Flat Shoes

            by Nadia Brunner-Velasquez

 

Perry Fimbleton was on his way to the ballet.  It was going to be the first ballet he had ever seen.  He was only seven years old.  Perry’s grandfather, or “Grandpa Jim” as Perry called him, had decided it was time to take his grandson to a real, live performance at the American Ballet Theater in New York City.  So, Grandpa Jim bought two tickets and told Perry what he had planned.

“Perry, how would you like to go to the ballet?” asked Grandpa Jim.

“The ballet?” Perry was a little hesitant at first.  “But Grandpa Jim, ballet is just for girls!  I don’t wanna see that!”

“Now Perry, you know that I used to dance ballet, didn’t you?” asked Grandpa Jim.

Perry looked up at Grandpa Jim’s eyes.  “Yes, I know,” he finally mumbled.

“Well then, ballet is not just for girls.  Boys like you and men like me can do it too!”  After that, Grandpa Jim gave Perry a big friendly pat on the back and a warm smile.

It was a sunny Friday afternoon when Perry sat on his front porch, waiting for Grandpa Jim to pick him up to go to the city.  He waited, and waited…and waited…until finally, Grandpa Jim showed up in his bright red Volkswagen Beetle.  His cloudy white hair and his peppery mustache glowed from inside the car and were hard to miss.

“Climb on in, little guy!  Or else we’re going to be late!” he said.

Perry quickly hopped into the front seat and shut the door.  He turned towards Grandpa Jim and said, “Grandpa Jim, Mommy usually doesn’t let me sit in the front with her.  But you do.”  He looked up at Grandpa Jim and grinned, showing two newly missing front teeth.

            They finally arrived at the front of the theater’s doors.  But first, they had to climb hundreds of steps.  They almost seemed as if they’d never stop!  By the end, Perry’s legs were tired and Grandpa Jim was wheezing heavily.

            “I’m fine, kid.  Come on, let’s go inside,” he said.

But as soon as Perry looked at the tall wooden doors, he couldn’t help but notice the longest line of people he had ever seen.  They were all waiting to buy their tickets to the ballet.

            “Grandpa Jim, are all those people ever going to get inside?”

            “Yup,” he chuckled.  “But they won’t get very good seats.  They’ll have to sit way up high in the very back of the balcony.”

            “But that isn’t so bad…that would be fun!”

            “Well, son, you can’t see very well from back there.  Which is why I got us some very good seats.  I bought them early too, so we don’t have to wait in line with all these people.”

            So, they stepped through the doors, and into an extravagant hall with red carpets and crystal chandeliers hanging from the tall ceilings.  Perry noticed how the people there were dressed.  The men wore fancy black suits and the women wore long, sparkly dresses.  He looked down at his pants – he was only wearing jeans and his light-up sneakers. 

            “Perry, take my hand.  I don’t want to lose you in the crowd,” said Grandpa Jim.

As he took his hand, Perry noticed what Grandpa Jim was wearing too.  He had on nice white pants, a silk black shirt, and white, shiny leather shoes.  They gleamed in the light.

 

The lights began to flicker!  Everyone rushed to his or her seat.  Perry was too short and the man sitting in the row in front of him was too tall.  So Perry folded his legs beneath himself and was able to see better.  But nothing was happening yet!  The great big golden, red-fringed curtains were still closed on the stage, and the orchestra was still tuning up its instruments.   Finally, the lights dimmed out completely, all the voices were silenced, the orchestra began playing, and the golden curtains rose…

 

 

 

            “Dun da dun, dun da dun, DA-DUN!”  The orchestra was getting louder and louder!  A man appeared onstage.  He began to run back and forth, from one side of the stage to the other, as if he was looking for something.  He looked sad and lonely.  Perry imagined that he was lost, or perhaps he was looking for his dog that might have run away.  The man’s eyebrows were slanting downwards, and he looked as if he were about to cry.  But suddenly a beautiful ballerina popped out from the side of the stage.  She gracefully jumped into the man’s arms, and he lifted her high into the air.  Perry couldn’t believe how anyone could pick another person up so strongly and so swiftly.  The pretty ballerina seemed light as a feather, and the man looked as if he wasn’t putting any effort into lifting her at all.  The ballerina looked as if she were easy to lift, like a soft pillow.  The man carefully brought the ballerina down, and they looked into each other’s eyes for a while, smiling.  They both seemed so happy.

            “Grandpa Jim, was he looking for her?” Perry asked.

            “Yep, and he found her!” said Grandpa Jim.  And for the first time, Perry realized that ballet meant something, and that there was always going to be a story woven into it somehow.  Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all.

A few exciting fighting scenes and a few intermissions later, the lead man had a solo.  “Grandpa Jim, what’s a solo?  It says that a solo is next on the program.”

Grandpa Jim said, “Well, Perry, a solo is a dance for one person.  He or she is usually the only person on stage, and at times there might even be a spotlight.  A solo is a very big and important dance, and only the most skilled and accomplished dancers here get to have a solo. ”   The lights flickered again and Grandpa Jim leaned over and whispered in Perry’s ear, “Now, pay close attention.  This is it.”  The man entered the stage again, and the orchestra began.  Perry watched, as the man jumped seven feet into the air; he landed his jump and began to turn.  He turned ten times on one leg, very quickly, and without stopping once! 

            “Wow, he is strong!” Perry thought to himself.  His mind began to wander…

 

 

 

The next week, Grandpa Jim received a phone call.  It was Perry.

            “Grandpa Jim?” asked Perry.

            “Yes? What’s the matter?” said Grandpa Jim, a little worried.

            “I really liked the ballet that you took me to last week.  But I was just thinking…”

            “Yes, what are you thinking about, Perry?” asked Grandpa Jim.

            “I’d really like to do ballet,” said Perry.

            “That’s great, kid!  I see you’re following in my footsteps.  I know just the place to sign you up for classes.  You know what we need to do first, though?  We need to buy you a pair of flat shoes, just like the shoes you saw the men in the ballet wearing,” said Grandpa Jim. 

            “Flat shoes?  Well, ok,” said Perry.  “And when can I be like one of those guys?  I just need to take a few classes, right?”

            “Well, soon you can be just like those guys.  But first let’s get your shoes.”  An hour later, Grandpa Jim had already picked Perry up.  They drove to the dance-clothing store and parked right outside of it.  They walked in and Grandpa Jim asked one of the nice women to help find Perry’s shoe size.  She looked down at Perry and smiled.  Then she quickly disappeared behind a curtain and returned with a black shoebox.

            “Here you go.  Try these on,” she told Perry.  He took off his light-up sneakers, and slipped on his first pair of flat ballet slippers.

            “And, how do they fit?” asked Grandpa Jim. 

Perry slid his feet into each shoe, wiggled his toes around a little, and stood up with a great smile on his face.  “They fit perfectly!” he said.