"I'm sorry, Jessi, but I have to agree with your teacher," said Dr. Dellenkamp. My dad had driven me straight to her office. She held my ankle gently as she examined it. "This looks like a pretty bad strain. Still, it could have been worse." I nodded glumly. "I know. I could have sprained it, or even broken it, right?" "According to what you told me, I'd have to say that you got off easy," she agreed. "But, it's important that you give even a minor injury like this plenty of time to heal." "How long do I have to stay off my foot?" I asked. I held my breath as I waited for her answer. Was that one fall - which happened so quickly - going to ruin my chance to dance the part of Princess Aurora?

    "Just about three days, I'd say," she answered. "Longer if it's still sore by then." Three days. That wasn't so bad. I ran over the rehearsal schedule in my mind. I would only have to miss one rehearsal. I gave a sigh of relief.

    "Now let's wrap it well," said Dr. Dellenkamp, pulling an Ace bandage out of a drawer. "And I'm going to give you some crutches to use, too. You really need to keep your weight off that ankle." She smiled at me. "Sound okay?" I nodded. "Whatever you say. I just want to be dancing again as soon as possible." My ankle hurt pretty badly that night, especially when I was trying to get to sleep. It throbbed painfully and kept me awake. Maybe it was lucky that I didn't have to dance at rehearsal the next day - I was wiped out.

    It felt funny to sit on a chair against the wall in the studio and watch everybody else rehearse. Katie Beth was in her glory, dancing my part. Carrie kept shooting glances my way - and maybe it was all in my mind, but she looked kind of guilty to me. I started to wonder . . . had one of them been writing those notes? Was it only a coincidence that water had spilled on the floor? And had I really misunderstood Carrie - or did she tell me to do the wrong step on purpose?