One Lucky Girl

Sylvia Bellerose opened her eyes to the first beam of sunlight.

            “Aaaaaah, “she said as she breathed in the fresh morning air.

            “Today is going to be the BEST DAY EVER!” she cried. Sylvia leaped out of bed, washed up, put on her frock, and then bounded down the stairs.

            There she found her brother, Theodore, eating French toast. Her mother was busying herself in the kitchen by making sandwiches and cookies for later.

            “Hi mom! I can’t wait to go to the World’s Fair this evening! Can you?” asked Sylvia.

            “Of course not dear! I mean, not too many people get this chance, the chance of a lifetime! That’s why you should be grateful and kind to all of the vendors there, okay?” Sylvia’s mother replied.

            Sylvia ate her breakfast, and then went upstairs to get ready for the fair. She thought about that evening and what was going to happen.

It was 1889 and Sylvia was 15 years old, in her first year of high school. She lived in Paris, home to the Eiffel Tower. Sylvia had begged for weeks to go to the World’s Fair, and just as it seemed that there was no hope, her parents agreed when they found that all their friends were going and didn’t want to look like outcasts. Sylvia was overjoyed, as she heard that there was a dancing contest and she had always wanted to show off her talent, but she never got a chance.

            Sylvia snapped back to reality, paused to look at the clock, and realized it was time to go. She had on her best pink blouse and skirt, shiny red dancing shoes and a matching, glittery purse. Her brown hair was put up into a nice, high, ponytail with sparkling peachblow barrettes. Sylvia thought she looked gorgeous.

            Next thing she knew, she was climbing out of a coach into the warm, breezy evening. The fair was breathtaking. Blinking lights surrounded her, people of all the world were there, and the night was filled with all kinds of sounds- the sound of popcorn bursting, the sound of laughter and loudspeakers, and the sound of honey being poured. There were so many sights to see and foods to eat. Sylvia’s senses became alert; her nose was filled with wonders, eyes waiting to take in the colors, tongue ready to burst with flavor, ears already hearing sounds, and fingers willing to feel the textures of things she was going to see, hear, taste and smell.

            After buying the tickets, Sylvia ran up ahead of her family and immediately went to find the dance floor. When she saw it she knew it. The entire thing was just a large piece of polished wood. Light reflected into prisms made it look like a miniature rainbow. To Sylvia’s right was a large base for the judges to stand on. There was a large sign that said “Out to Supper- Competition starts at 7:30 p.m.”

            Sylvia glanced at her watch. It was 7:15, so she had 15 minutes of free time. She looked around and realized this part of the fair was set up in the maguey field she had picnics in. Then she had an idea. She picked up as many flowers as she could, and then placed them near the audience bleachers, hoping that they would throw them at her after her performance.

             Just as she arranged the last handful, she saw who she supposed were the judges; and right she was. They were sharply dressed with flowing gowns and tuxedos with, undoubtedly a ton of make-up; even the men! The judges climbed on to the base and made announcement that the contest was about to begin. People rushed into the tent, contestants and audience alike.

 The first round was Gavotte dancing. Sylvia easily accomplished this with two other winners. The next round was ballet. Sylvia won this round also, so she was up against a bulky but fit man. The last round was freestyle with lively Farandole music. Sylvia danced like it was the last time she would be able to. After the song was done the audience cheered and threw flowers like she had expected. The judges decided the winner and said

“And the winner is… Sylvia Bellerose!”

Sylvia leaped into a round of emotions; at first she was stunned, then confused, then exited, then happy, then proud. She jumped up on to the stage and received her trophy and prize with honor and pride. The bulky man looked like he was about to explode, but he just stormed off the dance floor without taking the second prize instead.

Sylvia ran to find her family and proudly showed them the trophy and the prize, which was a free trip anywhere she wanted to go.  Theodore got jealous, so Sylvia bought him popcorn and waffles covered with rich honey. Sylvia’s mother bought her glossy majolica in her favorite colors- peachblow and turquoise. Her father bought her ice cream- in a waffle! The ice cream vendor had run out of cups right before Sylvia’s turn, so the waffle vendor next door had an idea to do that. It was the most exquisite thing she had ever seen!

Sylvia and her family wasailed on the Ferris Wheel as their father told them stories of the Basque people that have homomorphism and populate France and Spain. Their mother told them of the River Wateree in South Carolina, where she grew up and how she had met their father, an attendant on a boat that was passing by. They laughed and sang, ate popcorn and cotton candy and played games. Finally they laid down their blanket and sat in the field to watch fireworks of different colors pop and bloom in the sky.

 Sylvia leaned against her father, only to find that she was about to fall off a cliff that had dangerously sharp rocks – no, waffles below! Sylvia screamed and looked around frantically. To her right was a rope made out of broken majolica that could easily pierce somebody badly. Sylvia said no to that. To her left was an ice cream sundae, which, obviously, would give no help. Suddenly, the cliff gave way and Sylvia fell and fell and fell. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. She kept falling and falling until she fell on the squishy waffles below and passed out.

           

1 Week Later…

            “Oh... oooh...” moaned Sylvia. She looked around and found herself looking at her family while lying on a white bed that smelled really good. Her family seemed exited, so Sylvia asked them.

            “Whash de big deel, Teodhore?” Sylvia’s voice came out funny and weird. Theodore looked at her and told her the entire story.

            Apparently, the guy that Sylvia won over in the dancing contest got really mad and intentionally put a drug into Sylvia’s ice cream she got at the fair when she wasn’t looking. The drug wasn’t harmful, but when she got drowsy and sleepy, it caused her to sleepwalk and have really weird dreams. Unfortunately, the big bulky man was a Basque, a people that are known for their amazing dancing skills and their arrogance. To be a better dancer and look proud in front of them means that you are threat to their people. And this particular Basque didn’t want to harm Sylvia; he wanted to put an end to her life.

 After Sylvia dozed off during the fireworks and sleepwalked away unnoticed, the bulky man had found and led her to the top of the Eiffel Tower to push her off. Luckily, Sylvia’s family noticed she was gone, spotted her at the top of the tower and called the police. Also, the drug had gotten a little weaker, so Sylvia had gotten some of her sense back and realized she was going to fall somewhere, but she didn’t know exactly what was going on. The bulky man had sensed this and pushed her off the Eiffel Tower. As if right on cue, the police had a large, thick blanket positioned under the tower that Sylvia could fall in to it and not get injured.

Straight away Sylvia was rushed to the emergency room and the bulky Basque man was arrested. Sylvia was given a sleeping pill so she would feel groggy when she woke up instead of fresh so she wouldn’t do something harmful.

Well, that explains my voice, Sylvia thought.

The doctor came into the room and everybody looked at him, then Sylvia.

            “Ho-ho- This is a miracle! You should be rejoicing right now, not standing around smiling!” exclaimed the doctor. He came up to Sylvia and hugged her so tight that she thought she might die then. He released her and said

“Sylvia, you are truly a very lucky girl.”

Well, Sylvia thought, I got to go to the World’s Fair, won a dancing competition, had the first ever ice cream in a waffle, escaped a guy that wanted me to die, and survived a fall from the Eiffel tower that could have killed me. Can you get any luckier?