the couple have stumbled onto a old Texas legend that might possibly lead to riches! On top of everything, Vivi is fighting her controlling father and over involved dance teacher, who are trying to trap her into a life she may not want. Add in a mysterious secret with her mother, a scheming evil boy in her dance class and regular teen angst and you’ve got DRAMA!
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“Vivienne.”

Vivi gritted her teeth.  Only her father could speak her name like it was a disease, a burden to be tolerated.

“What?” she snapped, immediately regretting it.  She and Susanne had talked for more than an hour about how she would handle her father after staying out all weekend.  She had practiced calmly discussing her feelings, talking over her feelings about dance and her hopes to go to college.  They had printed out academic plans from colleges with the best dance programs, looked up statistics and worked out two back up plans.

In one word, all that had gone to hell.

“You missed your training.”  Her father glided across the carpet, fury glittering in his eyes.  Shrouded in the shadows of the dark living room, he looked more like a demon than a irritated father.

“I know.” Vivi threw her head back and raised her eyebrow.  “I had other things to do.”

“Vivienne, this can not continue,” her father stated.  His voice was cold and firm.  “The auditions are in six weeks.  You  must be”–

“Six weeks!” Vivi interrupted.  “They were supposed to be in several months.  What are you talking about?”

Her father’s dark eyes narrowed.  “If you had showed up to training, you would have known the auditions had been moved up.  And now there is more than stake than ever.”

Vivi forced herself to not bite her lip.  “What do you mean?”

“Before, it was simply a performance before parents and a few dance scouts, a few college programs,” her father informed her.  “But now, all the talent scouts from the top schools in both New York and Europe are attending.”

Vivi’s eyes widened.  “Are you serious?  Why would they come down here?  This is Texas.  Most dance down here is drill team.”

“That’s not important,” her father snapped.  “What’s important is your training.  From now on, you’ll focus on your training.  That’s the only thing that matters.”

“My school is important,” Vivi argued. “I want to go to college.  I want to see what else is out there besides dancing.”

“There is nothing besides dancing!” her father snarled, throwing his arms in the air.  “You will eat dancing, breathe dancing, sleep dancing.  College is for the untalented masses.  You have a gift, a precious one with little time.  Do you think you can dance forever?  You’re already far too old.  I should have put you into the best programs years ago.  You could have graced the stages of France, danced across Russia.  If only”–  Her father suddenly stopped, sealing his lips shut.

Vivi pounced.  “If only what?” she challenged, stepping closer to her father.  “I heard you made some big mistake.  Is that why we moved down here?  Is that why you’ve been hiding me for years?”  Her father seethed as she stepped closer, unable to stop the piercing words tumbling out of her mouth.  “What did you do, Dad?  Did you mess up a routine, anger some director?  Perhaps you couldn’t cut it in the world of choreography?”

She glanced at the photo hanging on the wall.  Her younger father stared out at her, his expression intense as he danced the Lover’s Dance.  “Maybe it had to do with the Lover’s Dance”– she began.

She never got to finish.  Her father’s hand slammed into her cheek, his eyes blazing with anger.  Vivi’s teeth clamped onto her lip and pain radiated across her mouth.  She placed her fingers to her lips and pulled them away.  Her fingertips were smeared with blood.

“There are things you are not to know, nor to ask,” her father whispered.  His eyes glittered with rage and an emotion she couldn’t identify.   With his chest heaving up and down with emotion, his voice was raspy and held an edge she had never heard.  It was like he was staring through her as he  spoke.

“Let me reiterate:  you are to dance.  You are to dance well.  You will get into one of these companies and you will be a principal dancer.  I will accept nothing less.  No corps, no secondary.  If I see distractions, I will ensure they are taken care of.  Your school, your friends, your school dance team–those do not exist.  From sunrise to sundown, you will train.”

“What if I don’t want to?” Vivi challenged.  “What if I said no?”

“You won’t,” her father informed her.  “You won’t.”  Turning on his heel, he melted back into the shadows.  Rubbing her stinging cheek, Vivi felt tears well up in her eyes.  She rushed up the stairs, slamming the door behind her.  Dropping her dance bag on the ground, she kicked off her shoes and leaned against the door.  Sliding down the wall, she buried her face in her hands.

He hadn’t even cared she had been gone for three days.

Wiping tears from her cheeks, she looked up at her room.  It looked like a tornado had gone through it.  Clothes were still scattered from her frenzied packing job days ago.  Shoes littered the carpet and leotards and tights dangled from the lamp on her nightstand.  It was the last thing she wanted to deal with.

A faint tap made her jump.  Her head whipped toward the window.  The night was black, the faint flow of the streetlight glowing like a comforting nightlight.

Another tap.  This one was harder, louder.  She crept toward the window as something white and small smacked the glass.  Jerking the glass open, she glared out into the night.  “Who is it?” she hissed.  “Who’s there?”

“Vivi!”

Immediately, she felt her shoulders relax and her face break into a smile.  Wade stepped out of the shadows, sheepishly grinning up at her.  “Hi.”

“Hi,” she called down, careful to keep her voice soft.  She couldn’t risk her father hearing her.  There was no telling what he would do, after the mood he was in.  “What are you doing here?”

“Two things,” Wade said, holding up two fingers.

“Hold on,” she whispered.  “Let me come down there.”

“I can’t wait,” he replied.  Beaming, Vivi slammed the window shut and flew downstairs.  Careful to shut the front door behind her with a quiet click, she raced across the lawn to the side of her house.  Wade was leaning on his truck under the streetlight.  She dashed across the yard, oblivious to the prickly grass or tiny pebbles grinding into her feet.  Stopping in front of Wade, she felt herself go limp as he pulled her into his arms.

“What two things?” she asked, trying to catch her breath.

“The first is I forgot to give you the letters,” Wade informed her.  He glanced at her lip and frowned.  “Vivi, what”–

“I tripped,” she interrupted him.  She didn’t want to talk about her father.  Not now.  Not when her insides were buzzing and her heart was pounding.  With Wade, everything was electric.  Whenever she thought of her father, she just felt cold and heavy.  Right now, she felt free.  And she wanted to feel light and free for as long as possible.  “What’s the second?”

A embarrassed grin flashed across Wade’s face.  “I just wanted to see you again.”  Pulling her up to him so her tiptoes dangled over his worn cowboy boots, he pressed his lips gently to hers.  Vivi’s heart fluttered when she realized he had avoided the busted part of her lip.

Safe in Wade’s arms, she felt like she was flying over the tips of his cowboy boots.

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends!  We have the beginning of a new creative segment this weekend and the Rubber Chicken is returning soon!  Plus, we’ve got a fun week of new whimsical fun coming up!  Stay tuned!

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