M2 The Black Death

          "Are you ready, Sis?" I asked Rue, my fraternal twin sister.
          "Totally ready." She replied, turning so we were back to back. I lightly tapped her hand, and slipped a small, well-cut diamond into her hand. I had gotten it on my last mission to Europe. Apparently we were going to Europe for tons of missions, and we were supposed to stay overnight. I packed my bubble tent, the super compact one that is the size of a mansion, but folds into the size of a compact mirror. My bag was packed, and I watched Rue get into her Porsche, her time traveling device. I triple foetted, and felt the wind rush past my ears as I became exceedingly dizzy.
          My surroundings: absolutely disgusting. The streets were ankle deep in garbage, decomposing bodies (I AM NOT KIDDING!!!), and human waste. Gah. As I squelched around in the indispensable muck, I finally found Rue. I was speechless. As we staggered around, we noticed everyone was indoors, shaking vibrantly, or hitting themselves like they were in pain. Plus the sky (beautiful blue with perfect clouds) completely stood out
          "The bubonic plague," I whispered.
          "I feel really warm," Rue said to me. Uh-oh.
          She practically fell against me. She didn't have to say anything, I could practically hear her say I'm gonna barf. She did (fortunately away from my new shoes).
          " Ack! Muscle cramps," Rue said, doubling over in pain. Then the scariest thing I have ever seen happened. She started having seizures. I felt faint. She was shaking and her eyes were crazy. I would say her mouth was foaming for kicks, but let's try to be sensible. Then she blacked out.
          The next twelve hours were the worst of my life. As I catered to her needs, Rue would rapidly change from Serengeti hot to Antarctic cold. I started to notice a small scar appear on the back of her neck around 4 p.m. Then she got super pink. I was seriously worried, so I gave Rue a Tylenol.
         Then the weirdest thing ever happened. The pinkness in her skin disappeared. She cooled down. Her muscles stopped twitching. Then miracles of miracles, she woke up unscathed. I walked her to her car, and revved the engine. Modern day NYC appeared on the other side of the windows. I dragged her to her to her car and started bawling. I was so scared that I had lost her, I knew I would never under or over protect her. She was barely my younger sister (28 seconds), but I felt responsible for her 4 days out of 5. I looked at her and knew the feeling was mutual. "How did you cure me?" Rue asked.
"Tylenol" I said with a tear soaked grin. 
   

M1 Details

          As I flexed my foot, my pointe shoe refrained. I stepped on my toes and winced. It hurts, okay? I immediately twisted into the triple foette turn I was so used to, closed my eyes, and imagined medieval Europe. I felt wind rushing past my ears, and experienced a quick head-ache. When I opened my eyes, I knew I had traveled 650 years into the past.
          When I opened my eyes I saw the most beautiful blue sky. It was like Greece times 50! The fresh castle looked nothing like the crumbling relics today. Bright colors contrasted the stone, making the lush green meadow stand out amongst the adjacent castle. The gold of a lords wear was striking, because I could tell it was whiter than normal gold. I knew I was lingering, but I noticed the smell of fresh bread, which reminded me I gave my extras to Rue at dinner.
          As I wandered into the castle, I found a silver platter with some warm bread. The grainy silver was ornately decorated with sharp gemstones. The warm bread was hearty, and had nut and raisins in it. When I heard the clang of swords I rushed to the window, only to see two knights training. The elaborated reds, greens, and a dusty brown peeked out between the cracks of armor. I turned and ran outside for no reason except to run.
          The stiff grass sponged beneath my feet. As I walked along, I found an old path. The dull stones grabbed at my feet as I walked. Then, laying in the middle of the road I found an old wooden box. I opened it  and was surprised to see hundreds of little diamonds. They were sharp against my fingers as I tested one on my compact mirror. Sure enough they were real.
          After I had taken the smallest diamond, and left the rest with a poor widower, I found a bramble of honeysuckles.  Remembering back to my youth, sucking the sweet flowers at the lake in Maine, I took a handful and sat down. Sucking the last drop of nectar out of the flowers, I put my pointe shoes on and foetted back to the present. I'll rest up and get supplies, then return for the time being, I thought

                                                          Luv,
                                                                                             Glimmer

Finding Happiness

Glimmer Lawrence: Finding Happiness

            Many people go through life unhappy, unsure, and unexcited. Glimmer Lawrence was one of these people until she found dance. She quickly moved up classes, and went on pointe. Would you know what to do if everything you relied on was disrupted? Glimmer lost happiness, but with perseverance and help, she found her way. 

Glimmer was just a normal college girl. She attends at Julliard Performing Art's School, majoring in dance, specifically ballet. A bonus is that her boyfriend, Isaac, is her “performing ballet 203" class partner. She lives in a very lush condo/loft in upper east Manhattan, with her fraternal sister Rue who was helping her renovate. Rue is attending Parson’s New School of Design on a scholarship, although she doesn't need it. Then Glimmer takes a spill in class doing attitude turns, and all goes wrong.

When Glimmer is in her second ballet class of the day one early autumn Thursday, her teacher, Madame Forttuia says in her heavily accented French voice "We will begin with a triple attitude turn. Glimmer will start,” She was starting her third and final turn when her pointe shoe ribbon unraveled, catching on her shoe; she spun crazily out of control, and cried out in pain. When she landed she saw a glimpse of her ankle, bent in an extremely wrong way, before she slumped to the ground, unconscious. After she awoke in her hospital bed germinated by "get well" cards, she noticed the purple cast running from her pedicured toes to her well lotioned knee. In the days to come, Glimmer contemplates her dependence on dance for happiness, while looking at Isaac’s face, gold in the washed sunlight of the hospital room. She realizes that she has simply forgotten to enjoy the simple joys in life, and wants to live her life to the fullest.

Despite being humdrum; when Glimmer was recovering at home, she enjoyed cooking. She would flip to a random page of her Mom’s vintage ‘Joy of Cooking’ and cook the most interesting thing on those two pages. She came to love the rich smells of the spicy Jambalaya, and the sweet scent of crepes. Rue especially liked the triple devil chocolate food cake she came home to one day. When glimmer finally went back to dance, she knew she only liked cooking as a hobby. The dance floor was where she belonged, but she found the best way to get there.

Glimmer’s dynasty at the hospital made her realize she was too dependent on a single source. Finding little joys in life she broadened her mind (and helped Rue stop eating Cup-o-noodles). Now Glimmer, age 20, dancer, can make the yummiest Zabaglione La Cinzianelle you’ve ever had.