"Now I know! You just have to believe in yourself!" Alannah seemed to have overlooked the fact that Flashdance was just another Hollywood ra-ra movie, not a piece of historical evidence. Sure, self-belief is totally vital if you want to make it big in an artistic industry like dance. But all the self-belief in the world isn’t going to do you any good if you look like a WWF wrestler with a self-destructive penchant for fried foods.
Fortunately, her delusion was short-lived. Even a girl who’s dreamed of being one of those butterfly-like creatures since she was 6, has to bow down to reality eventually. And besides, believing in yourself isn’t something you can just whip up on demand.
Trouble was, if Alannah couldn’t spend the rest of her life fluttering about in a tutu, what was she going to do when she left school? She had no other interests and that was obvious from her exam results.
So an appointment was made with Mister Harris, the school’s vocational guidance counselor. He evidently hadn’t quite finished his tea break when the beefy teenager pushed open his office door and peered around it. She watched him quickly chomping down on the remaining half of his chocolate biscuit, as though he was worried she'd take it from him.
An hour later, Alannah knew that she wouldn’t like to be a bank teller (too much customer service), truck driver (too much time away from home), librarian (pays peanuts), television reporter (her skin would break out at the merest sniff of makeup) or travel agent (too much emphasis on selling). On the other hand, she still didn’t know what she wanted to do with herself if it couldn’t be dancing. On top of that, she was already well late for dinner at home.
She sat on the bus feeling horribly let down by nature. It just didn’t seem fair that, no matter how much she loved doing it or how good she might be technically, the door to her dream job was firmly closed because she didn’t fit the image.
Alannah didn’t know it yet, but one day she would be a founding member of the Big Ladies Movin' It Dance Troupe.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Now I know! You just have to believe in yourself!
This one’s from The Editter’s George jnr. I'll admit right now that this isn't my best effort, but that's what happens when your first line sounds more like a last line!
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11 comments:
Heh. I would've been fine with you using it as a last line, you know.
I have bad memories of career guidance at school. When I told ours that I wanted to work at Foreign Affairs he laughed and asked if I had any idea what that required - languages, for a start. Well, if he'd bothered to look at my records or talk to any of my teachers before our appointment he'd've known I'd studied in Europe and had already learned several languages.
He didn't know it yet, but one day she'd be a world-famous editter. So there Mr school careers adviser.
He sounds like a very unprofessional careers counsellor. But you showed him eh?
This IS a hard starter.
That line made me think of The Nutcracker oddly enough. Didn't she have to believe in herself to save the dude?
nigel: wot, because it's such a crap story?
leo: I've no idea; I've never been a fan of dance.
I've said it before, but I enjoy reading these mini-stories!
No, I love the story. Love the girl.
Way better than the one I came up with.
glomgold: thanks! I've had fun thinking them up.
nigel: so where's yours then?
Did it two days ago.
Reminds me of things my sister did in high school Creative Writing.
But then, we are related.
I had crap careers advice too. I showed 'em.
Love the stories, Violet. What's happening with your course(s)?
cathi: I don't even remember seeing the one at our school - or even whether we had one! My writing course doesn't start until July; I was writing these stories so that I'd have something to take along to my first class. I've just finished the painting course though.
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