ballet shoes {ELAYNA}

[Chara Malfoy]

Dancing was the one thing that kept Ella's life in balance, that kept her head above water. Ironic, she mused as she ended the group dance, that ballet required so much balance and yet it was the one thing that kept her in balance. Their instructor told them all to take a 30-minute break as she had a private. The students nodded and then headed out of the studio room in one straight line. Ella followed the other girls from her class into the girl's room and made her way over to where she kept her things. She spent a lot of time at the dance studio during the summer because she had nothing else to do and she was really trying to make an effort to be good.

Seeing a familiar girl just ahead of her, Ella scooted by the few girls that separated them and bumped shoulders with Elayna when she was beside her. "Hey," she said brightly. She knew Elayna from Hogwarts and had found it so strange that they went to the same dance studio; but she had also been happy, because some of the other girls were difficult to befriend. "Tough stuff today, huh?" Thankfully, they kept their things close to one another, so Ella didn't have to wander too far away from Elanya to grab her water bottle. She took a long sip from it and then rummaged through her bag to see what her mother had had the house elves pack her to eat.

Eating was difficult and most days, Ella threw out her food. Occasionally, she ate what was packed for her. Today it looked like her mother had had her favorites packed: fruits, veggies, some granola and... there was some chocolate. That wouldn't be eaten, but Ella grabbed the package of fruit and grabbed an apple slice. She sat down next to Elayna, thinking about what they had just gone over in class. Since most of the students were older now, their instructor was giving them more difficult dances to learn. It all came easy to Ella because she learned quickly, and she also practiced at home. There were some days she got the privilege to dance with the senior dancers (those were the days she spent morning to night at the studio) and she took everything she learned from those classes and put them into her class, making her one of the better dancers (or so she thought.)

Looking at Elayna now, Ella gave her a small smile. "How is your summer going?" she asked.

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((OOC: i really hope this is okay! i hope Ella doesn't sound too haughty; she just really prides herself in her dancing. if you need anything changed, just let me know.))

[Elayna Summerfield]

Elayna shook her hair out of the high ponytail it'd been in, breathing a sigh of relief as she felt her curls come loose around her shoulders. She'd only have to tie it back up again once their break ended, of course, but it was always nice to relax for a bit. Absently sliding her hairband around her wrist, she walked over to where her food and clothes were, feeling a little out of breath from the work-out. She loved ballet with all her heart, but it did so get tiring, especially in the summer when she spent much of her free time at the studio, going over the moves just to make sure she had them exactly right. Still, she wouldn't trade the experience for the world.

Glancing over to see who'd moved in next to her, she smiled when she saw Ella Malfoy. She hadn't expected to become friends with a Slytherin, especially one who was younger than her, but she and Ella saw each other a lot by virtue of somehow ending up at the same ballet studio, and she found she rather enjoyed her company. Though her elder sister hadn't left her with the best impression of Slytherins, Elayna did try to keep an open mind, and it worked out well, especially in cases like this.

"Hi!" she greeted, still breathless from near-exhaustion, but keeping a smile on her face even as she chugged down water. "It really was, I was about ready to collapse by the end of it," she agreed, running her free hand through her hair to comb through any tangled, even though she kept very good care of her hair. Exhaling to finally return the adrenaline in her system back to normal, she sank down on the bench and smiled at Ella as she did the same, opening up her own lunch bag to eat.

"It's going pretty well," Elayna said in reply, absently unwrapping her egg salad sandwich and taking a bite. She glanced over, a little concerned by how little food Ella had in her own bag, but at least most of it was healthy. Ballet dancing required a nutritious diet; she knew Ella knew that as well as she did. "I haven't really done much, aside from ballet and figure skating. And summer homework, of course, with my NEWTs coming up," she laughed, though she couldn't hide how anxious she was for the tests. She prided herself on being a good student, mostly because she worked hard rather than having everything come naturally to her like some students did. And she really wanted to ace the NEWTs. "What about you, how's your summer been?" she asked cheerfully in turn.