After school Daisy drove to the dance studio. She greeted the assistant choreographer, Troy, at the door and went into the bathroom to change. She was thankful she was the only one there. She didn't want to deal with the questions about what was wrong. She changed into a black leotard and put her hair up in a neat ballerina bun. She put on red lipstick that she had in her bag and walked out. Just as she was walking out, she bumped into Lexi-Ann Diamond. Lexi-Ann was six feet tall, had long, curly blonde hair that went almost to her waist. She was super thin with deep sea blue eyes, and heart shaped lips. Lexi-Ann was a year older than her and she didn't particularly like Daisy. She thought Daisy was a goody-two shoes kiss up to Lillian plus she blamed Daisy for taking her best friend, Angelina. The blonde had been cold to Daisy shortly after she started dancing at the studio, four years ago. When she just came she and Angelina had been inseparable, due to being best friends since elementary school but after Angelina's mom ended up in the hospital and Daisy volunteered to have Angelina stay with them, it became her and Daisy that were two peas in a pod and they started doing everything together and Lexi-Ann felt left out and so she started bullying Daisy. Daisy most times didn't let it get to her but today of all days, she didn't have the energy to deal with it. "Look who it is. Junior Miss Screw up." "Lexi please not today. I just wanna dance." Daisy attempted to pass but Lexi blocked her path. "You think you're so perfect because you've won all the awards but you've only won because Lillian sets up the rest of us to fail. Angelina is a way better dancer than you and if the playing field was even she would kick your ass. You used to be kind of good but now you're a has been. Your technique is sloppy and you look like a trained seal on the dance floor." Daisy bit back tears. "Are you gonna cry?" Lexi scoffed. "Grow up bitch." "What's going on here?" Both girls turned to see Lexi's older sister Yasmine in the doorway. Yasmine was a senior so she danced with the senior team while Lexi and Daisy danced with the junior team. "Nothing. Just changing for dance," Lexi said, moving from the doorway.
"Ignore her," Yasmine said to Daisy. Yasmine knew Lexi-Ann could be a real bitch when she wanted to be and she also knew that most of her bitchiness was directed towards Daisy. "She's just a bitter bitch because she keeps getting crappy choreography but between you and me, she couldn't handle anything more difficult anyway." Daisy and Yasmine both laughed. Yasmine was always so nice. Sometimes it was hard to believe that she and Lexi were related.
"Okay we'll start with the group dance today and if you all pull it together and dance it like you want to be the overall high scorers then you can all leave early today," Lillian said, causing all the girls to cheer.
Everyone spread out and started doing the routine and just like the day before, Daisy was messing up. She was feeling really out of breath and lightheaded and she couldn't remember her steps. "Daisy! You're the National Champion and you're lead in the dance! You should know this choreography like you know your last name! If you're not gonna take this seriously I can just have Angelina replace you! Is that what you want?" Lillian asked. "No," Daisy shook her head. "Okay well then prove it! Dance!"
Daisy nodded and started dancing and when she got to the middle she started messing up again. Lillian cut the music. "Daisy! Your head is not the in the dance and I refuse to take you to the competition tomorrow if you plan on screwing up the dance so you need to sit the group dance out. I don't know if you will be doing your solo or if I'll just enter one of the other girls to replace you but you will not be in the group dance."
"No please!" Daisy begged. "I can do better." Lillian shook her head. "No. No more second chances. Go and sit in the corner." Instead of sitting in the corner as instructed, Daisy flung open the studio door, letting the door slam behind her. Daisy ran to the locker room and retrieved her bag. She was about to walk out when she noticed that the locker Julissa normally used was open. Looking around to make sure no one was around, Daisy dug through Julissa's bag, hoping to find her pills. She found them and took one before driving home in a fit of rage. As soon as Daisy walked into her room, she began trashing it. She tore the posters from her walls, pushed her trophies and pictures off her dresser and marked the word useless in red lipstick on her mirror. After Daisy's fit of rage was over, she broke down, sobbing on the floor in her bedroom. The harder she sobbed was the harder it was becoming to breathe and the tighter her chest began to feel. Daisy scrambled to her bathroom and dug through her drawers, finding the thin, shiny blade that brought her comfort and joy in times like these. Daisy rubbed the concealer from her arm and drew the blade across, a sick smile spreading across her face as she watched the blood run down her arm in a straight line. She cut again and again and again until her breathing was normal. Daisy wasn't always a cutter. She had started just last year when all her obligations got to be too much. Cutting seemed to calm the stressful environment which Daisy called life. She knew it wasn't healthy or right which is why she covered her wrists with concealer everyday so no one would know. It was Daisy's dirty little secret and she intended on keeping it that way. Daisy could hear voices downstairs. It sounded like her sister and her parents. She quickly got up from the bathroom floor and cleaned off her arms. She hopped in the shower then put on a long sleeved shirt to avoid her scars being seen.
She quickly cleaned off the lipstick from her mirror but she couldn't be bothered to clean up the rest of her room. Her phone started vibrating like crazy.
Angelina: What the hell is wrong with you? Lillian is freaking the fuck out! Why'd you leave?
Angelina: She's having me practice a solo and I'm doing your part in the group dance.
Angelina: Are you okay???? Text me back.
Julissa: Lillian is going ape shit! You pissed her off! She's gonna kick you off the team for sure!
Daisy rolled her eyes. Just as she set her phone down, there was a knock on her door. She really hoped it wasn't her mom. She couldn't deal with her right now.
"Hey. Whoa. It looks like a tornado passed through here. What the hell did you do to your room?" Dana asked. Daisy just shrugged. "I don't have to be a neat freak all the time do I?" "Wait. Aren't you supposed to be in dance right now?" Dana asked. "Lillian let us go early." "That doesn't sound like her." Before Daisy could get another word in, Hollis Black, her mother flung open her bedroom door, blonde hair bouncing on her shoulders. "Do you want to explain to me why Miss Samuels just called me, telling me that you blew off dance class." "You said you got let go earlier," Dana said. "So I meant I left earlier," Daisy added. "You can't just up and quit dance Daisy! You have invested so many years into this. You are a two-time National Champion and a pageant queen. You have standards to uphold because if you don't your future could be jeopardized and I'd hate to see everything you have worked for go down the drain. Everything we have worked for. Tomorrow you are going to the competition ready to do the group and your solo and you are going to apologize to Miss Lillian about your outbursts. Okay?" Daisy would prefer not to go at all this weekend but she knew there was no way she could tell her mother that so she only nodded with a fake smile, till her mother was satisfied. "So why'd you ditch dance? You've never missed a day since you started dancing. So tell me, what's wrong?" "Just the same dancing pressure but I'll be fine tomorrow. I just needed a break today and I took it." "Well since you're here, do you want to watch a movie?" Dana asked. Daisy nodded.